TGI Friday’s, IKEA, Bella Italia, and Yard & Coop are just some of the places offering kids the chance to eat for £1 or free his Easter holidays.
Now that schools across Greater Manchester are out for the Easter holidays, and with the rising cost of living crisis sadly continuing to make its impact felt on many families, plenty of supermarkets, independent and chain restaurants, and pub groups across the UK are offering kids the chance to eat a hearty meal out for as little as £1.
Some are even offering up children’s meals completely free of charge.
So if you’re looking to treat the kids to a meal, but you’re keen to keep things on the cheaper side and save a few pennies, then thankfully, eating out just got a whole lot easier.
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Supermarkets
Here’s a round-up of all the supermarkets offering dining deals this Easter.
Asda
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Asda has extended its £1 kids’ dining deal at all of its 205 in-store cafes throughout the Easter holidays, and it includes a sandwich, drink, and piece of fruit, as well as other treats like as a jelly pot or a jelly squeeze pouch as an alternative to a pack of crisps.
Morrisons
Morrisons has partnered with Kellogg’s to launch a breakfast club this Easter holidays.
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Running from 3-24 April, both adults and children can choose from a bowl of Cornflakes, Rice Krispies or Coco Pops, with a choice of dairy and non dairy milk, when they order a ‘Kellogg’s breakfast’ before 11am in any of Morrisons’ 397 cafes.
Sainsbury’s
Kids can tuck into a hot meal for just £1 with any adult main throughout Easter at all of its in-store cafes nationwide.
M&S
When adults spend £5 in the M&S Café from any day up to Friday 14 April 2023, little ones can enjoy a main, a snack, and a drink from the ‘Kids’ Munch Menu’ for free.
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Lots of places are offering kids the chance to eat for £1 or free this February half term / Credit: YO! Sushi & Beefeater
Restaurants & Cafes
Ducie Street Warehouse
The restaurant at Ducie Street Warehouse in the heart of Manchester city centre will be offering kids the chance to eat a meal “designed for curious minds” completely free of charge with every adult meal £10 or over every Monday-Thursday over the Easter holidays starting.
The offer is valid for children aged 10 and under, and up to two children.
Yard & Coop
The Northern Quarter’s home of buttermilk fried chicken is offering a ‘kids eat free deal’ this Easter school holidays.
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Available each weekday from 12pm-7:30pm, one selected free kids meal comes with every adult main, and they get to choose from a menu that includes the likes of Nugz, the veggie option of Not Chicken Nugz, or vegan chicken.
IKEA
Everyday from 11am in all IKEA restaurants nationwide, including in Ashton-under-Lyne and Warrington, kids can help themselves to a plate of pasta and tomato sauce with a drink for 95p, or any other children’s meal for £1.50.
There’s lots of chances to save pennies / Credit: Bella Italia
Banyan
Kids can eat for free at Banyan Spinningfields this Easter school holidays when you buy an adult main meal, so it’s perfect for when you want to head out as a family for lunch, or for an evening when you don’t want to spend time cooking.
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The offer is available until 6pm from Monday 3 – Thursday 6 April, and again from Tuesday 11 – Friday 14 April.
Bella Italia
Children can eat for £1 with any adult main meal at Bella Italia this Easter.
Free to claim between 4pm and 6pm from Monday to Thursday, the Piccolo menu is aimed at children aged two to six years, with the Grande for seven to 11-year-olds, and some of the dishes include meatballs, bolognese, carbonara, and pizza.
The deal includes up three courses and a fruit water.
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TGI Friday’s
A family feast is in order down at TGI Fridays throughout the Easter holidays, as new and existing Rewards Members can get themselves a free kids’ meal – with favourites like the Bacon Cheeseburger and Fridays Hotdog on the menu – when they order an adult’s main meal.
Bill’s
Up to two kids per table eat free all day at Bill’s from on weekdays up until Friday 24 February when an adult orders any main dish, so whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, there’s a dish to feed your little one no matter the time of day.
The menu features a range of delicious family favourites – including buttermilk pancakes, mac & cheese, and fish fingers and chips.
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Yard & Coop and The Real Greek are two of the places offering kids dining deals / Credit: Yard & Coop | The Real Greek
YO! Sushi
Japanese street food and sushi favourite YO! is letting children eat for free this Easter holidays each weekday until Friday 14 April with every adult paying at least £10 – with the offer including a main, a side, and a drink from the Kids Meal Deal menu, and a dessert can be added for £1.50.
The Real Greek
With a popular branch in the Corn Exchange in Manchester city centre, and a new restaurant having recently-opened in the Trafford Centre too, The Real Greek is offering one free kids meal for each adult who spends £10 or more when they dine in at their restaurants.
Children under 12 get to choose a kids meal, a drink, and an ice cream or sorbet.
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Dunelm Cafe
Dunelm Cafe is offering kids the chance to grab a free mini main meal this Easter holidays, along with two snacks and a drink for every £4 spent.
The offer is available from 3pm each weekday from Monday to Friday.
Hearty meals are available at all times of the day / Credit: Hungry Horse, Beefeater & Morrisons
Pubs
Hungry Horse
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, which is why Hungry Horse Pubs – which has several branches in Greater Manchester – is offering kids the chance to eat breakfast for free with every paying adult.
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The offer is available from 8am – 12pm every day of the Easter holidays.
Farmhouse Inns
Farmhouse Inns – which has a number of sites across Greater Manchester – is offering its email subscribers the chance to grab two kids’ meals, including the delicious fresh carvery, for £1 each from Monday to Saturday when accompanied by a paying adult.
The offer is available every day while schools.
