Eat early or wait for a bottomless brunch – how to dine out on the cheap | Saving money

Join discount schemes

Many restaurants, usually high street chains, offer two-for-one deals and money off for holders of discount cards. The best known of these is Tastecard, which offers you 25% off the total bill, two-for-one deals and 50% off food deals, depending on the chain. However, there are conditions such as being limited to certain days of the week and having to ring ahead. Zizzi, for example, offers two-for-one deals from Sunday to Thursday, while Beefeater offers 25% off the total bill on the same days. The card costs £79.99 a year or £7.99 a month, although they are often given for free, packaged with some bank accounts, such as NatWest’s student one.

Dine (£49.99 a year or £4.99 a month) operates in a similar way – again, you need to mention the card when booking. The Gourmet Society (£34.99 a year or £5.99 a month) gives you 25% off food and drinks at participating restaurants, including chains such as Prezzo and Banana Tree, and has a 60-day free trial.

Time it right

Often it is when you eat out rather than where that can shift the bill up or down. Restaurants that might be pricey for an 8.30pm à la carte can be much more reasonable if you eat before 7pm or at lunchtime.

This can especially be the case with high-end restaurants. Trishna, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in London, has a lunch and pre-theatre menu for three courses at £45, although it stops at 6.15pm. Eating any later and the same food can cost £70. The Peruvian restaurant Lima in Fitzrovia has a two-course menu for £28 (£36 for three) that runs between noon and 5pm – after that and the bill will be much more. The Michelin-starred Elephant in Torquay offers a two-course lunch for £29.50, well below the £95 tasting menu.

Look for all you can eat

Restaurants with “all you can eat” and “bottomless brunch” options are increasingly common in the UK. Even high-end places are getting in on the act: the Nobu hotel’s £90-a-head weekend brunch gives you unlimited sushi, sashimi and ceviche, and a main course.

At more regular prices, the chain Ping Pong offers unlimited dim sum at four of its London restaurants for £26.95 on Sundays and bank holidays. Pizza Hut has a lunchtime buffet promising all-you-can-eat pizza and pasta, priced at between £7.99 and £19.99 depending on what time of the week you eat, whether you include drinks and whether it is for an adult or child.

Bottomless brunches typically offer unlimited booze, albeit often for a limited time period. The Revolution Bar chain charges between £25 and £35 for two hours of drinks and a brunch dish. TGI Fridays charges £29.95 a person for food and “unlimited” prosecco or TGI Fridays American Pilsner and some other options – again within a maximum of two hours.

Find soft openings

Before a restaurant officially opens, it sometimes has a soft launch, where customers can taste what will be on offer, often at reduced prices. These are usually held to spread the word and resolve any problems with the menu or service before they officially open.

The Soft Launch London site has details of what launches are coming up and how to get the discounts. Some listings are established restaurants trying out a new menu or even fast food chains with a new outlet. SquareMeal, a reviews site, also features deals as well as a list of restaurants that are due to open in the near future.

Be rewarded

Buying a qualifying product through Compare the Market (that is, all insurance apart from temporary policies and a few others) entitles you to Meerkat Meals – 25% off the whole bill or two for one at participating restaurants (Harvester and Toby Carvery among them) although sometimes only on certain days of the week.

O2 customers using the company’s Priority app have been able to get a free pint at an O’Neill’s, Ember Inn or Sizzling Pubs on Thursday evenings. Vodafone’s VeryMe Rewards programme gives a one year membership to Eat Local, which gives two for one meals and 25% off at a network of independent restaurants.

Use apps with a pay-off

Apps from fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Greggs, Burger King, Subway and Chopstix sometimes have giveaways of free mains, sandwiches and hamburgers. For example, Burger King offers a free whopper with your first click-and-collect order.

Become a mystery diner

Many restaurants and chains employ market research companies to send mystery diners in and report back their findings. In some instances, you can get fed and get paid for sharing your thoughts.

You can sign up with one of the companies online and then get assigned a venue, reporting back, along with pictures, when done. Mystery Dining by HGEM works with chains such as Dishoom, Pret and Itsu, among others, and says volunteers can do as many or as few assignments as they want. When applying, people are asked to write a sample report on a restaurant visit, commenting on the food, cleanliness and venue. The expenses that have been agreed for each visit will be repaid to you three or four weeks after your meal.

Service Scan covers restaurants, bars and hotels in cities around the UK and abroad and operates in a similar style.

Help students

Restaurants at catering colleges are where the chefs of the future start their career, and can give you good food at a reasonable price. The Pillars Restaurant in Ealing is the University of West London’s training restaurant, serving up a three-course dinner for £25 with dishes such as pot roast guinea fowl and chestnut gnocchi on the menu. City of Glasgow College has the Scholars’ restaurant on its campus with themed lunches at £23 a person – there is a small plates day and a seafood tasting menu on another.

The training restaurants usually have set times when you can book and can be limited to term-time openings.