The best cheap eats in London

A panuozzo is essentially a pizza-dough sandwich, and as you can imagine, it’s pretty darn filling. This dinky Kentish Town café and gelateria makes a speciality of them: a caprese buffalo mozzarella, tomato and rocket version will fill you up.

Price: Panuozzo from £6.50.

From the namesake deep-fried arancini (risotto balls served plain or stuffed into tortilla wraps) to burgers, salad boxes and stews (butternut squash and lentil, say), everything here is vegan. Branches in Dalston and Maltby Street.  

Price: Arancini balls from £5.50 for five; salad boxes, burgers and stews £5 to £9.

Kilburn’s pride and joy, this modest Afghan spot also attracts people from across London with its excellent cooking, budget prices and BYOB policy. Dumplings, tikkas, curries and kebabs show the cuisine’s cultural diversity, but also look for more distinctive ideas – from mantu (minced meat in steamed pastry topped with yoghurt, chickpeas and mint) to the must-have kabuli palow (slow-cooked lamb shank buried in a mound of yellow rice, dotted with pistachios and peppers). To drink, order minty yoghurt ‘dough’ or cardamom tea. 

Price: Lamb mantu £8.95; kabuli palow £9.95. 

Now happily embedded in Peckham Rye, this former street food outfit serves up fail-safe Vietnamese dishes in a modest, neutrally decorated, plywood-clad setting. Affordable classics such as summer rolls and ‘bun’ noodle salads abound, but it’s worth tossing in an extra quid for more unusual ideas such as the bò kho beef stew with lemongrass or bánh khot turmeric and coconut pancakes filled with prawns and sprinkled with shrimp dust. There’s a second branch in Brixton.  

Price: Rolls from £6; ‘bun’ noodle salad from £10.

A pocket-sized offshoot of Haggerston’s feted Middle Eastern grill, Berber & Q’s Exmouth Market outpost is great for a boozy catch-up over some dirty cocktails and spit-roasted meat. If you want to eat dinner for under a tenner, stay with the meze or filled pittas – perhaps lamb kofte, lamb shawarma, chicken thighs or cauliflower, piled with pickles, herbs and tahini (plus some Yemenite Dynamite hot sauce for extra oomph). Spend any spare change on one of the lush ice-cream desserts.   

Price: Meze with chollah bread from £5; cauliflower shawarma in pitta £8.50.  

Budget-conscious punters at this popular Korean hangout should go for rib-sticking renditions of the eponymous bibimbap: a warming layered dish of rice, spiced vegetables and meat, topped with a fried egg and served in a hot stone bowl. Other bargains range from bulgogi barbecue with rice to rameyon noodle soups, and you can also get a five-piece bucket of KFC (Korean fried chicken) for a fiver.

Price: Bibimbap from £8.50; beef bulgogi with rice £9.90.

When only a filthy-good US-style burger made with rare-breed dry-aged beef will do, Bleecker comes up trumps for London’s meat-mad hordes. The oozing bacon cheeseburger is a carnivore’s dream – especially when it’s loaded up with ketchup – although adding a side of ‘angry fries’ drizzled with blue cheese and hot sauce will take you over the £10 limit.

Price: Burgers from £6.75.

Butchies’ original street-food stall made its name with fast-fried chicken, but its first proper restaurant ups the ante by matching superlative nosh with friendly counter service and sharp decor. As the unofficial chicken burger champion of London, it serves up dreamy buttermilk-fried sandwiches and voluptuous bacon-stacked numbers with playful names like Jenny from the Block. Also, don’t miss the moreish chicken strips served with house OG sauce and extra dips if you want them (trust us, you will).

Price: Buttermilk chicken sandwiches from £6; OG meal (original sandwich, fries and soft drink) £9.50.

A bricks-and-mortar spin-off from the legendary Cheese Truck, this handy Camden pitstop peddles its wares in a bar-like space beneath a burlesque club. Oozing cheese sandwiches and messy riffs on raclette are the main contenders in the food stakes, but don’t miss bigger plates such as five-cheese macaroni or the flavour-bomb sundae (X-rated food porn involving blue cheese lusciously laced with quince, honey and shards of honeycomb). 

Price: Grilled cheese sandwiches from £8; five-cheese macaroni £9.80. 

