Restaurants

Find out which restaurants we voted best for cheap eats in the Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards 2008

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Central
Abeno Too
Bubble & squeak Japan style
Take a bench seat at the long central counter of this Japanese diner popular with arty office workers and creative types. Abeno specialises in okonomiyaki, a rustic pancake studded with vegetables, seafood and meat, and (unlike sushi and sashimi) a typical example of warming Japanese home-style cooking. Staff stir up the thick batter and cook it right in front of you on a hotplate set into the table. Once done, it’s swirled with mayonnaise and a tangy brown sauce resembling HP, then finished with powdered seaweed and trembling bonito flakes. £7.95 will get you the regular okonomiyaki of the day (pork and squid on our last visit), or you can go large for £9.95. Miso soup and a tasty salad are included. Japanese-style curry rice is available too, as well as teppanyaki and salads. Still hungry? Desserts include green tea pancakes stuffed with aduki bean paste (£5.50), coffee jelly and ice-cream sundaes.
Abeno Too, 15-18 Great Newport St, WC2H 7JE (020 7379 1160) Leicester Square tube. Open daily 12noon-11pm. Licensed. Average £££.
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Ali Baba
Egyptian comfort food
In a quiet area just north of Marylebone Road is this long-standing Egyptian restaurant with attentive service, good fresh food and pocket-pleasing prices, the likes of which are not usually to be found these days in über-foodie Marylebone village. If Egyptian food sounds foreboding, be reassured that many of the dishes may be more familiar than you realise: such as the delicious moussaka, tender lamb shish kebabs, stuffed vine leaves and creamy houmous. To finish there’s complimentary baklava, or Egypt’s beloved om ali (literally ‘mother of Ali’), a creamy hot dessert not dissimilar to bread and butter pudding but made with pastry and laden with nuts and dried fruit.
Ali Baba, 32 Ivor Place, NW1 6DA (020 7723 7474) Baker St tube or Marylebone tube/rail. Open daily 12noon-12midnight. Unlicensed. No corkage charge. Average ££.

Canela
NEW
A cosy little branch of Covent Garden’s Canela has just opened in west Soho. The seating might be limited and a bit spartan, but this café has brought with it the same, very appealing Portuguese, Brazilian and international menu. Dishes include feijoada – a black bean stew with chorizo served with rice – and vatapá, a soup-like stew of bread and coconut milk with large prawns. The luscious range of cakes and desserts include Brazilian coconut and lemon confections, as well as the ever-popular pasteis de nata (baked custard tarts). Galão (caffè latte), açai juice (pressed from the Brazilian açai berry) or wines are an added incentive.
Canela, 1 Newburgh St, W1F 7RB (020 7494 9980/www.canelacafe.com) Oxford Circus tube. Open Mon-Sat 10am-11pm; Sun 12noon-8pm. Licensed. Average £.

Chowki
While Chowki skips the traditional metal thali in favour of white china, there is no denying their enthusiasm for helping Londoners discover the fascinating diversity of authentic Indian home-style cooking. The menu changes every few weeks, always highlighting three different regional cuisines – not just dishes from major states such as Andhra, Kerala and Goa, but lesser-known districts such as Coorg and Pondicherry and the foods of India’s minority communities including Jains, Bhoras and Brahmins. Main courses start around £6.95, appetisers at £2.25. The excellent-value set meals allow you to try a selection of small dishes. There’s also a range of meaty and vegetarian kebabs, special feast dishes, kulfi and sorbets.
Chowki, 2-3 Denman St, W1D 7HA (020 7439 1330) Piccadilly Circus tube. Open Mon-Sat 12noon-11.30pm; Sun 12noon-10.30pm. Licensed. Average ££.

Corean Chilli
NEW
Come to this Korean rice and noodle bar for dishes that are more adventurous than at Soho’s other Korean eateries. If you don’t fancy sea slugs, we can recommend the crisp fried pork dumplings, tofu pancake, or the kimchis of cabbage, stuffed cucumber or radish. Fresh and assertively flavoured, the dishes easily surpass expectations set by the prices.
Corean Chilli, 51 Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0NE (020 7734 6737) Leicester Square tube. Open daily 12noon-11.30pm. Licensed. Average ££.

