Cheap places to eat out in London

Should we make a decision about what constitutes a 'cheap place'?

Yes. There's two types, those where you can literally eat for a pittance, and places that do good food at a good value.

Indeed, and one person's cheap may be another's weekly food allowance!

I don't mind at all.

Didn't see this, sorry!

Dear god! Can someone please add a 'to' to the thread title... Please. It taunts me.

Seriously, why did you give up English again?

Best thread ever !!!

Seriously, why did you give up English again?

That's the worst part; I don't even remember! :(

Zeret Kitchen in Camberwell for Eritrean/Ethiopian food
Mandalay on the Edgware Road for Burmese food
Silk Road in Camberwell for Chinese food

all are very unfancy looking, but the food is incredible and both food and drinks are very cheap - you can have a great meal for under £10 a head

I've cycled past Zeret every day for yonks and wondered whether they're any good - will now have to check them out!

Do it! I recommend the meal which is a mix of everything if you eat meat, or the veggie combo thingy if you don't. Best way to do it is to go with a big group, cos you get these giant sharey platter things that you can all munch from. I've just looked it up on tripadvisor, where it is apparently the 67th best restaurant out of 10,000 in London! Not sure about that, but for the money it's awesome.

Fantastic. Thanks very much!

No worries. I'm a bit of an evangelist for the place because it's awesome but not very busy, and I desperately don't want it to close down.

Just see this review which is spot on:
http://cheesenbiscuits.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=zeret

Especially this bit:

I hesitate to use the word "ugly" to describe a section of the city that many thousands of people live in and may very well be quite fond of, but my God, Camberwell is not a pretty place.

...ten minutes walk from Camberwell Green and hiding in the windswept forecourt of the most intimidating concrete atrocity you can possibly imagine, there's Zeret Kitchen. "This had better be good", we thought, as we shuffled past iron-shuttered cafes and boarded up shops towards it.

I just read that one too! Wow, it looks like someone's living room.

He's right, Camberwell has recently experienced a flurry of excellent new places to eat, and nice cafes too.

I once ate at that Eritrean in Brixton but I've heard the quality has dropped.

Yeah it's weird, I guess it's gentrifying...

I've known Camberwell for a while as a good friend lives there, and recently each time I go back another pub has been gastro-ed. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.

We first moved to Camberwell in 1998 having previously lived for many years in a nice part of SW1. At the time we were told it was "the most up-and-coming area of London". You could still get a lot of house for your money too.

For years nothing really happened so I'm thrilled with the recent changes, the apparently growing student population and the fact that the council is about to spend a lot of money improving Camberwell Green and Peckham Rye.

I didn't know they were going to tart up Camberwell Green, that's cool. I wonder if at least a certain amount of the recent up-and-coming is due to the increase in cycling. As more and more people cycle to work or study, they realise that places like Camberwell are really close to the centre of town, and it matters less that there's no tube and the buses take an age. Camberwell thus becomes more desirable and places like the Silver Buckle, the most dangerous pub in London, become the Tiger, friendly designery gastropub.

£7 million. We hope to ensure cycling is very much on the agenda. Given that most people in Southwark cannot afford to own a car, that Camberwell is so central and that we don't have tube line, it is very much in our interests to make cycling more appealing.

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200107/transport_policy/2387/camberwell_town_centre_revitalisation_scheme

http://www.google.co.uk/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/138/244/funny-barack-michelle-obama-face.jpg?1308706785&sa=X&ei=WiwwUPD2BMGf0QWznoHgDA&ved=0CAoQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNF5G34dBH3IzKiScBDlkA89Fh16pg

In particular this bit sounds good:

Improving pedestrian facilities in order to provide a focus to the town centre. Specifically this includes pedestrian access to Camberwell Green...

Because currently there is no focus at all, it's just traffic. You seem well informed, is 'most people in Southwark cannot afford to own a car' a real fact? Or just a way of speaking?

It's a fact. Given that the annual cost of running a car is now almost £6,000 and that
Southwark is 41st from the bottom out of the 354 councils in England for the extent of deprivation, it's not hard to fathom.

Hmm. That figure must include a lot of petrol, as tax+insurance+mot isn't gonna be anywhere near that. So the £6k is arbitrary given how much tax, mileage and fuel-efficiency are gonna vary - upshot will be most Southwarkians(?) are surely going to be able to afford the basic costs of running a car, they just may not be able to afford to run a car with bad fuel-efficiency and use it a lot.