Not your average chicken shop, this colourful wood-panelled 25-seater spot on Baker Street is the first fast-casual offshoot of Chick ’n’ Sours. Come here when you’re dying for some KFC (that’s Korean Fried Chicken, for the uninitiated) and you don’t mind ordering at the counter to get it. The Straight Up Chik’n (a crisp-battered chook fillet topped with herb mayo and pickle) is a useful standby, but there are more fancy riffs too. Most dishes can be made with vegan chik’n if that’s what you’re after. You can also eat in at branches in Soho and Islington.

Price: Chicken sandwiches from £5.95.

Neighbourhood trattorias often sell themselves as cheap and cheerful, but few do it as well as family-owned Ciullõsteria in Balham. Classic terracotta floor tiles and kitsch artefacts set the tone, while the kitchen scores with its wallet-friendly handmade pastas (penne all’arrabbiata, pappardelle al ragù), grills and thin-crust 12-inch pizzas with familiar toppings (margherita, quattro formaggi, genovese etc). It’s noisy, bubbly, gregarious and built for parties – so don’t come here hoping for some hush.

Price: Pasta from £7.50; pizzas from £7.

Laksa may be oh-so-trendy these days, but this Malaysian café-diner has been peddling its giant bowls of noodle deliciousness for two decades – and punters can still look forward to humongous helpings of spicy coconutty broth packed with juicy prawns, thin rice vermicelli and much more. C&R also serves up umami-rich plates of char kway teow noodles, piled-high rice-based nasi goreng, buttery roti canai bread and the celebrated beef rendang. Expect a functional but contemporary vibe. 

Price: Penang assam laksa £9.50; beef rendang £8.50.

The spirit of old Napoli lives on in Notting Hill, thanks to this cramped and glorious local legend, which famously survived a threat from the developers at the end of 2017. Mamma Maria’s food is always an affordable treat, although the soundest bets for those on a budget are the pastas and pizzas: the former might include spag bol, penne carbonara, lasagne and cannelloni, while the latter could feature names like marinara, margherita and spicy diavola. 

Price: Pasta from £8.50; pizzas from £7.

Just over the road from fellow Korean restaurant Jihwaja, Daebak is worth a punt if you don’t want a side order of karaoke with your kimchi. Occupying what was a greasy spoon, the cramped premises still feel like caff, but prices are low, portions large and flavours are bang-on. The Korean classics (kimchi, glass noodles, bibimbap) are all here, along with Japanese imports in the shape of katsu curry, tempura and teriyaki – affordable is the name of the game. ‘Daebak’ is Korean for ‘awesome’, and we reckon it’s heading in the right direction.

Price: Ramen £8.50; bibimbap bowls £9.50.

A garish, grungy Mexican pop-up bar and taqueria gone permanent, Del 74 promises banging beats, good vibes and easy-drinking margaritas, plus a bar menu of well-crafted classics – pork pilbil tacos, brisket tostadas, tinga quesadillas, that sort of thing. Veggies are guaranteed to do well here. Drop by at any time for a cheap eat, although the best value is on Taco Tuesday when the happy hour lasts all night long and you can pick up tacos for £2. The brunch offer is also worth knowing about. 

Price:  Pork pilbil tacos £5.50; brisket quesadilla £6.50. 

Corrugated iron and walls plastered with Bollywood posters lend a ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ aesthetic to this upbeat Punjabi pit-stop on Chapel Market. If you’re planning a sit-down dinner indoors, be aware that the insistent bhangra beats and unyielding seats may put paid to any thoughts of whiling away the time. The kitchen majors in street-food snacks and slow-cooked curries, from sev puris and fish pakoras to railway lamb, rogan josh and chicken tikka makhani.  

Price: Tandoori lamb chops £6.50; chicken tikka £4.95.

DF stands for Mexico City’s Distrito Federal, but this affordable, mass-market offshoot of the Wahaca chain couldn’t be more London – and fashion-conscious with it.  All the trademarks are here: strikingly modern design, cheery staff and no bookings, plus Mexican fast food with a hipster spin. Open tacos hit the spot if you’re eating on the cheap, as do the pork bibil torta buns with smashed avo, slaw and pickle. Note that tacos are half price on Mondays. There are offshoots in Brixton and on Tottenham Court Road.

