Key takeaways
- Go early on a weeknight. Quiet hours are when restaurants post deals, and a calmer room is easier with children.
- Choose the deal by the final price for your whole order. In the example below, a 2-for-1 on adult mains brings a family of four from $67.80 to $49.72.
- HST is worked out after the restaurant's own discount, so a deal also lowers the tax you pay.
- Call ahead to check for a table and to ask how the deal applies to a shared bill. That answer is the restaurant's call.
- Keep drinks and extras modest, and decide on a rough total before you leave home.
The short answer
The cheapest good family dinner is an early weeknight meal, with the deal chosen before the restaurant. Look for a deal that covers the adult mains, work out the final price for the whole table including tax, and keep the drinks simple. In the example below, the same dinner for four comes to $67.80 at full price and $49.72 with a 2-for-1 on the two adult mains. FIG is free for diners, deals start in Markham on January 1, 2027, and the web app works today in a browser.
This is a plan, not a ranking of restaurants. We do not name places here, because live deals change every day. FIG shows what is on near you right now.
Step 1: pick an early table
Restaurants are busiest at weekend dinner. The rest of the week, many have empty tables in the early evening, and an empty table earns nothing, which is why owners post deals then. For a family it helps twice: more deals, and a quieter room when children are hungry and tired.
| When | Why it suits a family |
|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday, early dinner | Before the evening rush. Quieter room, faster kitchen, more deals |
| Weekday late afternoon | An early meal on a day off school or work, with the evening left free |
| Weekend lunch | Busier than a weekday, but easier on small children than a late dinner |
| Weekend dinner | The busiest time. Call ahead, and expect fewer deals |
Every restaurant is different, so treat this as a pattern, not a rule. Each deal on FIG shows its own days and hours. When Markham restaurants post deals.
Step 2: start from what everyone will eat
Set your cravings, budget and diet in FIG once. Home and the map then show live deals from places that fit, nearest first. If one of you is halal, vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, set that before you look. Then ask the picky eater to choose between two or three options, instead of an open question. Sharing one concrete restaurant to the family chat works better than "where should we eat?". More on deciding as a group.
A deal on a dish nobody wanted is not a saving. Look for the deal that matches what the family would have ordered anyway.
Step 3: compare the whole dinner
Here is a dinner for a family of four with round example prices: one shared starter at $10, two adult mains at $16 and two children's mains at $9, with water to drink. Three ways to pay for it:
| Plan | Food | HST at 13% | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| No deal | $60.00 | $7.80 | $67.80 |
| $3 off each adult main | $54.00 | $7.02 | $61.02 |
| 20% off the whole bill | $48.00 | $6.24 | $54.24 |
| 2-for-1 on the adult mains (pay for one $16 main) | $44.00 | $5.72 | $49.72 |
Check: $10 + $32 + $18 = $60. 20% of $60 is $12, so $48. The 2-for-1 takes off one $16 main, leaving $44. The 2-for-1 saves $18.08 against full price, and $4.52 more than 20% off. At full price the dinner is $16.95 a person; with the 2-for-1 it is $12.43 a person. If the children ordered the expensive dishes and the adults the cheap ones, the answer would change, so redo it with your own order.
The tax moves with the price. HST is worked out on what you pay after the restaurant's own discount, the same way a store coupon lowers the price before tax. This is general information, not tax advice. More on comparing deals.
Step 4: who claims the deal?
A claim on FIG is used once, and the code on each phone keeps changing, so it only works for the person who claimed it. Children often do not have phones, so decide before you go. Two simple ways: each adult claims one deal, or you call the restaurant and ask how it applies to a table with children. How a deal applies to a shared bill is the restaurant's call, and a short call is easier than a surprise at the till. How a deal works, from claim to counter.
Step 5: call before you go
Phone the restaurant and ask three things: is there a table for four at that time, does the deal cover the dishes you have in mind, and is there anything for the children that suits them. If anyone has an allergy, say so on the call and again when you order. Filters are a starting point, not a guarantee. This is general information, not medical advice. What to ask about diets and allergies.
Call earlier in the day. A kitchen at 6 pm may not have time to talk, and a quieter hour is better for questions as well as for deals.
Step 6: keep the extras modest
Drinks, desserts and sides are usually full price, and they are where a family dinner gets away from you. A few habits that help:
- Water for the table, and one drink each only if you would have bought it anyway.
- One dessert to share, with a spoon each.
- Order the starter once and see how hungry everyone is before adding more.
- Agree a rough total before you leave home. "About $55" is easier to keep to than a feeling.
Add one shared dessert at $10 to the 2-for-1 dinner. Food is $54.00, HST is $7.02 and the bill is $61.02. The dessert added $11.30 with tax, which is more than half of the $18.08 the deal saved you on the mains, so it is a choice worth making on purpose. Your prices will differ.
Step 7: tipping and splitting
Tip is your choice. Many people tip on the price before the deal, because the service was the same. That is a personal call, not a rule. If two families are sharing a table, agree how to split before the food arrives: evenly is simplest, and paying for what you ordered is fairest. Splitting the bill fairly, with the arithmetic.
Step 8: take it home if the evening is too hard
Some nights the family is too tired for a restaurant. If a deal allows takeout, you can order from the menu in the app, pay there and pick it up. There is no delivery fee and FIG adds no service fee. You pay the menu price minus the deal, plus tax, and you can eat at home in pyjamas. How takeout with a deal works.
Something free afterwards
Main Street Unionville is a historic village street with restaurants, pubs and cafés, and Toogood Pond is steps away, which makes it an easy place for children to stretch their legs after dinner. Markham Village has its own old Main Street, a few kilometres east. A short walk costs nothing and tires out small people before bedtime.
A quick checklist
- Pick an early weeknight and two or three places.
- Work out the final price for your whole order under each deal.
- Decide who claims, and call to check how it applies to your table.
- Agree a rough total, including drinks and dessert.
- After a scanned visit, rate it. Only diners whose visit was scanned can review, so your review helps the next family. How reviews work.
Questions
What is the cheapest way to eat out as a family in Markham?
Go early on a weeknight, pick a deal that covers the adult mains, work out the final price with tax and keep drinks and extras modest. FIG shows live deals near you on a map and is free for diners.
Is a 2-for-1 better than 20% off for a family?
It depends on the order. In the example in this post, a 2-for-1 on two $16 adult mains came to $49.72 against $54.24 for 20% off the whole bill. Redo the sum with your own order.
Do children need their own deal?
A claim is used once and the code only works on the phone of the person who claimed it. Call the restaurant to ask how a deal applies to a table with children.
Does a restaurant deal lower the tax?
Yes. In Ontario, HST is worked out after the restaurant's own discount, so a lower price means less tax. This is general information, not tax advice.
Can I order takeout instead?
If the restaurant allows takeout with that deal, yes. You order from the menu in the app, pay there and pick it up, with no delivery or service fee from FIG.
What if someone in the family has an allergy?
Use FIG's diet filters to shortlist places, then call the restaurant and tell the server again when you order. Filters are a starting point, not a guarantee.
When do deals start in Markham?
Deals start on January 1, 2027. You can explore the map and restaurants now.
