Going out to dinner with Friends - Page 5

disneysteve · #81 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleta

To DisneySteve: I wasn't really curious about the bill. I just thought that $90. was a lot for a contribution.

All depends on the restaurant. There are plenty of places around here where $45/person for dinner (especially including tax and tip) isn't unusual at all. That's only $35.43/person for the meal plus 7% tax and 20% tip. Actually, there are lots of places around here where that wouldn't come close to covering the bill, especially if there were a few bottles of wine involved.

Ima saver · #82 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 12:20 PM

We really prefer to eat by ourselves, but the last group dinner, I just asked for a seperate check. Our favorite restaurant in Gatlinburg, does not take credit cards. I have seen people have to leave cause they have no cash. they finally put in an ATM. That does not help people like me, who have no ATM card.

cschin4 · #83 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 01:20 PM

I think if you go out to a birthday party you should just expect to pay. If you don't have the cash for this, just say "no thank you" and don't go. No explanations needed.

LivingAlmostLarge · #84 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 02:00 PM

$90 is getting off cheap I think. That's just a 3 drinks out for a couple each, which is terrible. I hate going out to drink and DH knows how I feel about it. A bottle of wine cheap is $20. Of course it depends on the restaurant, but disneysteve's calculation on a $35 dinner is not overly bad if a nice sit down resturant is $20-25/entree. Even TGIFridays (not a place I like), but for example runs $15-20/entree dinner.

disneysteve · #85 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

Even TGIFridays (not a place I like), but for example runs $15-20/entree dinner.

Yep. Add $5 for an appetizer, $4 for dessert and $6 for an alcoholic drink and you're at $35. And that's in a cheesy chain restaurant. Go to an upscale place and $50/person is pretty common.

Ima saver · #86 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 02:31 PM

I guess it bothers me, cause we never get appetizers or dessert. We brown bag our own drinks, so our meals are pretty reasonable. I can usually eat out for under a $20 a couple around here. (and then I bring half of it home)

safari · #87 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 02:49 PM

When I get invited to a restaurant for a birthday, I usually bring $100 (per person) and give that money to the birthday person. The other guests do the same. We never get to see the actual bill, as the birthday person pays for it. This works well for us. The money that guests bring is usually enough to cover the cost of food, leaving a little extra as birthday present. $100 may seem extravagant to some, but we usually go to really posh restaurants with live entertainment and order a lot of food and alcohol.

pearlieq · #88 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Yep. Add $5 for an appetizer, $4 for dessert and $6 for an alcoholic drink and you're at $35. And that's in a cheesy chain restaurant. Go to an upscale place and $50/person is pretty common.

I actually got caught off guard by this just this week. We were at Applebees, of all places, and in my head I was expecting to pay about $10 - $12. I was flabbergasted when my portion of the bill was $25! For Applebees!

It added up, though. $3 for my half of the appetizer, $3 for my drink, $8 for my sandwich, and $5 for my dessert. Add in tax and tip and I was at $25.

My friend drank and I didn't so we just removed her bar tab and split the bill. I think I learned an important lesson on staying mindful of what you're ordering. It's so easy, especially out with "the girls", to be so caught up in gabbing and having a good time that you're really not paying attention. My dessert was good, but it wasn't worth $5 and I certainly didn't need it after everything else we ate.

LivingAlmostLarge · #89 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 04:44 PM

LOL. It really depends on where you live. I found I could eat cheaper in CA than in the NE, because they have a lot more Ethnic food places that are cheap. In the NE cheap is chain places. And nice joints well, they are abound in the city. Probably why we don't eat out as much, no more $3 burritos or $5 pho. Miss my comfort food.

$50 at a nice restaurant is pretty easy to hit. One glass of wine is more like $7-10 a glass. Try eating at an italian place where the entree is $20. Ugh. Now I know why I hate eating out here.

disneysteve · #90 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

$50 at a nice restaurant is pretty easy to hit.

If you're ever in Philly, check out Le Bec Fin (www.lebecfin.com). Their prix fixe dinner is $135/person. Yes, I've been there and yes, it's spectacular. We've actually eaten there several times but fortunately, we were never the ones paying.