Price: Tacos and torta buns from £7.20; burritos from £8.

The Covent Garden outpost of a world famous no-bookings Taiwanese chain famed for its dumplings and regional street food, Din Tai Fung is a cult phenomenon – so expect to queue (although there’s now a ‘walk-in’ app if you want to go virtual). It’s more expensive and more fashionable than Chinatown, but the food is worth it: don’t miss the signature xiao long bao (delicate soup dumplings), the bouncy, golden prawn pancakes or the wontons with black vinegar and chilli oil – all served by hyper-efficient staff.

Price: Steamed buns from £7.50 for three.

Whirling ceiling fans, sepia prints and other retro wheezes set the scene for some post-colonial romping at Dishoom’s slick Indian eatery in Shoreditch, which comes complete with a Bombay-esque railway café space and a Raj-era verandah. Eat for under £10 by ordering the buttery pau buns with various fillings, the stuffed roomali (roti) rolls and other small plates, or dip carefully into the line-up of grills and salads. Dishoom’s other outlets all offer something similar.

Price: Keema pau £6.50; chicken tikka roll £7.90. 

Done out like a Tamil truck stop with lurid lighting, furniture the colour of Sunny Delight and movies on the flatscreen TV, this rudimentary Sri Lankan-South Indian caff is famed for its minuscule prices and superlative dosas – although you can still eat cheaply if you veer off into gravy territory. Veggie options are the standouts – the Mysore masala dosa, served with spiced onion, potatoes and three house chutneys is a winner, as are the onion utthapam and veg biryani.  

Price: Dosas from £4.25; Chettinad fish curry £6.95.

Decidedly utilitarian but a famous purveyor of Cantonese roasted meats, long-serving Four Seasons still deals in the ‘golden trio’ of Cantonese cuisine: crispy duck (a contender for London’s best), char siu (barbecued pork) and siew yoke (crispy pork belly). Everyone is here for plates of these chunky specialties on rice, and they are the go-to dishes for cheap eating, although the mammoth 20-page menu is full of possibilities if you have a bit more to spend.   

Price: Three barbecued meats on rice £9.30; stewed beef brisket soup with noodles £8.20.

It may look like a provincial function room, but this Chinese roast meat specialist attracts as many visitors from the Far East as it does local students. The must-orders are the Cantonese duck and char sui pork, which can be seen hanging in the open kitchen by the front window. Order them on rice if you want to stay within budget, although it’s also worth investing in the equally generous noodle dishes (either stir-fried or in soup). 

Price: Roast crispy pork on rice £9.50; fried noodles with mixed vegetables £9.50.

Long-established, family-run, simple and well loved, Green Papaya is a real Vietnamese charmer with laidback yet welcoming staff and superb food – including a spot-on version of crispy, crunchy soft-shell crab with salt and chilli. The cooking also absorbs some Xi’an Chinese influences, and the hand-rolled noodles are some of the best-value items on the menu. Pho soups, grills and filled buns are also considering for a cheap dinner. There’s also a branch in Hoxton. 

Price: Hand-rolled Xi’anese noodles from £7.25; pho from £8.95.

A whole pizza? In central London? For under a fiver? That’s the magic of Icco, a family-run Italian that’s been serving up cheap, cheap pies from its bright green corner site on Goodge Street since 1999. You can bag a margherita for £4.95 here, but you should level up for the indulgence of the fiorentina – a salty, oily feast featuring a runny poached egg. Also in Camden.

Price: Pizza from £4.95.

Hidden behind the colossal grey frontage of the Hotel Strand Continental and reached via two rickety flights of stairs, this intensely charming Indian restaurant is a genial throwback to colonial times with its lino floors, wipe-clean tables, ornate metal lanterns and portraits of Indian independence. Everything on the menu is stonkingly good value, whether you opt for a thin crisped-up ghee dosa, chunky lamb bhuna or the legendary tomato-based curry with hard-boiled eggs. 

Price: Egg curry £6.50; dosas from £5. 

With a steamy charcoal grill holding centre stage and a menu offering a mishmash of Asian creations, Inko Nito is the laidback Japanese fusion restaurant you probably need after negotiating Oxford Circus. The standout breadcrumbed fried chicken comes with yoghurt and peanut dip, and the signature nigaki is sushi’s unholy answer to the open sandwich. Don’t leave without trying the coconut soft serve, sprinkled with Japanese granola.

