Bella Italia is giving away free pasta meals this week – here’s how to get one

If you’re feeling the pinch in the run-up to payday, you don’t have to miss out on treating yourself to a meal. This is thanks to a limited-time deal at Bella Italia, where you can enjoy a free pasta dish on Wednesday 15 October in exchange for an unopened packet of dried pasta.

Now you’re not just stocking the restaurant’s store cupboards with your pasta. In celebration of World Pasta Day, the Italian restaurant chain has pledged to donate these packets to local food banks, helping to support families in need.

As with most restaurant freebies, this does require spending some money, as you’ll also need to purchase a main meal to redeem the offer. However, with main dishes starting from about £14 (depending on location), you needn’t spend more than £20 to get a second meal for free. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get your hands on the offer.

Whether you want to tuck into spicy sausage pasta, spaghetti and meatballs, or carbonara, there are plenty of dishes on the Bella Italia menu to choose from. Prices vary across Bella Italia restaurants, depending on the location. However, pasta dishes in my local branch go all the way up to £19.29 (for the pulled duck with strozzapreti pasta), so you can make a chunky saving with this offer.

To get your free meal, all you need to do is book a table ahead of time on the Bella Italia website and bring your unopened packet of dried pasta when dining in. The cheapest eligible main course will then be discounted from your bill.

You can pick up a pack of dried spaghetti for as little as 28p at Tesco or Sainsbury’s, so this shouldn’t set you back too much.

The offer is only running for one day, on Wednesday 15 October, so you’ll need to be quick if you want to snap it up. Keep in mind that the offer is only valid on tables of up to six people, plus certain locations are excluded, so check before you book. The deal can’t be redeemed alongside any other offers or vouchers, so if you’ve got Tesco Clubcard vouchers stacking up, you might want to save them for another outing.