I leave this Friday for London and will be there Oct 6-11. I have reservations on the night of the 6th at The Wolseley but was wondering if anyone can recommend some really great locations for dinner without breaking the bank too much? We are looking at 15-20 pounds per person for dinner. Ive heard of Zuma but can't tell how much it is. My husband LOVES to eat! Being 6'5" and weighing 250 pounds you would too! Thanks everyone!

One of my favourites is the Chop House Bar which does a 2-3 course set menu for £11-£15. It's a Conran restaurant so decent nosh, in a great location - Butlers Wharf, right by Tower Bridge.

Typical British fare, eg sausage and mash, Scottish salmon, sticky toffee pud. Stuff like oysters available at a supplement.

My only slight hesitation in recommending it to you is that, by US standards, the portions are not large. You could always fill up on the free bread though.

If you do decide to go note a) That you don't book, you just turn up - and I wouldn't leave it much past 6:30-7:00 as it gets jam-packed with suits after work. b) It's the bar you want, not the ajoining restaurant, which is pricy.

We had dinner at Wolseley in July, fun place and decent food - the bill was about 100 pounds.
In the price range you are looking for - good pubs and ethnic restaurants
are your best bet.

Maggie Jones off Kensington High Street, wonderful traditional country atmosphere and big portions of great "traditional" food in your budget.

Belgo is great for mussels and chips and other foods and is a real bargain -- especially if you go early.

We ate at Belgo Centraal and loved it. If you get there early you can get the "Beat the Clock" special - you order from a special limited menu and pay in pounds the amount that is the same as the time you arrive (arrive at 5:30 and pay £5.30).

I went with my daughter and we were too late for the special, and at any rate we really enjoyed ordering from the full menu. We ordered mostly specials and had two appetizers, two mains, three ales and one dessert for £54.84

The Grenadier, near the Knightsbridge tube stop, was fantastic! This was definitely a little pricier, but well worth it. McGlynn's near the King's Cross Station was also very good. There was also a fish restaurant near the South Kensington station (maybe seven sisters? or seven something?)

A friend of ours manages a Wagamama's, which is a chain in London that serves Asian food. I've eaten there twice, and found the food to be good and a good value. If you're doing fine dining some od the time, Wagamama's is a nice inexpensive change.

15-20 quid per person is not much, esp for a dinner. You may try pre-theatre prix-fix menu.

Are there any particular types of food you would like? My most favourite "budget dining" are Queen's Head (gastropub in Marylebone), Union Cafe, The Living Room (casual dining off Regent' s St). Woodlands (southern Indian near Marylebone). Fish & Chips are definitely doable in that budget (my favourites are Golden Hind in Marylebone.

There are casual chains, like Zizzi or Richoux.
Or you may try www.london-eating.co.uk

Personally, I'm not a big fan of Wagamama--only a marginally above cheap noodle joints.

I've always liked Wagamama fine, but I find it hard to call it a "cheap place". Two people each having nothing but a bowl of noodles and drinking nothing but tap water will still spend $40. You can do the same thing at other noodle shops for just about half that. Split an appetizer and add a drink at Wagamama and you're getting close to double the price.
Not knocking the place, I just no longer think it's the big bargain many paint it to be.

You might try looking at the Toptable and London-Eating websites. The list great special every week to some top restaurants. You do have to book thru them but it's worth the effort.

http://www.toptable.co.uk

http://www.london-eating.co.uk

Get a copy of the <i>Time Out Guide to Cheap Eats in London</i>.

Lots of great suggestions listed by neighborhood, type of cuisine, etc.

Not to drag out the Wagamama's debate, especially since everyone has his or her own opinion of the food, but as far as price goes:

We ordered two side dishes -- sort of appetizers -- that came to about a total of 8 pounds. Two of the rice-based main dishes came to about 16 pounds. And we split a large bottle of Tiger beer -- about 3 pounds.

Total: 27 pounds for two. For me, in London, that comes under the heading of &quot;not bad.&quot;

I won't argue that the prices at Wagamama &quot;aren't bad&quot;. And I wasn't really referring so much to this post's comments as the fact that it usually comes up here for &quot;cheap&quot; London restaurants. And yes, I do like the place.