Price: Tofu karaage with miso mayo and nori £7; maki rolls from £8 for six pieces.

An artisan fast food joint in a stools-only space that was formerly a public loo (hipster ticks all round), Joe is all about by-the-slice US-style pizzas cut from 20-inch whoppers. Toppings are strictly stateside and mostly conventional – though chicken with chorizo, halloumi and oregano is a neat combo. Prices are an absolute steal, and two slices should do fine for a high-speed sit-down dinner with a can of JP’s own-brand IPA.  

Price: Pizza from £3.50 a slice. 

Hindi film posters, Bollywood soundtracks and relaxed staff strike an authentic tone at this Indian street food stop just off Oxford Street. The main attraction here is a line-up of eminently affordable kati (pronounced ‘karti’) rolls: marinated meats, vegetables and cheeses, all bundled up in flaky paratha flatbread that’s been griddled and spread with beaten egg.

Price: Unda aloo roll £4.65; beef tikka roll £4.90.  

It’s all about roll-your-sleeves-up DIY at this branch of Kintan – a bargain-priced Japanese yakiniku restaurant in a basement off Oxford Circus. Smoky thick-ridged grills are built into each table (much like Korean barbecue) and the fully illustrated medley ranges from USDA kalbi short-rib to excellent pre-marinated spicy pork. Wipe-clean menus are splashed with red-sticker deals, while daily happy hours just keep rolling on. There’s also an outlet in High Holborn.

Price: Barbecue pork belly with shiso and miso £7.50; pepper beef bibimbap £9.

A suitably spartan place of pilgrimage for East End curry devotees who want to avoid the touts, this consistently reliable Whitechapel canteen deals in full-flavoured Punjabi street food, from snacks and karahi bowls to the eponymous grilled meat-on-a-stick. Despite the moniker, there are only two kebabs on offer – one seekh (a sausage of seasoned, finely minced lamb on a skewer), and a classic chicken kebab: both are excellent. You can BYOB, and there’s a handy off-licence next door. 

Price: Chicken kebab roll £4.50; meat biryani £9.75.

It’s tough finding tagine for under a tenner in London these days, but this Finsbury Park caff will satisfy your longings and leave you some spare change for sticky pastries and mint tea too. Various riffs on the couscous and tagine theme are the Moroccan mainstays in the evening, although things are a bit different during the day, when the place is a jolly mash-up of British greasy spoon and North African backstreet bolthole. 

Price: Lamb tagine £6.50; royal couscous £7.50.

A Soho deli legend for more than 75 years, Lina Stores took the bold (but natural) step of opening a little restaurant in 2018. It’s a squeeze, but the whole place buzzes and prices are friendly. Handmade pasta is the strongest suit, although some dishes are noticeably better than others: we love the worm-like pici with porcini and umbrian sausage sauce. Antipasti and puds are cheap but forgettable, so stick to the pasta and sit at the street-level counter.

Price: Pasta from £7.

Imagine yourself noshing away in a traditional wooden machiya townhouse when you visit this Japanese eatery from the people behind Kanada-Ya. Good calls for cheap eating include donburi rice bowls, tonkatsu, curries and slippery soba noodles with dashi dipping sauce, but it’s worth holding back some cash for the authentic Japanese patisserie. No bookings, so take pot luck. 

Price: Chicken kara-age £6; slow-cooked pork belly £6. 

Lewisham’s answer to the top Turks of Green Lanes, refurbished Meze Mangal also looks smarter than many of its more northerly contemporaries thanks to an uproarious clean-lined dining room with parquet floors, spotlights and clothed tables. The menu combines mangal classics with more unusual suggestions such as skewered quail or grilled swordfish, while budget-friendly pides (oval-shaped Turkish-style pizzas), sharing dishes and Turkish wines help to keep things affordable. 

Price: Pide from £7.50.

Formerly a street-food stall in Hackney, Morty & Bob’s has gone permanent in King’s Cross, although its USP remains the same: grilled cheese toasties for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with a huge, tangy pickle on the side. Of course, that’s not all: there are burrata focaccias, avocado and chilli sourdough soldiers and a tahini-slathered kale, buckwheat and roasted squash salad for the vegans – plus brownies and ice cream from Hackney Gelato for afters. Payment by card only.

