Where can kids eat for free in summer 2024?
Do you need help cutting costs during days out with the children during the holidays? We’ve found the restaurants, cafés and pubs around the country offering free or low-cost meals for your young ones
The summer holidays are here! While many families are looking forward to days out, trips to the seaside and local attractions, costs can quickly add up.
With budgets tight this year, we’ve found the restaurants, cafés and pubs nationwide where parents, grandparents and carers can feed their young ones for free.
Read on for our list of eateries offering to feed children for free this summer, as well as £1 deals.
After, check out our fun foodie activities that won't break the bank, and see our kids' activities hub page for plenty more ideas.
We have helpful tips on keeping your kids active or keep a group entertained overnight with our top activities for kids’ sleepovers. And while we hope that summer will be an endless collection of sunny, beautiful days, we know to expect rain and be prepared for it: our best indoor activities for kids is a great guide for keeping kids occupied when they can’t enjoy the fresh air.
Keep the little ones busy over the summer holidays break by joining you in the kitchen - see our school holiday recipes and kids' cooking recipes for plenty of fun foodie projects.
Where to find kids-eat-for-free deals
Where: Bill’s
When: Weekdays, 22 July to 30 August
Up to two children under 10 can eat for free from the kids’ menu all day if one adult orders any main dish during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Food for children includes buttermilk pancakes, mac & cheese & fish fingers & chips. This only covers food, not their drinks.
Where: English Heritage sites
When: Until 31 August
Members visiting English Heritage’s most popular sites, including Stonehenge, Tintagel Castle and Dover Castle can feed youngsters for free when they spend £10 or more in the cafe. The offer, for kids under 18, includes up to two free children’s lunch boxes, which include a sandwich, snack, sweet treat, juice box and fruit.
Read more on feeding your family on a budget, making the most of your meal deal, and the best foodie days out
Where: Future Inns
When: Summer holidays
Under-fives can eat for free with any meal bought by an adult at the Future Inns hotel chain’s branches in Cardiff, Bristol and Plymouth. The offer covers breakfast, lunch and dinner (but excludes Sunday lunch in Plymouth and afternoon tea in Cardiff) on the kids’ menu. Options include chicken or beef burger, roast chicken, fish fingers, chicken nuggets or an omelette.
Where: Gordon Ramsay Restaurants
When: Ongoing
Children under the age of eight can enjoy a free main meal from the set children’s menu, for every adult ordering from the a la carte menu. Young foodies can try the macaroni cheese, bangers and mash, meatball pasta with tomato sauce and burger and chips. The offer is available weekdays at selected UK restaurants only: Heddon Street Kitchen, all Bread Street Kitchen & Bars, Gordon Ramsay Bar & Grill, and Pizza East.
Where: Morrisons
When: Ongoing
Under-16s can eat for free at any of Morrisons’ 397 cafes across the UK when an adult spends £5.00 or more on a meal.
Available all day, week-long, the children’s menus include chicken nuggets with chips and beans, bangers and mash and mac and cheese. A children’s meal deal (a combination of a sandwich, snack and drink worth £3.50) can be claimed for free when purchased alongside any adult meal with a value of £5.00 or more.
Where: OK Diners
When: Ongoing
Children under-10 can eat for free from the children’s menu at this 50s-diner style roadside restaurant chain when an adult purchases a main course from the a la carte menu. Available all day, week-long, kids’ options include porridge and ‘roll your own wraps’ with pulled pork, grilled chicken or tuna, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber. This is offered in all the branches except those on the A1.
Where: Preto
When: Ongoing
Take a culinary trip to Brazil with a free meal for children under 10 at branches of Preto in London and Colchester, Essex.
Visit the website (see above) to download a voucher, entitling you to a free child’s meal for every full-paying adult rodizio (grill selection), valid every weekday from 4pm and all weekend. Dishes include grilled meats, and a salad bar with a selection of vegetable sides.
Where: The Real Greek
When: Sundays, ongoing
Tired of going for a roast on your day of rest? Enjoy a taste of the Aegean instead with The Real Greek’s “kids eat free on Sundays” offer. Children aged 12 and under can enjoy a main from the kids’ menu (a souvlaki wrap or kids' meze), a drink and ice cream or sorbet for every £10 spent by an adult.
