50% off dining? Yes please!
- Nick Mosley
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
Let’s face it, we’re all after a dining bargain if we can get one, writes Nick Mosley. This week he shares two online platforms that will save you pounds in Brighton and Hove.
Each week in The Argus Taste section we share dining and drinking deals at restaurants, cafés and bars across the city and surrounding county so our readers can enjoy great value and local businesses can generate the footfall and spend they need to survive.
I don’t usually get excited about food tech, especially as much of it has proved to be the Emperor’s New Clothes. That said, the likes of Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats have revolutionised seamless food delivery and become household names in the process. Meanwhile, in bricks and mortar venues, post-covid we’re all a lot more familiar with scanning a QR code to view a menu, allergens or order; whilst a little de-humanising it certainly streamlines the transaction as you can witness at Brighton’s Shelter Hall or Wetherspoon on a national scale.
An online platform – that’s a fancy name for a website and mobile app – that is going from strength to strength at the moment is First Table. I know its good because many of my friends and colleagues who work in hospitality in the city frequently use it to get 50% off food at some of our best restaurants.
The concept is pretty straightforward. You book online at www.firsttable.co.uk – or via their app – and get 50% off your food bill at certain times of the day at participating restaurants. Its worth noting that the offer is food only so drinks and tips are extra. Open dates are around a week ahead, with timings including breakfast, lunch or early evening dining – and late tables in some cases. The First Table website makes money from a service commission of £4-8 which covers bookings of up to four diners.
It certainly isn’t rocket science but its definitely a win-win model for diners and restaurateurs; the restaurant fills empty tables at a quiet time of the day whilst diners get to enjoy a meal with a whopping 50% discount.
As I write this in mid-March, a quick scan of the First Table website lists many of my favourite restaurants in the city, most of which either a colleague or I have reviewed in The Argus Taste section in the past year or so.
Cases Wine Bar, Fumi Japanese, Embers, Dilsk, Halisco. English’s of Brighton, The Copper Clam, Gars, Market, Apiary, La Tapa Loca, Coconut Island, MediTerra Kitchen, Indian Summer, Franco Manca, Nostos, Fourth and Church, The Prestonville Arms, Drift Bar and Kitchen at the Brighton i360, The Golden Peacock, Hotel du Vin, Blossoms, Taro, Lost in the Lanes, Food for Friends, The Canopy… even the restaurant at Bolney Wine Estate in West Sussex.
Add to that well-known restaurants such as The Flint House, Bardsley’s Fish and Chips, Wild Flor, The Walrus, Plateau, Purezza, Chilli, Lion and Lobster, Bali Brasserie, Malmaison, Moksha and Namo then you’ve an awful lot of choice if you’re flexible with your dining times. And let’s face it, with 50% off the menu its a great excuse for a late lunch or early supper.
On the flip side is the challenge that restaurateurs and food retailers have at the end of the day when they have edible food that won’t be sold. At a time when many families and individuals are challenged by the cost of living – and the need to provide both nutrition and full tummies – many hospitality businesses and stores have taken an ethical stance and joined the Too Good To Go app: www.toogoodtogo.com.
The social enterprise originated in Copenhagen in 2015 and has gone global. Download the free app from Apple or Google’s store, search for your location and you’ll be presented with a list of all the shops and eateries that want to minimise their perfectly edible food ‘waste’. The times aren’t always the most convenient for consumers to collect but if you’re looking for premium – if sometimes random – food for rock bottom prices to eat at home then this is definitely one for you.
You’ll never know exactly what you’re getting but from a cursory glance of the app revealed a breakfast buffet bag from Leonardo hotels for £6.39 or the Ibis hotel for £4, pastries and sandwiches from Costa Coffee for £3.50, a deal from West Cornwall Pasty Co at Brighton station for £4.19, breakfast and lunch bags at Pret, Caffé Nero and Starbucks, plus ‘surprise’ grocery bags from the Co-Op and a BP Marks and Spencer franchise for around £4.
My Argus dining deals tip for this week is to get online and check out First Table and Too Good To Go to find yourself an incredible restaurant dining deal or a grab-and-go grocery bag for home.
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