Restaurants.com
 

Anyone used this with success for popular restaurants or is it too good to be true?
Thanks!

No-- it is for real. And periodically they have sales
wherein you can get a certificate
for $3 OR $5.

DO note before purchasing what the
individual resto's fiat is; i.e.
some need a minimum of $35 spent
on dinner before you can use the certificate. and I think they are
always for dinner, not lunch.

A friend was recently in NYC from
FLA for a month & used a bunch of them to his advantage.

I use them locally for our favorite restaurant, works fine.

Now a day's sites like restaurants.com, www.boorah.com & www.yelp.com and their reviews have become very popular. They are really useful and provide ideal dining experience.

I LOVE that site! I've been using them for years. Get on their mailing list and you will get codes for up to 70% off THEIR price for a gift certificate.

You have to read the rules, though. Some have "dinner of two or more people" or "minimum food order of $100". Our favorite restaurant used to be on the program so I bought a ton of certs. and that would take care of an appetizer or dessert.

It's also a great way to try out new places.

Oops, It's RESTAURANT.COM not the plural to which I refer. And if you want to give it a try, enter the code CRAVE at checkout for a discount (Offer valid thru Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 11:59PM CDT).

I have used their GCs on/off for the last 10 years now.

The restaurant lists in every city can be a hit-or-miss. Great in Philadelphia, rather poor in Dallas, so-so in Boston.

I only buy them IF there is a restaurant in my city that I really want to try.

Like others said, a lot of the GCs have restrictions - read the fine print before you buy. Many require a minimum of 2 entrees/$35 bill on food, dinners only, and many are not valid on Fri/Sat nights.

A couple of months ago, I bought one (and printed out the GC) for an Italian restaurant in Boston, which I was going to dine at 2 weeks later. Then, a few days before the actual dinner, I checked restaurant.com's website, only to find that the Italian restaurant is no longer listed.

Anyway, we ate there, and I presented the GC at the end of the meal. The manager came over and apologized to us that their restaurant no longer honors the Restaurant.com GCs. According to him, Restaurant.com never reimbursed his restaurant for the GC's it received, so in the end, it had to severed the ties to restaurant.com.

I was able to get a refund from restaurant.com.

Agree with atalanta!

It is a very good deal, but check the list of participating restaurants as they do change periodically. Do get on their e-mail list to find about frequent sales. They just concluded an incredible 80% off sale. Once purchased, certificates are good for 12 months.