Review of Savored (Village Vines), a place to get deals at upscale, city restaurants

Below is a review on Savored, a new discount website offering deals on a number of high-end restaurants. Formerly known as Village Vines, Savored was founded in 2010 as a start-up that helps match hungry customers seeking a great meal and upscale restaurants looking to fill extra tables. The service has expanded greatly, and is available in 10 major cities, up from 5 earlier this year, and nearly 600 restaurants as of December 2011.

The service works as follows:

• Restaurants partner with Savored on a long-term basis, often for several weeks or more. Most restaurants on the list are in the mid-to-upscale / highly coveted range – Le Cirque in New York has been one, for example.
• Customers can purchase discounts at restaurants on Savored for $10, and will receive 30% off of all alcohol and food purchased during the visit (Note: Boston is an exception to this rule. Because of laws prohibiting deals on drinks, the discount is 40% off food and no discount on drinks). Customers must make a reservation at the time of purchase (most are limited to 2-4 people), and are limited to the times and number of people available to them on given dates.
• Instead of bringing a printed-out coupon, Savored makes a note of the customer’s deal on the reservation itself. This enables the customer to make discreetly use the coupon (usually with just a mention to the staff at the start of the dinner) versus having to print and wave around a coupon at a high end restaurant.
• At the end of the meal, the discount is taken off of the bill. Customers are asked to tip on the full amount of the bill so as to not gyp the waitstaff during the transaction.

Savored / Village Vines differs from websites like Open Table and Groupon in a number of ways.

OpenTable, which is free, gives consumers the ability to make reservations at a wide array of restaurants and to receive “points” (which sort of work like frequent flyer miles) for arriving at the reservation. After accumulating a certain number of points, OpenTable gives gift certificates that can be used at OpenTable Restaurants.

• Pros of OpenTable: The service is totally free, much wider array of restaurants.
• Pros of Savored: With a big bill, Savored offers a better overall “deal” in the short term.

Groupon offers a "deal of the day" for various services which allow purchasers to use a coupon worth a certain value. It often offers deals on restaurants via a discounted gift certificate (e.g., $15 for $45 off of dinner). Deals become "live" when a certain number of people purchase an offer. The Groupon must be presented at the restaurant upon arrival, and can be used anytime (unless specifically stated in the Groupon).

• Pros of Groupon: More flexibility on times and reservations, can be worth "more" on smaller bills (depending on the nature of the Groupon).
• Pros of Savored: Wider variety of restaurants available on a regular basis, more discreet.

With regards to Savored, I’ve used the service myself and really enjoyed the experience. The restaurants I visited were great and the meals were really good and worth the discount (I’ve enjoyed steak, lobster, wine, and amazing desserts via the service). It’s definitely enabled my friends and I to enjoy some higher-end places in New York City, and everyone is delighted when they see the discount (often $40 or more on a table of 4) at the end of the meal!

Check out the website here: Savored.