You may be familiar with our guide to the best set lunches in London. However, we've noticed that the lunch prices have been getting ever higher of late, so here's our companion guide, highlighting the very best deals across town that don't break the £30 barrier.
Central London
Fitzrovia
Cin Cin
This Italian restaurant originally started life in Brighton before also bringing its "good old-fashioned Italian hospitality" to London. Recend dishes on the set menu have included tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and a plum, almond and polenta cake.
Set menu deal: Two courses £18, three courses £24
Availability: Lunch, Tuesday - Friday
Arros QD
This is the London outpost for Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Quique Dacosta and there's a big focus on paella For lunch, you can have three courses, or substitute the first two for a paella dish.
Set menu deal: Two courses £29 (three courses £34)
Availability: Lunch Monday - Friday
Norma
This is an Italian grand cafe-style restaurant from the people behind Mayfair's Stafford Hotel which centres on Sicilian cooking. Recent options here included Sicilian caponata and rigatoni with beef ragu and Grano Padano.
Set menu deal: Two courses £20
Availability: Monday - Saturday lunch and pre theatre
The Ninth
Jun Tanaka's Fitzrovia venture is a French/Mediterranean neighbourhood-style restaurant which uses fine dining cheffing techniques but with a more casual feel.
Set menu deal: Two courses £30 (three courses £35)
Availability: Lunchtimes, Monday - Friday
Lima
Take a culinary trip to Peru through the dishes at Lima which aims to showcase traditional Peruvian cooking through a modern lens.
Set menu deal: Chef's menu, two courses £28 (three courses £36)
Availability: Daytime, Monday-Saturday
Sushi Atelier
Sit up at the long counter at this central Japanese spot and enjoy a menu of modern sushi offerings - think yellowtail maki with truffle mayo. They have a range of set lunch and bento boxes, all with miso soup and a side salad.
Set menu deal: The Atelier Bento £28 includes two sashimi, three pieces of nigiri, four maki, plus pickles and a small starter
Availability: Lunchtime
Soho
The Devonshire
This is still the hottest restaurant (and pub) in Soho and it has one of the best set-menu deals too. There's a single set menu which has steak and chips as a main course. Now all you need to do is get an actual table.
Set menu deal: Two courses £25, three courses £29
Availability: All day
Maresco
This is a Spanish tapas restaurant that gets much of its seafood produce directly from Scotland and it's great for counter dining (or Soho people watching). The tapas options can include everything from pan con tomate to crab croquetas.
Set menu deal: £23, either as three tapas dishes for one, or three starters and a main for two.
Availability: Lunch & pre-theatre
Bébé Bob
The Bob Bob Ricard spin-off is all about rotisserie chicken and that's what you can get for their express lunch - half a Vendee chicken, salad and fries.
Set menu deal: Half chicken, salad, fries for £24
Availability: Lunchtime, daily
The Palomar
Zoë and Layo Paskin's buzzy Soho restaurant is the perfect place if you want a lively lunchtime, and their set menu features Palomar classics like their Persian oxtail stew as well as new dishes from the team
Set menu deal: Three courses for £28.
Availability: Monday - Friday, 12 - 5.30pm
Manzi's
This seafood restaurant comes from the same group that runs The Wolseley and Brasserie Zedel. There are a few meal-deal options here, but this is the entry level where options at the time of writing include veal polpette and a bream fillet.
Set menu deal: Two courses for £15.25, 3 courses £19.50
Availability: All day
Korean Dinner Party
In the heart of Carnaby you'll find this Korean restaurant which is aiming for an LA Koreatown vibe. The corndogs are top-notch and you can get one of those with this set menu, alongside KFC tacos and more.
Set menu deal: Two courses for £15
Availability: Lunchtime, daily
Blanchette Soho
Think French tapas and you’ve got the concept of this cosy Soho spot. The set menu is low on choices but features decent options - dishes could include moules marinière or peach pavlova.
Set menu deal: Two courses £19.50, three courses £23
Availability: Lunch and pre-theatre, Monday to Saturday
Bocca di Lupo
As one of London’s best Italian restaurants, any deal at Jacob Kenedy’s Bocca di Lupo is going to be well worth trying. In addition to the set menu, look out for a daily changing (and good value) lunch special.
Set menu deal: £18 for starter and main
Availability: Pre and post-theatre
Mele E Pere
Billed as an independent trattoria with a bit of Soho spirit, Mele e Pere’s set menu makes the most of vegetable-led Italian dishes with the odd meaty hit.
