London is an expensive city. Increasingly so. Those with ambitions to dine out, and dine well, might fall foul of purse-walloping situations. But this need not be the case, even when stepping into the Michelin-starred arena.
There are plenty of lauded restaurants in town that offer affordable options, mostly at lunch but occasionally for dinner, where menus land at £50 or less but satisfy much the same as any drawn-out 10 courses. And as the city slowly empties over the summer, hard-to-get tables more readily open up.
Chishuru
There was a time when dishes such as sinasir and akara were largely unknown to a great number of people in London. Today they are being introduced to more diners every day. A keener sense of West African food here is down to restaurants like Chishuru, which started life in Brixton in 2021 and is now found in the West End. Last year, chef-founder Adejoké Bakare became the first black woman in the UK to win a Michelin star, and anyone with an interest in food should make use of the lunch menu: three courses for just £45.
3 Great Titchfield St., London W1W 8AX chishuru.com
Trishna
Gymkhana is the jewel in the JKS crown thanks to its two Michelin stars. Good luck dining there for £50. At Trishna, still plump with one star, it is entirely possible: a three-course set menu of modern, coastal Indian cooking comes in at half a ton (and four courses are just £55, by the way) and brings a wealth of dishes that change with the season. The likes of squid and shrimp with curry leaves, raw mango and coconut chutney, and chicken with pepper and cashews are exceptionally done.
15-17 Blandford St, London W1U 3DG https://www.trishnalondon.com/
Luca
The cooking at Luca, one of a number of distinctly modern Italian restaurants in London today, is excellent. And that is why the express lunch menu is such good value. Two courses for £32, or three for £38 are to be enjoyed in the bar rather than the dining room. Dishes shimmy courteously from fried artichokes with hen of the woods to Cornish haddock with crushed peas, Jersey Royals and salsa verde. These are doubtless put on to satisfy, but also to lure diners to return and to explore the full menu more formally. Either way, a joy.
88 St John Street, Clerkenwell, EC1M 4EH luca.restaurant
The Ninth
Just two years ago, Fitzrovia restaurant The Ninth was stricken by fire, soon forced to close temporarily. Thankfully, chef Jun Tanaka and team returned in early 2023, bringing their own brand of relaxed and casual Michelin-starred hospitality. The Ninth is as pleasing as ever, serving simple — to a point — French and Mediterranean cooking. And it is affordable: a set lunch menu is just £30 for two courses, £35 for three. On offer, the likes of risotto al salto and red mullet tempura with courgettes and plucky aioli.
22 Charlotte St, W1T 2NB theninthlondon.com
La Trompette
Chiswick is a postcode that can support a Michelin-starred, neighbourhood spot with fervour. La Trompette serves W4 splendidly. Here, a French restaurant buoyant with joie de vivre, and a set lunch menu for £39.50, even with house-made sourdough bread preceding and petit fours thereafter. On the menu, the likes of pappardelle of slow cooked lamb, sea bass with cockles and beurre blanc, and a warm chocolate brownie. Such accessibility is rare in London today.
La Trompette, 3-7 Devonshire Road, W4 2EU latrompette.co.uk/
Veeraswamy
London’s oldest Indian restaurant shouldn’t need any introduction. Founded in 1926 by Edward Palmer, an Anglo-Indian, Veeraswamy was awarded a Michelin star 90 years later, in 2016. The first menu, overseen by Palmer, was partly inspired by his great-grandmother, an Indian princess; today it blends the old and new, Indian and Anglo-Indian, and stands as an important part of London history. Much might be spent at Veeraswamy, but the set weekend lunch menu — two courses for £42, three for £48 — would be an affordable way to dine. On offer, paneer tikka, seekh kebabs, and gloriously fragrant curries of fish, chicken, lamb.
Victory House, 99 Regent Street W1B 4RS veeraswamy.com
Elystan Street
In Chelsea, the chef Phil Howard has built a modern European restaurant showing signs of becoming an institution in Elystan Street. It has held a Michelin star since 2017 and is beloved of locals as well as those from faraway. The set lunch and early evening menu brings three courses for £40. Cured trout with apple, kohlrabi and horseradish might precede a tarte fine of courgettes, else a sweet pea velouté may punctuate a fabulous duck confit.
43 Elystan St, London SW3 3NT elystanstreet.com
Labombe at Trivet
Not one, but two Michelin stars here. So be warned: you will get nowhere near the restaurant proper with only £50 to spare. But on Monday nights, the dining room moves aside to make way for a wine bar, bistro concept called Labombe. Here there are dishes to be had, a combination of which will lead to a meal of affordable and brilliant design. For example, a lobster roll at £16, a hot tongue bun — one of the finest sandwiches in London — for £14. Either with a plate of £8.50 French fries would be a marvellous way to start the week. Cooking is by Jonny Lake, once of The Fat Duck; wines by master sommelier Isa Bal.
