Here are some places to find coupons which can allow you to “do Austin on the cheap”, and save you a lot of money when eating out.

The explosion of Austin restaurant coupon offers started about two years ago  when companies such as Groupon.com began to offer deals that allow diners to buy a voucher, which in turn  entitled them to a certain dollar amount of food for half or more off the regular price. Some of these coupon offers allowed the buyer to save as much as 80% off the cost of a meal at a fancy Austin restaurant.

Here are some of the best places to find Austin restaurant coupons:

BOGOAustin.com

This new site features the latest “buy one, get one free deals” in Austin. See BogoAustin.com  for more details

Groupon.com,  Livingsocial.com, etc.

These are perhaps the best known of all of the social coupon sites. Basically how it works is that the company approaches a restaurant or other business and negotiates a deal whereby if enough people get onboard to make it worthwhile, the restaurant will allow a coupon to be sold that offers substantial discounts on meals, etc. The restaurant knows that they will get “x” amount of new customers from the deal, some of which will end up spending a lot of money or being repeat customers. Most Austin restaurant coupon deals don’t include alcohol, so the establishment can still profit from large checks. Groupon and Livingsocial are both easy to join. You simply enter your e-mail and fill out a short profile and you’re in.  With Groupon and Livingsocial the deal only becomes a “go” when the required number of people sign up. This encourages users of the site to try and get their friends on-board, which further increases the number of potential customers that the restaurant may get from the deal.

There are a few other sites which offer Austin restaurant coupons or BOGO (buy one get one free) deals, which do not cost anything. These are more like the buy one get one deals that you see in the newspaper or on store receipts and are either good for entree’s or appetizers. They are aimed at attracting new customers, who will hopefully spend more money or become repeat visitors.  A couple of them worth mentioning that offer restaurant discount deals in Austin are Eversave.com, Urbandealight.com, buywithme.com and dealfind.com.  There are new ones starting up all the time, so it pays to do a Google search often.

Head To The Lake In The Off Season

Some of the best food deals in the Austin area are offered by restaurants on Lake Austin or Lake Travis during the slack season. You’ll find a lot more coupons for places like Iguna Grill, Carlos and Charlies, Ski Shores and other lakeside establishments offered in the spring and fall, when business starts to fall off.

Other Places To Find Half Off Austin Restaurant Coupons

Check local free magazines, such as community newspapers, the Austin Chronicle, and regular newspapers such as the Austin American Statesman for BOGO restaurant coupons.  Before discarding those local mailout packets and flyers, scan them for BOGO offers near you. Another great source of half off coupon deals for Austin restaurants is Restaurant.com  Be sure to do a web search for “Restaurant.com coupon code” to save even more off the cost of a restaurant offer. Unlike Groupon.com, the site usually has a minimum purchase amount, which increases as the value of the voucher does. For example, you might buy a $100 dollar certificate for Hudson’s On The Bend for $50, but the the terms and conditions might state that the minimum check  has to amount  to $200 before the voucher can be applied. As of the date this article was written you could use the coupon code “Summer” on Restaurant.com to save 80% off the cost of a voucher. For upscale places like Hudson’s On The Bend, buying what basically amounts to a half off coupon for $2.00 is pretty sweet.’

Read The Fine Print On Coupon Offers For Austin Texas Restaurants

Almost every “buy one get one” deal, half – off voucher, etc.,  will come with some kind of terms and conditions that must be complied with. For example, on all of these deals you should tip on the “before coupon” amount of your check. Other restrictions typically include no alcoholic beverages discounted, (a T.A.B.C law), as well as restrictions on the kind of menu items allowed. Often restaurant coupon and voucher deals will exclude the highest price items, such as prime rib. Also check what days of the week the restaurant allows you to use the coupon. Many of these offers are not valid on the weekends and holidays.

Another place to look for deals is on the restaurant’s own website.  If you don’t mind the extra junk in your e-mail box, consider joining customer loyalty programs for chains such as Red Robin, Chili’s etc.  When you take the time an look for daily specials, printable coupons, social coupons,  happy hours, etc, before planning an evening of dining out and you can save hundreds off the cost of eating out each year.