Set menu deal: Two courses including a glass of wine for £17.50, three courses £22.50
Availability: Lunch and pre/post-theatre, Monday to Friday and all day Sunday
Noble Rot
Both the Noble Rot establishments offer a very good value set lunch - which you could either use to save yourself money in general, or put the money you’ve saved to better use and hit up their excellent wine lists. The same deal is available in Bloomsbury and Mayfair.
Set menu deal: Two courses £24, three courses £28
Availability: Lunchtime, every day
Nessa
This is chef Tom Cenci's home in Soho, a bistro with a few notably very British touches. Those include dishes like his own take on Coronation Chicken or the Nessabocker Glory, both on the set menu, called the Nessa Express, at the time of writing.
Set menu deal: Two courses £28 (three courses £35)
Availability: Lunch and pre-theatre Tues to Fri, Lunch only on Saturday.
Covent Garden
Cora Pearl
This is the Covent Garden restaurant from the people behind Kitty Fisher's, just off the main Covent Garden piazza. Pitched as "elevated British comfort food" recent dishes have included chargrilled mackerel with potato and pickled shallots.
Set menu deal: Two courses £28, (three courses £32)
Availability: Daily, pre-theatre
The Petersham
This is the Covent Garden outpost of Petersham Nurseries, hidden in its own courtyard. During summer, the set lunch also comes with a glass of wine along with a set menu that includes options like mezzi paccheri with yellow datterini and ‘nduja.
Set menu deal: Two courses £29
Availability: Lunchtime
Flesh & Buns
Flesh & Buns in Covent Garden offers a short set menu that allows you to try their modern Japanese-inspired menu including their bao buns and kinako doughnuts.
Set menu deal: Two courses £20
Availability: Lunchtime, pre and post-theatre
Spring
Chef Skye Gyngell’s gorgeous restaurant in Somerset House prides itself on its seasonal produce and the set menu is a great entry-level opportunity to try her food.
Set menu deal: Two courses £29 (three courses £33)
Availability: Lunchtime, Tuesday – Friday
Marylebone
28-50
The single remaining (and original) 28-50 in London is still one of the best wine bars in Marylebone and it has a pretty great value set menu too with dishes including tiger prawns and chicken supreme.
Set menu deal: Two courses £19.95, three courses £22.50
Availability: Lunch Monday - Sunday
Les 110 de Taillevent
The people behind Parisian restaurant Taillevent brought this spin-off Les 110 de Taillevent to London with the name referring to the wines available by the glass. So you can save on the food and give yourself permission to try a few more glasses.
Set menu deal: Two courses £29, (three courses £36)
Availability: Lunch
Blandford Comptoir
This is a Mediterranean restaurant from restaurateur Xavier Rousset and there's always a special lunchtime dish on the menu. At the time of writing that was a 6oz sirloin steak, with skinny fries & oakleaf salad.
Set menu deal: Lunch specials from £17.50
Availability: Lunch only
Zoilo
If you go to an Argentine restaurant for any meal, even a set lunch, you’ll probably want to know there’s red meat as an option and the set menu here doesn’t disappoint with dish options including carpaccio and beef and bone marrow burgers.
Set menu deal: Two courses for £24.90, three for £28.90
Availability: Thursday to Saturday
Mayfair
Mary's
Taking over from Pollen Street Social, this is Jason Atherton's Mayfair grill restaurant which also has a great value prix fixe menu, which includes a Suffolk half roasted-chicken as a main option. The special burger menu is just over £20 too.
Set menu deal: Two courses £29, (three courses £35)
Availability: Lunch and pre-theatre Tuesday - Saturday
The Barley Mow
This Mayfair pub is now owened by the Cubitt House group who have given it a complete makeover, with chef Ben Tish behind the menus. The single set menu changes regularly with dishes like smoked haddock & rarebit with heritage tomatoes.
Set menu deal: Two courses £29, (three courses £35)
Availability: Lunch
Socca
Socca is a French bistro from Claude Bosi and restaurateur Samyukta Nair (Koyn, Jamavar). Mediterranean options on the menu include dishes like veal meatballs and tomato or burrata Pugliese.
Set menu deal: Two courses £28, (three courses £35)
Availability: Lunch
East London
Shoreditch
Daffodil Mulligan
This Old Street restaurant is from Richard Corrigan, the top Irish chef who's also behind Bentley's in Mayfair. Here, options on the set menu include dishes like sugar pit pork with cabbage, caraway and smoked apple. Make sure to pop down to the basement pub for a quick Guinness too.
