BEST CHEAP EATS AND BUDGET FRIENDLY RESTAURANTS
We love eating out but forking out for dinner can get expensive. So we’ve rounded up our favourite London cheap eats where you can stuff yourself silly for without racking up a big bill. Cay Tre is a Shoreditch institution, having been doing its thing since 2001. It’s one of the top authentic and traditional Vietnamese restaurants in east London and it’s a cheap eat that rocks. We love the charm of the place, which is a polite way to say it’s a little rough around the edges, but that doesn’t seem to affect its popularity at all. With ample sized portions at Cay Tre you can’t go wrong. It’s no fuss and no hipster Shoreditch-ness, just a good old Vietnamese restaurant.
London Cheap Eats Highlights
If you want hand rolled pasta for under a tenner, head to Padella. The casual spot serves up a regularly changing menu of pasta dishes – think Parpadelle with Black Hampshire sausage and fennel ragu and Ravioli of squash & Neal’s Yard ricotta with sage butter, and with homemade desserts costing just £4 you could bag both for little more than £10. BARGAIN.
Tucked away in a basement near Euston, Roti King serves up authentic Malaysian grub that’s cheaper than chips. You can get 2 pieces of roti with dhaal for £4 and if you’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth they do a roti filled with caramelised banana for just £3. Or if roti ain’t you’re thing they do noodle and rice dishes for under £7 – one to remember next time you’re catching a train!
Max’s Sandwich Shop might not serve up the cheapest sandwiches in London, but for the comedy value and the fact you probably won’t be able to move after noshing down it’s so worth the £7. The menu changes pretty regularly but you can’t go wrong with the classic ham, egg ‘n’ chips sarnie!
TACOS PADRE
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Located in Borough Market, Tacos Padre is the Mexican spot from hot Irish chef Nick Fitzgerald who earned his stripes at Pujol, Mexico City (on the World’s 50 Best don’t ya know). The stall serves some of the best tacos in London, including beef short rib suadero with morita salsa, cauliflower al pastor with salsa macha and lamb barbacoa with gauc, alongside homemade bottled sauces, local beers and mezcal margs. And the annual summer residency, where Nick sets up on the terrace by the stall, has a bangin’ dinner menu with dishes like oysters divorciados, crab tostada with guajillo & tamarind, gilt head bream with shiso ceviche, confit pork chop cochinita with charred x-ni-pec, smoked celeriac with orange habanero glaze & macadamia sikil pak, and bueñuelos with morita cajeta.
THE BARBARY NEXT DOOR
- Monday: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Tuesday: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Wednesday: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Friday: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:00 – 11:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
As the name suggests, The Barbary Next Door is the restaurant and wine bar next door to The Barbary in Neal’s Yard. Like its big sis, The Barbary Next Door is another tiny spot, which by night serves up a Moorish and North Africa-inspired sharing plates menu and by day runs as a grab-and-go pita shop (though you can perch at the counter). And it’s the daytime offering that delivers big flavour without denting your wallet. Fluffy pitas (at £6.50) come stuffed with delights like roasted Jaffa cauliflower & tahini, ham hock & pickled carrots, and tuna with harissa mayo & egg, and there are also a handful of pastries, like kouign-amanns, savoury borekas and babka buns should you be in the mood for an extra treat.
Getting a decent burger & fries in London has got pretty pricey these days, but you can get a cheeseburger and fries for just £9 at Bleecker. AND take it from us, they serve up some of the best buns in London, oh and if you’re willing to spend an extra quid go for the sweet potato fries – they’re bloody YUM!
NÉCCO
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 12:30 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Wednesday: 12:30 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:30 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Friday: 12:30 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 10:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:30 – 10:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
A complete lunch in central London for under a tenner is a thing to behold, and although it may not seem like it, they do exist. Nécco (meaning ‘cat’) in Exmouth Market is a Japanese cafe and bar with a super affordable menu of sushi, curries, noodles, donburi, homemade cakes and desserts, beers, sake and cocktails. Head over any time between 12.30pm – 3pm to take advantage of their lunch set deal, which’ll get you two Japanese tapas items, a bowl of rice and a drink for just £9.50.
