The Big Table Group is backing families with children eating free throughout the entire summer holidays, offering a complete children’s meal with every adult main course purchased at Bella Italia, Frankie & Benny’s, Banana Tree, Las Iguanas and Chiquito from July 20 to September 1.
That is more significant than the usual school-holiday discount.
The group, which operates more than 200 restaurants across the UK, is not simply trimming a little from the price of a children’s menu. It is removing the cost of the qualifying meal altogether, every day of the six-week break, at participating restaurants across its major brands.
For parents facing a long summer of lunches, activities, travel and the mysterious ability of children to become hungry again within minutes, it is a practical offer with an obvious benefit.
Why The Big Table Group’s offer stands out
The Government has temporarily reduced VAT on children’s meals from 20% to 5%, giving hospitality businesses an opportunity to pass that saving on to customers.
The Big Table Group has already reduced the cost of its children’s meals by the 15% VAT difference. Once the summer holidays begin, however, it will go considerably further by providing one free children’s meal with every adult main course purchased.
That turns a modest tax saving into something families can see clearly on the final bill.
Rather than offering a small discount, a limited weekday promotion or a meal available only during quieter hours, the group is running its Kids Eat Free initiative throughout the entire holiday period.
It is a substantial commitment from a restaurant business with more than 200 sites. It also shows an understanding of where family budgets are feeling the strain most sharply: not on one grand occasion, but across six relentless weeks of ordinary spending.
Charlotte Dewhurst, The Big Table Group’s Marketing Director, said: “Families continue to face difficult choices about how they spend their money during the school holidays. Dining out should be something everyone can enjoy, not a luxury.
“While others are passing on a tax saving, we’ve chosen to invest much more in supporting families. By offering Kids Eat Free across every one of our restaurant brands throughout the entire summer holidays, we’re helping parents enjoy quality time together without worrying so much about the cost.
“Whether it’s pasta at Bella Italia, burgers at Frankie & Benny’s, Southeast Asian favourites at Banana Tree or sizzling fajitas at Las Iguanas, we’re looking forward to welcoming families into our restaurants all summer long.”
This is a full meal, not a token giveaway
The scale of the meal is another reason the initiative deserves attention.
Children are not being offered a single small dish before the extras begin piling up. Depending on the restaurant brand, the free meal can include a main course, sides, dessert and a drink.
Menu inclusions vary slightly, but the intention is consistent: families should receive a complete dining experience rather than a promotional item that still leaves parents paying for half the table.
At a time when a supposedly inexpensive family outing can unravel at the first mention of drinks and pudding, that makes the offer notably more useful.
What families receive at Frankie & Benny’s
Frankie & Benny’s will offer children a complete meal including a main course, two sides, dessert and a drink.
Its New York Italian menu gives families a broad choice of burgers, hand-stretched sourdough pizzas, pasta dishes and familiar diner favourites.
The restaurant is also extending the value beyond the first visit. Guests purchasing a main meal can receive free ice cream, followed by 25% off all food on a second visit and 50% off all food on a third visit during the promotional period. Those return offers will run until the end of October, subject to terms and conditions.
It is a generous structure designed not merely to attract families once, but to make repeat meals more manageable as the summer continues.
That matters because the school holidays are not one expensive day. They are an endurance event conducted in trainers.
Bella Italia adds a three-course children’s meal
At Bella Italia, children can receive a starter, main course, dessert and drink free when an accompanying adult purchases a main.
Families can choose from the restaurant’s Italian menu of freshly prepared pasta, pizza and familiar favourites.
Bella Italia will also offer free gelato to guests purchasing a main meal, alongside 25% off all food on a second visit and 50% off all food on a third visit. Those additional return incentives will remain available until the end of October.
For families, the combination provides more than a one-off saving. It gives parents a reason to plan several affordable meals across the summer rather than treating dining out as a single special occasion.
Banana Tree gives families more variety
Banana Tree brings a different flavour to the initiative with Southeast Asian dishes including katsu curries, wok-fried noodles and BBQ wings.
More than 40% of its menu is plant-based, helping families accommodate a broader range of dietary preferences.
That choice is an important part of the campaign’s appeal. A national family offer is only genuinely useful when it extends beyond one narrow style of food.
By including Banana Tree alongside its Italian, American and Latin American restaurant brands, The Big Table Group is giving families the flexibility to choose somewhere that suits both children and adults.
Las Iguanas and Chiquito widen the choice
Las Iguanas will also participate, offering children a free meal from its Niños menu. The meal includes a main course, two sides and dessert.
Its Latin American-inspired menu and colourful, relaxed atmosphere provide another option for families who want something beyond the standard children’s restaurant formula.
Chiquito is joining the promotion too, extending the campaign across another of The Big Table Group’s best-known family dining brands.
Together, the five brands give parents access to a wide range of dishes, restaurant styles and locations under one clear offer.
Why the timing matters for families
The summer holidays are among the most expensive periods of the year for parents.
Children are at home for longer, food bills increase and the cost of keeping everyone occupied quickly gathers pace. Even a simple day out can involve travel, tickets, snacks, drinks and a meal before anyone has bought the obligatory object from the gift shop.
Against that background, removing the cost of a full children’s meal is not a decorative gesture. It can make the difference between a family choosing to eat out together and deciding the expense is simply not manageable.
The Big Table Group’s decision is particularly notable because it applies across all its major restaurant brands and throughout the full holiday period, rather than being restricted to a handful of dates.
How the Kids Eat Free offer works
The central arrangement is deliberately straightforward:
An adult purchases a main course and receives one qualifying children’s meal free.
The offer runs from July 20 to September 1 at participating restaurants nationwide. Menu contents vary between brands, and terms and conditions apply.
Families should check the relevant restaurant’s website before visiting to confirm participating locations, age limits, menu availability and any exclusions.
The simplicity is part of the attraction. Parents do not need a calculator, a promotional code and the temperament of a contract lawyer to understand the basic saving.
More than a restaurant promotion
This is, naturally, a commercial campaign. The Big Table Group hopes families will choose its restaurants, return during the holidays and continue visiting afterwards.
That does not diminish the value of the offer.
The strongest promotions are those in which the business objective and the customer benefit point in the same direction. The restaurants gain footfall, while families receive a meaningful reduction in the cost of spending time together.
By moving beyond the temporary VAT reduction and covering the full price of qualifying children’s meals, The Big Table Group has set a higher bar for family dining this summer.
Parents still have to negotiate the journey, the menu decisions and the possibility that somebody will suddenly dislike the meal they ordered with absolute certainty seven minutes earlier.
At least the children’s bill has become considerably easier to swallow.
