Survey Finds Popular Restaurant Chains Overcharging Parents with Ready Meals for Kids

Some of the UK’s biggest and most popular restaurant chains are “ripping parents off” by serving children ready meals, a survey released on Thursday found.

The Soil Association sent secret diner parents to assess the quality of food and nutrition offered by 20 popular UK high street food chains. The charity found that parents are being misled by restaurants that serve ultra-processed menus.

The survey said that kids’ meals are rarely being prepared and cooked on site using fresh ingredients. Restaurants like Bella Italia, Prezzo, and TGI Fridays used pre-made pasta sauces they simply warmed up.

Based on the diners’ feedback, the charity ranked popular chains according to health, sustainability, and dining experience.

Wahaca topped the list and was named the most family friendly restaurant, where all kids’ meals included two portions of vegetables and a variety of protein was on offer.

JD Wetherspoon, Harvester, Nando’s, and Frankie & Benny’s landed in the top five of the restaurant league table, although diners noted that some of the desserts had high sugar content and some foods were pre-made.

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Franco Manca was at the bottom of the list, with KFC and Pizza Hut avoiding last place. The majority of meals at Franco Manca were not balanced and the kids’ menu lacked variety, the survey said.

Healthy Meals

Secret diner Becca Watts, a mother-of-one from Stevenage, said she wants to see more fresh and healthy options on the menu when she goes out with her son.

“Back when I was younger, nearly everything would have been made from scratch but nowadays it’s all packets and you almost feel like you’re being cheated. What happened to homecooked, fresh meals?

“If we want a premade carbonara we can go to the shop and we will have paid less, and that way I could’ve seen all ingredients. I’d rather know what’s going into my son’s food – we don’t know how all these additives are going to impact their health,” she said.

Senior policy officer at the Soil Association, Oona Buttafoco, said that while a handful of chains “are doing brilliantly,” many fail to serve freshly prepared, responsibly sourced, and healthy food.

“Parents want and deserve better – they’ve told us fresh food and healthy, delicious choices are their number one priority when eating out with their kids.

“Restaurant chains are facing significant cost pressures, and we sympathise with the challenges they face, but we’re concerned that some chains may be misleading, or even ripping parents off by essentially serving ready meals. This often isn’t what parents think they are paying for, and it’s concerning when ultra-processed foods are dominating British children’s diets,” said Buttafoco.

The Soil Association also found that price was not a barrier to better children’s menus. It found that meals for kids were cheaper and healthier in high scoring Wahaca and JD Wetherspoon. The meals included vegetables and fruit, were mostly prepared on site from fresh ingredients, and were cheaper than in many chains offering re-heated dishes.

Seven out of 20 chains didn’t serve vegetables with every child’s meal as standard, the survey found, with most fruit and veg coming from abroad.

Sugar Intake

Half of the surveyed restaurant chains served desserts that would exceed a child’s daily sugar allowance.

In Pizza Hut, most desert options were high in sugar and calories, including chocolate brownies with 43 grams of sugar. This is almost twice the NHS’s recommended daily allowance for 7 to 10-year-olds. The charity also reported that bottomless fizzy drinks were available at Pizza Hut and Nando’s.

Last week the charity urged “decisive government action” and updated nutrition policies to clamp down on excessive sugar consumption by children.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced plans to increase the soft drinks levy to account for inflation to help tackle obesity and other harms caused by high sugar intake. Ministers will also review the current sugar thresholds and the exemption for milk-based and milk substitute drinks.

According to Buttafoco, UK businesses lack guidance from the government on ultra-processed foods (UPFs).

“Parents are rightly concerned that children’s menus across the high street are excessively ultra-processed,” she said.

The Soil Association said that Wahaca, JD Wetherspoon, Zizzi, Carluccio’s, Toby Carvery, Harvester, and Leon have agreed to audit all the ingredients they purchase over the coming months. The chains will then report back to the charity on how many ingredients are UPFs.

The Epoch Times has contacted Franco Manca for comment.