Butchies serve some of the best fried chicken in town, starting from their Broadway Market stall on Saturday mornings and growing to permanent sites in Shoreditch and Clapham. It’s perfect for a quick bite and a beer (or negroni on tap!) and their incredible fried chicken sandwiches start at £6 for the original and creep to just below a tenner for the epic ‘Jenny From the Block’, which comes with guac and smoked bacon. There’s also cheesy fries, nuggets, hallomui fries and wings for a true feast AKA wipe out central.
Murger Han is a X’ian Chinese restaurant with branches in Euston, Mayfair and the City that seriously delivers the goods, and is super cheap too. The speciality here is Biang Biang noodles. They are made fresh in house every day and hand pulled by the chef into one giant 12 foot sheet and then cut into wide, thick strands before cooking. The noodles are spot on and come with some epic sauces – we particularly love the braised pork, tomato, egg, and chilli sauce. Sides such as gyoza are excellent too, as well as the murgers themselves – a flat bread stuffed with stewed beef or pork.
Rice paper salad roll biz Kaleido Rolls has a brand new flagship spot in Carnaby featuring an on-site rolling station, so you can see your food made fresh in front of you. The menu includes ten different filling combos, like maple salmon & edamame, chicken caesar, feta & pesto, prawn & crispy onion, and sweet potato & tahini, all wrapped up in rice paper, alongside peanut, tahini, sweet chilli and lemon dipping sauces. As well as different box sizes (a box of four comes in under a tenner), the rolls are healthy and nutritious too, making them ideal for lunch – and if you bring in your own lunch box, you can get a 50p discount on your order.
SOUVLAKI STREET
- Monday: 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM
- Thursday: 9:00 AM – 12:00 AM
- Friday: 9:00 AM – 12:00 AM
- Saturday: 9:00 AM – 12:00 AM
- Sunday: 9:00 AM – 11:00 PM
There are wraps, and then there are double stuffed chip-filled Greek wraps. Souvlaki Street serves up proper souvlaki made using quality local ingredients. There is a choice of pork shoulder, chicken or halloumi, and you can go ALL IN with three in one. Be warned though, because they are filled to the brim along with tomato, chips, tzatziki and souvlaki sauce, you might not even have room for their banging loaded fries or pita wedges. If you are heading down to Pop Brixton, they are well worth a visit.
OYSTER SHACK & SEAFOOD BAR
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: Closed
- Thursday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Friday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Sunday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
If you find yourself in Epping Forest any time between Thursday and Sunday, you’re in luck because you’ll likely be within walking distance of the Oyster Shack & Seafood Bar, a fishy little spot tucked around the side of the Kings Oak Hotel. Whether the raw bar is your thing, or you’re more into grilled fish, or you’ve worked up the appetite for a platter while walking in the woods, the Shack’s got you covered. The star of the show is their raved-about bacon and scallop butty – likely to be a hit with even the most avid seafood avoiders among us.
ROLL BABY
- Monday: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- Tuesday: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- Wednesday: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- Thursday: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Sunday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Fan of Vietnamese summer rolls? Roll Baby has taken the rice paper-coated classics and made them burrito sized, perfect for an easy and delicious lunch. Choose from options like prawn & avocado, falafel & hummus, mushroom and tofu, with each roll costing between £2.99 – £3.99. The neat parcels are absolutely stuffed with veggies – so this is a good choice if you’re after a healthy lunch – and can be matched with sauces such as satay, sriracha mayo, nuoc cham, sweet chilli and tahini ginger. They’re quite light, so you may wanna get a couple, but you could still come out with a lunch under £6 which, in Kensington, is unheard of.