Anyway >>>>>>>>>>>> Urban policy thread

Added Comptoir Libanais on Wigmore Street, tasty Lebanese food, and Trojka in Primrose Hill for Russian food

NORTH
ANGEL - Le Mercury. Cheap and cheerful French bistro.
CAMDEN - That whole in the wall on your right hand side a few doors down as you come out of Camden tube - great steak baguettes
CHAPEL MARKET - Bhel Poori House. Super-cheap all you can eat veggie buffet. 4.95
CHAPEL MARKET - The Naked Sausage, stall during the market hours [6am-5pm] A gourmet half pounder with cheese, double bacon, fried egg, and carmelized onion in a cheese and onion roll/brown roll/etc - 5 quid
EUSTON - RASA Express, Euston Road opposite Euston Tower - two curries, rice, bread, pickle and dessert for £4 (vegetarian) or £4.50 (meat) - really good quality food as well
PRIMROSE HILL - Trojka Tea Rooms, Regents Park Road. This place does awesome Russian food, all day long. Good stodgy meal and a frozen vodka is the perfect hangover cure and will cost less than a tenner.
STOKE NEWINGTON - Abu Ruchi, cheap and ace Keralan eats
STOKE NEWINGTON - RASA (number 55, not 56) on Church Street, fantastic food for under £15 per head.
STOKE NEWINGTON - Super Kebab. £5.00 for large, and a little more for a Shish. Best Kebabs I have ever tasted. Not a restaurant, but haqve seating areas.
UPPER STREET - La Divina, Mon-Fri 3-8pm deals of side+main+dessert 9.45 pounds, very good pizza out there, although watch out for spritzers, they charge them as big wine glasses

SOUTH
BERMONDSEY - Old Justice, Bermondsey Wall. Unlimited Korean bbq for 16.99.
BRIXTON - Khamsa, Algerian, 140 Acre Lane - Tiny, healthy, delicious, authentic family restaurant.
BRIXTON VILLAGE - Franco Manca - pizzas only - authentic Italian style toppings on sourdough bases. incredible. I've not had a better pizza in london. about £8 per disc of joy.
CAMBERWELL - Zeret Kitchen for Eritrean/Ethiopian food, unfancy looking, incredible food (good for a big party of people too), £10er a head including a beer will be plenty
CAMBERWELL - Silk Road for Chinese food, awesome food, £10er a head including a beer will be plenty, booking advisable
GREENWICH - Noodle Time. Fat eats for a few quid.
LAVENDER HILL, BATTERSEA (& SHOREDITCH) - Mien Tay, Vietnamese. One of the best in London.
ROTHERHITHE - Surrey Docks Farm Café, run by Frizzante (who are also at Hackney and Mudchute City Farm). Lovely breakfasts and Sunday lunches. Farm produced meat is on sale whenever available, as are plants, honey etc.
VAUXHALL - Hot Stuff. Awesome curry, tiny prices. BYO, no corkage. Order a family naan, it is the size of the table.
WATERLOO - Master's Superfish, Waterloo Road. Best fried fish in town.
WATERLOO - "ev", Isabella St just off the cut. Great £10 Turkish Meze for two. They are the suppliers to Tas restaurants

EAST
BETHNAL GREEN - Noodle King. Massive dishes for a fiver.
BRICK LANE - Beigel shop,24 hour and a huge salt beef bagel, £2.50
BRICK LANE - Sunday Upmarket has some decent food and a good atmosphere. The Japanese pancakes with cheese and vegetables, strange mayonnaise and a rice ball thing for £4.50 is top, as is the stand with cold mezze
BRICK LANE - Sweet & Spicy for Pakistani near Heneage st
BROADWAY MARKET - Joy, Indian. This place is under-rated and dammed good!
BROADWAY MARKET - Bella Vita. 2 pizzas and a bottle of S.Pellegrino for about £16
CLERKENWELL - Sedap for awesome Malaysian (and near LMNH) at 102 Old St
DALSTON - Mangal Ocackbasi on Arcola Street. Amazing Turkish charcoal grill, BYOB. Feast like kings for two is c.£30 (not including whatever booze you take). This place is all about the meat though - dunno how great the choice is for veggies.
DALSTON - 19 Numara Bos Cirrik. Best Turkish in town, no argument.
EAST HAM - Thattukada for Keralan at 241 High Street
MARE ST - Tre Viet, Vietnamese. Full sit down meal for less than a tenner a head. Unless you have wine.
MIDDLESEX ST (88-90) - My Old Place, Szechuan. Always busy. Huge plates of delicious authentic food and not just for meat eaters. Cash only.
WHITECHAPEL - Indo opposite Whitechapel Mosque for superb pizzas & a great bar
WHITECHAPEL RD - LaHore Pakistani / Kebab. Boom good and super cheap.
WHITECHAPEL – Needoos, as good as Tayyebs, but cheaper and less queuing
WHITECHAPEL RD – Tayyabs. Brilliant Pakistani food, again, super cheap and super super good. Booking essential.

