London restaurant deals eat out or take away for less with vouchers and 2 for 1 offers
Ensure you don't miss out. Join the 6m who get it emailed each week
This is a regularly updated list of restaurant vouchers, deals, and offers that are only valid in London. All have been thoroughly checked to ensure legitimacy. Most vouchers have restrictions, so check they're valid on the day you want to go, and present them before you order.
For more UK-wide offers see the restaurant deals page.
In restaurant offer
| What: Eat for under £6 at Belgo | When: 5.30-6.30pm | |
| How: In restaurant offer | Ends: Ongoing | |
| Where: Nearest Belgo | Food: Belgian | |
| Restrictions: At certain branches only. Price is the same as time of arrival on a limited menu with the 'beat the clock' deal. | ||
Notes: Get various deals, including two free meals for kids when you buy one adult meal all day at its Covent Garden and Chalk Farm branches, and 'beat the clock' between 5.30pm and 6.30pm at Covent Garden, Chalk Farm, Kingsway and Clapham branches.
Discount card
Notes: The Tastelondon discount card entitles you to 50% off at 1,500 restaurants around the South East, including Pizza Express, GBK, La Tasca and Strada.
A year's membership is a pricey £70, but it can be worth it if you often eat out in a large group. To get the discount it's worth booking ahead, mentioning the offer, and showing the card before ordering.
Tastelondon often offers a free month's membership; these giveaways are always included in the free weekly email. You can also currently get a free month's membership on Timeout's website.
Register & print / show voucher on phone
Discount site HungryMedia.co.uk has a range of vouchers for restaurants and bars in South West London. To get them, just select your area and offer, register your name and email and either print out the voucher, or just show it at the venue on your smart phone.
Offers include free chips with a main in The Fish Club, Clapham Junction, 50% off Margaritas and Tacos in Tacuba, Balham, and 2for1 all day breakfasts before 10am at The Pavement Cafe & Bistro, Clapham Common.
Offers are generally around for 2-3 months, so it’s worth checking back later if there isn’t anything that takes your fancy. See the voucher for the offer’s terms and conditions.
Click 'n' print
| What: 2for1 at 100ish London restaurants | When: Your selected day, Mon-Sun | |
| How: Print vouchers | Ends: Ongoing | |
| Where: Multiple venues - see below | Food: Various | |
| Restrictions: Must attend on your selected day | ||
To get this offer, firstly Choose your London restaurant from TheBlackbook.co.uk website, click on the drop-down menu to select which day you want to go, hit download and print off your voucher.
This is similar to tastelondon. It has less restaurants but you can book tables for any day of the week, unlike tastelondon restaurants which often exclude Fri & Sat.
The biggest advantage is this is completely free - no membership fees, no voucher costs.
As with any restaurant offer, you're better booking your table in advance and mentioning the voucher, although it isn't essential.
Obviously, you will have to go on the day you choose for the voucher to be valid.
In restaurant offer
| What: £5.95 lunch menu | When: Mon-Fri, 12-4pm | |
| How: In restaurant offer | Ends: Ongoing | |
| Where: Nearest Real Greek | Food: Greek | |
| Restrictions: Participating restaurants only. Not valid with other offers. Excludes bank holidays. | ||
Notes: You don't need a voucher to get this offer; choose between a Souvlaki lunch (your choice of souvlaki with either chips, new potatoes or cos salad), or a Meze lunch (any three mezes) for £5.95. See the full lunch menu.
In restaurant offer
| What: £10 meal deal | When: Every day, see below | |
| How: In restaurant offer | Ends: Ongoing | |
| Where: Nearest Bodean's | Food: American | |
| Restrictions: Valid all day, every day except Fri & Sat, when it's valid 12 - 3pm only. | ||
With this 'Pig Out for a Tenner' promotion you'll get a full rack of ribs, fries, coleslaw and either a house beer, glass of wine or a soft drink.
OR...
In restaurant offer
| What: £5 Express Lunch meal deal | When: Weds - Fri, see below | |
| How: In restaurant offer | Ends: Ongoing | |
| Where: Participating Bodean's only | Food: American | |
| Restrictions: Only available at Bodean's restaurants in Clapham (Weds - Fri 12 - 3pm), Fulham & Westbourne Grove (both Fri only, 12 - 3pm). | ||
Unfortunately, this deal's only at three of Bodean's five restaurants on certain days. However, one of the benefits of this offer is that if your order doesn't arrive in 15 minutes, it's on them.
