The best cheap eats in London: Budget-friendly restaurants in the capital

Let’s face it: eating out in London is expensive. The cost of living is on the rise, and the capital is no exception. It's so hard to resist the temptation of some of the hottest and best restaurants across the city - the kind of ones that you see all over your Instagram feed or those that have been recognised by the famous Michelin guide, but these can often cost a pretty penny. In fact, we’ll go out on a limb and say that every Londoner has at least once been in the situation where you meet a friend for a quick drink and a couple of small plates, then balk at the three figure bill that lands on your table at the end of the evening.

Your monthly eating out fund can run particularly low if you are a restaurant obsessive who eats out a few nights a week (and we’re assuming you are, as you have clicked on this article). Luckily for you, and your bank account, we are here to dispel the myth that high-quality food has to be matched by sky-high prices. The truth is, you can find deliciously affordable restaurants in London, if you just know where to look.

While our capital city may be famed across the world for its raft of Michelin-starred restaurants, artisan street food markets, glamorous rooftop bars and fine-dining establishments, London is also home to some of the best cheap eats, where the bill won’t leave you wondering whether you’ll need to sell a kidney on the black market.

Cheap doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality and it also doesn’t mean your dining adventures will be relegated to uninspiring high-street chains (forgive us Pizza Express, we still love you). Next time you are on the hunt for the best cheap restaurants in London, consult our extensive list below and leave your credit card at home, as these eateries will leave you with change from a £20 note. Scroll on to discover the very best cheap eats London has to offer.

Masala Zone, Various locations

What: Masala Zone has firmly cemented itself as a go-to spot for authentic Indian food, with multiple sites across London. From creative street food, to daily changing veggies, these lively restaurants have something for any and all occasions. Not only is the food excellent value, but they also do plenty of special offers and discounts. We'd suggest swinging by at lunchtime to bag a deal, and going for a thali platter to get the most bang for your buck. 
Where: 48 Floral Street, WC2E 9DA; 9 Marshall Street, W1F 7ER; 224 Piccadilly, W1J 9HP
What to order: Thali (including curry, vegetables, dal, basamati rice, papad and chutney) from £21.85
Book now: Masala Zone Covent Garden; Masala Zone Soho; Masala Zone Piccadilly Circus

Arepa & Co, Various locations

What: As you might guess from the name, Venezuelan restaurant group Arepa & Co specialises in signature arepas - a cornbread pitta of sorts, stuffed with everything from shredded beef and black beans, to plantain and cheese. Cheap eats are so often about finding something delicious, but also filling, and arepas tick all the boxes on that front. Don’t sleep on the rest of the menu either - especially the sweetcorn pancake ‘cachapas’.
Where: Various locations
What to order: Arepas start from £11.50
Book now: Arepa & Co Elephant Park; Arepa & Co Haggerston; Arepa & Co Bethnal Green

Shoryu Ramen, Various locations 

What: Shoryu has become prominent all over London, and we can definitely understand why. Ramen dishes at Shoryu are hearty, tasty and reasonably priced - which is a winning combination in our eyes. The famous tonkotsu ramen, made with pork broth and topped with char siu bbq pork belly, is available for under £15 - or just £10 if you can make it to the early bird seatings between 3-5pm. Shoryu has lots of other great deals on the go throughout the week, including Bun Mondays where you can get two Shoryu buns for £10, and an excellent express lunch menu for £20.
Where: Various locations
What to order: Shoryu Tonkotsu - £14.90
Book now: Shoryu Ramen Soho

Pedro's Wine Bar, Bermondsey

What: A beloved mainstay of Maltby Street Market in Bermondsey, Pedro's is a little bit quaint and ramshackle, leaning into the rustic vibe of Bermondsey's brick railway arches. All the snacks are pretty good value too, especially a huge bifana sandwich that'll easily do you for a meal. Stay and have a gander of the wine list too, which is packed with great Iberian bottles at good prices. 
Where: 108 Druid Street, SE1 2HH
What to order: Bifana - £8.50
Book now: Pedro's Wine Bar

