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My latest cheap eat is an Asian cafe / restaurant called good Morning Vietnam that is opposite the main entrance to Clapham Junction train station. Before last week I’d eaten there just once before and seem to remember having a reasonable experience, with decent food and huge portions. I haven’t been back since as my wife’s experience was not so encouraging - she found a long black hair in her dinner.. nice.

Still, after a few bevies on Friday night three friends, my wife and I decided a cheap eat would be ideal and with this place being local it got the vote. We stumbled in around 10pm ish and ordered the buffet for four and a vegetarian selection for my wife. The food arrived fairly promptly and the service was efficient, if not particularly friendly - but then it was late in the evening.

However, unfortunately I have to say the quality was questionable, with huge quantities of MSG to every dish and ribs with barely any edible meat on them. The crispy duck pancakes were great though, which is pretty much this place’s only saving grace. Having travelled to Vietnam I would also say this is far from an authentic experience.

Overall I can only say I was disappointed. It looks promising from a cheap eats perspective and it’s frequently busy. I can only assume each customer is a new one, because I for one am fairly unlikely to go back. Shame, it’s in a great location and could do very well indeed.

Overall rating 5/10

To be honest, I had a feeling I was going to be leaving Victoria Indian Cuisine disappointed from the moment I walked in.

The small restaurant has been crammed with as many tables and chairs as could possibly fit and the décor is so tired, it’s practically asleep. The toilet, upstairs next door to the kitchen, was disgusting; the lino on the stairs obviously worn away from years of waiters running up and down with rank food.

The poppadoms we ordered to start were bordering on stale, my beer warm and my chicken curry swimming in oil – barely edible. The one redeeming factor was the naan bread, but it was too little too late.

My meal at Victoria Indian Cuisine was poor. And just to add insult to injury, our bill (for two) came to over £30.

2/10

“Auddy’s Authentic Thai Cuisine” is one of the many Thai eateries setup in a London pub. Often I find the food outclasses the pub and this is certainly one of those instances I’m afraid. I’ve had the pleasure of eating Auddy’s food on many occasions over the years and my girlfriend and I have never been disappointed. It’s particularly good when the small patio is open in the summer and you can escape the smokey hordes in the pub - this is one of those pubs you feel may struggle to meet the new anti-smoking laws.

If we forget about the venue for the moment and focus on the food, I can happily report this is another fantastic cheap eat. There are the usual Thai classics you expect to find such as the cracking Massaman curry, stir fried chicken with cashew nuts (kai pad medmamuang) and Pad Thai. Alongside the classics there is a good variety of vegetarian dishes and Auddy also understands this means no Nam Pla (fish sauce). The Salad Churchills is excellent - sliced beef, with cucumbers, tomato, onion and a spicy lemon Thai dressing - although it has changed names since I last had the pleasure. On the whole the dishes maintain the truly authentic tastes you expect, with moderately spicy heat.

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On the down side I’ve sometimes found the deep fried fish cakes are a little overdone for my tastes, but aside from that, the portion sizes are fair and the food excellent. I have to say this is perhaps my favourite cheap eat in SW London, I only hope Auddy and his family eventually find some premises that do them justice. Churchills is a good pub, but it isn’t a place to enjoy food as good as this.

Auddy and Churchills can be found on St. John’s Hill, a five minute walk from Clapham Junction train station.

7.5/10

The Victoria Cafe is at the Queenstown Road end of Lavender Hill in Battersea. It’s basically your classic greasy spoon with the added bonus of some fantastic lunchtime specials. I’ve been a handful of times to this cafe, each time struggling to squeeze my newly rotund stomach out of the door as the portions are enourmous.

Most recently I had the liver and onions special with chips, two veg and a cup of tea. It was perfectly designed to replace some of the nutrients I’d lost on the beers the night before. As ever the amount of food was gargantuan and the quality was reasonable. I sometimes get reminded of my school dinners with the veg you get, but for the price (£3.95) you couldn’t expect more.

If I was to be ridiculously picky and try to pick out some bad points, I could only say that it’s way too smokey - but of course come 1st July and the smoking ban, this will no longer be a problem.

My overall feeling is this is a reasonable greasy spoon that offers a much broader menu than the standard fry-up. With everything from jacket potatoes, to home made lasagne, chicken pie and more. If you’re very very hungry and don’t have much money, this is a cheap eat you could comfortably fill up at. Don’t expect too much and you’ll definitely walk away a happy man (or woman).

6/10