Choose from a half rack of ribs, BBQ Jerk Chicken Breast, Boston Butt sandwich or Soho Special sandwich (all served with coleslaw) and either a coffee or a soft drink.
We don't have any of these vouchers at the moment, but we'll update this as soon as we do.
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If you know of a deal we've missed, then please post it in the discussion and we'll add it to the list above.
As well as food vouchers, there’s a raft of permanent ways to save money on meals out. These methods are especially handy if you wine and dine on Friday or Saturday nights, which some vouchers exclude.
Book online
Dedicated dining websites allow you to browse restaurant offers and book online. Here you simply search for a table, book and print out the email or voucher. There are three top ones:
- Toptable.co.uk Online restaurant booking service Toptable features everything from local pizza joints to Michelin Star restaurants. For the best deals, click the 50% off button on the left-hand side. Some of the other offers are less hot, ie, free glass of wine when you spend £30.
- Squaremeal.co.uk One of London's largest online dining websites, Squaremeal.co.uk lists offers, new openings and reviews of restaurants and bars all over London.
- Lastminute.com. Lastminute.com has offers throughout the UK and commonly offers 50% off food or 2for1 main courses. Again, some offers are better than others.
- 5pm.co.uk. The discounts are smaller, but 5pm.co.uk is worth a look. Deals are mostly set menus and 20% off.
Get bargain meals with Tesco Clubcard
Use your Tesco Clubcard points on meals out at restaurants, and you effectively get them for a quarter of the normal price. This is because 100 Clubcard points are only worth £1 if you use them in-store. Yet spend the points on goodies from its Deals Brochure and you get four times the vouchers' face value, eg, £5 worth of Clubcard vouchers are worth £20 in Bella Italia vouchers.
Restaurants include Café Rouge, Planet Hollywood and Chez Gerard; see a full list. For more tricks to maximise Clubcard points, read the Loyalty Schemes guide.
Taste London card
A Taste London card entitles you to 50% off at 500 restaurants around the South East, including Thai Square, Spaghetti House and The Real Greek. At £70, 12 months membership ain’t cheap, but can be worth it over the year, especially if you often take out large groups.
Restaurants can get mardy if you suddenly produce the card at the end of the meal, so always book ahead, mentioning the offer, then show the card before ordering. Taste London often offers free month’s cards; these are always included in the free weekly email.
2for1 London restaurants
Another useful way to get 2for1 vouchers for restaurants in London is through National Express' London 2for1 Offers scheme. This has printable 2for1 vouchers for a range of restaurants and attractions, including The Living Room Islington and Bunker.
You'll need two valid National Express Coach tickets to London to use them though, so this is good if you're planning to get the coach to London anyway.
Even if you aren't travelling by coach, it may be worth getting two cheap National Express tickets to London from a nearby destination, though make sure they don't cost more than you'd save with the voucher.
You'll need to register after you've selected your offer in order to print the vouchers, which are personalised. Expiry dates vary, so make sure you check these on the voucher before you go.
Bring your own booze
If you like a bottle of plonk with your dinner, BYOB (bring your own bottle) places are a great way to save. Restaurants rake in profits by charging inflated prices for booze, eg, bottle of Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay is typically £16 on a wine list. Yet pick up the same bottle at Tesco before you hit the restaurant and it costs just £7.
For a list of BYOB restaurants across the UK, see Wine-pages.com. Some charge corkage of £1-ish, though many don’t.
Michelin stars on the cheap
If there’s a fancy Michelin joint you’ve always wanted to try, your foie gras and lobster ravioli will be vastly cheaper at lunch than at dinner. As an example, a three-course set dinner at Gordon Ramsey at Claridges costs £70, but the same thing costs £30 at lunch – a massive £40 saving. Check restaurants’ own websites for offers.
Home-cooked fayre
Eating out can munch away at your money, so do it yourself at home with recipes from forum’s Old Style (thrift) board. There are hundreds of lip-smackingly gorgeous ideas; see a full index of moneysaving menu plans.
If you’re a curry fan, here’s how to make a three-course Indian Takeaway for £5. Many Old Stylers report they now find restaurant grub disappointing.
Don’t feel embarrassed about tap water!
Finally, there’s absolutely no shame in asking for tap water. And it’s better for the environment too.
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