One of Mr. Thrifty’s mottos is “Thrifty is cool, cheap is not.”  This topic, how to save money at restaurants, feels like a borderline topic.  One has to wonder “Is Mr. Thrifty going to tell me to have my friend Sal warm up the car so we can ditch out of the restaurant check?”  Or, “Is Mr. Thrifty going to suggest to me things like bringing tea bags from home and just ordering hot water?”

Rest assured, Mr. Thrifty, while cheap at times, would not suggest that you do something illegal or as tacky as the tea-bag-hot-water trick.  Rather, what Mr. Thrifty has created are 5 simple things you can do to save money at restaurants- be it Chili’s or some fancy French joint.

On a side note: if you do want to mess with your restaurant server a little bit, the next time you go with a group to a place which has an all-you-can-eat option be the first to order and say “yes, I would like one all-you-can-eat with eight plates please”.  Just watch the restaurant server’s reaction.  Priceless.