Cheap Eats at Expensive Restaurants

There are three main ways to eat at expensive restaurants for half (or less than half) of what a normal dinner would cost. If you're willing to go to the restaurant during the off hours, you're definitely in luck. Here's what to do to eat for cheap at expensive restaurants: go during lunch, during weekend brunch, or go during happy hour.

For example, in Los Angeles, one of the most expensive restaurants is Katsuya in Brentwood. Dinner tasting meals start out at $65 per person. But if you go during lunch, you can enjoy sushi sampler plates for less than $20.

In New York, the famous 21 Club Restaurant has a dining room called "Upstairs at '21'" where a three-course dinner costs $70. But if you go to 21 during the pre-theater time (before 8 pm) you can get a three-course dinner for exactly half the price--$35. Go during lunch, and your three-course meal is $24.

Never fail to check your favorite expensive restaurant's website to see if they have a happy hour. Bar food is just as good as what they're offering in the main dining area, and significantly cheaper.

McCormick & Schmick's is an expensive seafood restaurant with restaurants on the West Coast. Amazingly, this posh restaurant has a $1.95 happy hour menu that includes shrimp ceviche and a blackened chicken sandwich.

Don't forget about cheap breakfast and brunch menus on the weekends. In New York, Arabelle Restaurant's dinner entrees are about $30. But their breakfast menu has plates for about half that price.

The key to eating for cheap at expensive restaurants is to simply never go during regular dinner time. Any other time of the day will lower your bill by at least 50 percent.