This post is was written with tastecard but all thoughts are my own.
What is tastecard?
tastecard is a discount scheme which saves members up to half the cost of dining out.
It costs £5.99 a month – or £39.99 for a full year – for membership. To get your discount, you download an app which gives you money off – usually 2-4-1 or up to 50% off – whenever you eat out at certain restaurants.
It’s particularly useful for families, as many family friendly chain restaurants are members including Zizzi, Prezzo, Carluccio’s, Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia and Burger King.
There are also plenty of independent restaurants who offer money off, including my local curry house which is probably the place I’m most likely to visit for a midweek dinner, which offers 2 for 1 on meals if booked in advance between Sunday and Thursday.
In addition, you can save 25% at coffee shops, and 50% on Papa John’s, Domino’s and Pizza Hut pizza delivery, and great cinema ticket savings. Some discounts are available weekdays only, and others are available every day; you can search the mobile app easily to see what’s available in your area.
Some areas have more restaurants on the scheme than others
If you live near a big town, you’re very likely to have lots around. The map below shows the restaurants (and cinemas) in Reading that offer some kind of discount to tastecard members; quite a selection!
There are of course many more restaurant deals in London so if you have a day out planned, do remember to see what you can save.
Using tastecard to save money on meals out
I took a friend out to see what I could save with the tastecard, and how easy it was to use, in preparation for the Easter holidays.
We decided to try it out at Prezzo in Reading. It was a Thursday, early evening, and we hadn’t booked but mentioned to the waitress that we had a tastecard as we sat down.
I’d been to other Prezzo restaurants before, and this one was very similar. I do think that as chain restaurants go, Prezzo definitely offers more in terms of ambience and variety on the menu; it wasn’t all just pizza or pasta, and there was an entire gluten free menu too.
When you use your tastecard in Prezzo, you can get two meals for the price of one. The cheapest dish is free on starters, mains and desserts which means you can save up to half the cost of your food. Drinks and sides etc you pay full price for.
We only had a main course – we were going to go for a dessert too, but the menu never materialised so we left and got a cocktail instead!
The crab and lobster ravioli tasted so good, although I could definitely have eaten twice or three times the portion! My friend opted for a gluten free spaghetti with king prawns, which seemed more substantial.
At the end of the mill when we asked for the bill, I showed the waitress the tastecard number on the app, and she came back with the bill which had the cost of the second main course taken off – saving us £16.50.
I’ll definitely be making use of the tastecard during the Easter holidays. The kids will happily share a pizza (they’re big enough!) while I get a main course. To make a day of it, cinema tickets at the Vue Cinema across the road are £5.09 each including fees when booked in advance with the tastecard; the full price for a VIP seat is £8.49, making a saving of £3.40 on each ticket.
To register for your own tastecard, you can go to their website or download the app to see what’s available near you.
If you’re looking for more money saving tips, take a look at morethanamummy.com!