Discount Restaurant Gift Certificates
Two websites – Restaurant.com and Philly Half Off – sell discounted gift certificates; Restaurant.com certificates are generally $10 for a $25 certificate, and Philly Half Off...well, you can probably guess from the name. Make sure to read the fine print when purchasing as these gift certificates often come with minimum-purchase requirements, expiration dates or other restrictions.Daily Deal Sites
Similar to the gift certificates above, Groupon, Eversave and LivingSocial Deals offer gift-certificate-like vouchers that you pay for in advance, but each with its own twist. All sites offer one deal per day, but at Groupon, a certain number of people have to sign up for the deal in order for everyone to get the discount; at Eversave, you can get a $5 credit for every person you refer; and at LivingSocial, if you get three friends to also purchase the deal, you get it for free. Not every Groupon, Eversave offer or LivingSocial Deal is for a restaurant, but the sites generally offers at least one food deal per week in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia suburbs or South Jersey.
Neighborhood Restaurant Weeks
Several Philadelphia neighborhoods (Center City, University City, the River Ward and other neighborhoods), as well as South Jersey and Atlantic City, periodically offer restaurant weeks. During these promotions, participating restaurants serve special fixed-price meals. Consider taking a peek at the restaurant's regular menu when deciding where to eat, though – some restaurants are better restaurant-week deals than others.Restaurant Twitters and Mailing Lists
One of the best ways to find out about Philadelphia restaurant deals is to go directly to the restaurants themselves. Visit the website of your favorite restaurant, join its mailing list or follow it on Twitter. The latter is an especially good place to look for last-minute deals like snowstorm specials.Follow Food Blogs
There are so many mouth-watering food blogs that regularly report on Philadelphia restauant sales and discounts. FooBooz, Grub Street, Meal Ticket and Phoodie are all great options to check out, as is Frugal Foodist, which is entirely dedicated to reporting Philadelphia restaurant deals.