I will admit that I do check the Groupon site often for good deals. If I see a good deal that is just way too good to pass up, then you better believe it, I will grab that Groupon! Yesterday I managed to have quite a frugal day with 3 Groupons. I had a fun-filled day with some good sweets and treats, and a dinner to go along with it! Groupons geared towards dining are always a great way to experience something new and give it a whirl! These Groupons allow you to enjoy food and drink at a deeply discounted price.

This Groupon post is going to cover restaurants that are in the Southeast area of Michigan. I will share with you how you can score some great deals at these Michigan establishments. I am sharing how I Groupon’ed like a boss and had an incredibly delicious FRUGAL day!

How Groupon Works

Groupon is very easy to use. For the purpose of this post, I will only be sharing how to use the dining Groupons. There are many other types of Groupons available though! You simply head on over to the Groupon site or download the app. Choose the LOCAL tab at the top and find the Food & Drink category. Click onto that food & drink category and see what local Groupon deals are happening in your area.

How to get your Groupon

We just recently used a Buoy 12 Groupon this past weekend so I will use that as an example here. Buoy 12 is located in my area of St. Clair Shores, MI. They have two different offers available. One of those offers is for 2 people to receive a $25 voucher (currently sold out but keep checking back) or you can purchase a $50 voucher for four people at the discounted price of $30. So for $30 you get $50 worth of food on your next visit to Buoy 12. That is a discounted price of 40% off.

At time of publication (5/20/2019) you can use the Groupon coupon code SAVE3 to save even more!

My daughter and I dined at Buoy 12 in St Clair Shores this past weekend (Groupon deal)

Groupon coupon codes

BUT you can save even more if you have a Groupon coupon code, which is often available! Be sure to always check for Groupon coupon codes prior to checking out.

How to redeem your Groupon for dining

There are two ways you can present your Groupon when you are ready to redeem it. You can either print out the voucher on your printer at home OR you can download the Groupon app and show the server the Groupon on your mobile device.

Our first Groupon we spent was at Starbucks

I got quite lucky with the Starbucks Groupon. The Starbucks Groupons are only by invite-only. I spent $5 for the Groupon and ended up with $10 to spend at Starbucks.

Here is what I purchased at Starbucks: 1 S’mores Frappucino and 1 Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappucino.

I paid only $1.13 for two Frappucinos out-of-pocket. The Groupon was $5. So the total cost was $6.13. Not too shabby for two rather expensive frozen drinks! Starbucks is always just a fancy splurge item for me, so I appreciated that Groupon offer!

Give It A Whirl Girl and the Pearl Girl at Starbucks With Our Starbucks Groupon

You can sign up for Groupon and you might just get one of these invite-only Groupons for Starbucks!

Second Groupon we used was at Sagano Japanese Steakhouse

Sagano Japanese Steakhouse currently has two different locations on Groupon: the Warren Japanese Steakhouse and the Clarkston Japanese Steakhouse location. We visited the Warren location so I will be reviewing that experience here.

Read the fine print

Please always read the fine print on Groupons! Sagano Japanese Steakhouse is a shining example of that! For example, you can not use a Groupon at Sagano within 24 hours of purchasing the Groupon. Also, there are menu restrictions on what exactly the Groupon can be used for. We found out the hard way these two things!

What we ordered at Sagano

At Sagano Japanese Steakhouse my husband and I ordered a cucumber sushi roll (please not that you can’t use the Groupon for sushi rolls here. We paid separate for the sushi), and we ordered the chicken teriyaki entree and the beef teriyaki entree. My husband, my daughter Chloe who is 9, and I shared the 2 entrees and that was plenty for the 3 of us. Our entrees came with a soup and a salad, which was wonderful and delicious! We were very pleased with our teriyaki dishes. They had had a great flavor and the portion size was perfect!

How we got the most out of our Sagano Groupon

We had the $30 Groupon for Sagano. The beef teriyaki was $16.95 and the chicken teriyaki entree was $12.95. Our $30 Sagano Groupon covered the cost of the two teriyaki entrees. Our cucumber sushi roll was $3.50 and then we had to leave a tip. I gave the waitress a great tip because she was absolutely awesome, I must say! We really felt that the service at Sagano was excellent.

