A Dozen Places With Affordable Family-Style Dining Deals

A dozen restaurants where eating with a group saves everyone some dough.

by Ross Perkins Jul 17, 2015, 12:15pm EDT

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Rose's Luxury

| R. Lopez

by Ross Perkins Jul 17, 2015, 12:15pm EDT

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Dining in pairs may be somewhat romantic, and it's certainly easier to logistically to snag a table. But when dining out with a posse, it often becomes cheaper per person — and that can offset the headache of finding enough elbow room to enjoy the shared meal.

Enter the family-style restaurant. Visit any of these places to get a better value than eating solo — but keep in mind that some require advanced notice for big parties. These deals feed people for as little as around $5 per person, and none more than $20 per person.

Buca di Beppo Italian Restaurant

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Like Carmine's, this is an Italian restaurant that likes to go big or go home. When guests order a dish "Buca large", then it'll serve 4 or more people. The "Buca large" eggplant parm is only $34 ($8.50 per person) and many of its other large dishes are less than $40. Makes it easy for a group to enjoy several things at once.[Photo: Yelp]

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1825 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009

(202) 232-8466

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Carmine's

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[Photo: Official]

425 7th St NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

(202) 737-7770

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Guapo's

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This chain's rotisserie menu is where the deal is. For $16.50, diners can get a whole chicken, fries and two sides. And this is enough food to feed at least three people (less than $6 per person), depending on the appetites.[Photo: Facebook]

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4515 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20016

(202) 686-3588

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Kochix

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This Korean chain in Shaw is kind of like Bonchon Chicken. For $39.99, diners can order 20 wings and 9 drum sticks, which will feed at least four people for $10 without sides.[Photo: Facebook]

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400 Florida Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

(202) 232-3468

Maketto

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It's kind of like chicken and waffles, but so much better. The Taiwanese fried chicken comes with two large pieces of fried chicken on top of bread to soak up the sweet, syrupy sauce. It's enough food for two people to enjoy over dinner. And at $25 for the dish, it's only $12.50 a person.[Photo: Facebook]

1351 H St NE, Washington, D.C. 20002

(202) 838-9972

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Purple Patch

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The portions at this Filipino restaurant are large, so get the escabeche ($22) and an order of pancit ($13). This will definitely feed 3 people for about $12 per person.[Photo: Facebook]

3155 Mount Pleasant St NW, Washington, D.C. 20010

(202) 299-0022

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Queen Of Sheba Restaurant

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Ethiopian food is all about sharing. And sharing is caring. The beef tibs (beef cooked in a tomato-based stew) is $12.95 and comes with many disks of injera, plus lentils and vegetables. This is enough for two people right there, which means it's less than $7 per person. And if the group goes strictly vegetarian, everyone can eat for less than $6 a person with the restaurant's many large vegetarian options.[Photo: Facebook]

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1503 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001

(202) 232-7788

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Rose's Luxury

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For those who can stomach the wait, Rose's Luxury has two family-style dining options on their menu. The brisket with Texas toast and a side comes in at $29 and feeds 4-5 people (about $6 per person) and the Korean catfish is $28 and feeds the same number of crew.[Photo: Facebook]

717 8th St SE, Washington, D.C. 20003

(202) 580-8889

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Steel Plate

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For those who want to enjoy an entire animal, Brookland's Steel Plate offers a whole animal service. The slow cooked lamb in yogurt serves up to 14 people and costs $275, which is less than $20 per person. The restaurant needs five days of notice.[Photo: Facebook]

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3523 12th St NE, Washington, D.C. 20017

(202) 290-2310

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The Partisan

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At this Penn Quarter restaurant, the full rotisserie chicken is $28 serves up to 4, which is a deal of $7 per eater. And the "pig feast" is an epic meal with a pig's head, sausage, ribs and a whole host of other delights. It's $120 but it comfortably serves six people, so that's $20 a head.[Photo: Facebook]

709 D St NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

(202) 524-5322

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The Pig

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Because one course is just not enough. The Logan Circle meat-centric restaurant has a "suckling pig composition", which is a "head to toe suckling pig board" with roasted carrots and farrow. This is great for at least two people to share and costs $30.[Photo: Facebook]