Marks & Spencer, Bella Italia, and Yard & Coop are among some of the places giving kids free meals this half term.
Now that schools across Greater Manchester are out for the Easter break, and especially amid the growing cost of living crisis that’s continuing to make its impact felt on many families, plenty supermarkets, chain restaurants, and pub groups across the UK are offering kids the chance to eat a hearty meal out for free.
If you’re looking to treat the kids to a meal, but are keen to keep things on the cheaper side and save a few pennies, then thankfully, eating out just got a whole lot easier.
Here’s everything you need to know.
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Supermarkets
M&S Café
When you spend over £5 in the M&S Café this half term, kids can get a meal deal – which normally costs around £3.95, and includes either a sandwich, toastie, pizza or pasta, and a snack, fruit, and a drink – completely for free.
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One free children’s meal per transaction, and the offer runs through to 22 April.
Morrisons Café
From 3pm every day at every Morrisons Café across the UK, you can get a meal from the kids menu for free with any one adult meal at a value of £4.50 or over, and the offer applies to anyone under 16 years of age.
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There’s also a feed the family for £10 running over Easter too.
ASDA Café
Similarly to Morrisons, ASDA Café is offering kids the chance to eat for free every day from 3pm, with both hot meals and a cold selection including in the bargain deal.
Schools across Greater Manchester are out for Easter half term / Credit: Asda CorporateA selection of meal deals at discounted prices mean eating out just got a whole lot easier / Credit: Farmhouse Inns
Restaurants
Bella Italia
Children can eat for £1 with any adult main meal at Bella Italia this Easter.
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Running every day except Saturdays, 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, with the deal also including three courses and a fruit water.
The offer is running until 24 April.
Hungry Horse Pubs
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, which is why Hungry Horse Pubs – which has a number of branches in Greater Manchester – is offering kids the chance to eat breakfast for free with every paying adult.
The offer is available from 8am – 12pm daily.
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Farmhouse Inns
Available every weekday up until 22 April, two kids per paying adult can eat for just £1 each at local branches of Farmhouse Inns this Easter, and they can choose from the small breakfasts, any kids meal or junior carvery, and then relax in the dedicated family areas.
Table Table, Beefeaters & Brewers Fair
Ensuring no one goes hungry this Easter, each Table Table, Beefeaters & Brewers Fair 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.
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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 between 3pm-7pm on weekdays.
Plenty supermarkets, chain restaurants, and pub groups are offering deals / Credit: Bella Italia
Families get the chance to save money on hearty meals out this Easter half term / Credit: Yard & Coop | Brewers Fayre
Yard & Coop
The Northern Quarter’s home of buttermilk fried chicken is offering a kids eat free deal this Easter, which offers one selected free kids meal with every adult main, and has a menu including the likes of Nugz – boneless fried chicken – and the veggie option of Not Chicken Nugz or vegan chicken.
The offer is running noon to 7:30pm on weekdays up until 22 April.
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YO! Sushi
Japanese street food and sushi favourite YO! is letting children under 10 eat for free this half term between 3:30pm and 5:30pm on Monday – Thursday when an adult spends 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.
This offer is running right through until 26 May.
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, kids can eat for free at The Real Greek on Sundays this Easter when adults spend over £10
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Children under 12 get to choose a kids meal, a drink, and an ice cream or sorbet.
Dunelm Cafe-Pausa
Dunelm Cafe-Pausa is offering kids the chance to a free mini main meal this Easter half term, along with two snacks and a drink for every £4 spent in the cafe.
The offer is running until 24 April.
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Featured Image – Morrisons
Trending
Salford Red Devils granted another adjournment over unpaid debts
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils have been given one more adjournment and yet another stay of execution, being given another two weeks to find the money to cover their unpaid debts.
The local rugby league side, which has been wrapped in all manner of struggles both on and off-pitch over the past year or so, reportedly needs to pay around £700,000 to HMRC alone and still owes roughly £5 million in total to various creditors.
To no surprise, regular matchgoers, neutrals and even rivals alike have expressed their continued disappointment with the club, mainly at the lack of transparency and clarity from the organisation throughout this long, drawn-out process.
This is coming from a wire fan but no club deserves to be left in the dark even longer than they already have done it’s nothing but a disgrace to the sport of rugby those owners and the court should be ashamed of themselves.
Updating fans on social media, this is all the information they have communicated at this time: “Salford Red Devils can confirm that HMRC have granted the club a two-week adjournment, providing additional time in which to secure the necessary funds.
