Times are hard, budgets are squeezed and money’s too tight to mention.

For the hard working family, eating out is a treat, so this column is always on the lookout for a cheeky deal designed to save us all a few quid.

One to catch my attention this week was this tasty little deal from Domino’s Pizza: a tenner for any pizza of any size (though you’d probably have pepperoni for brains if you order anything other than large, even if it means giving half of it away).

The catch is that you have to pick it up yourself, though with branches in Kidlington, Cowley, Headington, and in the congested, post-apocalyptic non-construction site that used to be Frideswide Square, that’s not too onerous.

Even before the recent explosion of pubs doing decent stone-baked pizza, Domino’s wasn’t the best. Now its overly-doughy bases and unimaginative range of toppings peg it way down the pizza premier league.

They, do, however, remain hugely popular. And kids love them.

As for the pizzas: well the large ones are huge; those bready bases make for a pleasant chew, and you can also phone ahead, pick one up in 10 minutes and be on your way. And if you go to Kidlington, you’ll be treated to a huge smile by the cheery fella who runs the place like a well-oiled engine – even on a bleary-eyed Sunday morning. We chose to create our own (you can add up to four toppings). I love artichokes, anchovies, porcini, dry cured ham, egg and prawns. Sadly Domino’s don’t.

The choice of toppings remains firmly in the 1980s, with the likes of pepperoni, tuna, pineapple and ham. More bizarrely, they also offer Cumberland sausage, tandoori chicken and onion bhaji.

We went for strips of chicken breast, sweetcorn, wafer-thin mushrooms and herbs (which, in my book is a condiment not a topping. The same goes for chilli. And the lack of anchovy is unforgivable).

The result was big, hot, doughy, tasty and filling.

We also had a box of Domino’s cookies (£3.49) – a sort of biscuit pizza, divided into four and full of oozing chocolate. It came in its own mini pizza box, smelt divine, and, I have to say, was very good indeed.

Domino’s are never going to compete with the more authentic pizza makers, or even the likes of Pizza Express, but they are great value – and open pretty much whenever you’re hungry.

Just look out for the deals on the menus. There’ll probably be one hanging out of your letterbox at this very moment. Weirdly, the menus don’t come with the number of your local branch, should you wish to collect. Maybe they could add those to their next menu.

The same goes for anchovy.