Shuk; (which means street market in Hebrew) is serving up a taste of Tel Aviv in the recently opened Borough Market Kitchen. It’s all about Israeli street food, which you can get in fresh baked pita or as part of a salad box, made using produce from the Middle East as well as the market itself. There are four pitas to choose from – fish tagine with chickpeas & amba tahini, sabich with roast aubergine & eggs, spiced lamb meatballs with chilli yoghurt (which is our fave) and a lunch special of slow cooked beef brisket with cheese and pickled onions – think cheeseburger vibes. If you wanna skip the bread, you can go for a salad box by choosing from the platters on the counter, which include the likes of roasted aubergine with labne & tomato compote or Israeli couscous with dried tomatoes, courgettes & pickled mushrooms, and you can add the pita fillings on if you want something a bit bigger. All the pitas are under a tenner and they are properly filling too, not to mention way more exciting than a bog standard sarnie.
Max’s Sandwich Shop, the late night sarnie shop you can get pissed in, might not serve up the cheapest sandwiches in London, but for the comedy value and the fact you probably won’t be able to move after noshing down it’s so worth the money. Expect quirky names and filthy creations. You can’t go wrong with the classic ham, egg ‘n’ chips but we also love The Original Gangster, a braised beef, sauerkraut and “incredibly slutty gravy mayo” creation and don’t miss the crispy potatoes coated in crack-like rose harissa yoghurt either.
Located on the Clerkenwell side of Old Street, Monohon serves just six types of ramen, including three soup-less ones, one of which is served chilled. The Spicy Tonkotsu – creamy pork bone broth with thin noodles, bean sprouts, spring onions, slow cooked pork belly and spicy miso pork mince – is a winner and you can customise it to your liking, choosing level of spice, how hard you want your noodles and how big you want the bowl to be. Slurping = essential.
Looking to try the food from the Xi’an region of China? This is the spot. It’s cheap and cheerful and you can’t go wrong with the pork and veg dumplings, the hand pulled noodles with chunky beef and chilli sauce, and the Xi’an pork ‘burger’. Highly recommended if you’re in the area.
Tucked away in a basement near Euston, Roti King serves up authentic Malaysian grub that’s cheaper than chips. You can get 2 pieces of roti with dhaal for £4 and if you’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth they do a roti filled with caramelised banana for just £3. Or if roti ain’t you’re thing they do noodle and rice dishes for under £7 – one to remember next time you’re catching a train!
MARUGAME UDON
- Monday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Thursday: 11:00 AM – 10:30 PM
- Friday: 11:00 AM – 10:30 PM
- Saturday: 11:00 AM – 10:30 PM
- Sunday: 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Marugame Udon, the world’s largest udon noodle restaurant, has landed in London right near Liverpool Street. It’s a canteen-style set-up, so you work your way around the open kitchen where you can see the noodles being rolled, cut and cooked. You choose your dish – the menu includes the likes of kama age, beef nikutama with short rib & onsen egg, two pork tonkotsu with chashu & spicy miso pork, chicken katsu curry udon, kimchi yaki udon and salmon donburi – before hitting the tempura station, and the condiment station where you can pimp your noods with ginger, chillies, tempura batter and other toppings. And once you’ve slurped to your heart’s content, hit the unlimited vanilla and vegan matcha soft serve ice cream.
YOLK
- Monday: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
- Tuesday: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
- Wednesday: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
- Thursday: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
- Friday: 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed
If you’re after a quick bite that’ll be more exciting than Pret, Yolk is a good shout. Self-proclaimed purveyors of ‘fine fast food’, it does exactly what it says on the tin – serve up reliably well-made food with no hanging around. You can choose from one of their poached egg pots, brekkie baps (like the classic bacon or *fancy* bacon), next-level sandwiches (with options like bang bang chicken and nduja club), hot pots or salad bowls and still have time to spare on your lunch break.
House of MoMo isn’t just great because they serve up some bloody good momo, oh no you can also get a bowl of dumplings and beer for less than a tenner. Whether you choose them steamed, pan fried, coated in a sesame creamy curry sauce or a spicy chilli sauce, you won’t be disappointed.
