Newcastle offers some of the best bars and restaurants and these days I struggle to decide where I want to try next or go back to again and again. Eating out is a very regular occurrence for me and it can get expensive. NE1 Restaurant week isn’t far off and is obviously a good way to save some money, but only sticks around for two weeks of the year (January and August) and you can often struggle to get booked in at a decent time as it’s so popular. This January I’m actually way more excited for the launch of Snapsaver. Through this new app you can get 50% off your food bill at over 40 restaurants in Newcastle.

Photo: Snapsaver

I’m actually not joking, and all you have to do to take advantage of this huge discount is check in at the restaurant and share a photo of your meal on Facebook while you’re there. If you’re anything like me and take photos of your food wherever you go then this clearly is a no brainer. If you’re going to get 50% off your food bill for doing something most of us already do anyway then get yourself signed up on the app invite list before it launches at the end of January! Imagine how much I’d have saved on every photo in this post that I took and posted while I was in the restaurants.

I share photos of my food across social media all of the time and I’m not sorry. As far as I’m concerned people share what is important to them, and I imagine that at the end of January when I’m done pretending to detox, and payday has finally rolled around again a good meal and night out will be pretty important to me! I know my friends are always interested in decent food, and if I can find out some new places to eat that they’ve enjoyed just by scrolling through my Facebook feed then it’s one less stress when deciding where to go isn’t it. I can name countless places that I’ve tried this year just because I’ve seen a photo of the food on social media, and this just makes it easier.

I already had Restaurant Week on my radar for January, but I actually think this is going to be better. For starters it’s a 50% discount which is unbelievable, but it’s also not going to be over after a week. I’ve realised that in 2017 I already have plans coming out my ears, I’ve got big holiday plans, hen dos, weddings, 30th birthdays…I’m literally going to be counting the pennies. I massively enjoy going out for food, mid week as well as the weekend, so if I can save some money on a Saturday night and get another meal through the week because of it then that suits me. Snapsaver might be the answer to my eating out but on a budget issues in 2017!

When I first saw the concept shared on Facebook I really wanted to know more about it, especially which restaurants are involved, so I asked around and got hold of Jack, the brain behind Snapsaver to ask him all my questions:

50% off my food bill just for sharing a photo on Facebook – is it really that easy?

Yes and it’s all built into the app so no flicking between apps, you just connect to the app with Facebook, snap a photo write your usual food post status update and press post. The app automatically checks you in at the restaurant location and you get your 50% off food authorisation code for the waiter to confirm.

Everyone is surely dying to know which restaurants you’ve signed up – can you give us any names yet?

I don’t have the full restaurant partner list on me – sorry. However if you tell me what you like to eat off the top of my head I can give you my suggestion as to where you will get 50% off food with Snapsaver.

Sushi!

Hands down St Sushi all day long.

Pizza?

Pizza Express, Manny’s or Cal’s Own a wonderfully authentic Neapolitan pizzeria in the heart of Jesmond.

Fine Dining?

Hotel du Vin, Gustos or the Bridge Brasserie at the Vermont hotel.

I think that gives a flavour of what to expect!

What about if I wanted to go for food and more importantly a few drinks?

Depends what you want to eat and drink I suppose. I’m partial to the mother clucker burger and any drink containing vodka @ Vodka Revolution lol.

However I know my mates will be dragging me down to Bierrex tap and smoke house for craft beers and southern American BBQ.

Right no more that’s your lot 😂 I’ve already said too much.

What made you come up with the idea?

I’ve always been entrepreneurial, and constantly searching for the next big thing. I saw a gap in the restaurant discount market and with our background being Iamvip I knew the power of a single photo, so a photo in exchange for a discount was a no brainer.

Will I have to tell the restaurants when I book that I have the app?

No booking required, rock up snap a pic to capture the experience and post away.

Will the 50% off apply to just me or everyone I’m eating with?

Each person has to have the app and take a photo to receive 50% off their food. So 1 app 1 discount, 6 apps 6 discounts. To date no restaurants have put a restriction on the number of app users per table as they understand each post is powerful publicity.

Is the app invite only? And how do I get one?

Yes it’s invite only, you have to register your interest with an email before the 23rd Jan to get your invite. Once you put your email in you can invite 3 friends to join you, we don’t expect you to eat alone lol.

So there you have it! Some of the restaurants named there are old favourite’s, I’ve had afternoon tea at the Vermont which was lovely but I really want to try the Brasserie. I actually had Christmas Day at Hotel Du Vin a couple of years ago and the food there was top notch too. But I’ve been dying to try Cal’s Own for a while, so I will definitely be heading there first! To get an invite you can search #getsnapsaver on Facebook, but Jack was kind enough to give me an open invite with no sign up limits, (I realised this might actually be one of my last posts before Christmas, so call it an early Christmas present) – just follow this Snapsaver link or click on the photo below and get yourself signed up. 50% discount is just too good to miss.

Disclaimer: All photos are mine unless otherwise stated. This is not a sponsored post.