LivingAlmostLarge · #91 (**permalink**) 01-20-2007, 10:30 PM

cool, but my favorite thing to eat is sushi, sigh talk about expensive. $50 is easy to hit when you go ala carte.

cschin4 · #92 (**permalink**) 01-21-2007, 06:50 AM

$10-12! Things have changed. I expect to pay that much at McD's nowadays. Of course, I have a couple kids in tow. If I get out for $5 a person, I figure that is a cheap meal.

MonkeyMama · #93 (**permalink**) 01-21-2007, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

LOL. It really depends on where you live. I found I could eat cheaper in CA than in the NE, because they have a lot more Ethnic food places that are cheap.

It's true -w e can eat pretty darn well for cheap.

I Saw your sushi post, we have dirt cheap sushi places out here too. We have it good out here indeed.

Not a big fan of chains but we eat out Asian and greek food, and Thai food all the time for under $20 - a lot of it delivered to our door... Mongolian BBQ is about as much as McDs for the lunch buffet, but the food is much better!!!!

We've actually had a hard time because there is not as much an abundance of ethnic food further inland - well there wasn't - but seems to be taking off out here - we are enjoying all the new little hole in the walls popping up. The downside is most don't stay in business more than a few years. all our FAVORITE restaurants have gone under. That's the hard part.

tinapbeana · #94 (**permalink**) 01-21-2007, 07:51 AM

my experience is that local restaurants or small regional chains tend to have better food, lower prices, and better service than national chains. can't stand crapplebees, have never seen a place that can ruin a piece of beef faster.

my favorite restaurant in college was a pan-asian place that offered noodle bowls for 7.50 that were easily enough for 2 meals. after an 8 yr wait they have finally opened a location in SC. WOOHOO!!! i drug DH the first time, but now it's a weekly tradition. appetizer, 2 entrees, 2 drinks, $30 after tax and tip (plus we earn points). best part is that their food is better than the 'high end' pan-asian places that charge twice as much for half the food.

Ima saver · #95 (**permalink**) 01-21-2007, 08:46 AM

well, there are lots of entrees where we eat every night that are under $10. We really can't eat all the food, so we never bother with appetizers and desserts.
There is a place in Murphy, N.C. where the soup is so good, you can just eat soup and fresh croissants and get filled up for about $4 per person.
I just make sure I tip really well when I get a cheap meal. If my bill is only $8, I will still leave a $6 tip. I always get good service.

vsjhoc · #96 (**permalink**) 01-21-2007, 09:19 AM

A good friend invited me to join a group having lunch at "Restaurant Week." This is an annual event where upscale restaurants offer lunch for $30 or dinner for $50, which is very inexpensive by normal standards.

I wanted to go but said "sorry, not in the budget" (instead of "sorry, can't afford it" -- thanks fellow SavingAdvice people!). Later he told me that lunch was $30, but they had drinks, wine, add $3 for shrimp, etc. and it ended up as $50/person. Glad I opted out even though it would have been fun.

LivingAlmostLarge · #97 (**permalink**) 01-21-2007, 10:26 AM

I love restaurant week. Too bad it's still pricy by my standards.

cschin4 · #98 (**permalink**) 01-21-2007, 03:02 PM

Personally, I am not a fan of the "I can't afford it" mantra. It is kind of annoying and TMI. I think a "no thanks, just can't make it" is preferable in my opinion. I had a friend who used to say she "couldn't afford it", etc. We would beg her to come out and eat with us anyway and pay her tab. I used to be her roommate. Then, one day she left her bank statement sitting on the counter. I was absolutely shocked to see she had 10X the amount in her savings as I had. A real eye opener.

Ima saver · #99 (**permalink**) 01-25-2007, 01:53 PM

I think if friends are really close friends, there is never a problem. everyone seems to think it is fine to get seperate checks. It is only when going out with a group that I have run into a problem. We do not do the neighborhood dinners any more either.
Their idea of going out to dinner, is to get there at 6 pm, order immediately, hurry and eat and leave. We like to spend at least 2 hours enjoying our meal and talking.

Elgin526 · #**100** (**permalink**) 01-25-2007, 03:25 PM

If it's the same group of people going out week after week, split evening it tends to work out even in the end. One week you order the salad, the next you order steak, it's all good.

But for the occasional dinner out, seperate checks. I have had too many people try and take advantage, and I wind up looking rude and cheap when I refuse to pay more than my share. So I just pipe up "Seperate checks, please" the second the server stops at our table.