SF Restaurant Week is back, running through Sunday, and as always, the question isn't whether you should eat out — this is San Francisco, of course you should — it's whether these prix fixe menus are genuinely saving you money or just repackaging the same $18 appetizer with a fancy label.

Here's the honest take: Restaurant Week can be a legitimately great deal if you do it right. The trick is targeting restaurants where the fixed-price menu actually undercuts what you'd normally pay. Some spots use the event to move low-cost dishes at near-regular margins. Others — usually the ones you actually want to try — offer real value because they're using the week as a loss leader to win new regulars.

Our advice? Do the math before you sit down. Look at the regular menu online, compare it to the Restaurant Week offering, and figure out if you're actually getting a discount or just getting a curated experience at roughly the same price point. The best deals tend to be at higher-end spots where the prix fixe dips well below their typical per-person average. The worst deals are at places where a burger-and-dessert combo gets dressed up as a "special menu" for $35.

Also worth noting: if you're exploring neighborhoods for your Restaurant Week adventure, you could do a lot worse than wandering the Fillmore corridor, Hayes Valley, or the Mission — all packed with participating spots and plenty of post-dinner options. The city's food scene remains one of the few things SF gets unambiguously right, even as everything else seems to cost more and deliver less.

Look, we're not against people enjoying a nice meal. We just think you deserve to know when a "deal" is actually a deal and when it's marketing. San Francisco restaurants already charge enough — make sure Restaurant Week is working for your wallet, not just theirs.

Specials run through Sunday. Eat well, spend wisely.