Eating at restaurants is as much a part of Australian culture as complaining about the cost of brunch while tucking into some smashed avo on toast. Budgeting for that kind of luxury can be rough, so here are two apps that can make dining in or taking away more affordable.

Want to have a nice meal out with your family, free of whining and complaining and screens? Well, we’re not miracle workers, but every parent who likes to eat out should keep a “restaurant bag” stashed in their car.

Restaurants that serve a wide range of interesting and tasty food for non-carnivores used to be somewhat hard to come by. As the diet has grown in popularity, restaurants that serve vegetarian and vegan fare that's interesting, delicious and in some cases, very Instagrammable, have popped up all over Sydney. Here are 10 of the best places to eat in Sydney if you're a vegetarian or vegan.

One of the toughest challenges when opening a new restaurant is creating and changing your menu. The menu is what brings customers in and pays the bills, so it's crucial to balance room for trial and error with the perfect array of dishes. If you are creating a menu (or about to change your existing one) and need some help getting it right, these tips from some successful Silver Chef clients will help to steer you in the right direction.

Eating out can break a lot of habits at once, from saving money on food to throwing off your diet. If you're going to indulge, however, try to head to a restaurant for lunch instead of dinner.

Each month, 11.5 million Australians consume fast food. Alongside traditional burger, fried chicken and pizza chains, new chains are positioning themselves as healthier alternatives to the typical, energy-, saturated fat-, sugar- and salt-laden meals on offer at traditional chains. Unfortunately, many of these outlets are not living up to their claims.

Ordering dessert might sometimes feel like a luxury, but it actually might be the wisest thing to order on the menu -- at least in terms of return on investment.

You may know how to shuck an oyster, but do you know the best way to eat them fresh? This video shares some tips regarding sauces, garnishes, and getting them from their shell to your mouth.

Eating sushi isn't rocket science. We've shown you how before, and it's more about enjoying your food than anything else. To ensure you respect the sushi your chef has prepared, this video, featuring Naomichi Yasuda, of Sushi Bar Yasuda in Tokyo, will show you the ropes.

Eating out is expensive, but when you do eat out, you should at least order something that's (relatively) worth your money.

We already know that eating out is expensive, but a recent study at Cornell University found a tactic restaurants use to get you to spend even more. The study examined how customers reacted to lunch menu formatting at a busy restaurant in New York. What they discovered was customers given a menu without dollar signs spent significantly more than customers who had menus with dollar signs. Customers without dollar signs on their menus also spent more than customers with the word "dollar" written out instead of a dollar sign.

This week, we paid a visit to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for Nokia World 2013 (you can check out our coverage of the event over at Gizmodo). During our brief stay, we got to partake in some authentic Arabic cuisine. Choice items on the menu included camel milk, turkey bacon and uncooked lamb. Read on for our taste-test verdict.

Dear Lifehacker, Is it legal for a restaurant to not allow split bills? What would happen if at the time of payment you suddenly realise you do not have enough money in your account so you want to pay most of it from your savings and the remainder from a credit card? Thanks, Curious Diner

The Christmas break is quickly approaching, there are a stack of public holidays during that time, and the odds are good that you'll eat out more often than usual during that period. Remember this: it's illegal for restaurants and cafes to display a message saying something like '10% surcharge on Sundays and public holidays'. They can charge more on given days, but they need to display the total price of each item on the menu.

Don't want to hit the phones to book a table at your favourite restaurant? If it's listed at restaurant booking site Dimmi, you won't have to -- you can do it direct from your browser.

Booking a restaurant by phone can be a risky undertaking when you get an answering machine. Bookarestaurant.com lets you search an area by available tables and make a booking directly.

Last year, we told you how the ACCC was cracking down on deceptive component pricing (not making it clear all the elements involved in a given advertised price). Since then, the regulator has cracked down on travel agents ignoring the law, and now it is going after restaurants.

According to research rounded up over at website The Daily Beast, loud and fast music at restaurants makes people eat faster and drink more.