The summer holidays are here, and in addition to keeping the kids entertained and busy, they also have to be kept fed and full. Thankfully, the school holiday period is when restaurants, cafes, pubs and supermarkets have offers to let kids eat for free or cheaply.
As circumstances differ, and family needs can range from simply looking for a way to save while on family outings to needing affordable meal options during the school holidays, knowing where you can find these deals is important.
This is where this guide comes in. You can tackle the rising cost of living with this list of 10 establishments, ranging from popular supermarket cafes to family-friendly pubs across the UK, where you can get your kids free or low-cost meals. The deals provided in this blog have been verified as of July 2026.
- Where to find meal deals for kids
- £1 meal deal at Asda
- Kids eat free at Dunelm cafes
- Free kids meal at Morrisons
- Sainsbury's £1 meal offer
- Kids eat free at Tesco
- £1 kids' meal at Harvester
- Kids' meal reduction at Hungry Horse
- £1 meal offer at Toby Carvery
- Free kids' breakfast at Premier Inn
- Kids' meal offer at Village Hotels
- FAQs
Where to Find Meal Deals for Kids
While families across the UK have taken a number of steps to save money, such as learning how to save money on food, extra measures may be needed during the school holidays.
The school holidays can often be a financially difficult time as they often include organising childcare, and planning days out and holiday activities for kids. With the increased cost of keeping the kids fed throughout each day, it can be challenging for families, especially families that rely on free school meals.
In a survey of parents’ experiences of the February 2026 half-term, The Children’s Society found that 65% of parents expressed worry about the cost of food for their children during the school holidays. For parents on income-related benefits, 77% of them shared this same worry.
To address the costs related to the overall costs of school holidays this summer, the UK Government has introduced a temporary 5% VAT reduction on kids’ meals, activities such as attending theatres, cinemas, concerts, exhibitions and shows, and on all admission tickets to selected family attractions. This reduction is in place from the 25th of June 2026 to the 1st of September 2026.
Here are the 10 places where kids can eat for free or for as little as £1 during these school holidays. Offers from major UK supermarket cafés, restaurant chains and family pubs were reviewed and selected based on availability, value for money and relevance during the 2026 summer school holidays.
1. Asda’s Kids Eat for £1 Offer
- Minimum spend required: No
- Additional purchase required: No
- Availability: All day, 7 days a week
Visit your closest Asda Cafe with the kids for the £1 meal offer. This offer does not require a minimum spend or additional purchase to redeem, making it ideal for families that need the extra help.
With this offer, kids who are under 16 can get a maximum of 1 meal per day from the kids’ menu. On the kids’ menu, they can find hot meals with one piece of fruit and cold pick-and-choose options.
Hot meal options include:
- all-day breakfast
- pancakes with maple syrup
- pasta and meatballs
- chicken nuggets
Cold pick-and-choose mix includes the choice of the following:
- a sandwich
- a drink
- a piece of fruit
- a yoghurt
- a snack
2. Pausa at Dunelm - Kids Eat for Free
- Minimum spend required: £5
- Availability: All day, every day during school holidays
When visiting a Dunelm store during the school holidays, pop in to the Pausa Cafe with your little one for a free kids’ meal.
This offer is available for every £5 spent by an adult in the cafe. When an adult purchase is made, your kid can receive a free mini main along with two snacks and a drink from the menu.
3. Free Kids' Meals at Morrisons Cafes
- Minimum spend required: £5
- Additional purchase required: Adult main meal
- Availability: Every day, seven days a week
Available at Morrisons Cafes across the UK every day of the week, children under the age of 16, accompanied by an adult who purchases an adult main meal of £5 or more, get a free kids meal.
The adult main meals are found under ‘The Breakfasts’ or ‘The Classics’ on the menu (‘Extras’ excluded).
For the kids, they can choose from the following on the kids' menu:
- Birds Eye Chicken Dippers
- Birds Eye Fish Fingers
- Birds Eye Green Cuisine
- Veggie Fingers
- Goodfella’s Mini 4 Cheese Pizza
- Any kids drink
These meals would usually cost about £4 each. In addition to these meals from the kids' menu, the free meal offer includes the Kids Pick n Mix meal deal from fridges inside the cafes.
