London can be a tricky city for dining. Long criticized for the quality of its fare (”It’s no Paris!”), the city has undergone a gastro-awakening over the past decade that has benefited the bellies, if not the wallets, of its diners.

So what’s a Cheapo to eat? Here are our dining tips, all tested and tried:

1. Go for conveyer belt sushi!

We were initially turned off by the robotic, ever-moving feel of these establishments, frequently seen in London’s malls and Tube stations, but the low prices always lured us back to the belt. Eventually, we even got a hang of it. (Not counting the time the California rolls spun out on our table.) We’re big fans because you watch all the sushi and sashimi as it’s prepared, so you know it’s fresh. You can also ask the chef to add a little extra something (Wasabi? Extra roe?) to your particular dish. Hey, if we’re conveyer converts, you can be too.

Try Yo Sushi, which has tons of locations all across London.

2. Eat with the fishes—and chips!

Sure, we try to stay away from battered and fried, but you have to go there at least once during your stay. Our favorite fish and chips joint is the Rock & Sole Plaice (47 Endell St, WC2 ) in Covent Garden. For under £15, you can order a whole fish and taste a variety of dipping sauces, and have your chips too! If you can’t tube it to this spot, you can usually find decent (and cheaper) fish and chips in any neighborhood. Just steer clear of major tourist haunts (Read: Leicester Square) and larger chains like Slug and Lettuce that claim they have fresh oceanic fare. When in doubt, ask the locals!

3. Kebob it!

We’ve been there: It’s midnight, the pub just closed, and your tum-tum is grumbling. If you’re in Bayswater, head for a kebob stand on busy Queensway where, for a few pounds, you can get your lamb on. Doll it up with the fixins, which usually include peppers, tomatoes, hummus, tahini, and cucumber sauce.

We recommend The Taza Kebab House, where the lamb is always succulent and the pita sandwiches are filling.

4. Join the chain gang.

You may normally steer clear of chain restaurants, but local chains can introduce you to local tastes (mmmm…. mayonnaise!) and help your budget. Big name chain restaurants like Wagamama (Japanese) and Pret-A-Manger (eat-in or take-out sandwiches and coffee) are London mainstays, located throughout the city. Smaller chains like Hummus Bros offer a unique dining experience without exotic prices. Many of these chains offer lunch specials daily.

5. Get roasted.

Sunday is the best day to partake in a yummy, often three-course, gastro-pub meal. The menus are usually prix fixe, but you can always order stuff separately. And, if you haven’t been to a Sunday “roast,” it’s a great way to see London culture at its finest—and hungriest—as piles of bangers and mash, roasted chickens and beef, and plenty o’ pints are consumed. We love The Chapel Pub in Marylebone (48 Chapel Street, London, NW1 5DP ), where we’re always warmly greeted with a comfy seat and a fantastic meal.

Popularity: 9% [?]

We are unapologetically fond of German cafeteria food. When visiting the German capital, we always stop for a sampling of local cuisine at one of the state-run (and subsidized) Mensa cafeterias, where a nourishing lunch may be enjoyed for just a few euros.

Although Mensa cafeterias are commonly found on campus at German universities and packed with healthy, athletically-inclined students, the dining halls are open to the public, and you’ll often find yourself dining alongside area businessmen and women. For the adventurous tourist, the cafeterias offer a unique and budget-friendly opportunity to get a taste of the real Deutschland.

Cafeteria food is, mildly put, not everyone’s culinary preference. But we enjoy it and embrace it for all of its qualities – healthy portions, light seasonings, regimented serving procedures, and unwavering value.

How the Mensa works

Most Mensa cafeterias require that you purchase a “MensaCard” onto which you can load – and reload – cash. These cards are for sale in the checkout lines for €1.55. Once you have procured a card, take it to the loading machine, where you insert money and load it up. At some cafeterias, you may also pay with cash, but you shouldn’t count on this.

Please note: Do not continue with your Mensa adventure until after you have fully loaded your card. The cashier can’t load up your card for you. Bad and embarrassing things could happen.

Your card activated, head into the cafeteria. Look for a big sign listing the day’s options (sometimes with illustrations), and note that most cafeterias offer daily options that are vegetarian, vegan, and “bio-essen” (organic). If you don’t speak or read German, it’s a pretty safe bet that you can ask any student around you for translation help. (“Schwein,” by the way, is “pork.” You’ll be seeing that.)

