Save £250 with top tips to make the most of Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme

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BARGAIN-LOVERS are in for a treat from next week as thousands of the nation’s favourite restaurants blast back into business with half-price meals.

Starting first thing Monday, eateries are slashing up to FIFTY per cent off food bills, thanks to a new Government scheme designed to boost the ­struggling hospitality industry.

Thousands of the nation’s favourite restaurants are slashing up to FIFTY per cent off food bills, thanks to a new Government scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak launched the Eat Out To Help Out initiative to boost the ­UK’s struggling hospitality industry

The Eat Out To Help Out initiative launched by Chancellor Rishi Sunak means the Government will pay up to half your tab in more than 53,000 restaurants, cafes and pubs across the country throughout August.

Family favourites including McDonald’s, Nando’s, KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee are among the big-name chains who have signed up.

And it’s not just fast food.

Plenty of posh places have joined the scheme too, including swanky celeb hangouts The Wolseley and The Ivy.

If you really fancy splashing the cash on a special treat, there are even a few Michelin-starred restaurants taking part.

MEGA MONEY-OFF DEAL

Although there is a cap of £10 per person, the discount applies to all food and soft drinks, including kids’ meals.

It does not apply to booze and any ­service charge.

Discounts are only available to diners who sit in the ­restaurant to eat. They do not apply to takeaways, deliveries or drive-throughs.

The mega money-off deal runs every Monday, ­Tuesday and Wednesday until August 31 in the hope of breathing fresh life into the beleaguered ­tourism and leisure sector.

The cash injection is expected to protect around 1.8million jobs.

VAT SLASHED

The nationwide scheme is costing the Government more than £500million as part of a wider £30billion package to help the economy recover as ­lockdown eases.

And since Rishi has already slashed VAT from 20 per cent to five per cent, menu prices will be considerably cheaper even before the new discounts are applied.

So with restaurants finally open again, eating out is more affordable than ever, with an average meal for a family of four costing £80 slashed to just £40.

If a meal costs £20, the diner gets £10 off. However, if the meal costs £30, the diner will still only get £10 off.

But there is no limit to how many times you can use the discount — meaning we could all be enjoying half-price breakfast, lunch and dinner out three times a week.

With restaurants finally open again, eating out is more affordable than ever

It even applies to coffee as long as you sit inside to drink it.

Plus the discount can be used on top of other existing offers, such as two-for-one deals or loyalty points.

There is a handy online postcode checker to find out which restaurants near you have registered to take part.

See tax.service.gov.uk/eat-out-to-help-out/find-a-restaurant.

Here HOAR shows you how to game the system as you fill up on the High Street, ­saving a family of four up to £250 in a single week.

Monday

BREAKFAST: Head straight to your local Wetherspoons where a traditional full English fry-up breakfast will set you back just under £2.50 in a London branch during August, down from £4.99 – saving you £2.49.

ELEVENSES: Pop into Costa where anyone who brings a reusable mug can get a small filter coffee for 32p, rather than the usual price of £2.70. And the croissants there are 59p instead of £1.35 – so that’s a saving of £3.14 and elevenses sorted for less than a quid!

A traditional full English fry-up breakfast at Wetherspoons will set you back just under £2.50

LUNCH: Fancy a cheeky Nando’s? The Portuguese chain has slashed the price of half a chicken with corn on the cob to £5.60, down from £11.20, saving £5.60 – and you can still claim Nando’s points. Add a Sprite for just 75p instead of £1.55.

TEA BREAK: Pick up a medium latte, ham and cheese panini with a funfetti cupcake at Starbucks for just £5.37 instead of £10.75, saving £5.38.

DINNER: Treat the whole family to dinner at Frankie & Benny’s where a Lasagne Al Forno, which normally costs £9.95, will now set you back just £4.98, saving £4.97. A large Fanta should cost £2.99 but now they are just £1.50, saving £1.49 per drink.

  • TOTAL SAVING – £23.87 a head

Tuesday

BREAKFAST: Back to Costa where a sausage bap is now £1.29 instead of £2.95, saving £1.66.

ELEVENSES: Starbucks frozen ice tea drinks are down from £3.40 to £1.70 under Rishi’s half-price scheme, saving £1.70 a time.

A sausage bap at Costa is now £1.29 instead of £2.95

LUNCH: Burger King’s famous ­Whopper will cost just £2.25, saving £2.15 on the usual £4.40 price. Indulge in a strawberry milkshake for £1.15, down from £2.29, saving you £1.14.

TEA BREAK: You can’t beat a ­Chocolate Brownie Finger at Gail’s Bakery, now just £1.05 instead of £2.10, saving £1.05 per treat.

DINNER: If you can’t resist a roast, head to a Toby Carvery where their popular dinners with all the trimmings are down to £4.50 from £8.99, saving £4.49 per person.

  • TOTAL SAVING – £12.19 a head

Wednesday

BREAKFAST: Pop into a Tesco’s cafe before doing the shopping, where you can pick up a full English breakfast – at any time of day – for £2.07 rather than the usual price of £4.60, a saving of £2.53.

ELEVENSES: Grab a cheese and ham sarnie at Pret A Manger for just £1.35, a saving of £1.35 on the usual £2.70 price. Add an apple juice for £1.07, saving £1.08 on the standard £2.15 price.

Treat the kids to a half-price McDonald’s Happy Meal for just £1.49

LUNCH: Fried chicken fans can grab a six-piece bargain bucket for £6.95 instead of the usual £13.99 at KFC, saving you £7.04. Milky Bar Crushems drinks are just £1, saving 99p.

TEATIME: Treat the kids to a half-price McDonald’s Happy Meal, which is down to £1.49 on the first three days of the week in August, saving you £1.49 every time. A ­Frozen Strawberry Lemonade is £1.05, saving £1.04.

DINNER: TGI Fridays are offering a full-on feast of boneless wings from £3.38, followed by steaks from £9.87, saving £13.25 on a slap up two-course meal.

  • TOTAL SAVING – £28.77 a head

And tuck into these great eating out deals

AS of tomorrow, 59 major restaurant chains are taking part:

  •  A medium Big Mac meal with fries and a drink will cost you just £2.45, reduced from £4.59, saving £2.14.

Celeb chef Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Murano is involved in the scheme

  • KFC’s regular popcorn chicken and boneless banquet will set you back £6.09, down from £12.18. That’s a saving of £6.09.
  •  At Pizza Hut, a pepperoni meat feast, which would typically cost £11.75 is now just £5.85, leaving you £5.90 better off.
  • Wagamama is offering half-price meals at all of its 135 restaurants. The chain’s chicken katsu curry and a glass of fresh juice, normally ­costing £13.25, is just £6.63, saving £6.62.
  •  Punch Pubs are slashing prices at more than 1,300 boozers across the UK. Marston’s 1,400 pubs are in on the deal too.

A medium Big Mac meal with fries and a drink will cost you just £2.45
  •  Celeb chef Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Murano in Mayfair, West London, is involved, as well as her more casual Cafe Murano restaurants.
  • Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton will be serving a £12 two-course set lunch on Tuesday and Wednesdays at his Mayfair ­restaurant Pollen Street Social.
  • For a special treat try ­Gymkhana, the Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, also in Mayfair, central London.

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