Too Good To Go review: Inside my Magic Bags

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What Too Good To Go is all about

The Too Good To Go app is basically a platform that allows hospitality businesses to sell their surplus food or drink in packs known as Magic Bags.

The food or drink can be close to or just past expiry, or are made fresh that day but cannot be kept overnight.

Basically they’re still good enough to eat, but can’t be sold after the day it’s listed on the app.

Magic Bags cost a fraction of what you would normally pay for the contents, and can include everything from leftover pastry and cooked meals to groceries and even alcohol.

There are quite a few chains on there, like Greggs, Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Pret. You’ll also get supermarkets and cornershops like Spar, M&S, Morrisons and Nisa Local, as well as independent restaurants and cafes.

That’s just what’s around me (within a 3km radius) in central London.

Obviously depending on where you are located, there can be more or less choice.

I’ve been to tiny villages and opened the app just to see what’s available and was surprised there were a handful of options and hardly any uptake.

It’s also worth noting that Too Good To Go are onboarding new food businesses all the time, and some also leave because it’s no longer suitable for them.

How does the Too Good To Go app work?

Once you’ve downloaded Too Good To Go, you just have to enter your location and distance to see what outlets are around you.

Each outlet will show you how many Magic Bags are available, what you might get inside, how much it’s selling for vs actual value of the products and when you can collect.

Some places also offer dynamic pricing, where discounts are offered on normal Magic Bag prices when there’s an excess.

Because of the nature of surplus goods, you don’t know what you’ll actually get until you turn up to collect.

If there’s a Magic Bag you like the sound of, you reserve it, pay for it on the app, and then go collect it during the designated collection window.

Some have collection windows throughout the day, but some are late into the night near closing time.

And at the venue, you just have to show them the code on the app to confirm the transaction.

How do you pay for a Too Good To Go bag?

The Too Good To Go app doesn’t save your payment details – instead, you have to enter it every time you reserve a bag.

You can pay using a credit or debit card, through Google Pay or Apple Pay, and via PayPal.

What do you get in the Magic Bags?

Since 2021, I’ve purchased 42 Magic Bags and it’s been a really mixed bag in terms of quality and value for money.

Mostly it’s food that you’ll want to eat right away, or freeze, rather than have languishing in the bottom of your fridge for a week.

To give you an idea of what’s inside, here’s a list of my haul from a few different places:

B Bagel Bakery Bar

• I paid: £2.80
• What it’s meant to be worth: £8.40

This was my first try and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and, confusingly, they didn’t have the Magic Bag packed and ready to go.

Instead, I was handed one of their paper bags and told to pick anything I wanted out of the bagels and pastries available, up to the value of £9.

So for £2.80, I ended up with:

• A cream cheese sesame bagel
• Two pain au chocolat
• Two croissants

While the collection process was awkward – and they were really busy – I thought the value was pretty good.

It’s a local spot that’s actually quite a trek from where I live so I haven’t been back.

Greggs

• I paid: £2.59
• What it’s meant to be worth: £8

The Magic Bag at Greggs was prepped and ready to go when I got there, which made collection super easy and far less awkward.

For £2.59, I got:

• A ham and cheese baguette
• Two triple chocolate muffins
• Two Belgian buns

I’ve been back a few times and the product mix is pretty similar each time.

Usually I’ll get a baguette, a pastry and either a cookie or a muffin.

One time, the Magic Bag wasn’t ready and I had to wait and the staff let me choose an extra item.

For me personally Greggs has consistently been the best option on the app.

Chucs Cafe

• I paid: £4.30
• What it’s meant to be worth: £13

It was quite weird to walk into a sit down restaurant and essentially get a to-go bag. The Magic Bag wasn’t packed and ready, but the staff were able to put it together quickly.

This £4.30 bundle contained:

• Chucs green juice
• Chucs apple juice
• Porchetta and salsa verde sandwich
• Pain au chocolat
• Almond croissant

I thought the amount of food I got was decent. It wasn’t a lot, but it was higher quality.

But the fact that it was a restaurant had put me off returning even though it’s one of the closest places to me.

Bread Ahead

• I paid: £3
• What it’s meant to be worth: £9

Bread Ahead had their Magic Bags lined up and ready to go despite the fact that they were very busy and had a long queue out of the door. I was very impressed.

My Magic Bag included:

• Ginger cake
• Two demi brioche buns
• Doughnut ring
• Wholemeal sourdough loaf

I’ve been back since and the Magic Bags haven’t been as good, so it really depended on what’s not selling that day.

Since then, Bread Ahead has left the app so obviously it didn’t work for them.

Are the Magic Bags worth the money?

I’ve bought dozens of Magic Bags over the last couple of years and the experiences have been varied.

Most of the places I went to had their Magic Bags ready to go so it was a straightforward collection.

Occasionally I’ve had to explain what I wanted, which made things awkward – sometimes people will only know Too Good To Go, and sometimes only Magic Bags so you have to mention both.

In terms of value for money, it varied a lot from place to place and even on different visits to the same place – but that’s the nature of these Magic Bags.

Overall, yes they were good value for money, but not the cheapest way to eat.

You’ll get things at a huge discount compared to retail price, but it might be more expensive than getting them at the supermarket.

And the downside is that there is no choice, so you might end up with something you wouldn’t normally eat or dislike.

This post was originally published in May 2021. It was updated in July 2024.

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