YAMAGOYA
- Monday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:00 – 9:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 9:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Japanese ramen specialist Yamagoya is one of our favourite cheap eats in London as it offers what is surely the best value ramen and katsu curry you can find in the capital. There’s always 5 hot ramens on offer and the most expensive is £9.50, way cheapers than the cheapest bowl you’ll find elsewhere. They don’t shirk on quality though; the noodles are freshly made and the broth is rich and flavoursome. Try the Yuzukara Ramen with wood ear mushrooms in a green tonkotsu broth. Yamagoya also does an amazing chicken or pork katsu curry at only £6.50! Take that Wagamama. For a quick bite in town that’s easy on the wallet, Yamagoya is a perfect choice.
Share a Slice are slinging pizza with a conscience. With spots in Pop Brixton and Bussey Rooftop, they know what the people of South London want from their pizza. It’s light, it’s fluffy, it’s extra cheesy and comes with a range of toppings like truffle mushroom, nduja, and anchovies. And they donate one pizza to people in need for each one bought – so far they have donated over 11,000 pizzas. They don’t call it socially good pizza for nothing. Don’t miss out on their garlic bread, you have been warned.
Sons + Daughters, the brainchild of James Ramsden and Sam Herlihy (the duo behind award-winning East London restaurant Pidgin) celebrates the sandwich in all its glory. The Coal Drops Yard spot is an ode to all things between two slices of bread. They may have reduced them in size – and in price, dropping them down to £6.50 – but the sarnies are still epic. We particularly rate the CHICKEN S+DWICH, with Swaledale chicken, pickled cucumber, miso mayo, green sauce, soy-cured parmesan, gem lettuce and wasabi cress, and the EGG SALAD S+DWICH, with Burford Brown eggs, miso mayo, truffle crisps and salad cress. Remember the crisp sandwiches you’d make as a kid? This is like that except way more mindblowing. If sandwiches are what get you out of bed in the morning, then go venture in this playground, it’s like being given a AAA pass at Glasto. Rock on.
PHAT PHUC
- Monday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Tuesday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Thursday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Sunday: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Despite what you might think, that’s not how it’s pronounced. Phat Phuc, meaning ‘Happy Buddha’ and pronounced ‘fet fook’, is a noodle shack off the King’s Road that serves up some of the best pho in town. The Vietnamese national dish is their speciality, with beef, chicken, prawn and vegetable options on the list (all at a tenner a bowl, except for beef which is £12). But there are also other dishes on the menu if you fancy venturing outside the pho world. You can grab some prawn har kau, char siu buns or duck pancakes for starters, or a bowl of laksa with either rice or egg noodles for your main. Then grab a seat in the first-come-first-served courtyard, which is even decked out with shelter, heaters and windbreakers for when the weather (inevitably) turns.
RIVER CAFE
Not to be confused with the wallet-beating Italian restaurant, this particular River Cafe is an old school caff located right opposite Putney Bridge tube. It’s a stunner inside, with blue and white tiles, creaking plywood wall panels, and formica tables, largely unchanged since the 1960s. There are plenty of nods to the Italian owners too, with walls covered in Italian football flags and posters. The menu is as comforting as the surroundings, with bacon sandwiches and a big Full English for breakfast, and shepherd’s pie, pasta and Italian desserts at lunch. You can eat like a king here and still come with change from a tenner.
CIRRIK 19 NUMARA BOS
- Monday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 11:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
- Saturday: 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
- Sunday: 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
It’s no secret that some of the best food you can get in Stokey and Dalston is Turkish, and we LOVE Turkish food. There are so many places to choose from but our fail-safe is Cirrik 19 Numara Bos and in our opinion, it’s the best. The menu mostly focuses on kebabs made from barbecued meats cooked on the charcoal ocakbasi served with an abundance of sides including salad, spicy onions, THOSE balsamic grilled onions, THAT fresh bread (which is unlimited), chilli sauce and garlic mayo. Their speciality is lamb chops, though you can’t really go wrong with their chicken Shish (or anything else for that matter). The place is no frills and concentrates on offering great food and decent service. Go hungry.
