Cheap eats in London

This will be a constantly evolving post, a series. I’m always looking for cheap restaurants in London. Here are a few recent places I’ve visited.

Jincheng Alley – Sichuan

This place is between Holborn and Tottenham Court Road, near the British Museum. There is a new little Chinatown around there, less touristy than actual Chinatown. We, my sister and I, sat down at a formica table. Each table had an enormous paper fan as decoration.

The food is Sichuan. The menu is very authentic with items like beef tripe, young pigeon, pigs trotters, boiled lamb entrails, frogs legs, fried rabbit. There was barely a vegetarian option. I ordered MaPo tofu and fortunately I asked for the non-spicy version. What came rather blew my head off, but it was delicious. My sister got the chicken. While the meat itself was not spicy, the dish was piled high with red chillies. Fortunately she didn’t eat the chillies – I think they are there for effect – we were told that you aren’t supposed to eat them.

Towards the end of the meal, two Asian women came up and asked if they could do a selfie with us. “We can’t believe you are eating this food. How can you deal with the spice? Even we find it difficult”. I looked around and suddenly realised we were the only two white people in the restaurant.

I posted about it on Instagram; as a result my parents went the next weekend. Again they were the only ‘gweilo’ (the Cantonese term for white people meaning ghost or ghoul) in the place. I was a bit concerned my dad would have a heart attack. They found it spicy but enjoyed it.

The bill came to about £20 a head. An experience. I’d go back and try the few remaining veggie options.

Marie’s Cafe – Thai

This very popular cafe is near Waterloo on a food street – The Cut. By day it’s a working men’s caff, with Full English Breakfast, by night a Thai eatery. It’s open from 5.30pm. I’ve tried the Masaman curry, the fish cakes (they were from frozen), the Pad Thai, and the soups. The food is good for the price, a little too sweet perhaps. You can order beer or wine there or take your own with a corkage charge of £2 per person. Bill was around £20 a head. I’ve been twice.

Mo’ Mangio! – Italian

This is a ‘ma and pa’ restaurant in the back streets of Haggerston in East London. The nearest overground is Haggerston on the Windrush Line. Or tube then a bus.

The food is from Puglia, with the typically robust hand-made pasta of the region, such as orecchiette and pici, all made by chef Roberta. It’s the sort of food that you’d usually spend a ton of money on at say, the River Café.

Front of house is run by her husband who is friendly and jokey. They don’t have an alcohol licence so you can BYO. Around £20 a head. I want to go again.

Napoli on the Road – Italian

London is now lucky enough to have some fantastic pizza places, including the best pizza chef in the world, Michele Pascarella, the owner of Napoli On the Road in Chiswick. I’ve now been there three times, even though it’s a bit of a hike to get there from where I live, and I’m just blown away by the light airy soft yet crispy crust. The tomato and mozzarella salad is simple but with the highest quality Italian ingredients. You wonder if pizza could be a special meal, but here it is.

Around £25 to £30 a head with a glass of wine and a coffee.

Panella Cafe – Sicilian

This social enterprise café is at the top end of Goldborne Road, near Portobello. There are queues of hungry customers and a vibrant atmosphere inside with wooden scrubbed tables topped with overflowing bowls of citrus. I had a white bean and kale soup with a thick fall of parmesan, £9, and my sister had a huge bowl of casarrechia pasta with sword fish, aubergine, cheese and tomatoes, £11. Panella is run by married couple Giuseppe and Caterina Di Matteo, originally from Palermo.

Around £15 to £18 a head for a dish and non-alcoholic drink

Song Que cafe – Vietnamese

They have of course the pho – beef stock based so as a pesce/vegetarian, I couldn’t try those. I ordered the Banh Xeo crispy pancake, a large yellow crescent which comes with a fish, chilli, citrus dipping sauce and a plate of lettuce and mint leaves. You cut up bits of the pancake and wrap it in the leaves, then dip. Fantastic!

Around £20 to £25 a head for a dish and a drink.

The Kitchen Majeti – Ethiopian

This cosy corner is in a Brixton arcade. Many Ethiopian dishes are meat-based but this café has plenty of vegetarian/vegan options too. I ordered a chickpea stew Alicha Kik Wot, served on dark teff injera bread with a portion of greens. My friend ordered Shro Wot, a tomato based chickpea stew, again served on the characteristic Ethiopian flatbread. Injera, made with teff, a distinctive and tiny grain, full of protein and iron, looks a bit like the bubbly inside of tripe with its fermented surface. It’s very good for you.

They also serve honey wine and Ethiopian coffee sets, served with popcorn and poured from a small black clay pot.

Around £15 to £25 a head for food and drink.

Address: 246 Stockwell Rd, London SW9 9SP, UK, London (No internet presence as far as I can see).

Phone: 07910746484 Email: -majeticafe@gmail.com