There are two ultimate things we enjoy when we’re traveling: dining out and landing a good bargain. Online platform London Cheap Eats offers the best of both worlds. Their website and accompanying Instagram page aims to assist both Londoners and visitors alike in seeking out a good dining experience that doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
Run by foodie, founder, and contributor Leyla Kazim, the website was formed out of a need to find good places to dine in for cheap.
“During eight months of travel taking up most of 2015, I realized, when I did return home, I was going to have a lot less disposable income than when I left,” recalls Kazim on the website. “I like to go out, quite a bit. I still very much wanted to be an active member of London’s dining scene, enjoying the fantastic meals it has to offer on a frequent basis, but without the £20-£60 (and beyond) price tag each time. And I figured there were others like me.”
“I thought to myself: wouldn’t it be great if there was an ever-growing, comprehensive guide of the best budget food in London, made up of trusted and objective opinions, suggesting not only on where to go, but also what to order,” she writes, explaining that as she pondered this, she realized it didn’t exist. “I figured I’d better do something about that. And so, the idea of London Cheap Eats came to be.”
According to Kazim, there are four main criteria for a dish to make it onto London Cheap Eats, (what they like to call the four F’s): Fresh—the food must be tasty, freshly prepared, and of good quality; Filling—It must be enough to alone leave the average appetite satisfied; Frugal—It must be truly cheap, £8 or less; and For a friend—It must be something they would genuinely recommend to a friend.
Sounds like a plan!