7 Gift Cards for Meals Out when a Restaurant is Exactly what They Need

When it comes down to gifts, gift cards offer a lot of potential opportunities! Gift cards let the recipient spend their gift whenever and wherever they want. Restaurant gift cards are the cream of the crop. Everyone loves food, and a gift card to one of their favorite restaurants (or a new one) lets them enjoy a lovely evening out with friends, family, or a significant other eating delicious food and having some cocktails of their choice. Gift cards give you the ability to give the recipient something that they are able to spend at their leisure and brings the final decision out of your hands. Food gift cards, especially, are where it’s at! We’re glad you’ve thought of getting gift cards for meals out for your friends or family. 

Getting someone a gift card when it is time to give gifts is an amazing way to show appreciation, and we think that food gift cards are at the top of the gift card list! Getting a gift card to a restaurant is the first step, but you still have to figure out what that restaurant will be. That’s where we come in. We will provide you with a list of potentially excellent locations to spark your imagination. We hope this list is the inspiration you need for that lightbulb moment where you know exactly what gift card to get for your friend! If not, perhaps it will be the first step into finding the right gift card for you  friend. 

Before we jump into our list, we want to give an honorable mention to food delivery services like Uber Eats and Door Dash. They grant your friend access to countless restaurants for takeout and delivery that they can pick out at any moment. They are not gift cards for meals out per se, but they are amazing gift cards and provide excellent value to food-loving friends. You can buy an Uber Eats gift card here and buy a Door Dash gift card right here. Without further ado, in this article, we are covering the top 7 gift cards for meals out. 

Earn Cash Back On Gift Cards for Meals Out with Gift Card Granny

As a quick reminder, we’ve pointed out all of the retailers on this list that you can find on Gift Card Granny. As of this writing, Gift Card Granny makes it easy to buy and send customized gift cards online and earn cash back while you do. Gift Card Granny carries thousands of local and national brands including Visa gift cards, Mastercard gift cards, and gift cards for many of the awesome spots on this list.

Now that we’re on the same page, let’s jump right into our list!

1. The Cheesecake Factory

Pasta, wine, and cheesecake make this a fantastic choice for anyone

Get a Cheesecake Factory gift card.

We are huge fans of Cheesecake Factory. They are a nice mix of great atmosphere and decor, delicious food, and affordable prices. It is more expensive than something like Applebees or Buffalo Wild Wings but it delivers a different experience all around. This is a great way to give your friend a fun night out with a nicely reduced bill as a fun reward. 

Oh, and one more thing: the cheesecake! Their cheesecake alone makes this a top pick for food gift cards and the rest of the package elevates it even further. We really like it here, and we think your friend will too! There are a lot of options for every kind of diner, and your friend is sure to find something that they like for dinner. That being said, this gift card also opens up the possibility for them to swing by and pick up some cheesecake to go! 

Get a Cheesecake Factory gift card.

2. Applebees

A gift card for a classic meet-up place

Get an Applebees gift card

Applebees is a classic, chill restaurant where friends and family can go to enjoy a nice, affordable meal. It’s nothing crazy and it may not be at the top of your restaurant list, but it is a great place where there’s an option for everyone. This is the kind of restaurant where people may have gone their entire life, and we love its affordability and reliability. 

This is one of our top picks for gift cards for meals out because they can go and enjoy a meal and a drink that is entirely covered by a classic $25 gift card. With that, they can leave with their pockets just as full as when they arrived. Friends can meet up at Applebees to enjoy a great night of catching up with bottomless appetizers and a nice cool beer! 

Get an Applebees gift card

3. Buffalo Wild Wings

A gift card for wings, beer, and a game on the big screen

Get a Buffalo Wild Wings gift card

Buffalo Wild Wings is perfect for enjoying a big game on the big screen. Sports fans may stay home with some game day snacks and drinks of their choice to watch the game reclining in their most comfortable chair (when they aren’t jumping out due to the game’s rollercoaster of emotions!) They may like to meet up with their buds, rotating who is hosting and having a bit of a watch party. 

They may, also, like to go out to a sports bar with some friends and have some wings, some beers, and shout along with their fellow fans while engaging in some fun ribbing with the opposing fans in the bar. 

