New research shows that children's menus at many of the UK's leading restaurants and pubs offer foods such as chicken nuggets and burgers.
The campaigning charity the Out to Lunch campaign, founded by Organix and the Soil Association, surveyed 21 high street restaurant chains and pubs on their children’s menus and sent secret diners to review the meals and the experience for families.
They found that 12 of the restaurants and pubs offer children’s menus dominated by nuggets, burgers and sausages.
Eight out of the 21 did not include vegetables or salad in the majority of their children’s main meals and only one chain offered cutlery to children as standard.
Eleven of the restaurants and pubs were willing to say if their food was freshly cooked and where it comes from.
None of the restaurants had signage welcoming breastfeeding on their premises.
The Out to Lunch campaign also scored the 21 restaurant chains and pubs against a point system based on school and early years nutrition standards and the views of 1,000 parents.
Jamie’s Italian, the only chain which could reliably tell parents where its meat came from, was ranked top in the league table.
In second place was Wagamama, followed by Wetherspoons, Carluccios and Harvester.
At the bottom of the league table were fast food chains KFC and Burger King.
The Out to Lunch campaign is now calling on all high street restaurants and pubs to offer all young dinners the choice of a children’s portion of adult meals, as well as serve freshly prepared meals.
It also says that all restaurants and pubs should offer free water to families on arrival, offer children’s cutlery as standard and make breastfeeding mothers feel welcome.
Joanna Lewis, head of policy at the Soil Association, said, ‘Our investigation reveals that most high street restaurants are not even meeting the most basic standards families should expect whey they eat out. One in three children are now overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, its time for these popular chains to use their influence in a positive way.
‘Restaurants need to raise the bar and listen to parents who are saying they want fresh food not ready meals for their children, and the same kind of variety you’d expect as an adult. ‘
They found that 12 of the restaurants and pubs offer children’s menus dominated by nuggets, burgers and sausages.
Eight out of the 21 did not include vegetables or salad in the majority of their children’s main meals and only one chain offered cutlery to children as standard.
Eleven of the restaurants and pubs were willing to say if their food was freshly cooked and where it comes from.
None of the restaurants had signage welcoming breastfeeding on their premises.
The Out to Lunch campaign also scored the 21 restaurant chains and pubs against a point system based on school and early years nutrition standards and the views of 1,000 parents.
Jamie’s Italian, the only chain which could reliably tell parents where its meat came from, was ranked top in the league table.
In second place was Wagamama, followed by Wetherspoons, Carluccios and Harvester.
At the bottom of the league table were fast food chains KFC and Burger King.
The Out to Lunch campaign is now calling on all high street restaurants and pubs to offer all young dinners the choice of a children’s portion of adult meals, as well as serve freshly prepared meals.
It also says that all restaurants and pubs should offer free water to families on arrival, offer children’s cutlery as standard and make breastfeeding mothers feel welcome.
Joanna Lewis, head of policy at the Soil Association, said, ‘Our investigation reveals that most high street restaurants are not even meeting the most basic standards families should expect whey they eat out. One in three children are now overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, its time for these popular chains to use their influence in a positive way.
‘Restaurants need to raise the bar and listen to parents who are saying they want fresh food not ready meals for their children, and the same kind of variety you’d expect as an adult. ‘