Casa, Various locations

What: Piri piri restaurant Casa is naturally compared to a certain cheeky high street favourite, but the quality of cooking here is far superior to Nando’s, even though prices are pleasingly similar. Enjoy juicy, succulent chicken brushed with a spicy piri piri sauce and served alongside golden skinny fries or rice topped with chorizo and crispy onions.
Where: Various locations
What to order: Half a piri piri chicken - £16
Book now: Casa London Bridge; Casa Mayfair; Casa Victoria

Poulet, Bermondsey

What: Tucked away under a brick railway arch at Maltby Street, Poulet is beloved for its idiosyncratic decor as well as excellent, keenly priced rotisserie chicken. The half chicken meal deal is the way to go for the hungry, with a potato side and sauce for £24. Or, nab a giant chicken baguette for £12.50.
Where: 37 Maltby Street, SE1 3PA
What to order: Rotisserie chicken baguette - £12.50
Book now: Poulet

Wolkite, Holloway

What: If you’re looking for cheap thrills, head for London’s Ethiopian restaurants - not only do they offer a huge array of great vegetarian dishes, but the set menus usually feed far more than stated. Take, for example, Wolkite’s veggie set - a huge tray of enjera with spiced red lentils, split peas with turmeric, ground roasted chickpeas and more, that would easily feed three hungry mouths.
Where: 82 Hornsey Road, N7 7NN
What to order: Veggie set for two - £30
Book now: Wolkite

Durak Tantuni, Turnpike Lane

What: Durak Tantuni sits in an awkward spot between Seven Sisters and Turnpike Lane, but it’s worth the walk (or the bus ride). The shop itself is easily missed, but the smell is not - beef, sumac and parsley, which is always being fried on a giant hotplate at the front of the restaurant. You don’t have many choices to make - a single or a double, as the beefy mixture is wrapped into durum flatbreads. It’s open until 2am too - the perfect post-night-out snack.
Where: 390 West Green Road, N15 3PX
What to order: Single tantuni - £4.50
Book now: Durak Tantuni

Wong Kei, Chinatown

What: The most iconic of Chinatown’s old-school restaurants, you haven’t truly completed London until you’ve walked into Wong Kei and had tea aggressively plonked on your table. And yet, we keep going back, despite the ropey health and safety inspections, and notoriously bolshy staff, because the food remains right up there among the best value in the city.
Where: 41-43 Wardour Street, W1D 6PX
What to order: Won ton noodle soup - £9.50
Book now: Wong Kei

Cafe Mondo, Camberwell

What: Superstar sandwich specialist Mondo Sando opened its first standalone venture at the tail end of 2024 – Cafe Mondo – and it remains perenially packed. Located on Camberwell’s busy Peckham Road, this sandwich shop-cum-bar/restaurant is a day-to-night operation slinging stuffed subs and sarnies by day, and a menu proper in the evening offering trendy sharing plates and well-priced wines and stouts. So yes, you can grab a sandwich for around a tenner or less, or stay for a full-blown meal with wine and still pay not much more than 30 quid a head, a rarity in London these days.
Where: 42 Peckham Road, SE5 8PX
What to order: Mondo Frango chicken sub - £11
Book now: Cafe Mondo

Roti King, Various locations

What: Iconic Malaysian eatery Roti King serves up delicious specials at budget-friendly prices. The original location in Euston sees queues of hungry Londoners, and for good reason, but you can click and collect if you'd rather eat at home. There was a time when the entire menu was under a tenner - those days are gone, sadly, but Roti King is still phenomenal value and you can fill up on rotis and your choice of kari, from mutton to beef rendang, for well under £20.
Where: Various locations
What to order: Beef rendang roti canai - £11.95
Book Now: Roti King King's Cross; Roti King Battersea; Roti King Waterloo; Roti King Spitalfields

Seoul Bakery, Bloomsbury

What: Just try getting into this Tottenham Court Road gem around lunch or dinner and you’ll see in real time just how popular Seoul Bakery is, as queues snake way out of the door and down the street. Good things come to those who wait, in the form of delicious and inexpensive Korean cooking - bibimbaps, ramyun noodle soup, seaweed rice rolls and more, washed down with Korean teas.
Where: 14 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3NH
What to order: Beef ramyum - £9
Book now: Seoul Bakery

