Booking a festive dinner? This insider website gets you 50% off meals out in the UK

Dining out can be expensive, but if you’re willing to eat earlier or later in the evening, or have lunch at a slightly more flexible time, you can dine out for half price at restaurants across the UK using a website and app called First Table. 

First Table is available across the UK, including many of your favourite city break locations, such as Liverpool, Bath, Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow, London, Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester.

Below, we’ve shared top restaurants, from independent eateries and high-end restaurants to popular chains across your favourite foodie cities, to help you get your next meal out cheaper.

Read on to find out how to sign up and get 50% off your next meal out.

What is First Table?

First Table is a website that lets customers book tables at restaurants during off-peak times and get 50% off food. There's a £4-£8 fee per table. 

The website helps restaurants fill tables during quieter times while offering savings to encourage customers to try something new when eating out.

Is there a catch?

No. But there is a fee for the booking, and some basic rules to stick to:

• Tables must be a minimum of two diners. Groups are allowed, but only up to four people, including children.
• There's a fee per table, depending on the restaurant and number of diners.
• The 50% discount is only for food. Drinks are excluded.

Some restaurants may require additional conditions, such as every diner buying a drink or a minimum number of courses.

These are clearly shown before you finalise your booking, and there are usually plenty of restaurants that don’t have extra rules.

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How does it work?

1. Sign up for a free First Table account.
2. Select a city and ‘Find a Table’.
3. Select the date and time range you’d like to book, then use the filters to find a restaurant that interests you. You can choose between areas of the city, cuisine, dietary requirements, price range, types of venues, accessibility levels and even additional features such as high chairs, dog-friendly policies or wi-fi.
4. Choose an available slot at the restaurant you’d like to book.
5. Confirm your booking and pay the £4-£8 booking fee, which confirms your table booking and 50% discount.

Can you use First Table at the same restaurant twice?

Yes – but not twice in a row. First Table says this is to encourage diners to try new restaurants and keep things fair for all app users.

Fine dining restaurants on First Table

While Michelin-starred and Michelin Guide restaurants don’t often appear on First Table, you can find them by changing the price filter to £££ or ££££.

Here are some of the restaurants we found on First Table that currently appear in the Michelin Guide (an indication that Michelin inspectors recognise and recommend them). 

Make sure to check the special conditions for each restaurant, as minimum orders and other rules may apply:

Galvin La Chapelle, London (one Michelin Star) 

Motorino, London (Michelin Guide) 

The Wolseley, London (Michelin Guide) 

Elements, Glasgow (Michelin Guide) 

Home, Belfast (Michelin Guide)

Robun, Bath (Michelin Guide)

Popular chains on First Table

We also spotted chain restaurants such as Pizza Express, Turtle Bay and Dishoom offering 50% off meals in cities across the UK. Find them by selecting the city you’re interested in, then searching for a restaurant.

Just keep in mind that First Table discounts can’t be used in conjunction with other deals, offers or discounts.

First Table is available across the country, including in London, Bristol and Cardiff, which were in your top 10 favourite city-break locations, along with Manchester, Brighton and Leeds.

Liverpool restaurants on First Table

Liverpool was rated your favourite city in our previous survey of the top UK city breaks, and it's home to a buzzing food scene. It’s no wonder you gave it an impressive four stars for its food and drink. First Table has dozens of Liverpool restaurants listed for 50% discounts across different budgets.

We checked how much it would cost to order a three-course meal at Hotel Malmaison’s in-house restaurant, Chez Mal – one of the most upmarket restaurants currently available on First Table in Liverpool. 

We found that if you ordered a roasted butternut squash soup (£9.50), grilled halibut with crispy sprouts and greens (£28), with black truffle and parmesan fries (£8) and a poached pear and almond tart (£9.50), the total would be £55 without First Table.

But with it, the whole meal would come to just £27.50. Even after deducting the £6 booking fee, that’s still a £21.50 saving, just for eating at 6pm on a Saturday night instead of 7pm. 

Swap the main for a ribeye steak, usually £55.50, and the bill would come to £82.50 – but with First Table, that would be halved to £41.25. That’s a saving of up to £165 for a group of four.

Popular Mumbai cuisine chain Dishoom Permit Room also offers 50% off early evening tables for a table fee of £6, bringing the cost of a sharing mixed grill from £39.90 to under £20, a jackfruit berry biryani from £17.50 to £8.75, and charred lamb chops from £18.90 to £9.45. 

See all Liverpool restaurants on First Table.

Edinburgh restaurant offers

Edinburgh was another favourite large city in our survey – and you gave it four stars for food and drink. 

There are a good number of restaurants in Edinburgh offering discounts when you dine off-peak – like at Italian restaurant Eve, where we found that you could order a calamari starter, margarita pizza and side of fries for £15.50, down from £31.

Alternatively, head to New Town Mexican restaurant The Basement, popular Indian restaurant Mother India, and Old Town Haunt The Commons Club for half-price dining.

See all Edinburgh restaurants on First Table.

Belfast restaurant half-price deals

Also among your top five city-break destinations was Belfast, where you’ll find a good range of restaurants listed on First Table, including Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Home.

When we tried to book, the fee was £6 per table, with a minimum of two courses and one drink per diner, though some menus and dishes were excluded, such as the prix fixe, market fish and duck.

We found you could order a starter of leek and potato velouté with pancetta for £7, a main of chicken with cauliflower, ham croquette and gremolata for £22.95 and a side of seasonal veg for £5.95, for £35.54 without First Table. Dining off-peak brought the cost down to less than £18.

See all Belfast restaurants on First Table.

Dine at Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide for less than £50.

Bath restaurants on First Table

Bath is your favourite medium-sized city, according to our survey, and First Table lists plenty of restaurants there.

Michelin Guide Japanese restaurant Robun offers 50% off its à la carte menu – meaning you could order bluefin tuna tartare (£15), beef bulgogi (£21) and a side of asian slaw (£7) for £21.50, down from £43 – a £13.50 saving after the £8 table fee.  

Alternatively, head to The Griffin Inn, which also offers a 50% discount on its à la carte menu of traditional pub fare if you dine off-peak. For example, you could order a homemade vegan burger and fries for £8.50 instead of £17, or a smoked salmon, feta and capers on toast for £6 instead of £12.  

First Table is also available in London, Bristol and Cardiff, which were in your top 10 favourite city-break locations, along with Manchester, Brighton and Leeds.

See all Bath restaurants on First Table.

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