Get a Buffalo Wild Wings gift card

4. Red Robin

A gift card for burgers and beers

Get a Red Robin gift card

In a similar vein is Red Robin! They are a great place for friends to meet up and enjoy an affordable meal while they watch a game or catch up. This place is geared, of course, towards sports fans! They have everything a fan could need, and your gift card lets them enjoy a night out with their friends and the first round on you! Going out to watch the game is going to be more expensive than staying in with a six-pack of Coronas, but the ambiance of going to a sports bar cannot be beaten, and your gift card helps them enjoy their night out. 

Get a Red Robin gift card

5. Noodles and Company

Noodles, and company? We love to see it! 

This is a fantastic place to give your friend a gift card for a meal out. Noodles and Company have a fantastic mix of noodle-based dishes that house a lot of flavors. Noodles and Company occupy a great niche in fast food where they are affordable, the portions are great, and they provide some seriously good food without it being too greasy and heavy like fast food can often become. If your friend enjoys pasta dishes on the regular, we cannot recommend a Noodles and Company gift card enough! We are certain that they will appreciate the nudge to enjoy a fantastic meal at this quality restaurant. 

As this list progresses, what are your thoughts so far? There are so many restaurants out there, certainly too many for us to get to in one list. Check your location for nearby restaurants and think about the restaurants they talk about the most, and then boot up Gift Card Granny to see if it is one of our many retailers! That is, of course, if you aren’t 100% sold by these restaurants like we are. 

6. Darden Restaurant Group

A gift card for multiple restaurants? Count us in! 

Buy a Darden Restaurant Group gift card

At the end of this list we have two gift cards that are for groups of restaurants. We love these kinds of gift cards, because, well, it gives the recipient a list of restaurants to choose from! This particular card has some Italian, grilles, seafood, and more as restaurants awaiting consumption! Getting someone a gift card to a specific restaurant is always a bit of a risk because you can never be sure where they want to go. 

Getting them a gift card to their favorite restaurant is a safe bet, but why get them a gift card to just one restaurant when you can get them a gift card to a bunch! This star-studded roster has a ton of restaurants as a part of the gift card. This is a great choice if you are uncertain of a particular restaurant for them but know that they want a gift card for meals out. This is also a really nice restaurant for times when you think they may change their mind from the time that you deliver the card to the time that they spend it! 

With a selection of restaurants like this, there is no way that they will be disappointed with their choice. 

Buy a Darden Restaurant Group gift card

7. Brinker Restaurants

A gift card for even more restaurants!

Buy a Brinker Restaurants gift card

The gift card to Darden Restaurants is pretty hard to beat, but if you know that your friend is not going to want to go to any of the options there this has some pretty great ones as well. If that’s the case, we present the Brinker restaurant's gift card! This covers a trio of excellent restaurants that are perfect locations for a quick bite. 

This restaurant gift card has Chili’s, Maggiano’s, and It’s Just Wings as a part of its selection. Just Wing’s is a fantastic restaurant that boasts locations all over the country that delivers wings! Oh, this restaurant is so good. While it is not truly a gift card for a meal out, it is a great choice when compared with these other restaurants! Chili’s is a classic place to go for a nice, large meal with some friends or family. Maggiano’s, both Little Italy and Italian Classics, is a fantastic Italian restaurant where you can go for a fine meal out or to take a fine meal back to your home. The opportunity for takeout is a great asset in giving a gift card for a meal out because it lets them decide which experience they desire. 

Buy a Brinker Restaurants gift card

These are our favorite gift cards for meals out! 

No matter what the occasion, there is no better gift than a gift card. If you’ve gotten to the end of this food-filled list and are still uncertain of what kind of gift card to get, feel free to ask! You can ask some of their friends and family or just give them a call to find out about their favorite foods. That little bit of insight can lead you down the path to the perfect gift card, especially now that you are equipped with this list of excellent possibilities. Even if they may know that a gift card is coming, figuring out what restaurant they are really excited to try out is always worthwhile. 

As long as your friend is going to be nearby the restaurant that you get for them, we think that they will love the gift card and will appreciate the chance to go out for a great meal! 

Gift cards make such amazing gifts for everyone out there, e-gift cards for restaurants make up some of the best gifts and are, truly, something for everyone. We hope that you have found the perfect gift card on this list!

Remember: many of the retailers on this list are available at Gift Card Granny, where you can earn cashback and rewards on all of your gift card purchases. 

From all of us here at Gift Card Granny, happy shopping!