London

Leffe Best New Restaurant | Best Gastropub | Best British Restaurant | Best Family Restaurant | Best Local Restaurant | Best Cheap Eats | Best Bar | Best Design | Best Traiteur | Best Coffee Bar

Best Cheap Eats

Kiasu

WINNER
Kiasu
‘Kiasu’ is a Hokkien Chinese word that roughly means ‘fear of being second best’. But it’s not just for literary convenience that the restaurant has won our Best Cheap Eats category. The reasonable prices are merely a bonus to the exceptional Peranakan cooking. If you ignore the few concessions to Thai and Vietnamese cuisine (as you should when ordering), the menu could be straight out of a Singaporean food court – as could the astonishingly authentic dishes, which are rated with chilli icons to designate hotness. Feature continues

Hainanese chicken rice (braised white chicken bathed in a sublime, rich stock, £7) was correctly served with three extra dips of ginger, chilli and soy. The laksa ( a giant bowl of noodles and prawns in a rich, thick chilli and coconut soup, £7.50) was easily as good as any we’ve had in Singapore. Just as perfect were starters of otak otak (fish cake wrapped in banana leaf then roasted, £2.50) and roti pratha (a rich-tasting flatbread that’s Singapore’s version of Malaysia’s roti canai, served with curry gravy, £3.50). A fairly informal café atmosphere prevails, but proper wooden furniture and a snazzy blue decor mean Kiasu is, thankfully, a more civilised venue than the bare-bones food courts from which it borrows. So stop and savour.
Kiasu, 48 Queensway, W2 3RY (020 7727 8810) Bayswater or Queensway tube. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £40.

RUNNERS-UP
The Diner
A calculated hotchpotch of retro styles gives this US diner the air of knowing irony it needs to maintain credibility among its trendy Soho neighbours. And The Diner gives them a good run for their money with its fun, friendly attitude and good-quality scoff. Crunchy-out, fluffy-in chips scattered with cajun spice, and a moreish red-cabbage coleslaw proved worthy sides for a delightful burger featuring cheese, bacon and fresh leaves. The ‘Mexican breakfast’ (from the all-day breakfast menu) was a filling plate of scrambled eggs, guacamole, refried beans, salsa and chorizo lardons. Our only disappointment thus far has been a weak, watery Bloody Mary, but maybe that served us right for shunning the house cocktail list.
The Diner, 18 Ganton St, W1F 7BU (020 7287 8962/www.thedinersoho.com) Oxford Circus tube. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £50.

Mother Mash
At Mother Mash the humble spud takes the limelight. A standard, butter-and-milk-based mash is offered alongside a handful of variants including Irish champ (with spring onions and cheese). We had no reason to doubt the crucial ‘mashed to order’ promise as we tucked into the piping-hot, ethereally fluffy mounds placed in front of us. On the side, so to speak, are some very respectable pies such as Angus steak, or haddock and hard-boiled egg. There’s also a choice of gravy, including the parsley sauce or ‘liquor’ traditionally served in the East End pie-and-mash shops of yore. These, too, are the obvious inspiration for the restaurant’s design.
Mother Mash, 26 Ganton St, W1F 7QZ (020 7494 9644/www.mothermash.co.uk) Oxford Circus tube. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £40. Set meals from £6.95.

Ooze
Risotto is one of the supremely simple yet infinitely flexible concepts which have helped make Italian cuisine so globally popular. And given the grossly oversaturated market for the other major dishes in that category – pizza and pasta – it’s a wonder that Ooze is the first place to concentrate on different permutations of gooey rice. Over a dozen colourful risottos are available at any time thanks to a clever method that involves part-cooking batches in advance. On a recent visit, mixed seafood risotto with tomato and courgette was a moreish pleasure, though a homogenous chicken version disappointed. While the recipes aren’t the finest in the world, they’re undeniably tasty, and supplemented by some fabulous salads and desserts.
Ooze, 62 Goodge St, W1T 4NE (020 7436 9444/www.ooze.biz) Goodge St tube. Dinner for two with wine and service: around £40. Lunch: around £12 per head.

Sufi
Sufi is an excellent Persian restaurant that, like the road it sits on, is an unprepossessing little place. The miniature clay kiln at front is the first hint that this is more than a generic neighbourhood grill. A wafer-thin disc of taftoon (flatbread) dough is rolled out and fired as soon as you take your seat, then best consumed with terrific starters such as kashk-e bâdenjân, a rich, earthy dip made from puréed grilled aubergine, garlic and spices. Follow with moist, tender chicken skewers or lamb khoresht fessenjan (stew with walnut and pomegranate sauce). The freshness and quality of ingredients is notable and we’ve found the high standards maintained on repeat visits.
Sufi, 70 Askew Rd, W12 9BJ (020 8834 4888) Hammersmith tube then 266 bus. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £45.

Leffe Best New Restaurant | Best Gastropub | Best British Restaurant | Best Family Restaurant | Best Local Restaurant | Best Cheap Eats | Best Bar | Best Design | Best Traiteur | Best Coffee Bar