Jan 27 2010
Restaurant.com Gift Certificate Test Case #1: A Boozy Brunch at Beacon
Just got an email today that Restaurant.com is again offering $25 restaurant gift certificates for only $2. I’m usually of the mindset that when something seems too good to be true, it is. So, when Restaurant.com had a similar offer back in December, I decided to test the waters and snatched up $25 gift certificates to each of Beacon Restaurant & Bar, 10 Downing Food & Wine, Aleo and Ethos. I was charged a grand total of $8 for $100 in gift certificates. But how would this play out when I tried to use them? To find out, my Mom and I headed over to Beacon Restaurant & Bar on a recent Sunday for brunch….
The first thing to look for when researching Restaurant.com gift certificates is a restaurant’s set of restrictions for coupon use. It varies by restaurant with some having ultra-restrictive provisions, while others are much more lenient. Typically, the more popular the restaurant, the more restrictive the provisions. The Beacon gift certificate came with the following special instructions:
Special Instructions: Valid with a minimum purchase of 2 entrees. Dine in only. 18% gratuity added. Cannot be combined with other offers/discounts/special Prix Fix offers.
We weren’t 100% sure that Beacon would honor the gift certificate for its Sunday Brunch. Despite what the restrictions say, at the end of the day it’s really in the restaurant’s sole discretion how these certificates can be applied. The hostess asked the manager, and they said it was no problem at all. We were in. They seated us in a nice-sized booth and it was brunch time.
Within a minute or two of being seated, our server brought by a large basket of freshly baked muffins and breads and asked whether we would prefer coffee or tea. It’s nice that both the breads and the coffee/tea come complimentary with your brunch. He then informed us that for just $10 a person we could enjoy our choice of “bottomless” bloody marys or mimosas. Without much hesitation, I opted for the bottomless bloody marys (extra spicy, of course) option while my Mom went with the bottomless mimosas.
Beacon’s brunch menu has several options with about half of the menu consisting of lunch items and half breakfast items. They range in price from $17-$24. My Mom choose the Fried Egg and Arugula Pizza made with five cheeses and truffle oil ($18) while I went with the Mint-Cured Smoked Salmon w/ H&H Bagel ($17).
We were well into brunch cocktail #2 when our meals arrived. My Mom’s pizza was beautifully presented on a nice wood slate.
While it didn’t have quite the truffle bang I was hoping for, it was a delicious pizza and easily large enough to serve 2-3 people.
My mint-cured salmon was also nicely presented and the flavor of the salmon with a little fresh mint was delicious.
As far as how long they will let you drink “bottomless-ly” for, our server actually encouraged us to each have our fourth brunch cocktail, even after we had been sitting for close to two hours.
All in all, my Mom and I had a fantastic leisurely, boozy brunch at a high end restaurant, and thanks to a gift certificate that I paid just $2 for on Restaurant.com, our bill came out to only….
The service was fantastic and in no way suffered because we were using a gift certificate. If you plan to use Restaurant.com gift certificates, or any gift certificates for that matter, please be sure to tip your server on the full value of the check!
Click here to search restaurants that offer gift certificates on Restaurant.com. From now through January 31st, you can get $25 gift certificates for just $2 if you enter the discount code BONUS at checkout and hit “apply.”
Lastly, please let us know if you have had any negative experiences using Restaurant.com so we can make sure to warn people of the restaurants that may not be certificate-friendly.
Funny you should write this, because I’ve just recently had a few issues with Restaurant.com certificates. In general I’ve had some great success at PS 450, Kati Thai, Black Duck and others. However, I’ve also had a few issues and just yesterday wrote to Restaurant.com with my concerns. First, what do you do when a restaurant closes and you haven’t redeemed your certificate? This happened to me with Trio. Second, what do you do when a restaurant just decides not to honor them anymore like with Houndstooth Pub?
Granted I don’t spend a lot of money on these certificates because I always use the coupon code, but still, I’m out a few dollars for no reason. I also had an issue at Mad Hatter because our certificate said that we just had to spend $35 in general, didn’t specify food or drinks, etc. So we ordered a few rounds of beer and one app, but at the end we were told that the certificate would only be good for a $35 minimum of food. I should have asked in the beginning, which I do now (or I actually call ahead of time now which is annoying), but it was still annoying to hear “Well, it doesn’t say that on the certificate but we can change that at any time.” Ugh. After some deliberation we agreed to pay in cash and they accepted the certificate which was great, but I’m starting to get a little wary of these certificates.
Love the idea and sometimes they work out beautifully, but I guess you just have to get lucky.
I called restaurant.com when a restaurant closed and they credited my account with another gc. Have never had a problem with getting them honored at restaurants, and every certificate I’ve seen says the minimum applies to food only.
restaurant.com will always credit your account if a restaurant no longer accepts the GC or the restaurant closes. I LOVE restaurant.com! People don’t believe me when I tell them about it because it seems too good to be true. As far as the restrictions, I feel like you’re already getting 25 dollars off (and you probably only paid 2 for it) so you can’t really complain that much!
Your Special Instructions: Valid with a minimum purchase of 2 entrees. Dine in only. 18% gratuity added. Cannot be combined with other offers/discounts/special Prix Fix offers.
I don’t see the gratuity added to your ticket…did they do that?
We just ate at Post Oak Grill in Houston and they did not honor a valid gift certificate from Restaurant.com. They said they stopped honoring them on May 25th. Today is June 1st.
What really bothers me is that we would not have gone to dinner there tonight with two young kids in tow if it weren’t for the GC and it expiring today. Furthermore, we ordered two entrees in order to abide by the conditions of the GC– something else we would not have done.
We have had great experiences in the past with Restaurant.com certificates. This experience though is really leaving a bad taste in my mouth.