Dining out is more fun when you have a coupon! Following in the steps of grocery and department stores, restaurants of all sizes, prices and cuisine are offering coupons to entice diners. Many of these coupons are posted online through a growing number of restaurant coupon websites. Unfortunately, some of the restaurant coupon sites are just portals to advertisements.

Here are three of my favorite restaurant coupon sites:

i. Restaurant.com — Not only can you search by city, you can refine your search by price, cuisine, atmosphere, gift certificate denominations, special features, attire and parking availability.

ii. Getrestaurantcoupons.com — You can click on local restaurants, then choose your cuisine, and even the Zagat’s rating!

iii. Mommysavesbig.com — When you get to the site, click on “Printable Coupons” and then on “Restaurants.” This is a site you should check before you decide where you will be dining out.

You can also get coupons directly from the restaurants by going to their website and signing up for email notifications. Some send you a coupon just for signing up.

Traditional sources for dining coupons

Don’t forget to check the old fashioned sources for restaurant coupons. Newspaper supplement editions and “shoppers” are usually goldmines of local dining coupons.

Other sources you might try to mine for coupons are:

• Fundraisers—Check your local sports teams, marching bands, church groups, and other groups that need to raise funds for trips and events. Many will hook up with local dining establishments for fund raisers. Often $20 will get you an entire booklet or membership card full of discounts.

• Entertainment books—These are available in nearly every community in America. They can be used for fundraisers or just sold outright. For $25 you will get a three-inch thin coupon book full of local and national discounts. It has a special section just for restaurants.

• Magazines—The traditional women’s magazines, like Ladie’s Home Journal, Women’s Day and Family Circle have advertisers who include coupons. Look in the back of some of the magazines, where there might be a special coupon page.

Restaurants, like retail stores, get reimbursed by manufacturers for the coupons you redeem. However, the same is not true of waitresses, who rely on tips for the bulk of their income. If you are dining in full service restaurant, figure your tip on the amount that would have been due before the coupon value was deducted.