keeping fed in london

[circeplum]

Yeah, but what does she know?

bapi:

incidentally - had lunch at a strange caff in world's end called the mona lisa, menu veering between seabass and bacon butties. total cost for 3 adults and 4 children, including seafood pasta, chicken kiev , buffalo mozzarella etc - £36. and portions were absolutely humungous...

m

[su-lin]

As a student in London, I reckon I ought to add in my two cents' worth. (should that be two pence worth?)

Definitely Lebanese. There are a couple of new branches of the Ranoush Juice Bar...one on High St Kensington and Earls Court Road (don't know if the latter is open yet though...the first definitely is). The Beirut Express is also part of the same chain and you can get excellent baklava by weight for takeaway.

I've heard good things about Rasa Express(warren st tube) but I haven't yet tried it myself. £3 for lunch.

Duck rice is famous at the Four Seasons in Bayswater. About £5...look out for the orange awning.

Definitely Bodeans! Great ribs! A pulled pork sandwich with fries is about £5.

Further to the previous suggestion of the Japan Centre, they do cheap sushi for takeaway downstairs in the food mart.

Hope you have a great time in London!

[MobyP]

And of course the cheapest night out in the eGullet calendar - The Burger Club!

[alkonin]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. If we pack fruit and yogurts for a couple of lunches, I am confident that we'll be able to stick within budget. Your suggestions are printing now, and I am sure that they will be well used by the end of the trip. I will report back when we return...

[Andy Lynes]

Have a great trip, eat well and tell us all about it. (BTW The sun is out as I am typing this, but the weather is somewhat, how should I say, variable at the moment.)

[marlena spieler]

oh, one more little suggestion:

if you're in islington, there is a wonderful afghan restaurant there, i forget its name. cheap cheerful delish. unfortunately their bread is available only at night. i had a curry with pumpkint that was super.

oh course i also forget the name. but right on the main drag when it goes to the right (as you come out of angel).

x

marlena

[thom]

Also, try Harden's London 'Cheap Eats' guide (http://www.hardens.com/guides/guides.htm).

I find them pretty reliable, and the latest edition was due out in December so it should be relatively hot of the press.

Cheers

Thom

[Janice]

That'll be The Afghan Kitchen on Islington Green.

The lamb and spinach curry is my favourite (accompanied by the pumpkin). Slightly eccentric policies include not taking cards and not opening on Mondays, but the service is always friendly and the food is great. The only problem is that it is tiny and frequently packed in the evenings, although you can book.

[Sandra Levine]

Near the South Kensington tube station, there's a little Polish restaurant and a crepes place, both good, but easy on the budget.

Edited January 12, 2004 by Sandra Levine (log)

[chengb02]

London on a budget can be extremely difficult...I just returned from a trip to London last week and it was wonderful, but a bit expensive...I didn't get to all the restaurants I wanted to, but those that I did hit were mostly very good. Chelsea Kitchen, not far from the Sloane Square tube station offered a nice meal on the cheap, it was very cozy and great wait staff, with pertty good food. I would say mostly to avoid tourist areas or walk a few blocks off the main streets and hit some pubs, drinks will raise the price of any meal fast, but especially for a first timer, you must sample some of the local brews, just go with half pint glasses instead. Good luck and wish you have a good trip!

[wgallois]

A recent discovery is the cafe at the Estorick Collection which serves simple, well-made and relatively cheap Italian food. I imagine it must be a nice spot for lunch on the terrace in summer.

http://www.estorickcollection.com/

[kitwilliams]

Sandra: Daquise is the name of the Polish restaurant in South Ken. I love the atmosphere of it and the food can be satisfying.

Bapi's rec of Rotisserie Jules is a good one too.

I just returned from London and continue to recommend Lisboa Patisserie (which Magnolia originally recommended to me). A galao (coffee) and two pasteis de nata (amazing custard tarts) are only about £2.50. But then I always go back for a box of nata to take away! I always seem to have good, stimulating conversations there too.

Lisboa Patisserie

57 Golborne Road (at the north end of Portobello Road)

020 8968 5242

[Conor]

Wagamama has already been mentioned, but in Kensington High Street opposite it is a place called "Stick and Bowl", great chinese food, and lets just say they save the expense on the decor and service!

Churchill Arms in Kensington, Thai food for a fiver in a nice pub.

And there is an Italian place in Soho(off Dean Street??) that does "all you can eat buffets", i know they are normally crap but this one is quite good. I will try to find out the name but if anyone else knows....

[Nataliabrau]

And there is an Italian place in Soho(off Dean Street??) that does "all you can eat buffets", i know they are normally crap but this one is quite good. I will try to find out the name but if anyone else knows....

I think you are talking about 'Questo' near Kettner's

[wgallois]

Marlena's suggestion of Mangal 2 in Dalston is a winner. As she said: great Turkish food, admirable freshness, a real depth of flavours, nice staff who are clearly passionate about food, and a great selection for meat-eaters and vegetarians. Portions are indeed big. Mezze are in the range £2.50-3.50 and mains c.£6-8. The sambousek are absolutely fabulous.

[spinoza]

The Four Seasons on Bayswater Road reportedly has the finest Chinese roast duck outside Hong Kong.

Dinner there has never cost me more than £20 with multiple dishes and beers.

A plate of duck rice with tea will set you back £6.

