Cheap Eats

Thrifty-Living was recently asked to suggest ten good-value eateries in five different categories for an article in the Independent. Here are the places we recommended:

Family Feast
1, La Bodega: 111 Church Street, Brighton, BN1 1UD

This is probably our favourite restaurant anywhere in the country. The atmosphere is warm and child-friendly, probably because the restaurant is owned and run by Spaniards. The tapas is as good as any you would find in Spain and a family of four can eat for hours, including wine and soft drinks for well under £40. Individual courses are typically £3-4 and quite a lot larger than you normally get in Tapas restaurants in the UK.

2, Thai on Thames: 346 Richmond Road, Twickenham, TW1 2DU
Really delicious Thai food and friendly service. They do very cheap lunch offers, but even eating from the menu in the evening is good value.

Lunch Spots
3, Ramen Taro: 59 Brewer Street, London, W1F 9UN
This noodle restaurant is quite no nonsense in terms of decor and atmosphere, but the service is quick, efficient and friendly and the food is tasty with very decent sized portions for about £5-6 for a main course.

4, Tai Won Mein: 39-41 Greenwich Church Street, London SE10 9BL
You may need to buy a bigger belt before going to this noodle restaurant. The portions are enormous, so don't even think about having a starter. Despite the portion sizes, main courses were only £3-5 the last time we went there.

Simple Suppers
5, Sally Pussey's Inn: Swindon Road, Wooton Bassett, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN4 8ET
If you find yourself on the M4 in the evening for whatever reason, and home is still quite a long way from Swindon, Sally Pussey's is a very good place to stop instead of a motorway service station. They have excellently cooked, traditional main courses for £6-7 and well-kept real ale.

6, Mother Hubbard's family style fish restaurant: 43 Westborough, Scarborough, YO11 1UN
Probably one of the nicest, traditional fish and chip restaurants in the country. They do a tea time special with haddock and chips, bread and butter and tea or coffee for £5.50

Grab & Go
7, Food Stalls Spitalfields Upmarket
Really good food from all around the world for next to nothing:
http://www.sundayupmarket.co.uk
I've only ever been there on a Sunday so I don't know if any of the stalls are open during the week, but Brick Lane is only just around the corner where there are more takeaway outlets than you can shake the proverbial stick at.

8, Pie and Mash, Borough Market
There is a very traditional pie and mash stall under the railway arches next to Borough Market. The pies are tasty, cheap and filling. I can't find the address, but it's reasonably difficult to miss.
Here's a list of traditional pie and mash shops all across the country:
http://www.pie-n-mash.com/pie_shop_directory.html

Decadent Dinners

In keeping with the "Decadent Dinners" category, neither of the following two recommendations is cheap, but if you can afford a celebration they might just about count as good value.

9, The Carrington Arms, Cranfield Road, Moulsoe, Bucks, MK16 0HB
At the Carrington Arms you choose the raw meat, fish or poultry that you want to eat and it gets grilled before your eyes. You pay by weight. They have one of the single most delicious items of food I have eaten in Britain, which is steak marinated in Jack Daniels - it might sound an odd thing to do, but the flavour is out of this world. You can order a fixed price two course lunch for £12.95
The beer is very good and a lot cheaper than the wine.

10, The Granville in Barford: 52, Wellesbourne Road, Barford, Warwickshire, CV35 8DS
This is the M40 equivalent of Sally Pussey's Inn, although a bit pricier. Delicious gastro pub food and very good beer.

And here are some other ones we thought of afterwards:

Family Feast

Anatolia Ocakbasi 253 Mare Street, Hackney, E8 3NS

Really hearty, authentic Turkish food - restaurant and takeaway. We got taken there recently by a Turkish friend of ours. Dinner for six, including wine came to less than £50. The lighting and decor are a bit garish, but the staff are very friendly (including lollipops for kids.)

Grab and Go:

Louis Cafe: 12-14 Park Lane, Sunderland, SR1 3NX

1950s style milky coffee and delicious turkey and stuffing sandwiches.

Beigel Bake: 159 Brick Lane,
London, E1 6SB - 24 hour bagel shop.

Delicious salt beef sandwiches. There's almost always a queue though; both a good and a bad thing.

Simple Suppers:

India Club: 143 Strand, London, WC2R 1JA

This place is so simple, you'll wonder if you've ended up in Albania by mistake. The curries are delicious, service quite cursory (you have to fetch your own drinks from a hatch under the stairs!) and the decor best described as brutalist - but it's a unique experience and very cheap.

New Tayyab: 83-89 Fieldgate Street, London E1

Extraordinarily cheap, luscious curries. They don't serve alcohol but you can bring your own.