With the number of different types of restaurant vouchers ever increasing, it can be hard to understand how they all work. Even though they all give some sort of discount on your food bill, they all work in different ways.

Hopefully the following will help you get the biggest saving when eating out;

2 for 1 – these are the most common type of discount voucher available at the moment. These often specify that 2 people can get a main course each, for the price of 1. There are often limitations to how many people can use per 2 for 1 restaurant voucher, so make sure that you check terms and conditions before use.

Nearly 2 for 1 – these are simialr to the above 2 for 1 on main courses, but with a slight difference. Recently some 2 for 1 restaurant vouchers have been stating that if you buy 1 main course at full price, you can get the second one for £1. The amount you pay for the second main can differ depending on the offer, but often it is a small amount.

Percentage off (eg. 50% off) – Simply put, these offers get a set percentage discount taken off your bill. The most common you will see is 50% off or 25% off. The discount is often only applied to food orders. 50% off is a slightly better offer than a 2 for 1, if you are planning on ordering more than 1 course, or you have odd numbers of people eating. Be aware, a number of these offers have a minimum spend, so be sure to ask when booking.

Fixed Discounts- These offers are when you will recieve a set amount off the total bill. For example you may have a £20 discount voucher, when you spend £40 on food. This would essentially be the same as a 50% off. Amounts of the discount vary by restaurant. Recently we have seen Pizza Hut offer £10 off a £25 spend. Despite this, there is not always a minimum spend, so you could find yourself getting a free (or very cheap meal)!

Special Menus- Increasingly restaurants are laying on special set menus for those with vouchers. For example, a restaurant may offer a voucher that allows the user to have 2 courses for £10, or any variation of this. These offers are used more commonly around special days such as Valentines, Mothers Day, and Christmas.

Kids Eat Free- As the title states, this discount is when children would be allowed to eat for free, when accompanied by a full paying adult. This can work out a great restaurant deal if there are more Children than Adults.

Free Course when buying main- This is when you may be offered a free course or extra when you buy any main course at a restaurant. For example you may be offered a free starter or dessert when purchasing any main.

As you can see with the above, calculating your meal cost before you go to a restaurant can bring you big savings, if there are a number of alternative restaurant offers available. Also, remember to read the terms and conditions of all vouchers before using, as many have blackout dates or restaurants where a voucher is not valid. If in doubt, give the restaurant a call.

Hi there,

Welcome to Crunchlunch.

n. a Crunchlunch is when you eat out on a budget, and make a great saving on your meal.

This site was set up with the aim of saving you money when eating out. You will find a whole range of restaurant vouchers for your favorite high street chains, along with those maybe not so familiar. These can range from 2 for 1 vouchers on main courses, to 50% off your food bill!

Check out the Restaurant Vouchers page for more info. In the meantime, if you have any questions, or want to let us know about some offers we may have missed, just Contact Us.

Enjoy your Crunchlunch!

Becuase you were good, we have dug deep to find you a few more fantastic restaurant vouchers for June and beyond.

Highlights include:

• Ember Inns- 2 for 1 voucher
• Bella Italia- 2 for 1 voucher
• Slug and Lettuce- 2 for 1 voucher
• Henry’s bar and Cafe – £5 off £10 spend Voucher
• Pizza Express- 2 courses and wine for £10
• Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK)- 2 for 1 Voucher

We have also just launched a new competition where you can win an iPod and a signed Eddie Izzard DVD boxset. Check it out here!

A whole host of new offers have just been uploaded to the  restaurant vouchers section, to keep you busy for another month.

Highlights include:

• Walkabout- £1 Burger voucher
• Sizzling Pubs- £9.99 meal and drink for 2
• Pizza Express- 2 for 1 voucher
• Tootsies & Dexters – 50% off voucher (food and drink)
• S & M – 50% off voucher (London only)

And a whole load more!

Keep checking Crunchlunch for updates throughout the month!

Hi

The latest newsletter has just been sent out, highlighting the best offers available for April and May. See below for an extract.

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New Offers

• Deal of the Month – Graze.com- Free healthy eating box delivered
• Tootsies & Dexters – 50% off Food and Drink
• Yo! Sushi – 2 for 1
• GBK £9.75 meal deal
• Pizza Hut Delivery Takeaway – £10 off £25 spend
• Cafe Rouge – 2 for 1
• Strada – 2 for 1

Enjoy these offers and many many more by visiting the Vouchers section of Crunchlunch.co.uk

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To sign up to the Crunchlunch newsletter, follow this link and fill in your details

Hello

I was having a read on the Guardian website earlier and I came accross a great blog post on their site, by Hilary Osborne, so thought I would post it here.

A Credit Crunch Lunch

Lunch. One of the highlights of the working day for many of us, but the cost of popping out for a sandwich can be extraordinarily high. Take a trip to high-street staple Pret a Manger, for example, and you can quickly blow a fiver on a sandwich and a tub of fruit. Go to Eat, and a salad and a drink can wipe out the best part of £7. At a time when the credit crunch is putting a squeeze on spending it just doesn’t seem sustainable. So what’s the discerning diner to do at lunchtime?

The answer, of course, is to make your own. Although sandwich chains have economies of scale by taking the labour costs out of the equation you will save a pretty penny. Your lunch should also be more eco too – assuming you don’t wrap everything in yards of cling film.

The secret to making this sustainable over a period of time is to try to make something nice. A few years ago when I was down on my uppers I attempted to create a whole week’s worth of lunches for just £2 – my plan was to cook a jacket potato in the work microwave each day and top it with one fifth of a tub on economy coleslaw. Clearly it was a bad plan. I managed to eke out the coleslaw for four days, but my enthusiasm for pallid potatoes and cheap mayonnaise was waning after just two. The next week it was back to buying out.

Make the effort to make a lunch you can actually look forward to, though, and it could be a different story.

So what are your tips for a cut-price credit crunch lunch? How can we tighten our belts on a full stomach?

Check out the original post by clicking this link.

If you would rather eat out and save money, check out the selection of vouchers currently available