Where to Find the Best Cheap Food in London

Something that most everyone likes to do when they travel is to eat the local food. But when you're a budget traveler, things can get a little tricky. Even casual pubs in London can be low-key expensive and before you know it, your travel budget is out of control. 

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So today, we're going to talk about the best cheap eats in London, so you can feast like a royal...even without having the bank account of a royal.

Sainbury’s 

The first budget friendly food place we're going to talk about is one that the vast majority of travelers to London are likely to miss entirely, because it's not a restaurant or a pub or a street food cart. It's a grocery store.

Sainbury’s is a chain store that has dozens of locations all over London. You will find them all over and that is very good news, because this is one of the most affordable ways to eat in London. This is where local Londoners go to grab a quick and affordable lunch. 

Sainbury’s has an ongoing deal on sandwiches where you can get a sandwich, a package of chips, which British people call crisps, and a drink all for about five pounds.

That is a deal you just cannot beat. 

There's a really good selection of sandwiches and some really interesting chip flavors. You can be adventurous or you can stick to pretty standard and familiar flavors, because you'll find plenty of classic deli-type selections here as well.

You just pick out your sandwich, your chips and your drink and you've got an incredibly affordable and easy lunch.

I personally ate at the Sainbury’s near Hyde Park. I got a prawn sandwich and some shrimp flavored chips and ate near the famous Speaker’s Corner. I do not recommend shrimp flavored chips but I do recommend this meal deal.

You can find these stores all over London, so definitely keep this in mind when you want an easy and affordable lunch. Consider carefully before you get shrimp flavored chips.

Street Food

London has a ton of street food. The city is covered with market areas, both covered and open air, where you will find a big selection of food. I went to a few of these and I do recommend them.

A few of my favorite street food locations in London are Market Halls on Oxford Street, the street food by the river in Southwark and Strutton Ground Market.

Market Halls is a covered eating area where you will find several eateries all grouped together. You can just sort of walk around and see what looks and smells good and even though Oxford Street is a very fashionable location where you'll find really expensive shops, the food and drink here is reasonably priced and it's got a nice atmosphere. 

Market Halls is on Oxford Street very close to Cavendish Square, which is a pretty city park type area.

Southwark is a more traditional street food area. Go near the river and you'll find lots of food carts where you can get an entire meal. I had goat milk ice cream here that was fantastic. 

Strutton Ground Market is a little harder to find. This is more of a local place and it's not really marked on Google Maps. It's just a long street area stuffed with food vendors of all kinds.

There's a lot of international cuisine here, so this is not the place to go if you want British food. But it is a perfect place to go if you want to try something you've never heard of before and the price is right. 

Strutton Ground Market is very close to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, so it's right in the thick of things.

Pubs

Of course, what London is best known for is its pubs. Pub food in London has its own culture and you can hardly walk a block within the city without discovering an interesting pub that's full of good stuff to try.

However, London pubs are not always super budget friendly. In America, you're pretty much guaranteed to find an affordable meal or something inexpensive to nibble on if you go to a pub or bar. 

Don't expect this to be the case in London. There are pubs that are super affordable but there are also very high end puns with expensive menu items.

It's not always easy to tell from the outside if you're standing in front of a friendly neighborhood spot with good budget food or if you're at a high end place with a menu that will make your eyes water when you see the prices.

The best way to find affordable pub food is to do the research in advance but sometimes, you don't always have that option and you could easily find yourself hungry on the streets of London with pubs all around...and have no idea where to go.

So, if you're in just such a situation and you need an affordable pub, don't try to guess how much things will cost by looking at buildings from the outside. 

Generally, you can find affordable London pubs by going to the right area of the city. If you're within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, the menu at the pub will probably be a bit pricey. All around the palace is where you'll find big attractions and lots of stuff for tourists, so you can expect prices to be a bit higher. 

But if you go into neighborhoods that are a bit more affordable, you stand a better chance of finding reasonable prices. The Soho area to the east of the palace is known for having a great food scene and you can find many affordable places here. Look near the Chinatown area and you'll find lots of options.

Camden Market, which is north of the palace, has a ton of budget friendly options and this neighborhood has a very cool and laid back sort of vibe. 

The Whitechapel area is known for its ethnic food scene and you will not run out of options here. Whitechapel is to the east of the Tower of London.

Go just a bit farther away from the palace, and you will find many affordable pubs offering all that delicious pub food that everyone wants when they travel to London.

Water

Something you're going to spend a lot of money on that you may not think about until you're actually already on your vacation is stuff to drink. You're out walking, you're hot, you're going to get thirsty. And anywhere tourists are, you will find helpful drink carts, vending machines, little souvenir stalls with refreshing, cold drinks.

They're all overpriced. You could easily add as much as 20 dollars a day to your trip budget just buying stuff to drink while you're out and about, and that's no good.

So, here's what you do: bring a refillable water bottle. Many of London's public parks have water fountains that are free to use and if you walk into a pub or cafe with an empty bottle in your hand and ask them to fill it, they probably will.

Carry your bottle with you, fill it up when you can and drink free water. This will keep you hydrated without adding anything to your travel expenses. 

Eating cheaply in London is still eating in London. If you explore street food areas and look for places a little bit away from the main tourist areas, you will discover amazing food that is affordable and every bit as good as the more expensive stuff. 

Spend your money where it counts: on doing more stuff in London and naturally, on fashion. 

Thank you for taking the journey with me. 

Now, Voyager, sail forth to seek and find.