Cucumber sushi roll at Sagano Japanese Steakhouse

Soup and salad was included with our two teriyaki entrees at Sagano Japanese Steakhouse

Chicken teriyaki and beef teriyaki at Sagano Japanese Steakhouse in Warren

The Sagano Groupon is PERFECT for HIBACHI!

The Sagano Japanese Steakhouse Groupon is perfect for giving the hibachi grill a whirl. This image below is of my scallop hibachi dish that I got on a previous visit to Sagano. My family of 3 were quite impressed with our hibachi dinners. When we dined at the hibachi grill on that visit we had a fantastic chef. He had a great sense of humor and was very entertaining. Of course there were big flames and an onion volcano and my daughter really enjoyed the theatrics of the Japanese chef that cooked our meals.

Here is the hibachi scallops at Sagano Japanese Steakhouse. You can use the Groupon for the hibachi grill.

And finally, for dessert, we used a Menchie’s Groupon

We are big fans of Menchie’s here in the Give It A Whirl Girl household so we could not pass this deal up! The Menchie’s Groupon is valid for two different locations: Warren and Shelby Township. The Menchie’s Groupon allows frozen yogurt enthusiasts (like me!) to purchase bundles of $5 Menchie’s vouchers for a discounted price.

2 $5 Menchie’s vouchers are $7

or 4 $5 Menchie’s vouchers are $14

Please be aware (and I found this out the hard way too because I skimmed over the fine print) that you can only use 1 $5 Menchie’s Groupon per visit!

Want to learn more about Menchie’s?

Read my Menchie’s Review on the blog!

If you are looking for a fun place to take the family for dessert, Menchie’s is the place to be! You are the creator of your frozen yogurt treat. Choose from several different frozen yogurt flavors and then top it all off at the unlimited toppings bar! Menchie’s charges by the ounce of your dessert creation, so if you want to keep the cost down don’t go too wild and crazy and keep your dessert down to a small or moderate size.

3 happy little tubs of Menchie's frozen yogurt that we got with our Menchie's Groupon — 3 happy little tubs of Menchie’s frozen yogurt that we got with our Menchie’s Groupon

Here are some more Menchie’s photos for your viewing pleasure from previous trips to this dessert destination!

Pro Tip For Groupon! That is IF you are in the Southeast Michigan area

I am going to also let you know about one other FABULOUS GROUPON if you are local! That Groupon would be for Inyo Restaurant in Ferndale. If you are a sushi connoisseur like me you will absolutely love Inyo! You can see even more photos of this Asian fusion restaurant in my FAQ on the blog. Inyo Restaurant is currently in the top spot for my number one dining destination. You can score a tremendous deal to Inyo Ferndale on Groupon!

Here are the 4 Groupons offered for Inyo in Ferndale

$50 Worth of Food and Drink Valid Sunday-Thursday for Dinner – This Groupon is $26
$50 Worth of Food and Drink Valid Any Day for Dinner – This Groupon is $31
$20 Worth of Food and Drink Valid Any Day for Lunch – This Groupon is $10.50
$20 Worth of Food and Drink Valid for Carryout – This Groupon is $10.50

Get your Inyo Restaurant in Ferndale Groupon HERE

Ok guys! I am obsessed with Inyo. Here is a photo of my Walnut Lobster. This was the most recent meal that I ordered — Walnut Lobster at Inyo Restaurant in Ferndale

And just for fun! Here is a photo of my daughter, Chloe Pear, with her chicken teriyaki dinner at Inyo Ferndale — My daughter, Chloe, who is 9 always orders the chicken teriyaki at Inyo Restaurant in Ferndale

Final thoughts

I hope this post about Groupon dining will inspire you to give Groupon a whirl! There are so many restaurants that you can try out at a discounted price. This is a wonderful way to give some new establishments a whirl! My little family of 3 has discovered a ton of great places with Groupons and there are so many other places that we cannot wait to try! I have my eye on the Le Crepe Groupon.