Just because your wallet and bank account are a little on the lean side in terms of moolah/money/cash, doesn’t mean that you can’t indulge in the amazing food of some of South Africa’s best chefs.

Be smart about the choices you make when dining in the lap of luxury, and that coveted dinner won’t be far out of your reach.

Justine Drake, festival director of the Taste of Joburg, shares her five top tips for fine dining on a budget:

1. Strength in numbers

Get a group of your friends together. It’s not only a whole lot more fun when you enjoy fine dining with your friends, but it’s a better way to get a table. Dining in a group may also help you to snap up a table at a popular restaurant.

2. Choose wisely

There are many different types of fine dining establishments. Some offer full à la carte dining, while others also offer a set menu with two or three different appetisers, entrees and desserts that you can mix and match in a meal that can be up to six courses long for a “per head” cost.

The beauty of this type of menu is that the dishes – although limited – will give you the best that the chef has to offer.

3. Share

It may sound like a “plebby” thing to do – sharing in a restaurant. But, trust me, it’s not. Sharing is a very cosmopolitan thing to do.

The Spanish do it with tapas, the Arabs and the Greeks do it with mezze, and the Japanese do it with teppanyaki. So, it’s quite okay for you to sample a whole lot of different dishes, in the spirit of adventure.

4. Extras and drinks

Fine dining dishes are crafted in such a way that each ingredient works in harmony with the next. A dish will be complete in every way, and it will rarely require anything else. “Extras” may not necessarily add anything more to the dish itself.

Drinks also make up a big proportion of your bill. To save on cost, weigh up the options before you go off ordering everything that tickles your fancy.

5. The bill

When the time inevitably comes to ask for the bill, fight the urge to start a fire in the corner to force a mass-evacuation. It won’t be as bad as you think, and here’s why: Add a tip to the bill and divide by the number of people at the table. By doing this you avoid three of the biggest problems with paying the bill in a large group: (1) an inadequate tip is left for your waiter, (2) nobody has to dispute what they did or didn’t eat and drink and (3) nobody is left having to put extra money in at the end when someone else “forgot” to pay for something.

Time to enjoy some fine food, so go make that booking!

Alternatively, visit Taste of Joburg from 30 September to 3 October at Monte Casino Outdoor Event Area, where you can taste some of the most celebrated food and drink from Joburg’s finest. Restaurants taking part include DW Eleven-13, The Attic and The Dining Room at the Grace.

Win one of 50 double tickets to the Taste of Joburg.

Visit www.tasteofjoburg.com for more information.