Five Savvy Ways to Save Money When Dining Out

Good heavens—dining out has become so expensive. Here are five ways to bring the costs down.

In recent years, diners have been hit with a double-whammy. The pandemic took a heavy toll on restaurant staffing, leading many of us to be more flexible and understanding when dining out. (That’s a nice way of saying that we’ve had to lower our standards). Meanwhile, inflation has made dining out crazy-expensive.

Some restaurants are getting back into the groove, but others are not. In some cases, that means we’re paying more money than ever for subpar experiences. I know this first-hand: For every restaurant I write about here, there have been three or four I’ve been to that simply aren’t worth featuring in this newsletter.

What’s a diner to do? If you enjoy dining out, but you’ve found yourself wincing when you see the bottom line (and wincing even more when you see tax and the credit card service fee and then figure in a tip), consider a few of my favorite ways to make sure I get my money’s worth. These go beyond the usual ideas (splitting entrees or making a meal out of appetizer…