Dh is all about eating out.
: So, I've had to find some ways to do it as cheaply as possible.
Don't eat dinner out. Do breakfast or lunch, instead. They're generally cheaper. And if you can eat during "lunch hour," most restaurants have some good specials.
Early in the week - usually Mondays through Wednesdays - lots of restaurants have a "kids eat free" day.
We get local mailers with restaurant coupons in them fairly regularly, and lots of restaurants put coupons in the local paper (and/or the local free entertainment paper that tells what bands are playing where, etc.). Many of them are for "buy an entree, get one free" (or buy two, get one free). Others are for a straight percentage off or for a free appetizer (which can be used as a meal, assuming it's not a giant pile of french fries or onion rings).
Don't buy drinks (unless you have to for a coupon to work).
Don't buy appetizers (except in place of a meal).
Share. Get a bunch of entrees (one less than the number of people eating them is good), put them all in the middle of the table, and have everybody share. If you have a decent-sized group, you can get away with buying one or two fewer entrees than you would have otherwise, and nobody feels slighted. Because portions in restaurants are so large, everyone still has enough food.
Or, have two people share an entree and cheap appetizer. This costs less than two entrees.
Try doing carry-out. There's no tipping the waiter (though, if there's a tip jar on the counter, a dollar or two would be called for), no tempting offers of desert, etc. If you're eating out to get away from the house for a bit, you can make it a picnic!
If your restaurant has an email club, sign up. For instance, one of our favorites,
Fresh Choice, has a great email club. They'll let you know what's on the salad/soup bar, and they'll send you monthly coupons.
That's all I can think of for now. Hope this helps!