Judyrem

MY husband just told me to start looking for "less expensive" dining options in London..not rock bottom cheapies, but places WAY less than the Ivy. Any places near West End/Bloomsbury/Soho area you can recommend? All I can say, is thank goodness airfare and hotel are paid for! Judy

janis

Well - about 90% + of the restaurants in London are less expensive than the Ivy so you will not have any trouble at all. I think you are worrying way too much about the strong £. Of course things will be expensive - but it is not hard at all to find great moderately priced meals anywhere in London.

rhkkmk

food is very expensive in england, no matter where you eat....try concentrating on ethnic restaurants for the best buys...italien, indian, thai...sorry to say

one of our favorites is: sea shells on lisom grove which is north of marble arch...simple place...best fresh fish you will ever have

Bree

If you go before 8 p.m. and order from the fixed-price pre-theatre menu, dinner at Mon Plaisir can be very reasonable (2 courses for 12.40 pounds, or 3 courses for 14.18 pounds). Mon Plaisir is at 21 Monmouth Street, in the West End. Check out their website at http://www.monplaisir.co.uk/home.htm

starspinners

Judyrem,
Don't fear, you will be able to find many options for less expensive dining.
One way to help ease £££ sticker shock is to make lunch your big meal of the day or time your evening meals to take advantage of pre theater menu pricing.
The restaurants will have menus and prices posted outside, so that will help you make a decision whether to go inside to eat or not.
A few ideas for Soho restaurants are Busaba Eathai and Satsuma both are on Waldour Street.
Patisserie Valerie is on Old Compton Street...light meals and lots of calorie laden pastries. I go there at least once every time I'm in London.
Belgo Centraal is in Covent Garden, if you like mussels and frittes and beer, this is a good choice.
You mentioned in a previous post that you plan to stay near Russell Square.
North Sea Fish is on Leigh Street not far from Russell Square Tube, check that out for fish and chips.
You'll find a variety of tasty take away sandwiches and snacks in Pret A Manger(s) ( which are all over the place), and at grocery stores . There's a grocery , I think it's a Safeway , in the Brunswick Shopping Center ( that's near Russell Square) a Tesco ( grocery) near the Goodge Street Tube and a Sainsbury( grocery) near the Tottenham Court Road Tube.
There's a selection of restaurants on Charlotte Street, behind the Goodge Street Tube... just wander over and see what appeals.

Judyrem

Thanks all, I probably am being a bit anal about this whole thing. But I love London so much and want to do it up right. I definitely will do Belgo Centraal, cause I love moules & frites . Sea Shell sounds great too, I love fresh fish. Mon Plasir sounds fine for pre-theater fare. I will look up their web site. Thanks everyone the info. You have been great. Judy

Patrick

Some good ones mentioned above. Belgo Centraal and Wagamama are two standards for me for inexpensive meals.
Mon Plasir as mentioned above is really great.

Since you mention the Ivy, I guess you're looking for some more upscale places. Another favorite of mine is Le Deuxieme on LongAcre, just east of the Covent Garden Tube station. Really wonderful food and a great three course pre or post theatre menu at bargain prices. Very modern and simple, but elegant decor. Smart and efficient staff. Specials are fish wonderfully prepared. I still have a note about grilled salmon in cream over sliced new potatoes that was simple but spectacular.

If you want to travel a bit, go out to Moro at Exmouth Market. This place is jam packed with local trendoids. Sort of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern with modern twists. I've loved this place every year since mentioned as a top new restaurant in Travel and Leisure several years ago. Not cheap, but sensational and a bargain for such upscale but casual trendy food.

We ate at a real "hole in the wall -cheap Italian" right in Soho called Piccolo Diavolo. In fact have been there twice. Basic, but a wonderful family feel to the place. This is really good choice for a bargain after theatre supper -- it's very close to Mama Mia, by the way.

Have you ever done the pre-theatre dinner at Rules in Covent Garden, the oldest restaurant in London? It's gone up a few pounds in the past year (but then so have I), but it is still a bargain for their set price pre-theatre. And the best part is you choose any of the choices from three courses, not a few hand-picked cheapie options they decide to offer you.