Set menu deal: Two courses £19.50, three courses £25
Availability: Lunch
Pearly Queen
This Shoreditch restaurant and oyster bar comes from chef Tom Brown and there's a "Chef's choice" option that will get you four small plates for lunch. Hopefully one of the excellent buttermilk oysters will be one of them (if not, add it on).
Set menu deal: Four dishes for £30
Availability: Lunch
Bibo
Bibo is from Dani Garcia, a top Spanish chef with Michelin stars to his name, and this is his tapas restaurant in the Mondrian hotel in Shoreditch. The "classics" menu is a set affair and it does feature dishes like his oxtail brioche.
Set menu deal: Six plates for £25 (£20 for the vegetarian version)
Availability: Lunch only
Cay Tre (Hoxton)
Just off Kingsland Road, in an area with some excellent Vietnamese restaurants, Cay Tre is held out to have among the very best Vietnamese dishes in London.
Set menu deal: £15.95 at lunch (two courses)
Viet Grill
This is the sister restaurant of Cay Tre and has something of a more laid-back vibe while still serving excellent Vietnamese food.
Set menu deal: £15.95 at lunch (two courses)
City of London
Le Relais de Venise
This classic French steak restaurant is mainly all about its steak and chips and they're still offering one of the great deals in town. The same offer is at their Marylebone location.
Set lunch deal: Steak, chips and salad for £29
M Restaurant (Threadneedle Street)
While you can go all-out at this grill restaurant, particularly on the wine and wagyu steaks, they have a pretty great value set menu too, which does include steak.
Set lunch deal: Two courses £30 (three courses £35)
Availability: Lunch only
Gunpowder
This Indian small plates restaurant features traditional family recipes with a modern twist. The Spitalfields branch features an express lunch option with dishes like their Kerala Beef Pepper Fry.
Set lunch deal: 2 courses £22, 3 courses £25
South London
Nine Elms, Vauxhall and Battersea
Brunswick House
This is a restaurant where the beautiful surroundings are more than matched by the menu which plunders the best of British and European produce.
Set menu deal: Two courses £23, three courses £28
Availability: Lunchtimes, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
West London
Kensington & Chelsea
Rabbit
The Chelsea outposts of the Gladwin Brothers’ empire focuses on local and seasonal British dishes with a contemporary twist, so there might be tempura English marrow with sweet chilli sauce and a salted caramel chocolate torte on offer.
Set menu deal: Two courses £22, three courses £25
Availability: Lunchtimes
Colbert
This former Corbin & King spot is a love letter to the French bistro and the perfect place to people watch on Sloane Square. The prix fixe is on all day and usually features salad to start and madeleines for dessert.
Set menu deal: Two courses for £24.75, three for £29.95
Availability: All day
The Holland
Former Oxalis supperclub chef Max de Nahlik is in charge of this Kensington pub and his regularly changing set lunch menu is as super seasonal as the regular menu offering.
Set menu deal: Two courses for £15, three for £20
Availability: Lunchtime, Wednesday to Saturday
Notting Hill
Mazi
The concept at this modern Greek restaurant is all about sharing which extends to the set lunch here which is perfect for picking a range of plates for the table to devour.
Set menu deal: Two courses £24.95, three courses £29.95
Availability: Lunchtime Monday to Friday
Six Portland Road
The self-dubbed ‘little lunch’ at this neighbourhood spot changes daily, so it’s great for popping back to try time and time again. Expect dishes with a Euro-influence that showcase the best seasonal produce.
Set menu deal: Three courses £28
Availability: Monday to Saturday
Various locations
Bao
Each of BAO’s five London locations offers a BAO15 set menu where you can choose the components of a small set meal.
Set menu deal: A bao bun, a snack and a rice bowl for £15.
Availability: Times, days and menu options vary according to each restaurant.
Blacklock
Every Blacklock restaurant offers the now-infamous ‘All in’ option allowing you to order pre-chop bites, plus a mix of beef, pork and lamb skinny chops on charcoal-grilled flatbreads with a choice of side each.
Set menu deal: £27 per person
Availability: All day, every day
Tonkotsu
Even though they now have multiple branches across town, Tonkotsu pride themselves on making all their noodles, broths, katsu curries, gyoza and sides from scratch. The ramen is the big draw here, but there’s plenty more to enjoy too.
Set menu deal: Lunch-sized ramen or hirashi and a side £9.95
Availability: Lunchtimes
Hawksmoor
A normal trip to steak palace Hawksmoor can set you back a bit, but the set menu that's available in all their branches is particularly good value for money. As you might expect/hope that does include steak as the main course.
Set menu deal: Two courses for £29 (three for £33)
Availability: Lunchtinmes and early evenings
And if you're willing to stretch beyond £30...
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