Support Us Login

Food & Drink

Cheap restaurants: London's best budget eateries

By Sudi Pigott on 1/2/2019

London's culinary diversity is what makes it the most thrilling city for food right now. And it offers exceptional value - if you know where to look...
For example, at Shepherd's Bush's Lebanese Zeit and Zataar, an utterly delicious spinach, sumac and lemon manakish (flatbread), prepared to order with cucumber and turnip pickles, olives and mint tea costs a mere £4! Very satisfying, very different, very London. Most of these places that require a little local knowledge offer such modest prices all year round, though we've added a few January sale offers for good measure.
And don't forget favourites Hoppers, Pastaio and Lina Stores too!

Berenjak

Downtown Tehran comes to Soho with Berenjak, the utterly delicious new opening backed by the canny Sethi siblings of JKS (whose restaurants include not only Gymkhana, Hoppers and Brigadiers but Lyles and Bao too) with chef Kian Samyani.

For those of us firmly seduced by Middle Eastern dining, Berenjak turns up the dial. It is imperative to start with a plate of Sabzi fresh herbs and white cheese as the Persians have always traditionally done. Feast on exceptional black chickpea hummus and bold and utterly moreish aubergine baba ghanoush made more interesting with the addition of walnuts and flat breads - a great thrifty pre-film meal.

Mains are also very well-priced, making a full splurge perfectly possible even on a modest budget. Khoreshi is an Iranian stew: here guinea fowl legs are swathed in saffron broth with onions, potatoes and barberries – the perfect warming winter dish. Among the kebabs, juicy poussin marinated in sumac stands out.

Making a decision on dessert is easy as there is only one and it is essential: baklava ice-cream sandwich, so utterly and lusciously delicious that it would be crazy to offer alternatives. It is made for Berenjak by new St Alban's based Persian ice-cream store Darlish.

Beranjak is a joyous addition to Soho.

For more details

WHERE

Berenjak, 21 Romilly St, Soho, W1D 5AL

Table Cafe

The Table Cafe is an under the radar gem in the heart of the South Bank. Chef proprietor Shaun Alpine-Crabtree has won multiple prizes for his focus on ultra sustainable sourcing and laid back informal service.

The Table Cafe is offering an incredible £1 main course/brunch dish valid when purchasing another full priced main meal. The offer is running Monday to Friday, 12pm to 9pm until 31st January 2019.

And what a menu, especially for brunch: roast pumpkin pancakes with caramelised pecans and berries jostle for attention alongside black pudding or avocado and halloumi benedicts; home-made baked beans stand out in the Full English (there's a veggie version too) and the delicious array of burgers on offer are served in homemade brioche buns with triple cooked chips.

Vegetarian and vegan dishes are notably creative: the V-almighty burger is made with roast sweet potato and mushrooms, served with spicy beet relish. Most of the vegetables come from the St Mungo allotments under the Shard.

It's not all virtue, though: bread and butter pudding with rum spiced butterscotch sauce is magnificent (as are the cocktails!).

For more details

WHERE

The Table Cafe, 83 Southwark Street, SE1 OHX

M1LK

Balham habitués like myself will already know that M1LK's ever-creative daily specials are one of London's best bargains and well worth travelling for. Quite aside from its hip feel, great playlist and remarkably good coffee, which is brewed at Berlin roastery The Barn, the food at this popular café is exceptional. The queues at the weekend for brunch can be epic even in the depths of winter, and it is usually packed all day, every day, which speaks volumes.

The owners Julian Parker and Lauren Jones take their food very seriously and are invariably at the vanguard of food trends. Recent soup specials have included fermented pumpkin and wild mushroom.

Brunches are brilliant, especially the Sweet Maria: corn pancakes with avocado are served with vivaciously spiced kasundi tomato sauce and further enlivened with lime and coriander. For hangovers, the Convict with Moen & Son sausage, dry cure bacon, hash browns made with Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, and their secret hangover sauce is legendary.

The small choice of sweet options usually includes a yuzu cake, coconut and Aztec cookies and unusual pancake dishes.

For more details

WHERE

18-20 Bedford Hill, Balham SW12 9RG

L'Oculto

For really good prices, it stands to reason that avoiding central London postcodes can make all the difference. This might lead to the discovery of charming owner-run eateries that define the neighbourhood like L'Oculto (the Hidden One), Brockley.

L'Oculto is owned by Gallician Ana Gomez and Teresa Holmes, who also run Flavours of Spain and fastidiously import artisan wines, charcuterie and cheese. It is an inviting and authentic Spanish wine bar whose prices are far less dizzying than such favourites as Barrafina and Sabor. The boards of charcuterie and cheeses are unsurprisingly superb, and are likely to feature less familiar produce like lomo, acorn-fed goat's cheese and rosemary rolled manchego. In the evenings (Wed-Sat) there is a small choice of specials cooked to order from garlic prawns to aubergine with goat's cheese, bee pollen and fresh tarragon. The wine list is superb, all from small-scale producers rarely found in the UK, and the small, friendly team are exceptionally knowledgeable.

For more details

WHERE

L'Oculto, 57 Loampit Hill, Brockley, SE13 7SZ

Maison Bab

Immensely satisfying and reasonably priced sustenance in a secluded spot in central Covent Garden: Maison Bab serves the best sourced kebabs in the capital. Using Herdwick lamb, there's mutton schwarma and free-range chicken plus house pickles and sauces.