“We would like to reassure supporters that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a positive resolution. Further updates will be shared as soon as possible.”
It’s worth noting that the current owners have reiterated that they inheited around £3m in existing debt before they took over the club, but assurances over their own investments have still come to nothing; meanwhile, with many still waiting on wages, players and staff alike have now left.
Having been propped up by loan players and emergency loans, the team is now closer to a skeleton crew than it is an outfit capable of competing in the premier division.
Either way, the outrage remains and is only growing stronger. One user wrote on X: “A good approach by them if they was legit would be to engage and bring in The 1873 to bridge the communication black hole (they created).
“The problem with that is if they did it would expose them for what they are… Extortionists using the club as a vehicle.”
More alarm bells were raised recently when assistant coach and Krisnan Inu – who was also director of the company set up to take over the business – withdrew himself from a key position behind the scenes.
Speaking of The 1873, the outspoken supporters trust took no time at all in issuing a response of their own, adding: “The judge presiding over today’s case has adjourned by 14 days. This adjournment has dragged the uncertainty on even longer.
“Every delay makes planning for 2026 harder and keeps the club stuck in limbo when it desperately needs clarity and direction.
“The fans, the players and the future all deserve better — The 1873.”
You can see the rest of their statement in full down below, but for now, what do you make of this seemingly neverending saga, Salfordians?
Andy Aspinall issues update on Tom’s eye poke injury and calls for changes in the UFC
Danny Jones
Andy Aspinall – father of Manc martial artist Tom Aspinall – has shared a lengthy video interview on his son’s YouTube channel discussing the latest regarding his son’s eye injury.
More importantly, as a concerned parent, he’s also called for better safeguarding and/or tighter rules in the UFC regarding fouls and, in particular, eye poking.
In case you missed it, this past weekend, the Greater Manchester MMA star took on French fighter Ciryl Gane in his first title defence since being named the undisputed heavyweight champion. Unfortunately, the main event match had to be cut short after Aspinall was left unable to see following an eye poke.
Although this is an illegal move in the sport, not only could it not be proved whether it was accidental or perhaps even intentional, as some have speculated on social media, but the only outcome was for the bout to end in a no-contest. Updating fans online, Andy reiterated priorities, dubbing this “just a job”.
🚨BREAKING🚨
Tom Aspinall “𝙎𝙏𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝘾𝘼𝙉’𝙏 𝙎𝙀𝙀” out of his right eye following Ciryl Gane’s double eye poke at UFC 321, his dad Andy has revealed 😳
“His right eye, he still can't see anything.He said it's just grey.
As you can see in the main clip above, Andy says that the Atherton-born fighter still “can’t see anything” out of his right eye, describing his sight as little more than “just grey”; meanwhile, his left eye is said to be at roughly 50% vision, having struggled to get more than a few rows down on a Snellen chart.
Essentially, the short version is that after the pain of the controversial eye poke, the muscles in his eye still aren’t healed and will be going for even more eye tests, including an eye test.
However, arguably the most salient points to take away from the video were those regarding his son’s overall welfare and the safety of the sport, as it is clear that Andy was talking chiefly as an understandably worried father rather than his coach.
“For me, everything is about his health. It’s not about the fighting – that’s just what he chose to do as a job”, he says, also clarifying that he isn’t accusing Gane of any ill intent, personally, and that the referees need to have more powers when it comes to fouling.
He also reminded those watching that the Wigan native has a wife and three kids to think about, stating, “This is just a job that he’s doing at this period in time, and he’ll do another job”, before going on to add, “What [will] it take?” for the UFC to get stricter around fouls like these.
You can watch the most recent update on Tom Aspinall from his dad, Andy, in full down below.
Andy Aspinall also had plenty to say in terms of what the UFC can do to better protect fighters/improve the rules.
Andy also made a point of suggesting once again that Tom should maybe turn to boxing instead of MMA, not only because of the added safety measures but because of the bigger paydays.
Do you think the UFC needs to be more stringent when it comes to not only protecting its fighters but also the rules and punishments surrounding serious fouls, such as eye pokes?
AND, alternatively, do you think Tom Aspinall would be well-suited to a boxing ring?
In the immediate aftermath of the injury, he was the first to admit that “this is a dangerous f***ing sport”; whether or not coming this close to permanent damage has made him reconsider, only time will tell.
Emily Sergeant -
7th April 2022 
