The Easter bank holiday weekend in the UK is set to coincide with a broad range of free food and drink offers. Supermarkets, restaurant chains, and retailers are participating, with dozens of promotions aimed largely at families.
According to The Sun, a total of 44 separate deals are available, many of them tied to children’s meals or app-based loyalty schemes. The offers are time-limited and, in some cases, conditional on purchases or memberships.
The timing aligns with the school holiday period, when household spending typically increases. According to Hotukdeals spokesperson Ben Smye, families could reduce meal costs significantly by using these offers across the week.
Restaurant Chains and Cafés Expand “Kids Eat Free” Promotions
A significant portion of the offers centres on children’s meals in casual dining chains and café settings. According to the published list, multiple national brands are allowing children to eat for free when accompanied by a paying adult, with conditions varying by location and time.
Among supermarket cafés, Morrisons Café allows children to eat free with a £5 adult spend, while Pausa Café at Dunelm offers a similar deal with a £4 purchase. These schemes are available throughout the day.
Restaurant groups have adopted similar approaches. Chains including Ask Italian, Bella Italia, Bill’s, and Frankie & Benny’s are running “kids eat free” promotions across the Easter break, with some extending into mid-April. Others, such as Pizza Hut and Yo!, apply restrictions based on time of day or weekdays.
According to the same report, certain offers require customers to use mobile applications. Burger King and TGI Fridays, for instance, provide free children’s meals only through their apps, while Las Iguanas and Zizzi require prior registration in loyalty programmes.
Age limits also differ. Gordon Ramsay Restaurants offer free meals for children under 10, while Angus Steakhouse applies the offer to children under 8 during specific hours. Some venues, including The Real Greek, require a minimum adult spend. The range of participating brands suggests a coordinated effort within the hospitality sector to attract families during the holiday period, particularly as daytime footfall increases.
Free Drinks, Snacks and Cinema Tickets Tied to Memberships
Beyond restaurant meals, several retailers and service providers are offering free drinks and snacks, often linked to loyalty schemes or mobile apps. According to the same source, these offers are typically limited to one item per customer and may require advance registration.
Waitrose provides a free tea or coffee to My Waitrose members who bring a reusable cup. Greggs offers a free hot or iced drink to new users of its app. Morrisons extends free refills on self-serve drinks and provides an additional free hot drink to members of its More programme after 2:30pm.
Other promotions are tied to telecom or media subscriptions. O2 and Virgin Media customers can claim free confectionery at TGJones through their respective apps, while Sky customers can access free Tony’s Chocolonely products at Sainsbury’s with a digital coupon.
In addition, Sky Cinema subscribers are eligible for two free Vue cinema tickets each month via the MySky app. This extends the scope of the Easter offers beyond food retail into leisure activities. Ben Smye stated that a family of four could save between £15 and £25 per meal by using such deals, which could exceed £100 over a week. The availability of these offers, he noted, depends on awareness and timely redemption.
The offers remain active across the Easter holiday window, though availability may vary by location and demand.