WEST
BAYSWATER – Taza. Amazing falafel for about £3, just don't eat it standing up or you'll be wearing tahini
EDGWARE RD – Mandalay for Burmese food, unfancy looking, incredible food, £10er a head including a beer will be plenty, booking essential
EDGWARE RD - Kandoo for Persian is very good, a few doors down the road from Mandalay
EDGWARE RD - Patogh for Persian just off Edgware rd (by cafe Nero).
LADBROKE GROVE - Fez Mangal - Turkish BBQ with BYO IIRC. Good selection of meat and vegetarian dishes that won't break the bank - £20 will feed 2, easily.
NOTTING HILL GATE, The Churchill Arms on Kensington Church St. Pub on the front, but authentic cheap Thai restaurant round the back.
PORTOBELLO RD - Makan will give you change from a tenner. Best nasi campur I've come across.
SHEPHERDS BUSH - Next to Barclays on Uxb Rd. Great kebabs but do a mix of Afghan/Lebanese/Pakistani so the curries make a perfect sit down meal, about £6 per person
SOUTH KENSINGTON - Little Japan, tiny cafe, huge bentoes for about £5, cheap for a massive lunch

CENTRAL
DEAN ST - French House does bavette & frites for about £10 mon - fri lunch
GOODGE ST - Le Pain du Jour, big, well-filled baguettes from £1.80, cheap baked potatoes and soup as well
JUDD ST - The King of Falafel, Judd St/Tavistock place - I like falafel, what can I say. This place is fantastic though, their 'moroccan bread' is a bit more expensive but stuffed with tomato or spinach and wrapped round really good falafel and salad. Best halloumi I've tasted as well
OLD COMPTON ST - Maoz, Delicious falafel in pitta for about £3.70, but with a sort of unlimited all-you-can-eat salad bar which they let you take the piss with. You just eat the filling from your pitta, fill it up again, take it back, repeat until bursting.
PICCADILLY - Yoshino, must be the cheapest sushi in London. Shrink-wrapped in plastic but really good. £2.50 for a vegetarian lunch box
REGENT STREET - Japan Centre - almost anything Japanese, love the dorayaki pancakes and korrokkes
WARDOUR ST - Misato - great japanese fast food, bento box £8.60, huge queues on busy days, massive quantities
WEBBER ST - El Vergel, chilean goods at 132 Webber Street
WIGMORE ST - Comptoir Libanais - nice modern Lebanese food, canteen style cafe, sub £10

Indeed, and one person's cheap may be other's weekly food allowance!

I suppose if we just keep adding prices to the descriptions, everybody will be able to find something within their budget/allowance.

Is the Camberwell Green scheme a big junction scheme, Alex? I take it that it can't be just about the green.

It is rather large (£7 million) and no, the Green is the central point but it will extend to Burgess Park, hopefully up Denmark Hill and maybe some other areas.

Lived in Camberwell in the mid 90's...shit'ole of a place. A turd cannot be polished

Poor, much maligned Camberwell. It really has changed a fair bit since then though Pisti.

Also, I can't think of a single area of London that is 100% wonderful. Can you?

What's changed? More kids with knives? More scumbags?

Seriously, I can't think of one redeeming feature about Camberwell apart from Edwardes bike shop

Loads of (decent) coffee shops, some great restaurants, newly redeveloped Burgess Park, the art college and gallery, IoP and King's, it take 15 mins to cycle to Victoria, Blackfriars or London Bridge, I live there ;)