4. Kids Eat for £1 at Sainsbury's Cafes
- Minimum spend required: £5.20
- Additional purchase required: Adult hot main meal
- Availability: Every day from 11:30 am
Over at the Sainbury's Cafes, kids can get a hot meal or lunch bag for just £1 when purchased with an adult hot main meal of at least £5.20.
5. Kids Eat Free at The Cafe and The Coffee Shop in Tesco
- Additional purchase required: Any adult purchase
- Availability: 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026, including weekends
The Cafe and The Coffee Shops in Tesco stores across 330 locations will be offering kids’ meal deals and the VAT reduction on kids’ meals to help keep kids fed for less.
What stands out about the free meal offer at Tesco is that there is no minimum spend, and an adult purchase includes anything, no matter how small. Additionally, there is no limit to how many kids’ meals can be redeemed.
One free meal is available on the following, as dine-in only with a child present at The Cafe and The Coffee Shop per adult purchase with the Tesco clubcard or app:
- Kids' Hot Meal Deal (omega 3 fish fingers, baked chicken strips and pork sausages)
- Kids' Breakfast (egg & soldiers, beans & soldiers and pancakes)
- Kids' Pick ‘N’ Mix Deal (a sandwich, a drink, 2 snacks and a piece of fruit)
What’s more, Tesco is also offering Free Fruit for Kids from the 20th of July 2026 to the 30th of August 2026. This offer will allow children to pick up free apples at checkouts in 800+ large Tesco stores and 77 large Express stores. This offer extends to Click & Collect customers at selected stores.
6. Kids Eat for £1 at Harvester Throughout Summer
- Additional purchase required: Adult main
- Availability: Every day during the school holidays until 4 September 2026
Harvester is offering families stopping by during a family day out or in search of a convenient school holiday deal on kids’ meals. During the summer holidays, kids can enjoy a main from the kids’ menu or breakfast menu for £1 when ordered with an adult main.
With every kids’ meal, Harvester throws in an unlimited salad. To sweeten the deal and meal, a dessert option from the kids’ menu can be added for only £2 extra.
To redeem this offer, be sure to register or log in to your Harvester account or download the mobile app to claim it.
7. Hungry Horse’s VAT Reduction on Kids’ Meals
- Availability: 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026
The family-friendly pub Hungry Horse is applying current VAT changes to their Kids Eat for £1 offer and other kids’ meals. Until the 1st of September, the Kids Eat for £1 offer will become the Kids Eat for 88p offer, and other meals will have a 5% reduction, applied automatically at the till.
In summary, this reduction applies to:
- Meals on the kids' menus
- Kids Eat for £1 offer (Kids Eat for 88p)
- Additional courses part of a qualifying kids’ meal deal (plus eligible desserts and drinks)
- Drinks on the kids' menus such as Fruit Shoot, Innocent Water, Ribena, glass of milk, Yazoo, and fruit juice (standard serve)
Note that cordials and carbonated soft drinks are excluded from the reduction.
Once the reduction period has passed, you can still enjoy the Kids Eat for £1 offer every Monday with every full-paying adult.
8. Kids Eat for £1 at Toby Carvery
- Additional purchase required: Adult main meal or all-you-can-eat breakfast
- Availability: 29 June 2026 to 4 September 2026, every day of the week
For the summer school holidays, Toby Carvery is having a Kids Eat for £1 offer for kids' meals purchased with a qualifying adult main meal.
The offer is available from Monday to Sunday, making it a convenient and accessible option for busy families. Whether it’s an adult meal or a kids' meal, patrons can look forward to freshly prepared vegetables, roast potatoes, gravy, and so much more.
The offer can be redeemed from the Toby app and can be redeemed for up to six adults and children.
