Super cheap, entirely delicious meals for under £7

This Gospel Oak indie pub is well-loved for its down-to-earth atmosphere and formidable beer and cider line-up. But it also makes a mean (and keenly priced) sandwich, as evidenced by its hot roast pork bap. Perfect fuel as you booze the night away.

There’s pretty much always a queue at this Camberwell spot, and it’s easy to see why. Its falafel wrap is unbeatable value: thick as a wrestler’s arm, and packed with flavour. What it doesn’t necessarily have is ambience, but fear not: neighbouring pub Stormbird allows you to bring your own takeaway food, so you can pair your wrap with an ale or three.

Eccentric, glorious Peckham deli Persepolis serves up astonishingly reasonable food. And the jewel in the crown? Its delicious mezze platter, which comes with generous dollops of houmous and an ever-changing line-up of salads, falafel, little cheese pastries, bread... and giant Wotsits, in a whimsical touch guaranteed to make you grin ear to ear. 

So you’ve never eaten buss up shot? Correct that immediately. This Trinidadian roti’s name means ‘bust up shirt’, because it looks a bit like shredded fabric. Order it at tiny takeaway counter Roti Joupa and you'll get a delicious pile of flaky torn-up bread, alongside three unctuous vegetable curries: pumpkin, potato and spinach. Devour it messily and immediately. 

Branches in Shepherd's Bush, Clapham Junction, and Finsbury Park.

rue culinary bargains are scarce in the West End, but if you’re in the market for a cheap meal, you’ve got to make for ICCO. Rather adorably, it styles itself as ‘The People’s Pizzeria’, and it’s true, you could find yourself rubbing shoulders with pretty much anyone at its colourful metal tables. Its generously sized pizzas are made to order, from a list of 21 varieties: splash out a bit more for choice additions like artichokes, seitan or goat’s cheese.

Skip the sausage rolls. Dodge the cheesecake. You’d be mad to order anything but a bagel at this cult 24-hour shop, favoured by locals of all levels of inebriation. The salt-beef bagel is a classic choice, stuffed with a generous layer of moist, fatty meat contrasted with gigantic, ultra-sharp pickles.

Ginger Pig has a cult following for its trad pork sausage rolls, but the spicy lamb version is the thinking (wo)man’s choice: both hearty and satisfyingly aromatic. Yes, it costs four times what you’d pay for a Greggs sausage roll, but you know what, it’s easily five times as nice, with a just-thick-enough layer of buttery pastry encasing its substantial filling. If you don’t fancy braving the Borough Market crowds, there are branches in Marylebone, Hackney, Clapham and Shepherd’s Bush. 

Okay, hear me out: IKEA café date night? I know it sounds crazy but the chain’s cult fave Swedish meatballs are legendarily delicious, and they’ll taste even better when you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to drag those flatpacks home on the bus afterwards. They come served with mash, peas, gravy and lingonberry jam. Plus, there are very convincing vegan and vegetarian options, cakes for after, and (soft) drinks galore. Skål to that!

Branches in Croydon, North Greenwich, Hammersmith, Wembley. Open until 9pm. 

Transport yourself back to old cockney London at Peckham's storied pie shop. Your meat pie will come flanked by a sturdy retaining wall of mash and surrounded by an impenetrable moat of green sauce. Yes, it’s stronger on stodge than on flavour. But drench it in vinegar and eat up! This is hearty, traditional food that has sustained generations of Londoners through wars, poverty and smogs: it’ll see off your hangover in no time.

There are over 100 branches of South Indian veggie restaurant Saravana Bhavan which would suggest (accurately) that it knows a thing or two about slinging dosas. Its masala dosa is comically vast, crisply golden and served on a metal tray with handy compartments for a delicious array of chutneys. And in a refreshing contrast to the tatty old frontage, the inside has had a slick twenty-first-century revamp. Come hungry and BYOB.

Step inside this cheery saffron-hued restaurant and you’ll find delicious homages to Kolkata’s street food culture. Kati rolls are paratha, topped with egg, then rolled around an array of fillings and served up with chutney. Opt for the chicken tikka and you’ll get a pungent hit of garlic, complemented by gently herby chutney.  

Feast messily and deliciously on Roti King’s signature roti canai and the memories of the insane queue you braved to get it will melt away like butter on your tongue. Extravagantly flaky bread and rich stew combine to make the original Euston branch of Roti King a true site of pilgrimage for culinary bargain hunters. Can’t face the line? The newer but less vibey Battersea branch often has free tables. 

Travel genteely back in time at the India Club, which has been serving up delicious curries in a pleasantly old-fashioned setting since 1946. Its sambar is a warm, comforting bowl of lentil stew enlivened with pigeon peas and tamarind: a homely antidote to the busy Strand outside.

Queues snake down Blackstock Road for Baban’s Naan’s puffy, straight-out-the-oven wares. If you’re willing to go for an all-carb lunch, just order a £1.50 za’ataar naan and be transported to bread heaven. But why not take it to the next level? Kubba are hearty Iranian dumplings filled with beef mince and sultanas: served inside a naan wrap, they’re heavenly (and dense enough to floor an elephant).