Food for Thought
Soup and a big savoury scone from this long-established vegetarian café and takeaway is enough to brighten any dreary workday, but Food for Thought’s basement restaurant is open in the early evenings too, offering generously portioned dishes served by friendly staff. Daily specials (£3 to £6.50) such as vegetable gumbos, stir-fries and hotpots line up alongside well-made and satisfying bakes and quiches, and seasonal salads with gourmet sensibilities. Handy for Theatreland – once tried you may find it becomes a regular haunt.
Food for Thought, 31 Neal St, WC2H 9PR (020 7836 9072) Covent Garden tube. Open Mon-Sat 12noon-8.30pm; Sun 12noon-5pm. Unlicensed. No corkage charge. Average £.

Greens and Beans
NEW
Set in the basement of a health food shop and takeaway, this bright, cosy café open daytimes only puts a modern spin on the hippy wholefood eateries of the ’70s. No cranks here, though there’s certainly enthusiasm for ‘super’ goji berries and tonics such as barleygrass juice. The salad buffet, crammed with vibrant veggies and leaves, is a popular choice at £5.50. Warming dishes for winter include vegetarian sausages with mash and gravy (£5.95), soup of the day (£3.95), pizzas (£5.50-£6.50) and, at breakfast, scrambled egg sandwiches (£3.50) or millet, quinoa or oatmeal porridge (£3.25-£3.75) with a choice of sweet toppings.
Greens and Beans, 131 Drummond St, NW1 2HL (020 7380 0857) Euston tube/rail or Euston Square tube. Open Mon-Fri 9am-4pm. Unlicensed. Average ££.

Hummus Bros
After a difficult end to 2006, when the premises above this delightful Soho spot flooded, demanding a new ceiling, the Hummus Bros are back in business, serving wonderful bowls of creamy houmous with wholesome bread and a choice of inventive toppings from £2.50. Friendly staff and communal tables make this a pleasant spot but turnaround is fast – after all, it’s only fair to make way for other customers (many young local office workers) keen to eat their fill of this fabulous, good-value food.
Hummus Bros, 88 Wardour St, W1F 0TJ (020 7734 1311) Tottenham Court Rd tube. Open Mon-Wed 11am-10pm; Thur, Fri 11am-11pm; Sat 12noon-11pm. Unlicensed; no alcohol allowed. Average £.

Imli
From the folk behind prestige Mayfair Indian restaurant Tamarind, Imli’s friendly philosophy is that food is for sharing, so food is presented tapas-style in small portions allowing you to order several dishes. At lunchtimes there’s a meal deal offering a three-dish multi-choice menu for £7 with options to tack on flatbread and daal (£2) or dessert (£3.50). Mouthwatering spices and herbs litter the main menu, with dishes such as chicken with smoked tomato and fenugreek sauce, Goan-style pork, and aubergine or prawn masalas with rice. Tempting desserts include raspberry sorbet with black salt. Tangy thyme lemonade is a highlight of the impressive list of non-alcoholic drinks, but there’s wine and beer to be had, too. Imli’s contemporary decor is also several notches above that of most cheap-eateries: bright orange paint, rich woods, mahogany-hued mosaic tiles, trailing beads – and there’s a cool jazz soundtrack to accompany the hot food.
Imli, 167-169 Wardour St, W1F 8WR (020 7287 4243) Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus tube. Open daily 12noon-11pm. Licensed. Average ££.

Mandalay
Authentic Burmese cooking
How they do it for the price we don’t know, but the Ally family continue to produce some of the most spectacular south-east Asian dishes in London with no drop in standards since they opened a decade ago. Burmese food is best described as a mix of Thai, Chinese and Indian influences, but with its own distinctive mix of sharp, hot, salty and sweet flavours. It’s best to follow the Allys’ suggestions to try a range of types of dish. It’s a very friendly little café and deservedly popular, so much so that two sittings a night are not uncommon. Lunchtime sees a set menu offer of three courses for £5.90. But don’t come here if you’re expecting a fancy affair; no amount of good food or endearing service can disguise the low-rent premises, a brightly-lit shop unit on an unlovely stretch of the Edgware Road.
Mandalay, 444 Edgware Rd, W2 1EG (020 7258 3696) Edgware Rd tube. Open Mon-Sat 12noon-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm. Average ££.

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