Here's the full menu for those who want to check it out:
www.wagamama.com/pdfs/menus/london.pdf

And not to beat a dead horse, but I don't call that 330 ml Tiger beer for 3 pounds ($6) a &quot;large one&quot; to share. That's actually smaller than the average 12 oz. American beer. The large Tiger beer is 5.40 (about $11).

We enjoy Brown's Restaurant on St. Martin's Lane. We especially like their Steak and Guinness Pie, and the Sticky Toffee Pudding is divine.

I copied the following from Google:

Their menu consists of Mediterranean salads and pastas as well as some more traditional grilled and roasted dishes such as rib-eye steaks or duck confit. A formidable selection of starters including Scottish smoked salmon, crab and avocado salad, and grilled goat's cheese are also available. Desserts list apple pie and custard, sticky toffee pudding, or vanilla cheesecake. Starters average &pound;6, main courses &pound;10 and desserts &pound;4.50; a children's menu at &pound;4.95 is also available. The wine list ranges from &pound;11.50 to &pound;24.

It is strongly recommended that large groups book in advance but otherwise tables are usually available even at busy times, when you might take advantage of the bar for a pre-dinner snifter.
&quot;It's where everyone goes and quite rightly so,&quot; said The Guardian.

For more information including details of menus and private dining in the Courtrooms, take a look at their excellent Website .

Fixed Dinner
&pound;10.95 (2 courses), pre 6.30 pm

Re Zuma: it can add up quickly. We had a dinner for two there that cost over &pound;200.

However, if you just want to see what it's like and have a modest bite, go at lunchtime and either take advantage ofr their excellent lunch special (about &pound;10 which is dirt cheap for Zuma, but the portion will be fairly small) or have a few less expensive items. Or take advantage of the excellent multi-course lunch specials found at Kiku Restaurant in Mayfair. www.kikurestaurant.co.uk

Decent food in your price range can be found in a few small chains (in addition to the independent places others have recommended) including:
Carluccio's http://www.carluccios.com/ There is a Carluccio's very close to the V &amp; A museum.
Prezzo http://www.prezzoplc.co.uk/
(although Prezzo is also Italian, I go there for two things: the insalata Livorno and their good free-range rotisserie chicken.) Full menu is on their web site.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen. About the only place around to get truly good burgers. Their fries (chips) didn't taste that good to me, although others seemed to be enjoying theirs.
http://www.gbkinfo.com/

By the way, if you go to Windsor, you can find a Carluccio's, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Wagamama a stone's throw from the castle in the arcaded area by the Windsor &amp; Eton Central train station.
I don't go to Wagamama's much anymore now that I've learned how to make their salad dressing at home.

I agree about Carluccio's. The one BTilke mentioned is across the street (to the west) from the S. Kensington tube station so if you're in that area for the V&amp;A or Natural History museum, it's a good option.

There's Carluccio's on St Christopher's Place, right behind Oxford St. It's a pleasant pedestrian street with lots of casual restaurants.
Just a reminder: their potions are quite small, esp if you're accustomed to ginormous servings at American Italian restaurants...

An update: if you like the Wolseley but can't get a reservation or want something a little more intimate, try the 1707 Wine Bar in the basement of nearby Fortnum &amp; Mason. David Collins, who had a major hand in the Wolseley also did 1707 as part of F&amp;M's recent revamp. It's a mob scene on week-ends, but weekdays, after 1:30 pm or so (when most of the lunch crowd has left), it's a great spot for a light meal and wine. F&amp;M has long been recognized for its wine collections and the by the glass offerings at 1707 are varied and excellent. Moreover, if you're in the mood to split a bottle and nothing on the list is just right, you can have a bottle from any of the hundreds of wines available at F&amp;M for just a &pound;10 corkage fee.
I had a late lunch there yesterday and was very pleased--a lovely French goat cheese souffle on salad with walnut oil dressing. Served with a generous home-made bread tray. Price: &pound;10, which I thought quite fair. I also had a glass of excellent German chardonnay and the helpful Slovenian bartender also let me try their taste their other German wines available by the glass (which I liked so much so that I bought a bottle of the chardonnay and another German wine to take home).

F&amp;M is often written off as just for tourists, but 1707 has gotten several excellent reviews from London media. TimeOut calls it one of the &quot;snazzier&quot; places to have a drink in that part of London and also praised the wine selections. As did several other reviewers.