Kids eat for free at Bills this Easter holidays / Credit: Bills
Table Table, Beefeaters & Brewers Fayre
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Ensuring no one goes hungry this Easter, each Table Table, Beefeaters & Brewers Fayre branch across Greater Manchester is offering a free breakfast for every child with a paying adult.
You can choose as much as you like from the cooked and Continental selections, including bacon, sausages, eggs, hash browns and more, alongside baked pastries, cereal, fresh fruit, and chilled juices and unlimited tea or coffee to accompany.
Sizzling Pub & Grill
There’s a whole host of Sizzling Pub & Grill restaurants across Greater Manchester and the north west that are offering kids the chance to eat for just £1 with every adult main meal.
The offer runs from Monday to Friday between 3pm and 7pm.
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Featured Image – Banyan
Kids & Family
This Manchester suburb has just been named one of the UK’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2024
Thomas Melia
An annual poll has named the Manchester suburb of Didsbury spot among 70 locations said to be the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.
Greater Manchester has got lots to say for itself, especially with its diverse and unique cultural landscapes, as well as various vibrant communities, so it comes as no surprise that one of our beautiful suburbs has been voted in a list of the UK’s happiest places to live for this year.
The survey included submissions from 5,000 people and there’s a lot of love being shown to the neighbouring areas of Yorkshire like Doncaster, Bingley, and Harrogate – the lattermost placed in second in the entire country.
But, ranking 62nd out of a possible 70 places, the distinct and vibrant area of Didsbury has been noticed by Furniturebox as one of the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.
Credit: The Manc Group
The results took into consideration good state schools, affordable housing, as well as accessibility to pubs, bars, restaurants, independent shops, retailers and more.
With multiple parks, walking destinations, and top-notch travel links with Bee Network trams and buses easily taking you back into the city centre and out to other boroughs, East, West and Didsbury Village all remain some of the most sought-after areas in the region.
There’s a whole host of indie retailers to enjoy, especially on the likes of the main high street and Burton Road, which effectively serves as its own cultural district, home to vintage clothing shops like Steranko, tailored styling opticians Fox Brothers and much more.
Burton Rd also boasts countless fantastic food and drink spots like The Great Kathmandu, SANTÉ, Volta and Proove Pizza, just to name a few; we’ve spent plenty of time just on this stretch of Didsbury alone.
If you’ve spent even a little time in Dids, you’ll know there’s plenty going on and it’s certainly one our happiest places in all of Greater Manchester and therefore the UK.
You can also enjoy the famous ‘Didsbury Dozen’ right on your doorstep.
Elsewhere, and somewhat unsurprisingly, Shakespeare’s ever-romanticised hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon once again reigned supreme at the top of this list.
That being said, it’s refreshing to see that these locations weren’t entirely related to wealth and similar factors, the survey took affordability into careful consideration.
Cheshire was destined for success with its cracking views and grand properties, as the North West county made waves for the region managing to place in fifth position, holding up against Falmouth in Cornwall which placed in sixth.
Although not nabbing that all-important top spot, Didsbury is carrying the flag for 0161 and showing what all know to be true: Northerners do it best.
Manchester’s new real-life Pac-Man experience is coming soon and you can grab early bird tickets
Danny Jones
Manchester already boasts a whole host of interactive games bars and activity destinations to boast, but we feel pretty confident in saying that there are very places on the planet where you can find a place to play a real-life version of Pac-Man.
First announced back in October and now scheduled to debut in March 2025, the Pac-Man Live Experience is the newest addition to Manchester’s growing entertainment scene and it’s promising to be a popular one too.
This brand-new life-sized immersive experience plunges players into the nostalgic world of the iconic video game we all know and love, only instead of using joysticks on an old-school arcade machine, they’ll physically sprint, dodge, and chomp their way through a maze.
Although the launch itself is still a few months away, the team behind this ingenious idea are getting ready for the frenzy and putting early bird tickets on sale ahead of opening day.
Credit: Concept Image (supplied)
So how does it work?
Good question: participants can gear up in a PAC vest and step into the role of the instantly recognisable yellow chomper, collecting power pellets, dodging the classic ghost characters – BLINKY, PINKY, INKY, and CLYDE – and racking up points on their way to victory.
Guided through an epic 12-level adventure, players will be led by the ‘PAC-MASTER’: a lively gameshow host who serves as commentator and referee; players will also be accompanied by immersive in-game effects like sound bites, lighting, and haptic (vibration) feedback to elevate the experience. Cool, right?
The striking Arcade Arena will feature two massive PAC-MAN courts projected onto the floor, while dynamic visuals transform the walls, fully immersing participants in the retro arcade universe. There’s no need for headsets either, so players can embark on a multi-sensory adventure, seamlessly blending the real world with augmented reality.
Created by Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the CEO and Founder of Little Lion Entertainment – the same team behind The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Tomb Raider, and Chaos Karts to the likes of London and more recently Manchester –
The whole thing has been brought to life in partnership with Bandai Namco Entertainment, lending the proper licensing to make the experience feel both fun and authentic. It’s the real deal.
Credit: Supplied
Early bird tickets for Pac-Man Live Manchester
If you’re not sold on playing a human-sized, real-life game of Pac-Man in a huge augmented-reality arena right here in Manchester then we don’t know what to tell you, to be honest – all we know is that we’ll be first in line when it arrives.
The Pac-Man Live Experience comes to the Arcade Arena on 22 March next year in line with the game’s 40th anniversary, and they’re inviting players of all ages and providing engaging gameplay for younger participants while delivering a nostalgic throwback that parents and grandparents will cherish.
Better yet, if you book during the early bird window, you can access discount ticket prices from just £25 per person too.
Early bird tickets go on sale at 12 noon today (Thursday, 21 November) – you can grab yours HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd April 2023 
