Good, Cheap Food in London

[Toufas]

i am going to be in london for the next 2 months working in a school and looking for a steady job there. i will be staying near goodge street station so transportation is not a big problem.

what do you recommend as a must visit in london? budgetwise i am thinking of visiting the maze or claridges as their (set) menus look nice so i am aiming max of 30-40 per person exluding drinks (well it wouldnt hurt if it was cheaper of course:P)

also even "fast" food is a must. like a good burger or good ethnic food.

thanks a lot

[Romaney O'Malley]

Tayyabs in Whitechapel - great Pakistani (?) food, cheap as chips

Don't waste your money on Claridges - my lunch there was pants (and we went a la carte). Mr O liked Maze though.

[Bernice Hurst]

Grazing, 19-21 Great Tower Street, EC3R 5AR - around the corner from Monument tube and a two minute walk from Tower of London. Brilliant roast meat sandwiches for lunch, eat in or takeaway, plus salads, baked stuff and what I can say with complete and utter bias is the absolute best breakfast in the City.

[Toufas]

how does the tasting menu at maze work? i am dying to taste that blt dish they have since watching it on tv.

also whats the dress code?

[SaladFingers]

If you're up for breakfast, try Obertelli's Eating House, Leadenhall Market EC3 (now changed it's name to The Market Place Cafe for some reason). Order Eggs Bacon Chips and Beans. You'll be having breakfast there every day before long

[CalumC]

how does the tasting menu at maze work? i am dying to taste that blt dish they have since watching it on tv.

also whats the dress code?

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As far as i know, the idea of Maze is basically tapas. You order say 4 or 5 dishes from the menu, and theyre served one the other i guess. A tasting menu by any other name...

[Toufas]

As far as i know, the idea of Maze is basically tapas. You order say 4 or 5 dishes from the menu, and theyre served one the other i guess. A tasting menu by any other name...

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so can 2 people go and select any number of dishes from the tasting menu from their site?

because i thought tasting menus were like a fixed price per head.

[naebody]

so can 2 people go and select any number of dishes from the tasting menu from their site?

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There's a "tasting menu" at Maze where you get a pre-selected run of dishes, or you pick exactly the same thing from the ALC. Either way, you'll have to work hard not to spend £100 per head and leave with a gnawing sense of regret.

The dress code is charcol and peroxide.

[dougal]

...

also even "fast" food is a must. ...

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Check out Leon. An interesting enterprise.

http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/

[CalumC]

so can 2 people go and select any number of dishes from the tasting menu from their site?

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There's a "tasting menu" at Maze where you get a pre-selected run of dishes, or you pick exactly the same thing from the ALC. Either way, you'll have to work hard not to spend £100 per head and leave with a gnawing sense of regret.

The dress code is charcol and peroxide.

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Ha, don't try too hard to hate it.

[stealw]

At Maze they have a lunch 3course..for i think 30pounds

Went back in May, quite good. Though ordered other things off the menu which came out to around 100usd. (like the blt and foie gras)

Another place i dined at was Twelve, it was quite mediocre, nothing special at all. Small restaurant located bottom of a hotel.

Jim

P.s. Had some nice Lamb Doner street food in London, primarily Right across my hotel in Islington (Hilton). Don't really get/nor see much of that in America.

[Toufas]

my friends girlfriend wants to have some nice breakfast.

is there a buffet similar to a hotel anywhere near oxford circus thats worth going?

[Roger le goéland]

Could get Grazing (mentioned earlier) to deliver it to your door? The black pudding especially.

Having brought some meat from them to the lady's workplace today, they're ordering breakfast from there tomorrow. And it's in W1.

[Gary Marshall]

the wolsely £13 plus £1.50 for toast v good.

[bigchreesh]

i am going to be in london for the next 2 months working in a school and looking for a steady job there. i will be staying near goodge street station so transportation is not a big problem.

what do you recommend as a must visit in london? budgetwise i am thinking of visiting the maze or claridges as their (set) menus look nice so i am aiming max of 30-40 per person exluding drinks (well it wouldnt hurt if it was cheaper of course:P)

also even "fast" food is a must. like a good burger or good ethnic food.

thanks a lot

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1. Terra Restaurant (near Goodge Street) - cheap, cheerful, has a very high London Eating score

http://www.london-eating.co.uk/3769.htm

2. The Royal Oak (East London) for Sunday lunch

http://www.london-eating.co.uk/34063.htm

3. Busaba Eathai (chain - near Goodge Street, Soho, Marylebone)

Simple, cheap Thai food

4. Buen Ayre (Hackney)

Great steaks

5. The Gun (Docklands)

Good gastro

6. L'Absinthe (Primrose Hill)

Authentic French

7. Arbutus and Wild Honey (Mayfair and Soho)

Sister Restaurants - both modern British, both one starred, good value, interesting food.

8. Great Queen Street (Covent Garden) and Anchor & Hope (Southwark)

Modern British - the former is my fave in London, the latter is the gastropub equivalent where you can't book.

9. The obvious Michelins, The Square, The Greenhouse, Royal Hospital Road, Hakkasan, Rasoi, Foliage, The Connaught (well soon to be Michelin), Le Gavroche, Petrus, Pied a Terre, The Capital etc etc

[grahamR]

A few minutes walk from where you will be staying...

Snazz Sichuan, 37 Chalton St

Agra, 135 Whitfield Street

Back To Basics, 21a Foley Street

[Roger le goéland]

At risk of hijacking the thread... where can one eat decently for under £10 for lunch and/or dinner in zones 1 and 2? Preferably on the Victoria line...

I'd also be interested in knowing where to have cheap-ish, freshly made dim sum (or indeed just dumplings). Yauatcha surprisingly ended up being cheaper than most of Chinatown, when we went, but the chairs are absolutely horrible (in my legs' opinion only).

Edited August 13, 2008 by Roger le goéland (log)

[Jon Tseng]

At risk of hijacking the thread... where can one eat decently for under £10 for lunch and/or dinner in zones 1 and 2? Preferably on the Victoria line...

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Little Bay.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Jon Tseng (log)

[Paul Reynard]

I'd also be interested in knowing where to have cheap-ish, freshly made dim sum (or indeed just dumplings). Yauatcha surprisingly ended up being cheaper than most of Chinatown, when we went, but the chairs are absolutely horrible (in my legs' opinion only).

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Imperial china on Lisle Street. They only serve dim sum at lunch (12-5pm) and the evening food they serve tends to be a lot more suspect. Off there for a quick lunch today as it happens.

[nikkib]

At risk of hijacking the thread... where can one eat decently for under £10 for lunch and/or dinner in zones 1 and 2? Preferably on the Victoria line...

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Little Bay.

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I'd second little bay, cheap wine too which is always a bonus!

[Andrew Chalk]

Vijay on Willesdon Road. Honest, well prepared Indian.