Tell me about your restaurant.com experience

[southernbelle5672]

OK, I have heard more than one story about the restaurant.com certificates not being accepted. I would like to hear your experiences with them (good or bad). Specifically, I am thinking about using them in the Orlando area as well as the St. Augustine area (if anyone has used those). I am a little weary of the site so please let me know if I should be or not.

Thanks!!

 

[Nena2007]

We bought a few a while back. We used one without problem, it was fine. We just called ahead to make sure they would take it. Another one, the resturant closed. We have two left that we haven't had a chance to use yet. We bought them when they were 80% off, which I think is often.

Good luck!

 

[kpadalik]

We've had some that work fine...but we've had a couple where the restaurant stopped accepting them. Restaurants.com ended up giving us a credit and we were able to buy another one for somewhere else.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah, what kpadalik said! I've never had a problem with any restaurants.com certificate. When Commander's Palace closed in Las Vegas before I could use that one, the site/company let me choose any other certificate. They're great - just be sure you're aware of any restrictions, such as a minimum or a certain number of diners. We "had" to order dessert at one place, because without it the check wouldn't have met that restaurant's $50 minimum purchase

 

[eeyoreforever]

There is only one restaurant in my town that I eat at that accepts the certificates, but we have never had a problem using them. I always buy when you can get 80% off and usually buy 3-4 at a time. We eat there once a month, so we have saved several hundred dollars so far by using them. I was really wary at first also, but now I'm hooked.

 

[Kay1]

We've used several at different restaurants. My only word of caution involves the tipping. On all the certificates I've used an 18% gratuity is included which is fine. However, you need to check the bill anyway because half the time the server doesn't include the tip at all and you may accidentally stiff her or him. (Then another time my husband forgot the tip was included and double-tipped.) We've gotten in the habit of really focusing when the check comes.

 

[Lisa_M]

We've never used one in the Orlando area, but used some in our local areas. We've never had any problems using them and one place we tried because of restaurant.com is now our favorite place to eat, so we use a certificate once per month and always buy when they are 80% off. Great deal!

 

[Crazy Hakim]

I live in the Orlando area and have used the coupon many times. Like mentioned only once the place closed, and once Wu Hot stopped participating in the program (they got popular real fast). Aside from two hiccups, it's been a dream come true. I always show the coupon before we order, just to be 100% sure, and be sure to ready any fine print or limitations. I know sometimes the coupon cannot be used with any special being offered.
If you have any questions about the offerings in the Orlando area, just ask.
yes, it sounds too good to be true, but in the case it is true!

 

[bluesky225]

We used one recently with no problems at all.

 

[Mickey527]

I used a bunch last month when I went to Disney. I did buy one last year for a restaraunt that went out of business after more than 30 years. They closed the day before we had made plans to go. Wouldn't you know! But restaraunt.com gave me credit for the coupon and I bought for different restaraunts.
I always get TGIF on Sandlake Road. You have to buy these the 1st day of the month because they sell their quota quickly. I get the $25 off $50 but they let me buy drinks and add it onto the coupon.
I tried Cricketeer's at Festival Bay near the outlets and I LOVED it.
The food was great and they also put the drinks on the coupon.
I have the BB Kings but they had a private party the night we went and we left the next day so I have to try that one another time. Others on these boards have said they love it. Paid for parking so I was a little angry.
I also had brunch at LeCreperia's in the same area as BB King's. Good food, but parking is terrible. They have a lot that you pay, I think it was $3 for 2 hours. We parked down the street in an empty parking lot near the mini golf and walked to the place.

 

[southernbelle5672]

I used a bunch last month when I went to Disney. I did buy one last year for a restaraunt that went out of business after more than 30 years. They closed the day before we had made plans to go. Wouldn't you know! But restaraunt.com gave me credit for the coupon and I bought for different restaraunts.
I always get TGIF on Sandlake Road. You have to buy these the 1st day of the month because they sell their quota quickly. I get the $25 off $50 but they let me buy drinks and add it onto the coupon.
I tried Cricketeer's at Festival Bay near the outlets and I LOVED it.
The food was great and they also put the drinks on the coupon.
I have the BB Kings but they had a private party the night we went and we left the next day so I have to try that one another time. Others on these boards have said they love it. Paid for parking so I was a little angry.
I also had brunch at LeCreperia's in the same area as BB King's. Good food, but parking is terrible. They have a lot that you pay, I think it was $3 for 2 hours. We parked down the street in an empty parking lot near the mini golf and walked to the place.

Great information! Thank you

 

[SandrA9810]

I used one at the Sand Lake Fridays, and when we were there, we saw two other families with the certificates as well. We just sat it on the table when we sat down and the waitress took care of it all.

 

[tiggerplus5]

we used 3 in July this year. TGIF, BBkings, and a mexican restaurant in Clermont (it was close to where our vacation villa was) and we were very happy. Surprisingly, ALL the food was very good but my favorite was BBKings, mmm so good! They validated parking if you spent $3O (I think).

We didn't get to use one because of our busy schedule in Orlando and restaurant.com gave us credit (if you contact them within 90 days.) I had to email them cause I couldn't find anything on the website about it. It was in the fine print on the certificate we printed. I was pleased with the service.

 

[southernbelle5672]

we used 3 in July this year. TGIF, BBkings, and a mexican restaurant in Clermont (it was close to where our vacation villa was) and we were very happy. Surprisingly, ALL the food was very good but my favorite was BBKings, mmm so good! They validated parking if you spent $3O (I think).

We didn't get to use one because of our busy schedule in Orlando and restaurant.com gave us credit (if you contact them within 90 days.) I had to email them cause I couldn't find anything on the website about it. It was in the fine print on the certificate we printed. I was pleased with the service.

Thanks!! I will have to try BBKings. That is great to know that you can get credit for the certificate within 90 days. That makes me feel much better about buying them because obviously, I was concerned (whether rightfully so or not) about restaurants accepting them.

 

[MrsPete]

I haven't really had a lot of positive experiences with them:

Not many restaurants in my area offer them, so I've mostly bought them for vacations. This is always a bit of a guess because I'm assuming the restaurant is someplace we'd want to eat.

In New Orleans we couldn't find one of the restaurants. The address was there, but the restaurant wasn't. In the same trip, we went to another restaurant that didn't look, um, family oriented -- we chose not to eat there.

In Denver we saw other places that looked better, and we just left the coupon in the room hoping that perhaps the maid would take it and use it.

Similarly, on our Las Vegas trip, we found that the restaurant for which we'd purchased the coupon was just too far from our hotel, and we didn't go.

I could go on with similar stories . . . the bottom line is that we've NOT USED most of the certificates that we've bought . . . no one's ever told us that they wouldn't accept the coupon, but they just aren't working out for us. IF we could get them for here in our own hometown, that would probably be a different story.

 

[horseshowmom]

Yeah, what kpadalik said! I've never had a problem with any restaurants.com certificate. When Commander's Palace closed in Las Vegas before I could use that one, the site/company let me choose any other certificate. They're great - just be sure you're aware of any restrictions, such as a minimum or a certain number of diners. We "had" to order dessert at one place, because without it the check wouldn't have met that restaurant's $50 minimum purchase

In my case, restaurant.com contacted me about the restaurant being closed before I even knew it. They gave me a credit, and it worked out fine. I buy these for my daughter and her husband. They've used them several times and really llike them.