Tastecard - Is it all it's cracked up to be???

fernendo

I use the tastecard when I can get a free trial but I'm not sure its worth paying for.

I thought this opinion might be useful to some:-

Last Christmas, I gave you a tastecard. The very next day, we dined out at Brasserie G!rard.

By David Mentiply (@davidmentiply)

For the uninitiated, the tastecard gives you 50% off the bill or 2 for 1 meals at a range of restaurants in London. It’s not cheap, but for those who like dining out it saves money in the long-term. And according to the tastecard website, ‘there are no catches’.

At least, that is what customers are led to believe. I’m beginning to wonder if this ‘dining revolution’ is all it’s cracked up to be.

After proudly showing our new tastecard to the waitress at ‘Red Caf!’ one Saturday evening, we were told that it wasn’t accepted at weekends. Despite arguing our case, the manager pointed us towards the tastecard website. They were right, it can’t be used in ‘Red Caf!’ or for that matter, a host of other restaurants at weekends. In a flash, our bill was doubled and we wished we hadn’t ordered the side salads to accompany our Croque Madame.

A couple of weeks later, we decided to make a pre-cinema stop at another well-known chain restaurant. The staff at ‘Quick Pizza’ were attentive and the food OK. It being a Thursday evening, we were sure there would not be a repeat of the incident at ‘Red Caf!’. However, when it was time to settle the bill, we were met with fierce resistance. This time, we were told we should have booked a table, by phone, 24 hours previously and informed staff we intended to use our tastecard.

Now, call me overly suspicious but this doesn’t sit well with me. 24 hours in advance? That gives them just enough time to… hmm. What concoction can they conjure up in 24 hours? I dread to think. One wonders whether or not they use the same ingredients for us tastecarders as they do the norms? Or are we fed the scraps and leftovers from the night before?

And another thing, rarely do we know where we will be, at what time and what we will want to eat 24 hours in advance. I had envisaged being able to stroll around London, browsing the windows and outside menus of restaurants before deciding where to eat. In fact, as we’ve learnt, the tastecard sticker that so many proprietors are ‘proud’ to display doesn’t necessarily mean that they will take yours. There are so many exceptions to the tastecard premise – 50% off or 2 for 1 – that one begins to resent what is essentially a good idea.

We realised the card was pretty much useless during the recent festive season. Almost every restaurant or caf! we wanted to visit, didn’t accept the tastecard in the month of December.

The tastecard was meant to give us freedom, instead it’s severely restricted our eating habits and made us less adventurous. Soon we’ll only eat out on Wednesdays, between the hours of 7 – 8 pm in the months of August – November. Anything for a half-price meal!

wdah

http://www.tastecard.co.uk/how-to-use-your-card

The T&Cs / how to use instructions are hardly hidden. Think this bloke should have read more about it before picking one up - probably the very reason the free trial is offered.

m_i

It is not accepted at Zizi's or Pizza Express at Charlotte St.


You have to phone and book and do not forget to mention the tastecard where before you just walked in and presented the card when asking for the bill.


Restaurants that used to accept the card at 50% off have now changed to BOGOF. I personally like dining alone sometimes but now have to pay full price.


The Gourmat society card is not very good either but I received that one free by signing up for 2 magazine subscriptions - £1 each sub and the direct debit has been cancelled so cost me £2.


You might be better printing off discount vouchers for restaurants from the internet. Not quite 50% off but better then the hassle you go through trying to use the tastecard.

wdah

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I think the Tastecard is amazing (too much faff for me, and I don't really eat out anyway), just that the bloke who wrote the article is presenting the limitations in a way that suggests he didn't bother reading about how to use the card first.

jon81uk

I agree with wdah, it is clear in the list of places that accept tastecard that you need to book in advance for most of them, it is also quite clear that most don't accept tastecard on Friday/Saturday. This is why despite having several trials I have only ever used it once as we rarely eat out on weeknights and not often able to book in advance.

grintricha

Yeah it's rubbish, way too many ts&cs, had one for a year, you can nearly always get similar offer or better with a tiny look around online.

Avoid, I find it amazing that it is still going frankly, probably some tax avoidance scheme for a big business.

Dave1979

Do the free trial but don't sign up. Wait a few weeks and they offer it for £30. We saved more than that in one meal at a great Lebanese place in Edinburgh. Used it a few times at various other places no problems - just need to check the website for restrictions

DUTR

Dave1979 wrote: »

Do the free trial but don't sign up. Wait a few weeks and they offer it for £30. We saved more than that in one meal at a great Lebanese place in Edinburgh. Used it a few times at various other places no problems - just need to check the website for restrictions

Luckily I get mine for free, but I have only used it once at Strada, , I agree with others the T&Cs are clear, not Fri/Sat or certain holidays, the diso!!!! was only on the starter and main as a bogof, I suppose some saving is better than nothing, but places like ASK , you may find the discount vouchers better VFM.

gozaimasu

I don't understand why a restaurant would want to put off paying customers, regardless of the 50% discount.

Surely if you turned up at a restaurant without booking and mentioned the TasteCard to the staff, they would tell you on the spot if they would accept it? I personally wouldn't take the risk of not getting the discount and would always mention it before I was sat down at a table!

If they say they don't accept it without a booking, then stand in front of them and call the restaurant to book a table immediately! I didn't realise that it had to be 24 hours in advance.

I had a free trial a long time ago and there just happened to be a country pub nearby when hungry - showed them the card before sitting down to eat and they had no problem with it. If they hadn't've accepted, we wouldn't've eaten there. Customer lost.