Leo B.

I've been to a number of restaurants with a friend who uses groupons, and they're NEVER worthwhile.

First, the day is almost always limited to Mon-Thu - that's not too bad, though, as that's at least made clear up front. However, it is also almost always the case that the menu offerings are restricted (in ways often not made clear) and that, when all is said and done, we'd have been better-to-much-better off, in terms of real value, NOT using the groupon.

IN PARTICULAR: Keep in mind that, since you've essentially paid beforehand, the restaurant has much the upper hand in terms of what it decides to dole out in the way of value. For example, we used a groupon for a 'tasting menu'. Although we paid $65 each, the portions were ridiculously small, and it was completely clear from the menu and from the people around us that we'd gotten a pretty lousy deal.