Eating out at restaurants can be expensive but there are simple ways to cut your bill

MANY of us have champagne tastes but a beer budget when it comes to eating out.

Restaurant-goers are increasingly watching their pennies and spending less when hitting the restaurant scene — the average spend has fallen from $17.50 to $16.50 — but there are some simple ways to keeping the costs of dining out down.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR DINNER?

Diners are slowing shifting away from the tradition of eating out for dinner and instead meeting up with friends and family for breakfast.

The Restaurant & Catering Australia’s chief executive officer John Hart says this can immediately reduce costs.

“If people are wanting to go out with friends then going out for breakfast is a good option as it’s cheaper than it would be for another meal,’’ he says.

“It’s an incredibly competitive meal so you end up with getting a pretty flash breakfast for around $17 and you are doing it a lot more cheaply than if you are going out for lunch.”

PICKING THE MEAL

Ordering tapas, Yum Cha, Italian antipasto and sushi platters are some popular dishes to tuck into and help spread the cost of the meal among family and friends.

But diners need to be careful they don’t go overboard and order up a storm.

“Those sort of dining options can be much cheaper than dining options where you are going out for three courses,’’ Hart says.

“More restaurants are also offering shared entrees, share plates, platters with dips so there’s entrees and desserts that you can share.”

Sonal Razdan, 28, looks for restaurants with fresh, innovative ideas that are not expensive and BYO. Picture: Marc Robertson

BYO

Checking to see if the restaurant allows BYO wine will immediately cut down your dining bill.

Individual glasses of wine usually range anywhere from $7-15 each, while for those who arrive armed with a bottle of wine, restaurants will usually charge a small corkage fee of around $10 and immediately cut down the costs of drinking.

You can usually nab a nice drop for often around the $20 mark, so choosing a restaurant with BYO will help reduce the dent when the bill arrives at your table.

SPECIAL OFFERS

Nest restaurant, a modern Asian-pacific eatery in Brisbane’s CBD, is rolling out a all-you-can eat deal for diners looking for a nice meal on the run.

The restaurant’s spokeswoman Chelsea Sutherland says they wanted to offer an “affordable, tasty and fast” deal for diners who were chasing good bang for their buck.

Sonal Razdan, 28, says she’s always on the hunt for good deals to making eating out less expensive.

“I really like two-for one deals, you can save money that way,’’ she says.

“I look for restaurants with fresh, innovative ideas that are not expensive, a lot of my friends also will go to a restaurant if they know it’s BYO.”

More great tips on how to reduce costs and score deals.

Source: The Daily Telegraph      Sophie Ellington     April 29th 2015