If the idea of eating out in a fancy restaurant shocks you to the very core and sends shivers into your less-than-packed wallet then fear not, as you iPhone can now save you a pretty penny or two on the bill at the end of your meal! As expensive as an iPhone may seem, you can actually use it as a money-saving tool when you dine out in eating establishments all over the country; if you eat out enough times, you’ll technically start making money…sort of! So, here are five of the best iPhone apps for restaurant vouchers.
1. Square Meal Restaurants and Bars – Free, Updated: 22 October 2010, Developer: Monomax Limited 
This London and UK based app is an extension of the quarterly editorial Square Meal, in which journalists and food critics share their thoughts and musings of all things culinary. The app itself is fairly user-friendly and leans more towards the up-market establishments, recommending deals such as ‘Steak and a Champagne cocktail at Marco Pierre White Steak & Alehouse’ or a Pre/Post Theatre offer of ‘2 courses for £14.50 at Cafe Des Amis’. The advantage that this has over similar apps is that many of the offers are very generous, mainly 50% off the total bill or a 3-course special for £21.50 and can be used all week, inclusive of Saturdays, whereas other apps showcase offers of 20% off the main meals, valid Monday – Friday.
2. Capital Eats – £7.99, Updated: 27 July 2010, Developer: London Discount Dining LTD
Ah, Capital Eats, the only non-free app in the list; some punters may balk at the £7.99 price tag, however a canny customer can make their money back on the first purchase as the app displays very generous offers of up to 50% off the food bills in a wide variety of restaurants. The upside of Capital Eats is that it is very user-friendly and allows users to rate restaurants as they go, meaning that you get comments and recommendations for potential eating venues. The downside is that it adds eight quid to your phone bill when you buy it and it only covers London…you decide!
Click here to read the full review of Capital Eats.
3. moneysupermarket.com Vouchers – Free, Updated: 13 August 2010, Developer: Moneysupermarket.com Ltd
Riding on the coattails of the uber-successful cash-saving website moneysupermarket.com, this handy little app gives you great offers on how to save money on restaurant vouchers, as well as a whole lot more. What’s really great about this app is that it includes restaurant deals that require an email voucher, such as the hugely popular Pizza Express 241 offer, as it provides a link for the restaurant to email the voucher directly to your iPhone. It also recommends good takeaway offers as well as discounts on days out, grocery and clothes shopping and gives you a heads up about new offers as well as those that are about to end. As it’s free, it’s cheap at twice the price..
4. Vouchercloud – Free, Updated: 16 February 2011, Developer: Invitation Digital Ltd
vouchercloud is enjoying a huge burst in popularity at the moment and it’s probably down to the variety of the restaurant vouchers that it gives its users. You can pretty much pick any cuisine and vouchercloud will lead you to a restaurant that will serve you a meal at a discounted price. The usability is not fantastic and you can’t rate or post feedback about any of the restaurants, however, its range of eateries is fantastic.
Click here to read the full review of vouchercloud.
5. Local Offers & Vouchers From Rippll – Free, Updated: 09 October 2009, Developer: RIPPLL LIMITED
This app is clearly the baby of the bunch, as its interface and range of offers is far from impressive. However, it does show offers around the UK that the other bigger apps don’t seem to have picked up on, so perhaps this is the best option for when you have exhausted all of the other apps! The fact that it gives you the distance between you and your chosen restaurant in metres, (centimeters if you count the .00 at the end of each reading) is ridiculous, however, it does have a feedback section for customers to suggest how they can improve the app. I know what would be first on my list…
We put two of the restaurant voucher apps head to head in a battle to find the best deal in town; Click Here to read the full feature.
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