In no particular order, we’ve picked 10 of the best…
1. Young’s Pubs' House of Happiness
In what may arguably be the day’s most impressive effort, 250-strong pubco Young’s has transformed its Finch’s at Finsbury Square Moorgate into a “wellbeing pop-up”, having conducted a national survey into what makes the “nation cheeriest”. In celebration of the much-loved Danish concept of “hygge”, guests will be given a ‘cosiness kit’ on arrival – including an eye mask and slippers – and are invited to enjoy whisky tastings, free massages, letter writing areas, ‘chatter corners’, and wellbeing talks.
Emma Dickinson, Young’s marketing and event manager, said: “With Blue Monday heralded as the gloomiest day of the year we feel it is a great opportunity to offer some respite and remind the nation that our pubs are the perfect environment to get together with loved ones.” Who’s for the pub
2. Paul’s Bakery caffeine hit
It may not be a cosiness kit, but French bakery and restaurant group Paul’s is offering customers a single or double espresso (or, as it's calling it, a "depresso", eek) for just £1 to takeaway today, at all 35 of its UK branches. Given how much commuters love a coffee in the morning, that seems fair. Now, if only there was a way to persuade Paul to throw in one of its French-style pastries for £1 too...
3. Insta-Zizzi’s
Getting in on the social media action was never going to be far away for brands on #BlueMonday , and 140-site Italian-style restaurant group Zizzi’s is jumping straight in with a @WeAreZizzi and #ZizziBlueMonday offer, giving a free dessert to anyone who takes a photo of their meal and Instagrams it using the account and hashtag. Free dessert for an Instagram pic? We’re there.
4. Have some of Hawksmoor
Just when you were worried you’d have nothing with which to wash down that free dessert, worry no longer! Steakhouse group Hawksmoor took today’s opportunity to remind Twitter followers that its BYOB (bring your own bottle) Wine Club is in operation every Monday evening, with a £5 corkage for bottles of any size. We reckon take a magnum and make a night of it. As Hawksmoor wrote on its own page: “Have some of that, Monday”.
5. Getting jammy at Mimi’s Bakehouse
There seems to be a theme here: sweet tooth or alcohol (it seems brands aren’t bothered about those resolutions you’re still trying to keep…). Mimi’s Bakehouse cake shop in Edinburgh is no exception, and tweeted a glorious photo of its #BlueMonday cupcake special, entitled ‘Jammy Dodger’, with cream, jam, and, of course, cake. That’ll have you jammy dodging your way round Blue Monday for sure. (Sorry. I’ll get my coat.)
6. Blue Monday delivered at GBK
Fed up of all the sweet stuff and can’t be bothered to trek across town? Fear not, Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) is giving away 50 free lunches via online delivery platform Deliveroo, to anyone who retweets the relevant Deliveroo account tweet by 2pm today. And if you miss that, there’s a £12 for two burgers offer via the GBK app, and even a sweet potato, pea and feta croquette special for those doing Veganuary. Looks more like #BurgerMonday to us
7. Smiles all round at Leon
We’ve had Instagram offers, but 43-site “healthy fast food” group Leon is banishing Blue Monday with the classic blue bird, as it asks customers to use Twitter to “tag someone who makes you smile”, for a chance to win a meal for “you both”. It will then announce the winner at 5pm, with replies currently including “n’aw that’s so cute” and “we love Leon”. Looks like the campaign is working as planned!
8. High-street happiness at Real Greek, Pizza Express and Café Rouge
Never ones to miss out on a good offer, high street favourites The Real Greek, Pizza Express and Café Rouge are getting in on the #BlueMonday action by respectively offering customers 50 per cent off all dishes on the main menu, buy one pizza get one free, and 40 per cent off mains from today until next Sunday. In the words of Pizza Express, say “dough balls” to Blue Monday. Couldn’t have put it better ourselves…
9. Cuteness at The Capital
No money off going on here, but we felt The Capital Hotel deserved a minor nod for its cute tweet, giving full credit to Justyna and the housekeeping team for making sure “there will be no #BlueMonday at The Capital”. With housekeeping teams rarely getting the credit they deserve for keeping top hotels ticking over, we applaud the five-star, family-run Knightsbridge hotel for its efforts. Can’t help but notice the blue décor matches the theme though...
10. Blue Monday Blues?
Last but not least, a special mention must go to Richard Vines, Bloomberg chief restaurant critic and prolific tweeter, who brought a little cynicism to proceedings, and may have spoken for many when he tweeted: “I am so bored by reading about Blue Monday, it's making me depressed. It's as bad as detox and dry January.” Sigh. Better not tweet him this story, then.
Alas, with this many deals going on – from coffee to cake to pizza to whiskey to slippers ‒ we’re not sure customers will necessarily feel the same...