As most of you know, who are in the UK, the government has introduced a scheme called eat out to help out whereby the consumer is given a 50% discount, up to £10.00 off their food every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the month of August. Most restaurants in the UK have accepted this scheme in the hopes to rebuild the economy by increasing consumer spending with that being said I decided to take my mother and a friend out with me to enjoy this scheme, regardless of being on a healthy eating plan.
Based on what I was hearing from other peoples experience is; some restaurants were only accepting bookings and they were turning people away at the door if they didn’t have a reservation and others didn’t have a booking system and allowed walk ins however the queues were so long, over an hour wait. I’m not about the queuing up life so I was prepared, I booked a table for two in advance. Top Tip: Don’t set yourself up for disappointment and try to book on the day, all the spaces get snapped up quickly so book on the weekend!
The first place I went to on a Monday was Gokyuzu, a lovely well presented Turkish restaurant. Luckily a friend and I were able to get a table without booking (this where I learnt my lesson about booking in advance) and this was around 18:00pm. Once we were inside we could see the stress on the waiters/waitresses faces and all the chaotic running around. Top Tip: Have a look on the menu before you leave home and try to decide what you would want to eat. This will save you from waiting, will make the ordering process a lot smoother for the waiter/waitress plus if there is a mix up with the order it gives you and the restaurant enough time to correct the mistake. The smoother the orders the quicker it allows us to wrap up our evening and give the others who are waiting in the queue outside a chance to sit in.
Next was Turtle Bay, a popular Caribbean restaurant with a mixture of spices in their food and a variety of concoctions for alcoholic beverages. Mum and I made a reservation for 17:30pm. Entry was smooth however seating preference was limited. Top Tip: In your booking specify where you would like to sit, if its a comfy booth/sofa seat next to a window etc…then mention it in the booking. Due to all the Covid19 measures its difficult to move people around and a hassle for the waiters to keep social distancing measures in place.
One of the biggest challenges with this scheme was how do you expect people to stay healthy if you’re making fast food giants like Mcdonald’s, Kfc etc even more affordable. An argument here is also healthy food has always been more expensive so how do you keep people healthy regardless. Top Tip: Its simple don’t eat it if you’re on a diet! You can always swap items on the menu. As you will see in most of the pictures i opted for a salad rather than fries and did not choose burgers instead had lean chicken breasts/lamb on its own with vegetables. There are alternative health conscious restaurants out there involved in the scheme, so a little research will weigh less on the hips. So don’t let it interrupt your weight-loss goals.
On Wednesday we went to Prezzo (Italian restaurant). I specified where myself and mum would like to sit and we even knew what we wanted to eat. One thing I did notice on the table was a set of instructions on how to use their app to order from their menu which is something I didn’t know Prezzo implemented. Fortunately the waitress came to our table to take our order. Top Tip: if you do find it useful to use an app to order then by all means find out if the restaurant you are going to uses this process and download it before you get to the place. The downside to using apps to order sometimes is it doesn’t allow you to make amendments or enter any special requirements, so speaking to a member of staff is inevitable.
Overall most of these tips and advice is definitely a win in making the day run smooth for the restaurant and yourself. These can also be adopted after when the scheme ends at the end of august. So happy eating and drinking let me know your top tips/experience with the eat out to help out scheme.
Yes loved the 50% off. I wish I could’ve gone to more restaurants but the experience was great, mood, seeing people out after a lockdown felt normal. Thanks for the tip on the app