Going strong for more than three decades, this plain-looking Earl’s Court restaurant and bar is still packed to the rafters – and as good as it ever was. As soon as the proper caramel-coloured prawn crackers arrive, you know that this place is the real deal. Dig into the great-value menu for all the usual Thai suspects, from the fresh and frighteningly spicy som tum (green papaya) salad served in a deep bowl to curries, stir-fries and luscious pad thai topped with a traditional lattice pancake.
Price: Pad thai £9.
London might well be the world’s greatest food city (that’s right, we’ve gone there) but with spiralling living costs and a little thing like a pandemic putting the brakes on the concept of ‘spare’ cash, it’s not like any of us can eat out as much as we’d like to. Welcome to our list of London’s best cheap eats.
Every highlighted dish here costs £10 or less – many restaurants in this list will feed you well for a fiver – to eat in or take away. And variety is the name of the game – so expect London staples like fish and chips, and pie and mash, but also discover the best bargain places for banh mi, burgers, gozleme, pizza, shawarma, bao, lahmacun, kebabs, bagels, baps and sarnies.
These places give you the kind of buzz only a bargain bite can deliver, while you can relish the fact that you’re supporting small independent London businesses when they need you the most. So hit the streets – filling up in some of London’s best restaurants needn’t empty your wallet.