GSteed

Try the Chinese area.. Mandarin was my favorite

GSteed

Don't overlook restaurants in shops. And there is always McDonald's. SeaFresh on Wilton near Victoria Station.

janis

Patrick: I have also eaten at Piccolo Diavolo a couple of times -- I too stumbled into it when I needed an early dinner before Mama Mia. Really decent food and friendly staff. The first time I was on my own and sometimes small places like that can be "chippy" when one takes a table for one at a busy hour like that.

One place I like to go what attending Drury Lane, the Fortune or the Opera House is the Chez Gerard upstairs in Covent Garden. They are better at lunch time because the less expensive bistro side is ope - but both sides are good - close to the theatres, nice staff, decent food, and good people watching down over the Covent Garden crowds.

Elainee

Even The Ivy has a less expensive prefix lunch. It was less than 30 pounds, maybe less than 25. Go ethnic for the less expensive dinners.

4totravel

Chinatown offers great deals - we like Gerards on the Corner.
Also, don't forget the food halls (Harrods for example) - so much to choose from - get a little bit of what you like...find a great place to people watch...it can be pretty inexpensive for what you get.

kaudrey

I'd like to suggest the "Cheap Eats in London" book - it was a great help to me last year. We found some great Indian and Asian restaurants that way.

You can buy it online for less than $10.

Karen

Sher

Hi Judy. Well one of the places we had very good food was at St Martin's In The Fields church.
They have a cafeteria in the basement. It is a very unusual setting and the food is homemade and very good. The desserts were delicious!
It is very near Trafalgar Square and I think you should try it.
It is not dress up, but you won't be disappointed with the food and the dinner for two with two glasses of house wine and two desserts was about 25 pounds.

elaine

Hi
I just got back myself, and still recovering from sticker shock. I myself tended to do breakfasts and very late lunches/very early dinners as I was on my own and not inclined this time to fuss much.

Here's a Bloomsbury recommendation, 3 minutes from the Goodge St Tube.
I had a wonderful meal at Trattoria Mondello, 36 Goodge Street. Excellent value. Pastas and individual pizzas all GBP 5-7, meat dishes GBP 9-10, and they have decaf espresso and cappuccino if that appeals. They are apparently open for lunch and dinner, not sure about Sundays.

There are also a couple of Chez Gerard s
one on Charlotte St in B'bury, one at Covent Garden I think, one on Dover St off Piccadilly that are pretty good value for steak frites and such.

When it comes to theatre dining, you really aren't limited to a few places.

elaine

Oh, I forgot to mention Sofra.
One is in Mayfair 18 Shepherd Street; there is another on Regent Street near Piccadilly Circus,and one at Covent Garden, 36 Tavistock St. If I say "Turkish" food it might put some people off, just think
"Mediterranean" and you will probably enjoy it. Not places to linger, but good value.

Patrick

You know for years people keep recommending St. Martin's in the Fields, and it's always high praise. Why don't I ever think of that? It's going on my list now for May!

starspinners

Hi Judy,
Somehow when I was reading your previous threads I missed the fact that you've been to London before.
All my blithering about take away sandwiches and London restaurants posting menus/ prices was like preaching to the choir! You already know that.
I will add though that I recommend Cafe du Jardin on Wellington Street for lunch and pre-theater dinner.
The restaurant on the upper level of The National Portrait Gallery is an option for lunch, the view from there is great, too.
(I'm also a Judy.)

ealing_calling

Gastropub, gastropub! Big portions, good drinks by the glass. Not many in Soho but you'll be with the locals . . . just Google gastropub London . . .
HTH

Susan56

We will be in London in February and all this is very helpful. We are traveling with our 2 teens, and on previous trips to London they just loved pub food - they can live on fish and chips! My husband likes the hearty pub dishes, and I usually opt for a salad. It certainly keeps the costs down! On previous trips we have eaten at LiveBait, Belgo Centraal, and many, many pubs. I have to say though, that the last time we ate at Belgo Centraal I had a bad mussel.... I will never go there again! (and I had eaten there before on other trips) You can probably imagine how sick I was! Our flight home was the next day and I barely made it on the plane. I haven't had a mussel since.

I was planning on picking up the Cheap Eats book for this trip. Usually we just wander the look into places after reading the menus outside. I was hoping to actually know where we were going this trip! I will definitely write down these suggestions as we are staying at the Thistle Trafalgar and will be seeing a lot of theater, so the restaurants mentioned here are in the right areas for us.