We usually head for the longest line, as it gives us a chance to survey the choices being dished up, and to overhear the ordering and practice our vocabulary. (English will probably not work on the women working behind the serving counter – but a smile and pointed finger usually does the trick.) Once your main entrée and side have been handed to you, slide down to the salad cabinet, and then head to the beverage dispenser. So many wholesome beverages are yours – milk, apple juice, orange juice, vitamin punch (Note: We’re still not quite sure what’s in the vitamin punch, but it does pack one)!

Now that your tray is filled with nourishing vittles, head to a checkout lane and be prepared to hand over your new Mensa card. If you’re a student, show your student ID before the clerk rings you up, as your prices will be markedly lower.

Our favorite Mensa cafeterias in central Berlin

In Mitte:
Mensa Nord
Reinhardtstrasse 30
Editors pick for dining in Mitte, north of Unter den Linden.
Monday – Friday, 9 AM to 3 PM

Near Alexanderplatz:
Mensa Spandaur Strasse
Spandauer Str. 1
Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 3 PM

Near Gendarmenmarkt:
Mensa Charlottenstrasse
Charlottenstrasse 55
Pop into this one when heading south of Unter den Linden or shopping on Friedrichstrasse.
Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 3 PM

Near Nollendorfplatz:
Mensa Kurfurstenstrasse
Kurfürstenstraße 141
Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM

See also:

List of all Mensa cafeterias
More Mensa information in English, including menus!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Photo by Matthew S.

Finding a bargain meal in Dublin can be a challenge. As long as Luigi Malones is in operation, there will be cheap meals on offer in the Irish capital.

Located on the corner of Temple Bar Square, Luigi Malones serves up an All Day menu that offers a meal plus complimentary drink—beer, wine or soft drink—for just €10.90. Another deal: the All Day coffee and dessert for just €4.90.

While “All Day” is a bit of a misnomer (the menu is only available from noon until 5 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 3 p.m. on weekends) the deal still can’t be beat.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Photo courtesy of travelingmcmahans

One of the cheapest eats in Rome is also one of the most sinfully delicious, deep-fried foods you may ever sink your teeth into: Arancini. These tasty little temptations are baseball-sized rice balls stuffed with anything from prosciutto and mozzarella, to squid ink and pistachios. Gourmands may recognize them as the fat Sicilian cousins of the equally delish suppli.

At Mondo Arancina, the city’s undisputed arancini king, they cost you a shiny €2 coin. (So, fine, they’re more like $2.64!) The shop also specializes in pizza buy the slice, but what’s the novelty in that?

Popularity: 4% [?]

photograph courtesy of jdong

Visitors to Paris looking for fine foie gras need not go farther than the purple facade of an inventive bakery in the 15th arrondissement. This bakery’s foie gras, tasty with an earthy subtlety, is meant for canine—not human—tastebuds.

Confused? Don’t be. Mon Bon Chien, the shop behind said fois gras, is the first bakery in France catering to man’s best friend.

Mon Bon Chien’s American chef and owner Harriet Sternstein serves up biscotti, peanut butter, bacon, and foie gras biscuits for the demanding Parisian clientele filling her shop with barks each day. Harriet’s biscuits run from €.60 to €1 and she even offers doggie birthday cakes for a measly €10.

Best of all, we can confirm that the biscuits are quite tasty. Mon Bon Chien’s may not be the best foie gras in town, but at €.60 it is definitely the cheapest.

Popularity: 2% [?]

photograph courtesy of plumilla

In Berlin’s hip Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, sometimes it seems a sight easier to pick up cheap Asian food than to actually find a traditional German restaurant. But when the result is great sushi for half the price, who are we to complain?

Tabeyo Sushi-Bar, close to café- and bar-lined Lychenerstrasse and the Kulturbrauerei entertainment complex, offers 50 percent off sushi all the time, and what that means to raw-fish lovers is basic sushi rolls (6 pieces) for less than €2, inside-out and special rolls for less than €6 and nigiri for a measly €1. You might well ask if there is something fishy going on here, but the quality at Tabeyo is anything but cut-rate, with dishes expertly prepared using the freshest ingredients.

We started with pots of warming green tea and delicious miso soup, thick with green onions, seaweed and silky-smooth chunks of tofu, before moving on to the main event of spicy tuna and salmon rolls. We washed it all down with cold Sapporos and were delighted when the bill came to just over €10 per person.

The ambiance comes for free. The small restaurant was recently renovated, and the low-lit, black-and-red interior offers a warm, quiet retreat; even the random fake palm trees and a giant plastic fish on the wall don’t disrupt the mood.

Tabeyo is located at Danziger Strasse 14 and stays open until midnight every night.

Popularity: 3% [?]