How To Get The Most Bang For Your Buck At A Steakhouse

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The idea of dining at a steakhouse can feel intimidating these days. Aside from health reasons, people often assume eating at this type of restaurant can be insanely expensive. It’s one of those things you save for when the parents are in town or your boss offers to take everyone out to celebrate a major company milestone. But if there’s a steakhouse you’ve had your eye on for a while, you can still dine with the rest of ’em without blowing an entire paycheck on your meal. Here’s how to get the most bang for your buck.

Have an appetizer as your main course.

The appetizer menu at a steakhouse is usually hearty on its own. Between seafood bisque, burrata, crab cakes, calamari and a variety of salads, you can’t lose. Of course, if you go to a steakhouse with tunnel vision and you must have a porterhouse or tomahawk steak, appetizers won’t be able to help you. But if you’re willing to experiment with less meaty options, you won’t have to break the bank.

Keep up with happy hour.

Instead of going to dinner at rush hour — 7 or 8 p.m. — try to get to the steakhouse while happy hour is still going on. Maybe you’re lucky enough to have summer Fridays, or you get an extra long lunch break. If you go to a steakhouse for happy hour, you’ll be able to save a few bucks on drinks. And chances are you’ll find an oyster special going on as well.

Order the sides.

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We think there should be entire restaurants solely dedicated to side dishes. Side dishes are perfect. You get to sample a little bit of everything, and you always end up having leftovers. You know what’s a great way to save some money while simultaneously pissing off your server? Stick to the sides. He or she might be annoyed that you’re not ordering more, but hey, that’s not your problem.

Depending on where you go, there’s usually a good amount of thought put into the side dishes. There are only so many ways you can cook a steak, but sides are an ideal space for creativity in the kitchen and on that menu.

You could order a big mound of creamy mashed potatoes, sautéed or roasted vegetables, crispy potatoes, mac ‘n’ cheese, shishito peppers or creamy corn. Sides are usually around $10 and can help you satisfy all of your different cravings at once.

Find a group discount.

While it might seem like a lot of effort to find a Groupon ahead of time, it’s worth it. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and find a group discount rate at a nearby steakhouse. In that case, grab a group of coworkers and end the work week on a high note.

Pregame or stay sober.

Drinks add up. Especially at a steakhouse. One glass of wine usually ends up running you about $15 and, before you know it, there goes your entire weekend budget on one meal. Instead, grab a quick beer at a happy hour spot close by and head to dinner with a buzz. You could also go the sober route and stick with water. Your call.

Follow the restaurant on all of its social media channels.

If you have a restaurant you’ve been daydreaming about for a while, make sure you’re following them on all forms of social media. Between Instagram and Twitter, you’ll probably hear about happy hour deals and all kinds of nightly specials.

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