Restaurant Weeks - are they REALLY a bargain?
February 4, 2009 - 10:15pm
San Diego recently had its annual 2-weeks of "Restaurant Week" where 65-70% of local restaurants participate in offering special 3-course menus for $20, $30 or $40 per person, depending on the type of restaurant.
I also just returned from San Francisco where they ran a similar type city-wide promotion. Los Angeles also had a similar promotion recently and I'm sure other cities are promoting the same type thing.
My question is this...are they REALLY a good value for the patron?
Share your thoughts.
Cheers!
February 4, 2009 - 10:47pm
#2
Only if you are very careful
I did not have a chance to get out to Restaurant Week this year, but I have in past years and I would say to leave feeling like you got a bargain, you had better be very careful.
Last year I went to a downtown restaurant (I won't name as I like them) and their prefix was $30 a person. At the end of the meal, our bill for 2 people was $118 including the dinner, 4 glasses of wine plus tax and tip.
It was a good meal, but I don't really consider that a bargain at almost $60 per person.
I have participated in restaurant weeks in both Baltimore and Phoenix. Helen is right - it's not always a bargain. For Phoenix's in September, we tried several new places, as you could pick and choose based on the complete menus listed on a web site. All menus were priced the same. Some of the restaurants would not have been a good value, as a typical dinner there does not cost that much to begin with. Others had discounts even on selected wines that paired well with the menu. One place had replaced the entire menu from what was posted (even after I had called and asked them since I knew they had just hired a new chef) and was a huge disappointment.
In the end, I go because I want to try a new restaurant, not because I think it will be a bargain.
Cheers!
Alisa