Here’s our pick of some fantastic cheap eats in the City.
Ping Pong
Located just a five-minute walk from Tower Hill station the Ping Pong at St Katherine Docks set our expectations high and certainly met them. Located within sight of the Tower of London you can escape the hustle and bustle of the tourists and step into a place where customer service is always put first. For our cheap eats menu items, we can wholeheartedly recommend the ping pong chicken noodles, the broth was rich in flavour and the chunky flat wheat noodles was like nothing we’d tried before. Another favourite was the honey chicken chili rice pot, a little spicier than the last choice but with steaming rice dotted with tasty, braised chicken topped with chili, delicious.
All of this was accompanied with excellent service by the informed waiting staff that were never far away if you had a question or if you needed advice when picking your next dish. The interior design made for a relaxed atmosphere with plenty of fake flowers and plants scaling the walls and hanging down from the ceiling. The large windows allowed for an uninterrupted view of St Katherine Docks, the lights at night made it especially lovely to look out at. Overall, Ping Pong had plenty of ‘cheap’ menu items to come try, but all of the food was entirely delicious, the real trouble will be sticking to below that £10 limit.
Mangio
Within stone’s throw of St Paul’s Cathedral Mangio is a hidden spot that thousands of tourists and locals walk by every year, its time for that to change. Mangio is known for their pasta and for good reason, at £8 for their fresh ravioli or cappellacci paired with their house made seasonal, traditional and gourmet sauces you’re found a little slice of Italian paradise in the heart of London. But if you think that sounds like not enough, they have you covered. Every week they announce their daily specials, from rigatoni with amatriciana to tagliatelle broccoli with sausage, they are constantly innovating to bring you amazing Italian cuisine.
But it doesn’t stop there, if you’re looking for something to take with you then they also have a delicious selection of Italian ciabatta paninis. At only £6 you can be loaded up with pesto, mozzarella, Milano salami along with so much more. Finally, just when you thought it couldn’t get any better they also have desert, fantastic. You’ve got your choice of creamy tiramisu, crunchy sfogliatella and other worldly chocolate salami, all for £2. Once you’ve gotten a taste of Mangio you might find it hard not to keep coming back.
Wicked Fish
All of us are looking out for that next food place to rave about to friends and family, somewhere to break your current trend of food locations you go back to time and time again. Wicked Fish ticks all the boxes required to put it above the rest, let me tell you how they do it. Taking a different approach they not only do fish and chips but also have haddock bites, six haddocks goujons with house tartar sauce for only £8.5, not bad. Maybe you’re looking for something to really dig into, their £10 Wicked Fish Butty is filled with crispy, delicious haddock, placed between two lightly toasted burger buns, simply divine.
The ethos at Wicked Fish is to have somewhere to go for high quality food at prices that doesn’t make you groan; we think they’ve done a pretty good job. On top of that they only use fresh, ethically sourced ingredients from top quality suppliers, what’s not to love. They’ve paired with Wright Brothers Ltd, a fishmonger in Borough Market, to ensure that all their fish is as fresh as can be, something that can be really felt with their grilled lobster and fresh oysters. Overall, Wicked Fish had the perfect twist of sea-side quality fish and chips alongside London eccentric menu items, a perfect mix.
Pizza Union – Spitalfields
Where in London can you get a menu full of various fire-baked roman style 12-inch pizzas, all for under £9, we’ve found it and it’s called Pizza Union. Located a four-minute walk from Liverpool Street station its perfect for when you need to stagger back after copious amounts of crispy, flavour filled pizzas. But what do they have? If you’re looking for the classic margherita then it’s only £5.95, perhaps you’re looking for stronger flavours then try the formaggi with gorgonzola or maybe you’re after something with a little heat in it, the calabria with nduja spicy sausage is for you. Paired with some garlic herb or hot chilli sauce and you’re looking at a meal to make you smile, all without breaking the bank.
But that’s not all, maybe you’re looking for a lighter option, Pizza Union has you covered. Try out their rucola and spinaci salads, bursting with natural flavours they’ve not left any menu item off their quality testing, both for under £5. We went into Pizza Union after hearing about their incredible food and service but we weren’t ready for the amazing experience that has blown us away, we can’t wait to go back soon.
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