9. Kids Eat Free Breakfast at Premier Inn
- Additional purchase required: Premier Inn Breakfast
- Availability: During the summer holidays
Passing by Premier Inn or planning a stay? Take the kids along and secure a free breakfast for them. When an adult purchases a full Premier Inn Breakfast from £10.99, kids under 16 can eat breakfast for free.
This offer applies to up to two children per adult who orders the Premier Inn Breakfast. Please note that not all Premier Inn locations offer the Premier Inn Breakfast; therefore, it is important to check whether the location closest to you has this offer on the hotel website.
10. Kids Eat Free at Village Hotels
- Additional purchase required: Adult main course meal
- Availability: 20 July 2026 to 4 September 2026, midweek from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Available during the UK school holidays only, Village Hotels is offering families a great meal deal to keep the kids full during this time. At the Village Hotel’s Pub & Grill, excluding the Village Blackpool location, one child can eat for free from the kids’ menu per paying adult who orders a main course.
To claim this deal, you can book The Weekend Edit package or download the Village Rewards app. It is important to note that this free meal deal cannot be used alongside other discounts or offers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about where your kids can eat for free or at an affordable price? Here are a few common questions and answers to give you some clarity.
1. Do you need a voucher to claim a kids' meal deal?
Supermarkets, restaurants and cafes may offer free and £1 meal offers that can be redeemed if you are a member of their rewards programme, through vouchers on their websites or mobile apps, or the offers are automatically applied. Be sure to check the details of the offer beforehand.
2. Can the £1 meal offers be combined with other discounts?
Free or £1 meal offers often cannot be used in conjunction with other promotions or discounts that cafes, restaurants, or supermarkets may have. In some cases, meal offers can only be redeemed as part of another promotion. It is important to check the terms and conditions beforehand.
3. Should you call ahead to confirm a free meal offer for kids?
Yes, while supermarkets, cafes, franchise pubs, restaurants and travel locations such as hotels or inns offer meal deals, you should call ahead to check if your nearest location is participating in the promotion.
4. Do children always eat for free or £1 during the school holidays?
School holiday and half-term meal deals are common and popular across the UK; however, not every restaurant, cafe or supermarket will offer the deals. As this is often a promotional offer, availability is determined by the store or restaurant.
Furthermore, for kids to eat for free or at a discounted price, certain conditions, such as a minimum spend on an adult meal, may be required.
5. Can more than one child eat for free with a paying adult?
The limit on how many children can eat for free depends on the promotions and terms and conditions. Variations in limits can range from one free kids’ meal per adult purchase to one free kids’ meal per day. Remember to check the terms and conditions of a specific promotion beforehand.
6. Are there cheap places for kids to eat all year round?
While specific deals for free meals may not be available throughout the year, establishments can run promotions offering discounted kids’ meals at various times during the year. To save on meals for kids at any time of the year, you can also use Restaurant discount codes and Supermarket promo codes.
Establishments such as Asda Cafes keep their £1 for a meal deal running every day, making it a much-needed option for families. Morrisons offers their free kids’ meal deal every day as well.
Food banks and food programmes that can be found on the GOV.UK website are also great options for free food.
7. What are the age limits on kids' meal offers?
Age limits are dependent on an establishment’s terms and conditions. Common age limits on meal deals that you may encounter include deals for children 12 years and under or deals for children under 16.
8. How can I find ‘kids eat free’ offers?
As offers and promotions can run for limited times or change throughout the year, you can keep up with the latest offers by signing up for establishments’ newsletters, visiting their social media pages, and even signing up for their reward programmes.
Make the Best of Deals that let Kids Eat for Free or Cheap
Keeping the kids fed over the holidays does not have to stress you out. There are a number of establishments across the country that will let the kids eat for free or cheaply. So the whole family can go out for quality time at a local restaurant, pub or cafe without a hefty bill. Additionally, families that need the extra help can breathe a sigh of relief that the kids will still be able to enjoy a nutritious meal during this time.
There is always an opportunity to save money on the food and snacks the kids need, so in addition to this guide, check out our offering of Food & Drink voucher codes.
