These days it seems like everyone has a website that is related in some way or another to the NYC restaurant scene. American Express is now getting in on the action with the launch of The Dish. According to the website, “The Amercian Express Dish is a community of people who love to dine. It helps you find great restaurants, rave about your favorite spots, save at premium eateries, and discover where people with similar dining habits go for a great meal.” I decided to sign up to see how The Dish could help fellow, card-carrying NYC “winers & diners” save some moolah, or if it was all a gimmick. Here’s what I found…

After signing up, I clicked through to the “All Offers” section of the website to check out some deals. I was surprised to see more than 40 restaurants offering 20-25% discounts…places like Aquavit, Artisanal, Fiamma, Primehouse, The Red Cat, Mai House, 5 Ninth and Cafe des Artistes.

I clicked on Primehouse as a test to see what the catch is, and here’s the deal. In order to qualify for the 20% discount, you have to book your reservation directly through The Dish website. Easy enough. A calendar shows all available reservations for the next 14 days. For Primehouse, you can only book parties of 1-4 people and the 20% discount is only available for certain reservation times: 2-4pm or 5-6:30pm or 9:30pm-11pm — important note: reservation times and # of people per party vary by restaurant, with most restaurants being more restrictive with their time slots than Primehouse, i.e. only after 10:30pm certain nights or only available for lunch, as in the case of Il Mulino. The less popular the restaurant, the less restrictive the available discount reservation times. For example, Nick & Stef’s steakhouse has reservations available for 8-10pm on weekends.

Ok, so there’s at least one catch. You can’t book highly sought after reservation slots and get the deal. Still, it’s not so bad for a Thursday through Saturday night to book a 9:30pm reservation and arrive at 8:45pm or so. In my experience, unless you’re at Babbo or Per Se, your table will be ready well before your reservation time.

Next, I wondered if there were any other catches to this deal. Will I look like a cheap schmuck to my server when it comes time to pay the tab (I hate using coupons at restaurants)? Do the 20% savings only apply to food and not liquor or wine? Is there a minimum tab amount to qualify for the discount? Do the 20% savings apply to tax and tip?

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the server will likely not even know my party is dining on a 20% coupon, and if they do know through the restaurant’s reservations system, they will have comfort that it won’t affect their tip. The discount applies to everything (tax, tip and liquor) and there is no minimum tab amount. Only negatives are the restricted reservation times and limited to 4 people or fewer. Here’s a description of what AMEX refers to as a “Statement Credit Offer.”

With statement credit offers the restaurant does not apply the offer to your restaurant bill at time of purchase. Instead, American Express automatically applies the offer as a statement credit to your American Express Card account statement.  Here’s how it works:

• Complete your restaurant reservation on New York Dish.
• Dine at the restaurant at the appointed time.
• Pay your restaurant bill in full with the American Express Card registered to your American Express Dish account.
• American Express will apply the offer as a statement credit to your monthly American Express Card account statement.
• Your savings will be calculated against the full amount (including tax and tip) charged to your American Express Card.
• Most statement credits will post to your account in 3 – 5 days but please allow up to 60 days for the credit to appear on your American Express Card account statement.  

   

   

   

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