The gastronomic delights: Best ways to enjoy your meal on a budget

No matter how hearty the meal was in your favourite restaurant, you start fidgeting with your wallet the moment your bill arrives. A lot of people don't realize how expensive a drink could be till they are asked to pay up. Or for that matter, how an extra seasoning really adds up? So, wouldn't you want to be pleasantly surprised the next time your bill is served to you by the ever obliging waiter?

Here's how, you can make sure that it happens to you next time around at an upscale restaurant. Honestly, restaurants are there for business. They cannot be rounded up for trying to up their profits as much as possible. However, there are some surefire ways by which you get swayed and coaxed into paying more than you planned for. Its obvious and has happened to all of us at some point or the other.

We give in to their sweet talks and say an immediate "yes" when asked if we'd prefer to have another round of beer or that add on on our pizza. Moreover, we even shy off from asking the price of a food item when dining at a restaurant. Finally, when we get to the desserts, we hardly resist the temptation without ordering for at least one.

Still, you could dine at a restaurant without spending a fortune and even come out triumphantly with loads of saved dollars to exalt over. This you could do with some proper planning and a willpower of steel. Basically, if you want to save money even at a fancy restaurant, then there are ways that can help you to do so quite easily enough.

Ways to save money at a fancy restaurant

During the festive seasons, you can take your family out for a dinner without having a cold sweat and wracking your brain over ways to avoid burning a hole in your pocket by following some of the below mentioned money saving hacks:

• Get online gift cards - There are many online portals providing gift cards for restaurants. Some of these websites dole out gift cards for thousands of restaurants for as much as pennies on the dollar. All you'll have to do is visit a website like Restaurant.com and put in your local area code. Purchase the gift card and enjoy your meal with your loved ones at a much affordable price. Apart from that, you could try your luck with "Groupon" or "Living Social" to come across some of their too good to be true offers.
• Study special meal offers - A lot of restaurants offer some kind of special deals or the other on their menu. This could be 25-cent wings during weekdays or a two-for-one drinks offer before 7. No matter how attractive a deal may appear to you, it is always advisable to run a check to that respective restaurant's website before actually visiting them and time your visit accordingly to make the most of their offer. And when you're in a resto-bar, then you can inquire if there's any drinks special in the offing.
• Ask for water - When speaking about beverages, then they are like catalyst that could shoot up your overall bill in an instance. The best part is you could even end up paying more for the cocktails than what a main course would have cost you. So, the best way to prevent this from happening to you is to stick to water as your only beverage for the brunch.
• Vouch for early bird meals - Now this is serious. If its possible for you and you don't mind in the first place, you can opt for an early dinner or take in some bites and save the remaining portion for later. This way you can lower your food bills to a great extent and even be rewarded with some early bird specials at your favourite restaurants.

In addition to the above, you can save a lot of money by avoiding desserts or appetizers or both at an expensive restaurants, altogether. Choosing to stick to your main food will not only reduce your restaurant bill, but it'll help you to feel less stuffed, while cutting down on food wastage at the same time. If ordering for more food is your reason to prolong your brunch time, then why not eat your food at snail's speed and enjoy more personal time with your friends and family?