The secret website that gets you 50% off meals out in the UK

Dining out can be expensive. While chain restaurants sometimes offer discounts, coupons or kids-eat-free options, it can be tricky to keep costs down at independent and fine dining restaurants.  

But if you’re prepared to eat a little earlier in the evening, it’s possible to dine out for half price in restaurants across the UK if you’re signed up to a website and app called First Table. 

The best part is that First Table is not just available in London, but across the UK, in many of your favourite city break locations, including Liverpool, Bath, Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow, London, Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester.

Below, we’ve shared Michelin guide restaurants we found on the First Table website from across the country — along with more ways to use the website for cheaper meals out in your favourite foodie cities.

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 enables customers book tables in restaurants at off-peak times and get a 50% discount on food. There's a fee of £4-£8 for the table. 

The website helps restaurants to fill up during quieter times, while offering savings to incentivise 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 of £4-£8 per table, depending on the restaurant and number of diners.
• The 50% discount is only for food. Drinks are excluded.

Some restaurants may notify you of additional requirements, such for every diner to buy a drink or a minimum number of courses per diner.

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 for and 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.

Fine dining restaurants on First Table

While actual Michelin star restaurants don’t often appear on First Table, it’s possible to find Michelin Guide and other fine dining restaurants by changing the price filter to £££ or ££££.

Here are just some of the restaurants we found listed on First Table that currently appear in the Michelin Guide (an indication that they’re recognised, and recommended, by Michelin inspectors). Make sure to check the special conditions for each restaurant, as minimum orders and other rules may apply:

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.

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 sweet potato and harissa soup, pan-fried stone bass forestiere with a side salad and a vanilla creme brulee, the total would be £48.50 without First Table.

But with it, the whole meal would come to just £24.25. Even if you deduct the booking fee of £6, that’s still a £18.25 saving, just for eating at 6.30pm on a Saturday night instead of 7.30pm. Swap the main for a ribeye steak, usually £55.50, and the bill would come to £80 – but with First Table, that would be halved to £40. That’s a saving of over £150 for a group of four.

Madre, a Mexican restaurant by Albert Dock – one of your favourite cultural sights in the city – is also listed on First Table. It has the most positive reviews in its price category, and the only condition is that every diner must buy a drink with their meal.

See all Liverpool restaurants on First Table.

Edinburgh restaurant offers

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

There are a good number of  restaurants offering discounts when you dine off-peak, including Dulse Seafood Shack, which appears in the Michelin Guide and offers 50% off the two course menu, which usually costs £45, or the three course menu which is £50. 

Alternatively, head to Eve for Italian food – we found that you could order a calamari starter, margarita pizza and side of fries for £15, down from £30.

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 booking a table, the fee was £6 per table, and there was a minimum of two courses and one drink per diner.

We found that you could order a starter of oysters £7.50, a main of chicken with cauliflower, ham croquette and gremolata £22.95 and a side of seasonal veg £5.95 , and it would come to £36.40 without First Table. Dining off-peak brought the cost down to less than £19.

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 it has plenty of restaurants listed on First Table.

Michelin Guide Japanese restaurant Robun offers 50% off its à la carte menu – meaning you could order the Robun sashimi and nigiri set for £21 instead of £42, or salmon seared tataki for £6.75 instead of £13.50.

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 Moving Mountains vegan burger for £7 instead of £14, or a superfood salad for £4.50 instead of £9.

See all Bath restaurants on First Table.

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.

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