It won OFM’s 2017 Cheap Eats award and is our fave local pizzeria, so it’s only right that Yard Sale makes it in our fave cheap eats. We’re a little bit obsessed with their Holy Pepperoni – it is holy after all, and when we’re pretending to be healthy it’s the TSB with tenderstem broccoli. It’s about a tenner for a 12inch, but if you really want to push the boat out they do HUGE 18inchers too, whatever you choose you definitely won’t go hungry here!
Dom’s Place is a LOTI fave (you do not even want to see how many deliveries we’ve had from here…).Serving up Turkish grub you can either go for a wrap or plate with rice/ chips and you definitely won’t go hungry. Our faves include the Chicken Wrap with Sumakli salad (red onion, parsley, sumak and pomegranate vinegar) and the Lamb Kofte plate with rice – we’re drooling just thinking about it!
FLOUR & GRAPE
- Monday: 5:30 – 10:00 PM
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 – 10:00 PM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 – 10:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 – 10:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 3:00 PM, 5:30 – 10:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 3:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:00 PM
- Sunday: 12:00 – 3:30 PM, 5:30 – 10:00 PM
If you want your pasta fast-a and can’t wait in the queue for Padella, say hello to Flour & Grape, located not too far away on Bermondsey Street. There’s only eight pasta dishes on offer and a handful of starters and desserts, with everything coming in at a tenner or under. The tortelloni packed with roast pork shoulder and sage butter kicks ass and there’s also a decent pappardelle with beef shin and a cacio e pepe bucatini – oh and they take bookings too…
It may not be as dirt cheap as your average high street chicken shop but then Chick ‘n’ Sours is on a whole new level…not only do you get free range birds, you get crazy sides and sauces you’d never find in Chicken Cottage. You can still eat here on a budget though; the house fry drumstick and thigh with THAT seaweed crack and pickled watermelon or a big plate of disco wings will get you change from a tenner, or you could hand over the whole note for The General…a beast of a bun with fried thigh, buttermilk & herb mayo, cheese and pickles.
We’ll take a slice of Pizza Pilgrims N’Duja pizza any day, you can’t really go wrong. It’s basically heaven. Once just a pizza van and now a little cult, Pizza Pilgrims has got some loyal followers and their quick expansion has been impressive, damn good reason for that too. Their Neopolitan pizzas are pure satisfaction with simple generous toppings and soft doughy crusts. And anywhere that does a Nutella dough ring for dessert is alright by us.
Cay Tre is a Shoreditch institution, having been doing its thing since 2001. It’s one of the top authentic and traditional Vietnamese restaurants in east London and it’s a cheap eat that rocks. We love the charm of the place, which is a polite way to say it’s a little rough around the edges, but that doesn’t seem to affect its popularity at all. With ample sized portions at Cay Tre you can’t go wrong. It’s no fuss and no hipster Shoreditch-ness, just a good old Vietnamese restaurant. Get it booked in.
Padella serves up hand rolled pasta dishes in Borough Market and Shoreditch. The casual spot has a small menu, but it definitely delivers – all the pastas, from pici cacio e pepe to ricotta raviola with butter & sage to THAT pappardelle with 8-hour Dexter beef shin ragu, are absolute dreams and a dinner here won’t break the bank either. All in all Padella is great value grub, made with love.
SILK ROAD
Located on Camberwell Church Street, Silk Road is always packed and for good reason as it’s got to be one of the cheapest yet most delicious Chinese restaurants in London. You can spend ages in there with a big group, ordering all the food and drinking all the beers, and it’s somehow impossible to ever spend more than £15 a head. It specialises in food from the Xinjiang region and if you don’t order the smacked cucumber salad, the lamb fat skewers, the big plate chicken and the pork dumplings then you’re doing it all wrong.
GODDARDS AT GREENWICH
- Monday: 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM
- Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM
- Friday: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
- Sunday: 10:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Goddards at Greenwich has been around since 1890 and is a proper old school pie and mash shop. The menu is filled with the classics including minced beef, steak and kidney and chicken and ham pie served with liquor, gravy, mash, baked beans or peas, and two of you can eat here for under a tenner. And if you’re not down with the pies, David Beckham is a regular and we can all get down with that…