1. Dine Mid-Week. The slowest nights in the restaurant industry are traditionally Tuesday & Wednesday. Often you can find specials or deals on those nights, coupons for those specific nights, sometimes even a "kids eat free" offer. Many restaurants, especially buffets, charge the most for the same meal on the weekends.
2. Dine earlier in the day whenever possible. Many times you'll find if you dine first and go to a movie later, instead of the other way around, you can save quite a bit. Not only do most restaurants have lunch specials until 3 or 4 pm, but often restaurants offer specials before 6pm. If you don't have to go out after a typical 9 - 5 job, and can dine earlier, than go do whatever else you have plans to do, it will make the day a lot more affordable.
3. Dine at the bar. I wouldn't recommend this for special events or anything, but if it's just a couple of friends getting together and you can get away with some happy hour specials, appetizer specials, or a smaller "bar menu" instead of a plated, sit-down, 2-hour dinner, it's a great way to save.
4. Snack first. Many in the dieting crowd learned this secret long ago...snack before you leave. Even if it's just a tall glass of water and some veggie sticks, some fruit, or a small basic salad, you'll be less likely to feel the need to over-eat. You may be able to skip the appetizer, or you'll be too full for dessert (or you could just split one).
5. 2 for 1 deals...Lots of chains like Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Chili's do 2 for 1 specials. You pay one price, you get 2 entrees and you share an appetizer for one price. That saves on your bill. Sometimes you can find a larger entree that is designed for 2 people to share too, like fajitas.
6. Expensive drinks. If a family of 4 decides to order water with lemon instead of the usual Coke or Pepsi product, it can be a savings of $8 or more, which is then taxed, and you'll be paying a portion of the tip based on that too. Alcoholic drinks can be VERY pricey if you aren't careful. Recently I ordered a "half price happy hour margarita" and the half price was almost $8. Imagine if 2 people get 2 regular margaritas, not thinking they're much more than $7 or so, they would end up paying an extra $64 for just drinks, not even the food. Be aware of drink prices. Often the majority of the profit is in them.
7. Discounted gift cards. I noticed lately that some restaurants run specials where you can buy say a $100 gift card but pay just $80, or else, they'll include a second discount card for $10 - $25 for you. Grocery stores run deals through their eCoupons (loaded to your card) where you can buy a gift card and pay a reduced price plus earn anywhere from 2 to 8 times the dollar amount in gas reward points if they do that program already.
8. Coupons! I find coupons in the Sunday papers all the time, in my email box, and online. I've had 6 of us go to a healthy soup/salad buffet with a coupon, which the manager volunteered to apply to all 6 of us, and the savings was over $20 right off the bat. It was better than any Senior Discount or other program they have.
9. Groupon and other similar sites - I find great deals here and have used them for many different things from dining out to baseball tickets. Sometimes the deals are for a FREE item, like a dessert or appetizer. Other times it's a certificate to be used like a gift card, but it's at a 40% savings or more. Who wouldn't love to have a wonderful dining out experience at a higher end restaurant yet pay half what you normally would have spent?
10. Points/Rewards programs. I went to a pizza place to meet up with friends recently and they told me they had a loyalty program. I sign up for a free account/card, which took 2 minutes, and I received points on my card. I got home, went to the card's website and found out I can use and earn points at many different places in my area. They listed everything from frozen yogurt, to pizza, to hookah and vapor shops, to sub shops. The one I signed up for is called FiveStars. They're more popular in bigger cities like Phoenix, Houston, Boston, etc. Maybe you can find a local version for your area with a google search.
