London's cultural diversity means that you can find cuisine from all around the world in abundance, and best of all you don't have to pay much to get it!
St Martin's-in-the-fields ***star
Under St Martin-in-the-fields Church the crypt has been converted into a very stylish cafe. It's interior hasn't changed much since it was a crypt as all the arches and brickwork is still there making it a very individual place to eat. Prices are average, but the food is lovely, serving traditional English food like fish and chips and pies and they have a great selection of deserts. Try and arrive a little before the lunchtime rush as this is a really popular cafe.
There are 11 Spaghetti Houses located only in London. I went to the one opposite the National Portrait Gallery. It's a lovely place to eat, with very nice Italian food (so many pasta dishes to choose from!) and super fast service, and for £7.95 you can order a main course and a soft drink at lunchtime which I think is very reasonable considering how nice the food was!
Candy Cakes, Monmouth Street ****star
The cutest cafe I have ever seen, you have to go in here and buy one of the ginormous cup cakes. They come in a variety of flavours from apple and cinnamon to blueberry cheesecake and they are delicious! Other food they sell is mostly mediterranean style lunches and uber fruity smoothies and all at very reasonable prices.
Neal's Yard ****star
Neals Yard is a really quirky place to come and eat, with its colourful walls and kooky graffiti, though it is quite hard to find - it is through an alleyway just opposite Candy Cakes. Theres also a few world shops, selling healing stones, insense, wind chimes, you know the type of shop I'm talking about - full of hippies.
'Let food be thy medicine' cafe, Camden ***star
There are loads of really nice places to eat in Camden but this is one of my faves. It is full of healthy, natural products at reasonable prices and the friendly staff were great.
Food Stalls, Camden Market *****star
Camden has a vast variety of foreign food from Thai to Mexican and all the stalls give you free samples of food so theoretically you could go to each stall, get a small sample of delicious food and you can have a whole meal for nothing! Some of the very traditional food we tried was Indian (not what you get from your average curry house as I hadn't heard of any of the curries!) and African. One of the African dishes had goat in it - i gave that a miss but it did look and smell delicious! All the food is cooked in huge pans and left to simmer and the smells in and around Middle Yard are to die for.
Brick Lane *****star
A very vibrant and colourful street, Brick Lane has Asian sweet shops, an International Supermarket and is full of Indian restaurants. Students flock here as many of the restaurants allow you to bring your own alcohol - cutting the cost of eating out! Also, the manager's of the restaurants stand outside and try and lure you in with all sorts of offers so make sure you walk the length of the street to get the best bargain - we got a free bottle of wine with our meal!
Aladdin's Indian Restaurant *****star
Listed in the BBC's guide to the world's best curries, Aladdin's produced THE nicest curry I have ever tasted. And better still, a starter, main course and either rice or a naan bread cost only £7.95! The staff were really funny and friendly and they really made the night memorable.
Bagel's, Leicester Square **star
£1.50 for a huge slice of pizza - great selection of toppings!They sell all sorts of other food too like sandwiches, chips and kebabs. Leicester square is covered in small fast food shops like Bagel's so if you don't want to stop for lunch you can pick something up here.
Fruit Stalls **star
To save yourself some money, try buying fruit for your breakfast from the many stalls littered all over London. Its cheaper than a cafe and it means you save precious time by eating on the go!