Sonora Taqueria, Stoke Newington

What: Riding a powerful hype wave after a successful stint at Netil Market, Sonora Taqueria’s Sonoran tacos have taken London by storm. Surprisingly, then, they’re a pretty cheap way to eat - sure, at £5 a taco they aren’t the cheapest in town, but these wheat flour tacos are stuffed to bursting. If you can put away five, you’re a better person than us. Plus, a plain quesadilla is only £1.50.
Where: 208 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 7HU
What to order: Three tacos and a quesadilla will set you back about £16.50
Book now: Sonora Taqueria

Three Uncles, Various London locations

What: Cantonese roast meat specialists Three Uncles is the brainchild of three Hong Kong born childhood friends, who ended up becoming chefs and restaurateurs. Handy. In 2019, they opened their first site in Liverpool Street, serving the roast meats they grew up eating together in the 70s. Three Uncles now boast five sites across London where they dole out seriously tasty roast meats cooked the classic Cantonese way – marinated on the inside, covered in a salt rub on the outside, then dried overnight and roasted on hot coals. Meats span roast duck, crispy pork belly, char siu BBQ pork and Hainanese  chicken, all served with pak choi and fragrant jasmine rice, with boxes starting from just £12.
Where: Various London locations
What to order: Three roast meats on rice - £15.50
Book now: Three Uncles Brixton

Rasa N16, Stoke Newington

What: Another Stoke Newington favourite makes the list, and that’s no accident - Stokey is home to some of the best, reasonably priced food in London after all. Rasa’s reputation has spread far beyond north London over the last few years - Keralan chef Das Sreedharan now oversees a bright pink mini-empire of restaurants, which all specialise in brilliant vegetarian Indian food. The vegetarian feast is still just £27, which is a monumentally good deal.
Where: 55 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0AR
What to order: Paneer curry and lemon rice - £14
Book now: Rasa N16

Master Wei, Bloomsbury

What: Tucked away down a pedestrianised side street near Russell Square, Master Wei really is a hidden gem. Wei Guirong first brought Shaanxi cooking to London at Xi'an Impression in Highbury, but Master Wei delivers the same delicious, chilli-spiked cooking across a wider menu. Most dishes are priced around the £10 mark, with many even under £7.50, making this an extremely affordable place to go for dinner. Presented on very pretty crockery, it’s clear that the focus is food that tastes as good as it looks.
Where: 13 Cosmo Place, WC1N 3AP
What to order: Beef biang biang noodles - £12.30
Book now: Master Wei

BAO, Various locations

What: BAO's trailblazing baos aren't quite the mega-bargain they once were, but hovering between the £6 and £7 mark they're still pretty great, and there are so many different, delicious versions to try between the many branches all over the city. Even better, if you can make it between 12-6pm on weekdays, the BAO 15 menu is one of London's best bargains, offering a bao, a plate of Taiwanese fried chicken (or smacked cucumber for vegetarians), and a rice bowl for just £15.
Where: Various locations
What to order: Anything from the BAO 15 menu
Book now: BAO Soho

Mr Bao, Peckham

What: Bao down (see what we did there?) to this Peckham-based restaurant churning out everyone’s favourite Taiwanese buns. Mr Bao's fluffy little things start from just £5.50 and are guaranteed to please. Our favourites include the Bao Diddley (24-hour marinated chicken with wasabi mayonnaise and house kimchi), while the ginger braised tofu variety is also a winner.
Where: 293 Rye Lane, SE15 4UA
What to order: Pork belly bao - £5.60
Book now: Mr Bao

Wonton Charlie's, London Fields

What: Of all the things you expect to find, tucked away in a brick railway arch at London Fields, a Hong Kong-style wonton house probably isn't high on the list. And yet, that's exactly where you'll find Wonton Charlie's - a walk-in-only canteen style wonton house, serving up wonton soup with a handful of choices. Choose between chicken or fish broth, two types of wontons and get stuck into a bowl of soup noodles from just £7 (or £12 with wontons). The team make everything in-house and it shows. 
Where: 392-393 Mentmore Terrace, E8 3PH
What to order: Soup noodles with wontons - £12
Book now: Wonton Charlie's

Marugame Udon, Various locations

What: Global noodle mega-corp Marugame Udon has arrived in London, armed with some seriously cheap noodles. A steaming bowl of kake udon (noodles served in a light fish dashi soup) will set you back just £4.95 - which is essentially the price of a meal deal! The St. Christopher's Place location is most accessible, but there are already other outlets at Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf and The O2.
Where: Various locations
What to order: Large kake udon - £8.95
Book now: Marugame Udon Oxford Circus

