Pho is an authentic Vietnamese street food restaurant which serves a variety of Vietnamese food that caters to different diets. Pho is the only entry on this list whose discount is available all days of the week. 

They offer 15% off on all food items for students every day of the week. We appreciate that this is available in most of their branches.

That said, the discount doesn’t feel that sizable, even though it’s always available. However, it does bring the price of their classic pho just barely under £10.

We think the main thing Pho has to offer is its wonderful menu. First of all, if you are gluten-intolerant the menu has a variety of options.

Another aspect about Pho that stands out for us is they’re respectful of most diets and also have options for vegans and non-vegans. Furthermore, all of their meals are made with fresh ingredients. 

We’d recommend any of their classic pho or their vermicelli noodles. Either of these two meals are just under £10 with the student discount, and they make for healthy, filling full meals. 

We also love the beef brisket classic pho for warming us up in the cool weather, leaving us feeling fresh and healthy with its ingredients. The vermicelli is the perfect mix of ingredients to create a beautiful texture and flavour – every bite makes you feel healthier.

On the downside, customer service may be a little on the slow side in some cases. Especially on busy days, it might be a bit of a wait to be seated.

The variety their menu offers, and the delicious, fresh ingredients they guarantee makes the discount, available any day of the week, all the more valuable.

Tampopo is an East Asian restaurant which serves a variety of cuisine from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan. Their student discount is 20% off your total bill, including drinks, available from Monday to Thursday.

We don’t find the menu items too expensive to begin with unless you’re ordering their rice meals, but the discount allows you to get a shared meal for two at a bit cheaper. 

The 15-piece satay skewers platter, which was popular with our survey-takers, goes down from £15.95 to £12.76, assuming you don’t get anything else.

They have two other shared platters that you can get if you’re dining out with friends: the Meaty Sharing Platter and the Vegan Sharing Platter. This gives you a decent variety of choice, especially if you have certain dietary needs.

We’re a big fan of spicy food to keep you warm at night and we highly recommend the beef rendang. The beef is rich and tender, and the spiciness is just right.

One of our other favourite dishes from Tampopo is Nasi Goreng, down to £9 if you’re getting it alone. When you try it you’ll find its uniquely Asian explosion of spices with its sambal paste different from any rice meal you’ve had before. 

On the other hand, while customer service appears to be consistently excellent, we were disappointed that its food quality is not as consistent. The customers we spoke with complained about “dry” meals every now and then.

Although, these complaints are not major enough to outweigh the good things about Tampopo in our books!

Overall, we’re impressed by Tampopo’s sizable discount off your final bill and the variety in its offered cuisine, making it one of the best options for Mancunian students on a budget. 

Zizzi is a chain of restaurants serving Italian cuisine. Students can enjoy a 20% discount off their total food bill using a UNiDAYS account from Sunday to Thursday. 

UNiDAYS is a convenient app for students which allows them to avail of discounts. It has quick and easy registration, but it does add one extra step to grabbing your discount.

We’re a little worried that Zizzi’s menu can turn out pretty pricey for a starter and a pizza. However, you can get something like their Pinoli pizza to share for less than £10.

What we like most about Zizzi’s promotion comes from being able to order something to share at a discounted price. Several students we spoke with mentioned that this option is perfect for their meetings or just getting together with friends.

Like the other restaurants on our list, Zizzi also offers a vegan and gluten-free menu for special dietary needs while still offering meat dishes and pizza on their menu. We’d recommend their Rustica Primavera, which is a vegetarian-friendly option.

We had the Rustica Primavera, and loved the mix of vegetables with mozzarella and pesto. The quality of the dough and the lightness of the cheese really brings out the flavour of the fresh toppings!.

However, we do acknowledge that Zizzi doesn’t have much variety on its  menu. As it focuses on Italian cuisine which isn’t as difficult to find as some of the unique types of food on the list, we feel it lacks a bit of that unique factor. 

From our surveys, we noted some complaints that there’s a bit of a lengthy wait for the food.

That said, if you’re coming in to share a meal, the student discount for Zizzi’s pizzas can be quite a sizable discount for a great value.

Well-known as an American restaurant chain, TGI Fridays serves American cuisine and focuses on casual dining. Like Zizzi, they offer 20% off food (and drinks) every Sunday to Thursday for UNiDAYS users.

As its prices are a little steeper than the other restaurants on this list, you’ll definitely need that student discount if you want to dine at TGI Fridays on a budget. Generally you won’t get your meal under £10 here, but it’s still a sizable discount off your bill.

While we don’t think it’s the place for a student to grab a quick meal, it can be a good place to celebrate. Make sure you’re coming in when the discount is available, of course.

If you’re a vegan, you’ll definitely find something to eat here since TGI Fridays has a vegan menu!  We quite like the plant-based patty of their To Vegan and Beyond burger. 

For a good appetiser that’s also budget-friendly, we recommend the Fridays® Wings, either to share or solo.

Although, our favourite is their Classic American Cheeseburger, with beef you can sink your teeth into. We love that the patty is quite large, leaving our tummies full every time we order it!

The downside, based on our customer reviews, is that food quality can also be a bit inconsistent. For example, their chicken-based meals can come out a little dry and difficult to cut or chew.

It may be a little pricier, but we think TGI Fridays offers excellent American cuisine in Manchester, if you’re looking to celebrate or spend a little more (even with a discount).

PizzaExpress is a British restaurant group with branches all over the globe, specialising in pizza and other Italian cuisine. They boast the largest discount available on our list, with a whopping 30% off food to students through UNiDAYS.

As with UNiDAYS promotions, this discount is available Sunday to Thursday when you show your verified UNiDAYS account.. We highly recommend registering for UNiDAYS in order to avail of these and other student discounts!

As for PizzaExpress, the centrepiece of their menu, their Romana pizza, costs between £9.50 and £11.75 without the discount applied yet. With 30% off, this makes it a substantial discount for anyone looking for a deal on pizza.

We love PizzaExpress for their well-known seasonal menus, with their autumn menu launching their delicious Tikka Paneer pizza. This is served on their Romana thin crust, and the combination of Indian and Italian cuisine is a combination you won’t soon forget.

Their dough balls are a favourite of ours as well, and their autumn menu introduced the Dynamite Dough Balls. These are much spicier than the original dough balls, though they do come served with coriander yoghurt to keep your tastebuds refreshed. 

In terms of negatives, we noted just a handful of complaints about inconsistent food quality, but nothing too problematic. Meanwhile, their customer service was almost universally praised by the customers we spoke with.

With their delicious pizza made even more affordable by their significant discount, we like that PizzaExpress is a fantastic place for any UNiDAYS student to get their Italian fix.