The baba ganoush embellished with a miso and white balsamic twist is frankly addictive. Kale tabbouleh with masses of parsley, mint, lime and bulghar is a great discovery too. Luscious cocktails add to the allure.

WHERE

Maison Bab, 4 Mercer Walk WC2H

The Bedford

Sensitively restored to flaunt its 1930's heritage, The Bedford confounds the lacklustre gastro-pub cliché by offering seriously good food at very modest prices. Even more so during January when on weekday lunches and Mon-Wed evenings there is 50% off.

Start with moreish and juicy salt and pepper squid. The flatbreads (and pizzas too) are evidently and pleasingly made in house and make a great base for a superb combination of fermented beetroot mixed with ricotta – gorgeous colours that are just as flamboyant on the tastebuds. For your main there's also a rump steak with gorgonzola and rocket and the burgers have a good hand-chopped texture that is too good to pass up.

The cocktail bar to the side is appealing too, and make sure to visit the pure art deco loos.

WHERE

The Bedford, Bedford Hill, Balham, SW12

Brasserie Zédel

Francophiles rejoice, Brasserie Zédel is the real deal. Like an old fashioned beaux arts brasserie, it boasts of workers' prices and generous portions amidst truly grand surroundings. Marble pillars support the high, gilded ceiling crowned with Art Deco lighting. The building first opened in 1915 as part of the then grand Regent's Palace hotel. Dishes are old school, like grated carrot salad, choucroute with garlic sausage, or the trout with almonds, and there are good profiteroles and fruit tarts to finish. The best deal of all is the three-course set menu at £12.95 served every day from 11:30am.

Among its regulars are many actors from West End shows who appreciate its modest pricing yet cosseting surroundings.

And, if you're feeling flush, graduate to some jazz or cabaret afterwards at Le Crazy Coq – their late night music venue which is similarly glamorous.

WHERE

Cafe Zedel, 20 Sherwood St, Soho, W1F 7ED, UK

Jian Bing at Pleasant Lady

Chinese street food is definitely on the up and Jian Bing is one of the best dishes, brilliantly brought up to date by the Bun House people who make all the components in-house. It is a Chinese version of a crepe, made in front of you and stuffed, wrapped and folded with egg, herbs, salad, peanut sauce, pickles, chilli oil, crispy wonton skins and a choice of extras including Iberico pork, cumin lamb or grilled miso chicken.

Warning Pleasant Lady's jian bing are addictive!

Follow them here on Instagram.

WHERE

Pleasant Lady, 23 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DY

Adam's Cafe

A real longrunner that's been serving up authentic Tunisian food for more than 25 years.

Start with a proper chicken pastilla, a flaky pastry brik filled with tuna, herbs and eggs, or grilled merguez followed by a preserved lemon, olive and chicken tagine or vegetable couscous and 'Berber' pancakes. Food is generously hearty and almost transports diners to a North African Medina... well, definitely far from its less salubrious location just off Uxbridge Road.

These days the three course menu is a very reasonable £22.50 for three cracking courses.

WHERE

Adam's Cafe, 111 Shepherds Bush Rd, W6 7LP

Silk Road

Local devotees are adamant there is no better rendition of Xinjiang (North Western Chinese) food in town. Dishes are notable for their spicy vibrancy: be sure to try lamb kebabs crusted with ground cumin, chilli and salt and lamb dumplings.

Regulars recommend the noodle broths: 'medium chicken' is a star anise and chilli rich broth of chicken on the bone and potatoes. Half-way through eating, waiters bring a heap of superb handmade noodles to add to the aromatic broth and soak up its rich flavour. As a healthy antidote, order a refreshing cucumber salad. Drink Tsingtao, share tables and feast in the cheerful and functional dining room without fear of blowing the budget.

For more details

WHERE

Silk Road, 49 Camberwell Church St, Camberwell SE5 8TR

Tayyabs

Renowned curry house where die-hard foodies are happy to queue for the lively spicing, generous portions and good-hearted, if sometimes rowdy banter. Tayyabs favourites are the smoky, marinated lamb chops, seekh kebabs, chicken tikka and stuffed nan. For the vegcentric, tinda masala (baby pumpkin) and dhal baingun (lentils with aubergine) are equally flavourful. Service can be brusque but for food this reasonable, plus no corkage, who is going to quibble?

For more details

WHERE

83-89 Fieldgate St, Whitechapel E1 1JU

The Golden Hind

Incredibly, Marylebone's Golden Hind celebrated its centenary back in 2014. It is London's oldest fish and chip shop (more or less), set up by Italians and now run by the Greek Mr Christou. It retains much of the original interior whilst having a smart new grey exterior. Now they offer steamed (with olive oil and oregano) cod, haddock, skate and more too. Lunchtime fish starts from £8.90, whilst slightly larger portions in the evenings start at £11.90. Proper chips, mushy pies, gherkins and pickled onions keep you replete all day. And there's homemade sticky toffee pudding, steamed treacle pudding and crumble too.

For more details

WHERE

The Golden Hind, 71a-73 Marylebone Ln, Marylebone W1U 2PN