By Allie Schilling and Nicole Esan, News Staff and News Correspondent

Offering locals and visitors the opportunity to sample area restaurants at special prices, Restaurant Week Boston, now rebranded as Dine Out Boston is an opportunity to explore Boston’s best eateries until Friday.

In its 13th year, the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB) and American Express have partnered together to sponsor this foodie event. Restaurant-goers have the choice of dining at over 150 restaurants to get a great deal on entrées for lunch and dinner, according to Dine Out Boston’s website.

“Dine Out Boston’s goal is to offer guests and restaurateurs a customizable dining experience together with significant savings,” according to the West Roxbury Patch.

With the rebranding, Dine Out Boston will feature a more flexible pricing structure, and restaurants are no longer restricted to a prix fixe, three-course menu, according to the Dine Out Boston press release.

“After speaking with restaurant owners, diners, and the Convention & Visitors Bureaus in other major cities, we made the decision to restructure the pricing and course requirements traditionally associated with restaurant week offers,” Patrick Moscaritolo, President and CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, said to the West Roxbury Patch.

A few of the participating restaurants include 5 Napkin Burger, City Table, Haru, Joe’s American Bar & Grill and Max Brenner.

“We have a great three-course lunch menu featuring our spinach and artichoke fondue, our signature Brenner Burger and two of our best desserts,” Andrea Nuñez, Max Brenner’s general manager, said.

Depending on the restaurant, dishes are priced out at $15, $20 or $25 for lunch and $28, $33 or $38 for dinner, according to Dine Out Boston’s website.

“Last year was our first year participating in restaurant week,” Vance Welch, owner of Abby Park in South Boston, said. “We had a significant increase in business largely because of restaurant week. We didn’t think we would get much out of it, but interestingly enough it was the second busiest week we’ve ever had, which would have normally been a slow time of the year for us.”

Shauna Toohey, a manager at Aquitaine in South End has also had a positive experience with restaurant week.

“Our customers who have never been to our restaurant before are able to try some of our dishes for a lower price,” she said. “We went from having 30 to 40 people in a Monday night to about 80 to 100, so our restaurant has been buzzing. People who wouldn’t necessarily come in are coming in our restaurant and liking our food and saying they would like to come back, which is exactly what we were going for.”

According to the Dine Out Boston press release, since 2008, the GBCVB have partnered with American Express to use the program as a way to give back to a different local Boston charity each year. Gift certificates donated by participating restaurants are auctioned off online, with the net proceeds benefitting the designated charity. To date, over $285,000 has been raised for charity through the auction and partnership with American Express, according to the press release.

This year The Freedom Trail Foundation has been chosen as the 2014 Boston Dine Out charity. The non-profit foundation was established in 1964 to market, promote and preserve the Freedom Trail, according to the Freedom Trail Foundation’s website.

“I was looking at the GBCVB’s website and some of their charitable opportunities and that’s how I came across Dine Out Boston,” The Freedom Trail Foundation’s executive director Suzanne Taylor said. “We’re a member of the bureau so we’ve worked with them on a number of initiatives, but this is the first time we’ve [been] their charitable partner.”

Alex Tarzikhan, a junior health science major, participated in this bi-annual event for her first time this year.

“A bunch of friends and I went and ate at Mistral, a French restaurant,” she said. “We dined on a three-course meal with dishes including a mushroom bisque, foie gras, salmon and a delightful assortment of desserts ranging from profiteroles, tarte à la banane and a lemon posset.”

For others, the price is enough.

“My friends and I are big dining out people, we love trying new places,” Bengi Tetik, a freshman business major, said. “And it’s so affordable which is a plus.”