Sud Italia, Spitalfields

What: You might have seen Sud Italia’s viral folded pizza on Instagram before you found it here, but consider this your sign to visit the affordable pizza van in Spitalfields market. The folks here specialise in authentic Neapolitan pizzas filled with top-quality ingredients, which are baked in a wood-fired oven then folded to create a hot, cheesy centre. And they’re only £5 each! This is the perfect on-the-go treat if you’re ever in East London and need a not-so-light snack.
Where: Old Spitalfields Market, Brushfield Street, E1 6AA
What to order: The pizza portafoglio - £5

Buster’s, Brixton

What: Buster's comes from the team behind Other Side Fried and Ploussard, and trust us when we say, if you're going to spend £10 on a burger somewhere, this is where we'd go. Expect Wagyu burgers made with top-quality ingredients, and served in hot buttered potato rolls. Look out for the Cheeseburger, featuring American cheese and green peppercorn dijonnaise, and the Buster’s Burger filled with its signature sauce. The IPA cheese sauce is mega and deserves to be ordered alongside a round of its crispy French fries. For pud, there‘s only one option: chocolate mousse with caramel sauce, while drinks span Pet Nats, cocktails, and local brews. The prices are surprisingly affordable for quality this good – burgers start from just £10, fries are £4, and that chocolate mousse is £7. We recommend you order one of each and call it a day.
Where: 3 Atlantic Road, SW9 8HX
What to order: Cheeseburger + fries - £15
Book now: Buster’s

Zula Burger, Marble Arch

What: After conquering Istanbul, street food favourite Zula has made its way to London, bringing bold Turkish-inspired flavours, and a tight, well-executed menu of burgers, dogs and indulgent desserts. Hidden just off Oxford Street, this diner-esque spot keeps things simple, with its soft, house-baked brioche buns and top-tier British beef. There are several signature dishes, each with pretty low price tags, from The Fake Mac, served with mac sauce, cheddar and lettuce, the B.I.G which boasts a double-size patty and layers of truffle mayo and mustard, and the Frankfurther, a hot dog loaded with caramelised onion, herb remoulade, and a tangy cucumber relish. And if you're staying for pud – which you should – be sure to check out the Torta de Queso.
Where: 5 Old Quebec Street, W1H 7AF
What to order: Basic burger with French fries - £15
Book now: Zula Burger

Bleecker Burger, Various locations

What: The title of best burger in London is a hotly contested one, but Bleecker has rightfully earned a loyal fanbase through its cheap and cheerful approach. Keep things simple with the classic cheeseburger (yours for just £9.95) or spend a little more cash and treat yourself to a side of angry fries - coated in blue cheese, hot sauce and lashings of salt. Yes, they’re worth the extra expense.
Where: Various locations
What to order: The classic cheeseburger is still the go-to - £9.95
Book now: Bleecker Burger City

Flour & Grape, Bermondsey

What: You'll find this Italian restaurant packed out all day by the end of the working week, with customers popping in for a work lunch or Friday night dinner that's mind-bogglingly inexpensive considering the post code and vibe. Start with a small plate for around £7, before tucking into pasta dishes such as such as tortelloni with roasted pork shoulder and sage butter, or fazzoletti with spinach, mascarpone and nutmeg, ranging between £9 and £17. Flour & Grape: put it on your list. 
Where: 214 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3TQ
What to order: A plate of casarecce arrabiatta pasta for £9.50
Book now: Flour & Grape

Padella, Borough and Shoreditch

What: It is little wonder there are constant around-the-corner queues at this no-bookings London Bridge pasta haven when most of the dishes are under £15. Padella is considered a bucket-list restaurant by discerning Londoners for a reason, and while it’s true that the bill can mount up here if you’re not careful, a plate of pasta and glass of wine should be possible for around £20.
Where: 6 Southwark Street, SE1 1TQ; 1 Phipp Street, EC2A 4PS
What to order: Pici cacio e pepe - £13.50
Book now: Padella Borough; Padella Shoreditch

Fancy some mid-week meals that won't break the bank? Then check out or collection of the best casual restaurants in London.