As families prepare for their children to start two weeks off, school parents will eagerly be looking for things to do to fill their time, especially as the warm weather (hopefully) begins to roll in. And as the cost-of-living squeeze continues, keeping kids happy and fed for as cheap as possible will be a big job.
Thankfully, many food outlets, retailers, and supermarkets appreciate this and have schemes on this Easter that allow families to eat for less. Some places, like Morrisons, Dunelm and Hungry Horse offer completely free meals for youngsters, while others, like Bella Italia and The Real Greek see children dine in for just £1.
Most of the offers require a paying adult or a minimum spend, but some, like supermarket café Asda have no adult spend requirements to access the £1 meal. Here are all the restaurants and cafes where kids can eat for free or for £1 over the holidays.
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Morrisons
Kids can eat for free in Morrisons cafes nationwide all day, every day with every adult meal. The offer applies when you purchase any one adult meal with a value of £4.49 or over.
It can be used for children under 16 and youngsters can order from the kids menu or the chilled kids snack pack. The kids meal includes piece of fruit and Tropicana Kids Orange or Apple drink or bottle of water.
ASDA
Asda has extended its ‘Kids Eat for £1’ café meal deals to include the Easter holidays. It has also launched a refreshed kids' menu, bringing in two new hot meals including penne pasta with meatballs and a vegan hidden veg pasta meal.
The retailer has also included a free piece of fruit when purchasing the hot kids' £1 meal deal.
Children aged 16 and under can access the deal, originally designed to tackle school holiday hunger. Other offers from Asda include free Ella’s baby food pouches for children under 18 months with any purchase, and 10 per cent off for over 60s on Wednesdays.
Sainsbury's
Kids can eat for £1 at a Sainsbury's café which includes a hot main meal or a lunch bag. The deal applies when purchased with an adult meal worth at least £5.20. More info here.
M&S
From April 3 to 14 Kids Eat Free returns at M&S cafes. Kids can get a free munch meal when adults spend £5 or more.
The Kids’ Munch Meal includes a main, a snack, and a drink, from choices such as jacket potato with beans & sausages to cheesy tomato pasta.
Dunelm
If you're having to take the kids cushion shopping, or are hoping to pick up some new bits for the garden to take in some of the Spring weather, then you could always stop off at Dunelm's Pausa Cafe over the holidays.
Kids eat for free at Dunelm when an adult spends £4 or more at the Pausa Cafe. Kids can get a free mini main, two snacks and a drink for every £4 spent after 3pm Monday to Friday.
Yo Sushi
From April 4 to April 14 YO Sushi is offering kids a free meal. The chain is offering youngsters a free meal when an adult spends £10 or more.
Kids can tuck into one of the kiddo bento boxes for free, with a maximum of three children per booking. It is not available at weekends.
YO!’s mini bento boxes contain a main, side and drink, as well as a side of popping edamame beans, and usually cost £7.30.
Sizzling
For every adult Sizzling meal, you’ll also get a kid’s main meal for £1 at Sizzling Pub & Grill venues. This offer applies on weekdays.
There are loads of venues to choose from, including The Haddon Hall in Droylsden, Henry Boddington in Salford, Wilton Arms in Middleton and The White Hart in Heywood. You can put your postcode in here to find a pub nearest to you.
There’s a huge range of children’s dishes, from fish fingers, to pasta, chicken wraps, pizza and Birdseye Green Cuisine nuggets, promising ‘something for all the family’.
The offer runs from Monday to Friday between 3pm and 7pm, with one £1 kids meal available with the purchase of every one adult main bought in the same transaction.
Hungry Horse
Kids can fuel up on a free breakfast at Hungry Horse venues over the holidays. The offer, running daily from 7am to noon, is available at all open Hungry Horse pubs nationwide.
This includes the Flying Horse in Heald Green, the Hornet in Rochdale, and the Matchstick Man in Salford, and more.
The offer is a kids breakfast worth up to £2.49 for free when you buy an adult breakfast for at least £3.49, however, there is a minimum spend of £5.98 for the discount to apply, with a maximum of two kids breakfasts free per one paying adult.
IKEA
During half term children can enjoy a kids tomato pasta and soft drink for 95p at IKEA in Ashton-under-Lyne or Warrington. Any of the other kids meals are also available for just £1.50, all served from 11am.
Beefeater / Table Table / Brewers Fayre
Other places kids can enjoy breakfast on the house is at Beefeater, Table Table and Brewers Fayre restaurants. For every adult buying a breakfast, two children under 16 get to eat for free.
The unlimited breakfast includes eggs cooked just the way you like them, and from premium sausages to back bacon rashers, hash browns and black pudding, you can build your breakfast to your taste. AND there’s unlimited tea, coffee and juice.
Breakfast is served daily until 10.30am midweek and 11am at weekends, costing £9.50 for full English and £7.50 for continental.
Bill’s
At both their Spinningfields and the Trafford Centre venues Bill's are once again offering their Kids Eat Free deal. From Monday, April 3 to Friday, April 14, up to two children can eat a meal for free all day, if one adult orders any main dish (breakfast, lunch or dinner).
The children’s menu features Bill's famous buttermilk pancakes, mac and cheese, and fish fingers and chips.
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