Price: Grilled cheese sandwiches from £6.75, chicken bun with pickled cucumber £9.

Zeitgeist or no, this Taiwanese joint is a tip-top contender that brings a slice of Soho to SE15 with its fluffy steamed bao buns, small plates and cocktails. The classic Mr Bao (pork, pickle and peanut powder) is both larger and cheaper than its uptown rivals (but just as good), and we also like their extended list of vegan offerings such as the ginger-braised tofu bao. And for God’s sake, don’t skip the Bao S’more, with marshmallow and chocolate.

Price: Mr Bao bun with pork belly £4.20, ginger-braised tofu bao (vegan) £4.60.

Delivering cheap Japanese eats on Brixton Village Market, this fun little canteen specialises in that Osaka street-food staple, okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes with assorted toppings and sesame-spiked Japanese mayo). You could put pretty much anything into your batter mix, but pork, squid and kimchi are top choices. Otherwise, the menu is small but perfectly rounded – think edamame, fried aubergine with miso dressing, tofu miso soup and yaki onigiri (fried rice cakes). 

Price: Okonomiyaki from £8; fried soba noodles from £8.

It’s super-quick, it’s satisfying and the Roman-style base has all the shattering crunch of a Ryvita Thin. Pizza Union’s margherita won’t be the best slice you’ve ever had, but it’s only £3.95 for a very respectable fire-baked 12". That’s twelve inches, for the cost of an overpriced coffee. Plus you get handed one of those buzzy things to tell you when yours is ready. Literally minutes of fun.

Price: Pizza from £3.95

Former street-food upstarts Randy’s now have a permanent ranch-style roost by the canal in Hackney Wick, and their wings are the business. Look for the BBQ-slathered Kansas, the sweet ’n’ sticky Korean-style Gangnam or the harissa-infused Casablanca with sumac onions and pomegranate seeds. There are loaded fries, chicken strippers, buffalo shrimp and chook burgers too (try the Big Coq for size). Bag a deckchair on the grassy verge by the water when the sun’s out. Note: cards only. There’s another outlet in Aldgate. 

Price: Buffalo chicken ‘strippers’ £8; Casablanca wings £9.

A welcome blast of subcontinental warmth on Hammersmith’s frenetic main drag, Shilpa quietly goes about its business, delivering South Indian and Keralan cooking at surprisingly low prices. The food regularly outshines the unassuming surroundings as the kitchen knocks out mouth-watering meat curries, deftly spiced fish dishes and plenty for veggies. Choose carefully to keep within budget in the evening – dosas, tandooris and biryanis are among the promising possibilities.

Price: Tandoori chicken wings with mash and salad £9.95; lamb biryani £9.50.

A veteran of the Leytonstone scene (and still something of a local secret), this tiny family-run Thai café scores in every department. The BYO policy is key to its boozy appeal, but the food is also a blast – staunchly traditional, potently spiced and delivered without ceremony from the open kitchen. Staples such as pad thai and massaman curry are terrific value, but also take a look at the chalked-up specials board. Be warned: Singburi is rampantly popular.

Price: Tom yum goong soup £6.25; yellow chicken curry £7.75.

Sutton & Sons are London fishmongers of repute, so freshness is guaranteed at this high-end chippy across the road from their Stokey shop. In addition to the usual battered suspects, local foodies are rewarded with crab on toast, grilled mackerel and moules marinière, while vegans have a full menu of plant-based imitations involving everything from banana blossom to tofu. Mrs Sutton’s homemade cakes and Hackney-brewed beer are further reasons to be cheerful. There are offshoots in Islington and Hackney Central.   

Price: Coley and chips £8.95; ‘tofish’ and chips £7.50.

London’s first vegan ‘chicken shop’ (yes, you heard right) was born out of Hackney’s Temple of Seitan street stall.  It’s all about ‘meaty’ wheat gluten (aka seitan) here, whether you order one of the Temple burgers, the twist wrap or the hot wings in spicy buffalo sauce with ranch mayo (a gluten-free option), plus sides including popcorn bites. Brace yourself for blaring music, no indoor seating and a booze-free nosh. Also try Temple of Camden.

Price: Temple burger £6; twist wrap with two wings £5.