Our guide to how to find participating eateries near you and how to use the 50% discount on sit-in meals this month.
Throughout August you are now entitled to half-price food and soft drinks up to the value of £10 each time you dine in a participating venue across Scotland and the rest of the UK, Monday to Wednesday.
Under the scheme, launched by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, everyone in the country will be entitled to use the offer with businesses able to claim the discounted money back from HMRC.
The discount applies to every customer, including children, and can be used an unlimited number of times over the month and even in one day at separate sittings – meaning you could use the discount for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It doesn’t include alcohol, but will apply to soft drinks.
There is no minimum spend, so a 50% discount could apply to a cup of coffee, and you don’t need a voucher to use the scheme. You can also use it at the same time as other offers and discounts.
Participating eateries are required to register to take part. The good news is you can easily check whether independent restaurants, bars and cafes that serve sit-in meals in your area are offering the scheme by using this postcode checker.
Enter your postcode on the Government website using the link and you will be shown participating eateries within a five-mile radius.
Many of the larger coffee, pub and restaurant chains have registered to take part in the meal discount scheme – and not all are shown on the postcode tracker. The participating chains include Brewdog, Burger King, Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee, Five Guys, Frankie & Benny’s, JD Wetherspoon, KFC, Malmaison, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Patisserie Valerie, Pizza Express, Pizza Hut, Pret a Manger, Prezzo, Starbucks, TGI Fridays, Toby Carvery, Tony Macaroni, Wagamama and YO Sushi.
Hotels, stores, casinos and other businesses serving sit-in food have also registered, including Dobbies Garden Centres and MacDonald Hotels.
Supermarket giant Tesco has announced its own version of the scheme, also running Monday to Wednesday throughout August, but which it will fund itself rather than claiming the discounted money back from the Government.
It said customers visiting a Tesco Cafe over this period will be able to take advantage of 50% off its full menu items, with no £10 cap, and the deal will also apply to takeaway food.