Here are a few tips on saving money while eating out and ordering takeaway.
Sign up for mailing lists
While the idea of welcoming more junk mail can feel like a scary idea, many restaurant chains offer big discounts via their mailing lists, so it could be worth signing up for a few so you can receive special deals as soon as they’re launched. Chains including Pizza Express often offer up to 35% discount through such mailing lists.
Join a dining club
Gourmet Society and Tastecard are among the dining loyalty schemes offering up to 50% off at participating restaurants.
Gourmet Society has a 90-day free trial for new customers, while Tastecard offers a £1 60-day trial. So, if you trialled and then cancelled the two cards one after the other, you’d have nearly five months of discounts for just £1.
Bring your own booze, don’t pay for water
Ordering alcoholic drinks at restaurants can be a sure-fire way to up the price of your bill. It can be a much cheaper option to search online for BYOB restaurants near you and see what you can find. Which? recently found that restaurants mark up wine by an average of 167%.
And on the subject of drinks, it’s not only wines and beers that rack up your bill. Restaurants charge upwards of £3.50 for a bottle of mineral water, so it’s much more economical to ask for tap water when you’re dining out.
Order takeaway direct
Apps including Deliveroo and Uber Eats have made ordering takeaways a lot more convenient, but they come at an extra cost due to delivery charges. A Which? investigation found that you can often save money by ordering a meal directly from a restaurant, due to Deliveroo and Just Eat’s additional charges and markups.
Find voucher codes online
Voucher codes for restaurants can be found with a quick search online. It can be also worth checking sites like VoucherCodes and HotUKDeals rather than looking up each restaurant individually.
Newspapers also sometimes advertise deals if you prefer physical discount vouchers.
Get free kids’ meals
Children can eat free at some restaurants, which can bring down the cost of family meals, and tend to be on offer during the school holidays.
