How (and where!) to eat out on a budget with the kids

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Here’s how (and where!) to eat on a budget with the kids if you’re looking to enjoy an affordable restaurant meal for quality family time on your days out and UK staycations. Taking the kids out for a meal is one of life’s little pleasures, but when you’re on a budget, it can feel like an unnecessary luxury. Thankfully, with a bit of planning and savvy shopping, dining out doesn’t have to break the bank, and it can be a well-deserved treat for you all (and a night off from cooking!). Here are 10 tried-and-tested tips and tricks to help you to eat out on a budget with the kids:

1. Look for ‘Kids Eat Free’ deals

Many restaurants and cafes across the UK offer ‘kids eat free’ or ‘kids eat for £1’ deals, especially during school holidays – which is great because amusing the kids all summer can be so expensive! These promotions often mean that one child can eat for free with each paying adult, making it a great way to stretch your budget. Here are lots of places that kids can eat for free (or for £1) during the UK summer holidays 2024 – click to download a printable PDF, or save it to your phone, so you can hunt out the best places to eat out affordably whilst the kids are off from school.

2. Save on restaurant meals with Kids Pass

Another way to save a small fortune on eating out (and days out too) is to sign up to Kids Pass for a month’s trial for just a quid! Enjoy the perks and either continue your subscription or cancel prior to your trial ending to make sure no further charges are taken. Using their app, you can save on the go and search for things to do and restaurants near you. It’s a great option for saving during the summer holidays, even if cancelled afterwards, as kids eat free at thousands of restaurants across the UK.

3. Enjoy meals with Tesco Clubcard

We love using our Tesco Clubcard reward points for free meals and days out – not only can you have fun at loads of UK attractions but you can also exchange your vouchers for meals at restaurants like Prezzo, Ask Italian and Zizzis. I often save up our points so that we can have a nice meal out on our UK staycations, or when we’re enjoying a day out with the kids. Most places don’t include drinks, so you’ll need to pay for these, but you can cover the whole cost of the food if you have enough points. (You’ll get 2x the value so it can stretch quite far!)

4. Go for lunch, not dinner

If you’re trying to eat out with the kids on a budget then opting for a meal out at lunchtime (or an early dinner before the evening menu takes over) is a brilliant way to keep costs down – we do this all the time! Lunch menus tend to be a lot more affordable than dinner options, with many places offering set menus for 2 or 3 courses at reduced prices, or smaller portions for less. The Beefeater is one of our daytime favourites, as I can even grab a steak for about a tenner, and other chain restaurants like Table Table and Brewers Fayre offer similar deals too. This is a great way to enjoy the same restaurant experience without the hefty price tag.

5. Dine at budget-friendly restaurants

Not all meals out need to involve posh bistros or expensive eateries so, if you can’t find any discounts and deals, think about changing where you eat instead. Many family-friendly chains cater to children with affordable meal options, and some of the places listed on my ‘kids eat free’ guide actually run great year-round offers, so you can enjoy affordable meals out on a budget outside of the school holidays too. For instance: kids always eat for £1 at Asda, and kids eat free at Morrisons with an adult meal purchase. Supermarket restaurants can be a great way to eat out, in between your adventures, in a budget-friendly way with the kids.

Other places that offer affordable kids meals are: Toby Carvery with kids’ roast dinners from just a few pounds; Wetherspoons which is known for low-cost meals; and the IKEA Café which offers meals from 95p.

6. Take advantage of loyalty schemes

Sign up for the loyalty schemes at your favourite restaurants – they’ll send you deals, discount codes and offers straight to your inbox. Many chains like Beefeater, Pizza Express or Harvester offer discounts or points for future visits. These programmes often include special birthday treats, where you might even get one meal completely free, and lots of these family-friendly places will treat Mum and Dad to a free course when Mother’s or Father’s Day come around too. So, plan your meals around the best discounts!

7. Use discount apps and websites

As well as Kids Pass, look into other apps and websites like Tastecard, Gourmet Society and Meerkat Meals – you can often get significant discounts (such as 2-for-1 meals or 50% off your food bill) which can make eating out as a family more affordable. While these services often require a subscription, free trials or promotional periods can help you save without the commitment. You can also use voucher websites like VoucherCodes or Groupon to find deals on family dining – simply search for restaurants in your area to uncover hidden discounts.

8. Eat like a local

When we’re out and about, particularly if we’re somewhere expensive like a city, we’ll often avoid restaurant meals and eat like a local instead, as it can be a great money-saver. You could grab a pizza slice from a take-out shop, buy lunch in a bakery, head to a market or check out a food-stand for cheap fast food. If you’re eating out over the summer time with the kids, perhaps in the school holidays, then street food and other take-out options can be a great money-saver when you don’t want the hassle of packing a picnic. Just find somewhere quiet in the sunshine to enjoy your lunch.

9. Plan your visit around special offers

There are lots of key times of year that restaurants are more likely to run special offers, so planning around the familiar discount periods can be a great way to save money if you want to eat out with the kids on a budget. Around the school holidays and half-terms, as I mentioned above, loads of restaurants jump on the ‘kids eat free’ or cheap kids menu bandwagon so that can be a brilliant time for a family treat. Near Christmas or Easter time you might see festive/holiday themed set menus, and Mother’s and Father’s Day often comes with a deal for the parents. These kinds of deals pop up regularly throughout the year, so make the most of them!

10. Don’t forget about takeaway deals

If you’re not out and about, and dining out isn’t essential, consider takeaway options. We often grab a takeaway meal when we’re on our travels, to eat back at our holiday home, so I can have a break from cooking without the big restaurant bill! (And, there’s nothing nicer than chilling with a takeaway whilst playing cards on a sunny deck.) Or, if we’re at home and fancy a treat, we’ll order from somewhere like our local Indian restaurant or grab Dominos pizza (who always have deals – especially on weekdays) for a lot less than eating out. Platforms like Just Eat, Uber Eats or Deliveroo also often have family meal bundles or discounts for new users, and picking up your order instead of opting for delivery can save you even more.

Share your finds!

Eating out with the kids doesn’t have to be expensive – by planning ahead and taking advantage of offers and rewards, you can enjoy quality family time without overspending. Remember, the key is to treat eating out as an occasional treat rather than a regular expense. And, if you come across any great deals for eating out with the kids on a budget in the UK then pop them in the comments so that other families can benefit too! Have fun! 😍