Frugal Dining in London
A friend of mine from the US came to visit me in London for the Thanksgiving weekend. We had a packed 4-day schedule of sightseeing, partying and football watching ahead of us, so we needed to eat most of our meals outside the house to get the most out of the long weekend. London, being the notoriously pricey city it is (and particularly so these days with the exchange rate to the pound hovering at the $2 mark) prompted us to grab the Zagat guide which introduced a "Best Cheap Eats" list for their 2006 London issue, and using it, build a list of restaurants that would be geographically convenient, pocket friendly and gatstonomically appealing all at the same time. So there you have it - the following restaurants are cheap eats in London that even Rachel Ray (of $40-a-day on Food TV fame) would approve of.
Wagamama
Several locations, see www.wagamama.com
This is an eternal favorite of the office lunch crowd and students. There's one of these in most parts of London. The one I usually eat at is on High Street in Kensington. I went to the Covent Garden location with my friend. Both of these locations are lifeless spaces - one above ground level, the other below. Spartan spaces are the hallmark of Wagamama (although their recently opened location under a bridge on the South Bank of the Thames marks a foray into cutting edge architecture). When you arrive you're seated at communal tables. After the waiter takes your order on a wireless device of some kind he/she proceeds to mark your paper place mats with numbers, shapes and other random scribbles to add a certin kitsch to the experience. The food can be broken down into 3 categories of dishes - noodle and soup pairings, noodle and curry pairings and rice dishes. I feel that the first of the three gives you the best value for your money as the portions are large and the soup fills a void that nice and noodles alone cannot satisfy. All of their ingredients are fresh and the menu is vegetarian and vegan friendly. Meal tabs do tend to rise with the addition of beer or appetizers. But if you stick with a main course and a soft drink, you'll walk out very full and missing only 8 pounds and change.
Gallipolis
102 Upper Street, London, N1 1QN
This restaurant is the best kept secret on Upper Street in Angel. Very popular in the evenings, its one of few places in London where you can have a 2 course meal with a bottle of wine split between two people -- all for under £20 per person. Service is automatically included in the prices on the menu so when scanning the offerings, it is very easy to estimate how much your meal is going to cost. I personally recommend the lamb dishes. They serve these platters where layers of freshly grilled lamb, olive oil soaked triangles of pita bread, a creamy garlic laced sauce and piled on top of each other. Needless to say, this dish goes down very well with red wine. (See picture below)
Khan's of Bayswater
13-15 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UA
This was my first time visiting the ever popular Indian restaurant in Bayswater. This place is all business - dinnerware is metal (and cheap at that too) wherever possible. There are no alcoholic drinks on the menu and before you order and after you've eaten the last bite of food on your table, you get the very palpable sense that your waiter wants to get you out of the restaurant so he can seat the next party at your table. Therefore, I recommend going to Khan's only when you have that hankering for Indian food. The menu is massive, and while the food may be a little bland, it works pretty well for their clientele. A dinner for two can be had for as little as £10 per person.
Food for Thought
31 Neal St, London, WC2H 9PR
Hole in the wall vegetarian restaurant right in the heart of Covent Garden. I presume this place has been open for many years because it is in one of the most elite shopping districts in all of London. The menu varies daily but you can count on at least 2 entree platters composed of a hot dish accompanied by 2 different kinds of salads. Self help service, free water and tight quarters round out everything you need to know about this place. The platter dishes go for £6 each which is a killer deal considering the quality of ingredients they put into their food. Highly recommended.
Churchill Arms
119 Kensington Church St, London, W8 7LN
A Notting Hill pub with a little Thai restaurant tucked in the back. Expect a long wait if you arrive during meal hours. Don't disregard the chilli signs next to certain dishes on the menu -- they are there for a reason; the heat in some of these dishes is stratospheric. I had the Pad Thai which was very average. Not sure why Zagat rates this place as highly as it does on the cheap eats list. I thought it was good, but wasn't all that great. Don't both paying this establishment unless you already happen to be in Notting Hill, craving Thai food.
Wagamama
Several locations, see www.wagamama.com
This is an eternal favorite of the office lunch crowd and students. There's one of these in most parts of London. The one I usually eat at is on High Street in Kensington. I went to the Covent Garden location with my friend. Both of these locations are lifeless spaces - one above ground level, the other below. Spartan spaces are the hallmark of Wagamama (although their recently opened location under a bridge on the South Bank of the Thames marks a foray into cutting edge architecture). When you arrive you're seated at communal tables. After the waiter takes your order on a wireless device of some kind he/she proceeds to mark your paper place mats with numbers, shapes and other random scribbles to add a certin kitsch to the experience. The food can be broken down into 3 categories of dishes - noodle and soup pairings, noodle and curry pairings and rice dishes. I feel that the first of the three gives you the best value for your money as the portions are large and the soup fills a void that nice and noodles alone cannot satisfy. All of their ingredients are fresh and the menu is vegetarian and vegan friendly. Meal tabs do tend to rise with the addition of beer or appetizers. But if you stick with a main course and a soft drink, you'll walk out very full and missing only 8 pounds and change.
Gallipolis
102 Upper Street, London, N1 1QN
This restaurant is the best kept secret on Upper Street in Angel. Very popular in the evenings, its one of few places in London where you can have a 2 course meal with a bottle of wine split between two people -- all for under £20 per person. Service is automatically included in the prices on the menu so when scanning the offerings, it is very easy to estimate how much your meal is going to cost. I personally recommend the lamb dishes. They serve these platters where layers of freshly grilled lamb, olive oil soaked triangles of pita bread, a creamy garlic laced sauce and piled on top of each other. Needless to say, this dish goes down very well with red wine. (See picture below)
Khan's of Bayswater
13-15 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 4UA
This was my first time visiting the ever popular Indian restaurant in Bayswater. This place is all business - dinnerware is metal (and cheap at that too) wherever possible. There are no alcoholic drinks on the menu and before you order and after you've eaten the last bite of food on your table, you get the very palpable sense that your waiter wants to get you out of the restaurant so he can seat the next party at your table. Therefore, I recommend going to Khan's only when you have that hankering for Indian food. The menu is massive, and while the food may be a little bland, it works pretty well for their clientele. A dinner for two can be had for as little as £10 per person.
Food for Thought
31 Neal St, London, WC2H 9PR
Hole in the wall vegetarian restaurant right in the heart of Covent Garden. I presume this place has been open for many years because it is in one of the most elite shopping districts in all of London. The menu varies daily but you can count on at least 2 entree platters composed of a hot dish accompanied by 2 different kinds of salads. Self help service, free water and tight quarters round out everything you need to know about this place. The platter dishes go for £6 each which is a killer deal considering the quality of ingredients they put into their food. Highly recommended.
Churchill Arms
119 Kensington Church St, London, W8 7LN
A Notting Hill pub with a little Thai restaurant tucked in the back. Expect a long wait if you arrive during meal hours. Don't disregard the chilli signs next to certain dishes on the menu -- they are there for a reason; the heat in some of these dishes is stratospheric. I had the Pad Thai which was very average. Not sure why Zagat rates this place as highly as it does on the cheap eats list. I thought it was good, but wasn't all that great. Don't both paying this establishment unless you already happen to be in Notting Hill, craving Thai food.
posted by sdateumd at
6:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home