Where: Bella Italia
When: Ongoing
Children eat for free every Thursday with every purchase of an adult main course (excluding Center Parcs, Edinburgh and some central London sites). Kids can enjoy three courses of Italian food, such as pizza and pasta, as well as a drink, with meals suitable for two to 11-year-olds.
Where: TGI Friday’s
When: Ongoing
Members of the TGI Friday’s Stripes rewards programme who have downloaded the app can feed one child for free when they order an adult’s main meal. Youngsters can order a main and two sides from the “Little League” or “Major League” section of the kids’ menu, with dishes such as fish fingers, tomato tubes, cheeseburger, crispy chicken tenders or veggie quesadilla.
Where: Tesco
When: Summer holidays (check your location)
A child can eat for free from Mondays to Fridays during the summer holidays when an adult buys something in a Tesco Cafe (for as little as 60p) when showing their Tesco Clubcard at the till. Kids’ options include breakfast such as avocado on toast; a hot meal deal including a main (such as sausages, chicken goujons or fish fingers); and two sides (including peas, chips and crudites); or a Kids' Pick ‘n’ Mix meal deal (sandwich, fruit, two snacks and a drink).
England and Wales from 22 July to 30 August; Scotland from 1 July until 16 August; Northern Ireland from 1 July until 30 August).
Where: YO! Sushi
When: Until 30 August
Up to three children under 12 can enjoy some sushi and Japanese favourites at this national sushi bar. For every £10 spent by an accompanying adult, one child can enjoy a free kids’ meal deal bento box. Mains include chicken or prawn katsu, chicken gyoza, plus veggie rice and edamame. This applies during weekdays from Monday to Friday, and is only available at dine-in restaurants.
Where can children eat for £1?
Read on for our round-up of £1 kids’ meals
Where: Asda Cafés
When: Ongoing
Children under 16 can enjoy a hot meal or ‘pick and mix’ meal deal of a sandwich, drink and fruit for £1 at any of Asda’s 205 cafés nationwide until the end of the year. There is no minimum spend or any adult meal purchase requirements, and the deal is available all day, every day. The offer covers one meal from the kids menu per child, per day. Free Ella’s baby food pouches are also offered to babies under 18 months old with any purchase.
Where: Bella Italia
When: Ongoing
Children eat for £1 with every purchase of an adult main course from 4-6pm on Sunday to Wednesday (excluding Center Parcs, Edinburgh and some central London sites). Kids can have three courses of Italian food, such as pizza and pasta, with meals suitable for two to 11-year-olds.
Where: Sainsbury's
When: Ongoing
Enjoy one children’s hot main meal, such as fish fingers or a ‘shroomdog’, or lunch bag (a cheese or ham sandwich, crisps, a jelly pot, piece of fruit and a drink) for £1 with the purchase of an adult hot main meal, or a minimum spend of £5.20 in the Sainsbury's café. The offer is available every day from 11.30am until the café closes. The food has been developed for children between the ages of five and 10.
Where: Giraffe
When: From July 24 to September 1
Visit the website (see above) to get a voucher code to allow a child to have a £1 kids' main meal, such as hidden veggie pasta and cod fish fingers, with the purchase of an adult’s main meal. This offer excludes King's Cross, airports and Southbank.
Where: Hungry Horse
When: On Mondays, ongoing
Pub chain Hungry Horse is offering kids’ meals for £1 every Monday, although larger meals are £1.50. Mains include veggie sausages, beef burgers and tomato pasta. The larger meals include tacos, chilli and a katsu chicken burger. Up to two children can eat with every paying adult.
Where: Premier Inn
When: Until September 1
Whether you're a guest in the hotel or not, youngsters can now enjoy dishes off the kids’ menu at Premier Inn's Thyme restaurants for just £1, which includes the 10-veg tomato pasta and fruit salad. Adults can cash in the offer, which applies to two children under 16 per paying adult, when they buy a drink over £1.99 and a main from the evening menu. Two under-16s can already have breakfast for free when an adult buys a Premier Inn breakfast or a meal deal.
Where: Sizzling Pubs
When: Ongoing
For every adult meal at this pub chain, you can have a kid’s main, such as a grilled chicken or a mixed grill, for just £1. The offer is available Monday to Friday between 3-7pm.
Further summer holiday reading...
Top 15 summer kids' baking recipes
Cheap school holiday projects for kids
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