Generally speaking, I don't think that it works for one person. Plus, $35 can be a lot to spend.

Not at some restaurants with a main entree plus salad and dessert. But I was afraid that was going to be the answer. Maybe I'll have to rethink these certificates.

We bought a few of these for a couple of bucks.We had a small meal and some wines at a very non-descript pool tiki bar.What a rip-off.9$ glasses of wine served in a disposable cup even at 50% off doesn't cut it.And the 18% tip is on the full amount.Wow.Won't be ordering those even if free.The 35$ threshold came up on us VERY quickly.I won't be fooled twice.

not so sure you were fooled as you picked a crappy restaurant.

There are some very good values out there and as you found out, so very poor ones. (more to the latter overall IMO, but the good ones are well worth it)

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Always check www.fatwallet.com for these.

Has anyone been successful using a certificate in California that is over 1 year old?

I'm looking to buy a few restaurant.com 'vouchers' but I'm not sure I really understand all the smallprint. Any chance someone could decode for me?

For example, the Strip Steak at the Madalay Bay has the following:
Minimum 2 entrees. Valid with 2 Prix Fixe dinners
Does this mean 'only valid with 2 Prix Fixe dinners'? In which case, stating minimum 2 entrees seems redundant. Or is it valid with a minimum of 2 entrees, or exactly 2 prix fixe dinners, or 2 or more of either entree or prix fixe?

My other confusion is stuff like:
Minimum purchase of $35.
Does this mean a minimum purchase before or after the voucher has been applied?

This deal is NOT too good to be true, it actually is a fairly efficient way to save money eating out.

Case in point, I went to a nice dinner for 2 at a great restaurant on Sat night, bill came out to $12 before tip. We had two 12-14$ entrees and two $5 appetizers. They only charged us tax on what we paid, and tip was not included.

Here are my suggestions:

1. Read the restrictions! Don't expect to use with other coupons and promotions, but happy hour is sometimes ok. Some restaurants even allow takeout.

2. If the restrictions are not clear, ask the restaurant about them when making a reservation. If you want to use it for lunch/brunch/fixe prix or whatever, just ask before you go. Worst they can say is no. Get the name of the person you spoke to just in case.

3. Restaurant.com customer service is great. If you buy a cert and can't use it, call them. They will gladly refund the credit to your acct so you can use elsewhere. On rare occasions where I had a problem, they have always given me a free $25 cert.

4. I personally don't show the cert before the meal, even though they all say "present before dining". My thought is that I might get poor service if they know how little we will be paying or know that they are getting a guaranteed tip of 18-20% as many certs do. Only once did they call me out, and then it was only because they didn't want to recalc the bill by hand.

5. When a good restaurant appears, grab a few certs. Typically, a restaurant will offer certs at first with very few restrictions, and then latter start raising the min spend and adding more restrictions. They tend to be a little naive the first month, not expecting people like me to order $35 worth of food and no drinks. I tip generously on the full amount, but I otherwise don't want to blow the bank eating out.

6. This would be a great way to make a few dollars on the side if you travel on an expense acct with a per diem. Eat breakfast at hotel for free and grab some fast food for lunch. Then, it is not too hard to order $35 in food for dinner for one. Return the original, undiscounted, receipt for reimbursement, and there is $23 a night in your pocket. Your ethics may vary.

7. Don't buy $25 certs for more than $2 (80% off). Once or twice I have seen them sell for $1, 90% off. I plan on grabbing at least 20 next time that happens.

8. Lower your expectations a tad. Sure you might order $35 in food and expect a bill of $10, but some restaurants inexplicably tax the entire amount, and then add the mandatory 20% tip to the whole thing including tax, which has the effect of doubling your bill. It is still a good deal, but think of it more like $15 off instead of $25 off.

9. Restaurants that take these certs are, on average, no better or worse than other restaurants in your area. Some are great, some stink. Use Yelp scouting a restaurant like you would Tripadvisor before choosing a hotel.

10. When you find a restaurant you like, buy a cert or two quickly. Good certs sell out by the time you get around to using them. You can always change your mind later (see #3).

Anyone else have any other great tips?

www.restaurant.com

Most (but not all) of the restaurants that I've seen featured on there seem to be ones that get horrible reviews on sites like Yelp. You also need to watch out for the ones that look like a good deal, but ultimately aren't because they require a minimum food purchase (a lot of them require $35) and also slap a mandatory pre-discount 18% gratuity onto your tab, even if the service is subpar at best.

There are also reports I've seen on other websites that some of the restaurants on there actually give different (i.e. higher-priced) menus to people using restaurant.com certificates. Not sure if there's any merit to that or not, but figured I'd throw it out there for you to know.

I've used a number of restaurant.com certs. The majority of restaurants on the site are notgood quality restaurants and are hoping to drive business by being on restaurant.com.

I only use the certs for restaurants I personally know are worthwhile or if it is one I've wanted to try.

BTW, I think there is already a thread on restaurants.com, perhaps use the search function@:-)

They cannot legally do this. Restaurant.com certs are good for one year after purchase as clearly stated in the terms. You can sue the BBQ place if they don't honor the certs.

That said, I have found restaurant.com to be an absolutely delightful company to deal with. I find them so refreshingly pleasant that I have a hard time finding out how any reasonable person can have a problem with them. Their return (exchange) policy is more than generous, their terms are CLEARLY disclosed, and even if you screw up and don't follow the terms, they really do try their best to make their customers happy. I had a certificate I didnt use for 9 months, I called up and they offered an exchange.

I also absolutely adore the business model here. It exposes customers to local restaurants that they wouldn't find otherwise AND it does so at a substantial discount. I even talked to the CEO briefly when restaurant.com was in its early years.

Personally, I find that looking at the menus gives you a good feel for which restaurants are worth checking out and which ones you should take a pass on. I have found amazing restaurants though this company that I have returned and paid full price for.

Of course there was also the time a restaurant listed with them served my girlfriend *very* undercooked chicken...

As to the 18% automatically added gratuity, you can ask to have that removed. Gratuity, by definition is completely and totally optional, and there is plenty of case law establishing it as such. You can even do this at those places that add gratuity to a party of 6-8 or more, and they are legally required to take it off. Again I know this because of experience.

But with restaurant.com, I have always been so satisfied with the company and the way they treat their customers that I haven't bothered as it would probably make the restaurant reluctant to renew their contract, and they have established enough goodwill with me that I just pay the gratuity even if it was not earned.

Great company, def worth checking out.

Other than a consumer, are you associated in any way with restaurant.com or an investor in restaurant.com?

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No. I dont think they are a public company.

They don't have to be a public company for you (or anyone else) to have a vested financial interest in the company.