[Ai Leen]

Dear alkonin,

May I ask where you and your husband are staying or intend to visit? Why not save your money for a good last night meal? It's quite obvious from the number of replies that you won't go hungry, rest assured. I hope you have a good stay.

Ai Leen

[origamicrane]

well here my suggestions for a whole week of cheap and tasty eats

the following are all places you can get a very tasty and filling meal for under £10 without compromising on quality. I been to all of them and they come with my person guarantee for good quality/price ratio

English

Monday have a spot of earl grey tea, club sandwich and a cheescake at Patisserie Valerie in Soho.

Evening go for fish and chips, Fryers Delight off holborn is good.

Indian

Tuesday lunch go to Kerala off Oxford Circus for a cheap and tasty Cheemin biryani.

Evening try the UK national dish of chicken tikka masala and keema naan and kulfi head to Whitechapel's New Tayyab or Gifto's in Southall.

Oriental

Wednesday go to Tay Do in Hackney which is a very cheap and tasty vietnamese cafe you be bursting at the seams if you manaage to eat £10 worth of food. go for the special spring rolls, green papaya salad, chao tom, mixed pork rice.

In the evening go to ASSA off Tottenham court road which is a lovely little korean cafe especially try the seafood pancake the stone pot rice and a hot pot .

pancakes??

Thursday head up to Hampstead and grab yourself the best crepe in London from the little crepe stand there. In the evening go to My Old Dutch in holborn for a monster crepe/ pancakes.

European

Friday lunch go to Belgo belgium place with a lot of beer in Covent Garden and take advantatage of their £6 lunch special.

Evening my favourite pizza chain Strada there one in covent garden too the parma pizza is yummy.

Middle eastern

Saturday lunch go to Maroush in Oxford Street and try the tasty falafel and chicken taouk sandwiches(wraps) and grab a freshly squeezed melon juice.

Evening head to Hafez in Bayswater and grab a salad oliveh with fresh bread and a kebab and butter rice.

Chinese

Sunday go for chinese have dim sum in Chinatown, Royal dragon and Golden dragon are good.

Evening go to the infamous Wong Kei to have some duck rice and get abused by their legendary service before legging it out o the country ;)

alternative/spare japanese day

Lunch at Misato in chinatown go for the katsu curry with a mount fuji load of rice

evening Ryo in Brewer Street go for the gomoku ramen set big bowl of noodles and a bowl of fried rice for £8.

Think i might try this myself one week, pretty sure you could actually have change from £280 for the week.

[robyn]

Is it possible to avoid Wagamama in London? The day we arrived (at 7 am) - we went to Canary Wharf (sounds like an odd destination but it was fun at lunch hour - watching Tango dancers and getting the free ice cream from the company sponsoring them - viewing the gardens, sculpture and architecture - stocking up at Molton Brown). And we ate at Wagamama. Very nice comforting food (big bowl of soup and noodles) for the walking-dead jet-lag afflicted. Almost woke me up .

Note that the location at Canary Wharf was jammed. Seems like a very popular place. I liked the way our orders were scribbled on our menus. And we enjoyed speaking to the diners on both sides of us in the communal dining setting. Robyn

[robyn]

Anchor & hope by southwark tube (or in the cut) is good value.

Some places (e.g. St John or Club/Cellar Gascon) have bars where a version of their approach is available without the full cost of a 3 course meal.

I'm not a good person to be writing in this thread because I didn't have a budget. We liked Anchor & Hope - but it certainly wasn't a place for someone on a budget (my husband's main was about 15 pounds - mine was 19). Robyn

[PoppySeedBagel]

This old thread seems as good a place to post this as any - to my great surprise I had a lovely meal at the National Theatre the other night - in the Terrace Bar & Food. It was fantastic value at £19.95 for a mixed Mezze plate for two - stand out dishes were the meat balls and the sea bass with fennel & tomato. Everything though was really fresh & delicious and there was an enthusiasm in the food. The ambiance isn't great, but the views are terrific, and I'd rather eat there than anywhere else I've ever been on the South Bank. The house Sauvignon Blanc was good too, and not expensive. My pud was not quite as good as the baklava wasn't as fresh as it might have been, but it was home made, and the ice cream was fine. Go before the chef changes!

[Alcuin]

I'll be in London for a week working at the British Library. This is my first time there, and I'm looking for recommendations for good reasonably priced food. I'm looking for things like fish and chips, Indian or Caribbean, etc. I'm on a budget and travelling alone, so I won't be doing much dining. Just eating. Thanks in advance.

[PoppySeedBagel]

Alcuin

The Indian YMCa does extremely good-value Indian food, and not too far from where you are. [YMCA Indian Student Hostel, 41 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 6AQ]

Places I'd also recommend for good cheap food are:

Pho restaurants - small chain serving vietnamese street food

Sofra restaurants - small chain serving turkish food

Leon restaurants - small chain serving healthy fast food - try the soups and salads

And...

Arbutus - it has a lunch menu of 3 courses for £16.95 - drink water and eat plenty of bread - it'll be worth eating... (if you go early in the evening it's £18.95.)

Edited to add that the best [and stunning value] pastries I have ever had in London are at Sketch patisserie on Conduit Street - you can buy them to take away - only £1.40 for a superb chausson aux pommes. mmm-mm

Edited January 10, 2011 by PoppySeedBagel (log)