If you love food and live in London, it’s a universal truth that your purse suffers. While the city is stuffed full of incredible food made by talented people, none of it comes cheap. To dine in some of the city’s finest restaurants adorned with Michelin stars can cost a pretty penny. If you’re savvy, however, you can find spots that offer the same food at less bruising prices. Here are some of the best value restaurants in London.
Fergus Henderson’s no-frills restaurant has been credited with sparking the nose-to-tail eating movement by making offcuts fancy. Sadly, despite the fact that offal and other under appreciated cuts of meat are cheap, the menu at St Johns isn’t. If you bypass the restaurant and instead opt for a light supper in the bar, however, many of the dishes on the menu come in under a tenner. Just don’t splash out on some of the pricier wines and you’ll be set.
Jason Atherton’s pièce de résistancePollen Street Social is slick and smart, giving you full-on Michelin vibes from the moment you walk in the door. Buzzy, shiny and well-lit, it’s everything you expect a restaurant serving innovative, delicious food to be. Lunch is a great deal, with three courses for £37. Go for a pudding and have it at the dessert bar, where the pastry chefs will whip it up before your very eyes – so you’re getting an experience for your money as well as what’s on your plate.
The menu at Lyle’s changes all the time, but the price for a five-course dinner sticks at about £50 per head. This makes it one of the best value dinners in London, right in the heart of buzzing Shoreditch. Best of all, wine starts from just £25 a bottle (almost unheard of for a restaurant of this standard), so while this might not be the cheapest option on the list, it certainly offers bang for your buck.
Located in the outrageously grand St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Marcus Wareing’s sophisticated restaurant showcases some of the best seasonal British produce. Best of all, there’s a £30 three-course set menu available seven days a week from January to November. That’s a serious deal – where else can you get a Michelin-starred meal for the cost of two cocktails?
Though it doesn’t have a Michelin star of its own, StreetXo is the sister restaurant to DiverXO, Madrid’s only three-Michelin-star restaurant by acclaimed ‘badboy’ chef David Muñoz. It’s totally bonkers and a bit heavy on the gimmicks, but the food really is great – and you’re basically getting a Michelin-starred meal for the price of a normal dinner. Highlights include the club sandwich and Pekingese dumplings.
