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It’s not often I come across a restaurant offering a type of food I haven’t tried before, but this is the first time I’ve eaten Sri Lankan cuisine. I have to say I was impressed. I was tempted in by the chef who was giving away free samples of delicious freshly cooked rice flour pancakes with an aubergine filling. When I saw the sign the next day advertising Express Lunch £3.49, I simply couldn’t resist.

The experience started the second we opened the door and were hit with a waft of incense. We were the first diners of the day, but it was early on Thursday lunch time and in no time at all a handful of other customers had joined us. The decor is a little strange, sort of half Sri Lankan and half French (it was previously a French place) but I couldn’t say that was a bad thing. The waiter was friendly, if a little slow, and in no time at all we’d ordered. The menu was vast and I was thankful we were only ordering the express lunch - essentially a plate of rice with two vegetarian curries, or for an extra 50p a chicken dish instead. We might otherwise have been some time putting on order together.

The food we received was really very good when you consider the price. The portions were not huge, but looking at the other dinners who ordered from the main menu, I suspect this is not always the case. Both my vegtarion companion and me were impressed. The chicken was well cooked, flavoursome and nicely spiced. The flavours were perfect, not too strongly spiced or hot, but well balanced. The aubergine dish was delicious and there was a tasty dahl with the vegetarian lunch. The waiter also whipped up a pretty good massala tea, even though this was not on the menu and we tried the tastey Sri Lankan cola which was abit like a sweet Sasprilla. The drinks were the only downside, costing £1.90 for a coke which is expensive considering it’s really just a can.

Overall I was really pleased to try this place out. It’s literally on my doorstep so I’m expecting to go back many times. It’s on Lavender Hill, about 10 mins walk from Clapham Junction, and I have to say that they’ve chosen an extremely competitive patch to open up in. There’s been at least half a dozen restaurants open and close on Lavender HIll this year alone. Hopefully the Ceylon Tavern’s slightly different approach will help them to stand out from the crowd. Good luck!

Overall rating 7.5/10.

This is little cheap eats cracker for those of you living or working near to Wandsworth Town. Nestled on the South Circular at the bottom of West Hill, this lunch time only Thai “take away” is definitely worth a visit. It’s a tiny little place and although it’s called a take away it does have seating inside for about 15 or so people. When I turned up just after 1pm there was a short queue but it quickly grew until it was a long way out the door. Many of the customers ordered a take away box but I decided to eat in and get a real feel for the place.

So how was it I hear you ask?

Well, generally it was very good. The menu isn’t extensive but what they have looks and tastes great. The food isn’t cooked fresh for each customer, instead you have a range of options kept warm on a Bain Marie / hot plate and served by a friendly little Thai lady. I ordered a plate of egg fried rice with a Thai red chicken curry and a portion of beef in black been sauce. I was also offered some chilli sauce which rather foolishly I accepted. Believe me when I say you don’t want too much of this stuff, unless you really know your chillies - it’s not for the feint hearted. There are also a small range of other sauces on a side table should you wish to liven up your lunch even more.

The Thai curry tasted quote authentic although it didn’t really have the rich spicy flavours I’ve come to expect from other Thai cheap eats. The beef was very succulent and tasty and despite being a strange mix with the Thai curry I was pleased to have tried a variety of dishes. The egg fried rice was excellent and plentiful and overall I was very pleased. It was a large plate of food and all for the handsome price of £3.20.

Looking around the cafe I could see a lot of happy faces, with people tucking into spare ribs, sweet and sour and about half a dozen other dishes. The other diners were mostly local office workers and I suspect this place is a bit of a local legend. I know for a fact next time I work from home I’ll be popping in. I’ve been trying to think of a negative for this review and the only one I can think of is the place only opens at lunch time. What a shame for those who live locally and work in town.

For the price this is an essential cheap eat.

Overall rating 9/10.

The Wok Wok restaurant is situated in a great location, near the cross roads of Battersea Rise and Northcote Road near to Clapham Junction. It was always somewhere we have pondered going to but never quite made it, probably because in this area there are so many other restaurants and bars around. However, last week, after checking out the menu and finding it could definitely be classed as a “cheap eat”, myself and my friend thought we would give it a go.

If you love Asian food then this is the place for you. With an extensive range of Thai and Chinese dishes on the menu costing as little as a fiver, (with lots of options for the vegetarians among us too) this is a cheap eat that cannot be missed.

Well the way to my heart is with food, so being greeted with a huge basket of prawn crackers and dip whist choosing our food was a real winner and meant the place earned points before we’d even started (even though I couldn’t eat them being a vegetarian and all). Still I love it when restaurants give that little extra to please their customers, it doesn’t take much to give that personal touch and goes a long way.

I had the cashew nut, tofu and vegetable option which looked fab and I was surprised to find came as quite a hearty portion for under a fiver! At that price it was great – not massively flavoursome but I think I am being a little picky there. (Be careful when ordering vegetarian food as like any real Asian food place they add fish sauce to most things – just mention that you would like it taken out).

My friend however went for the chicken pad Thai which was done with the chunkier style noodles and came on a massive plate. At £5.50 – what a bargain! She seemed to enjoy it.

All in all this is a definite recommendation for somewhere to eat on a budget. For two drinks, and two main meals (beware of the service charge on top mind you) it came to just £16 in total. The food and service was good and to end your true Asian experience they finish your meal with a fortune cookie or two. But the beauty is this meal didn’t cost a fortune!!!

Overall rating 8/10

The idea of ‘Mongolian Barbecue’ is in theory a good one – a meal tailored to your liking; choose your meat, choose your vegetables, choose your sauce, wait for it to be cooked and brought over to you and then away you go.

However, the reality is not nearly as good. On walking into the vast, noisy restaurant on Maiden Lane, behind Covent Garden market, we were shown to our table and given a quick introduction by the waiter to the ‘create your own stir-fry’ concept. My friend and I chose the ‘all you can eat’ deal for around £15, while our female dining companions chose just a main dish, i.e. to go up once.

What the waiter failed to tell us was that the side dishes (spring rolls for example) were not classed as starters and were therefore not included in the ‘all you can eat’ offer. We therefore had to go straight for the soups and salad – which were really disappointing. Sitting in a far corner of the room in big pots, both soups tasted like they were straight out of a tin, or worse still a packet. I didn’t even bother trying the noodle salad – it looked revolting.

As for my main meals, I chose my meat, my vegetables and my sauce and well…there didn’t seem to be anything ‘Mongolian’ about it. In fact, it was nothing more than a bland stir-fry – the sort of stir-fry I might cook at home, except not as good. And just to top things off, it was a stir-fry I had to queue and then wait for for quite a while because the restaurant was so busy (mostly tourists I imagine).

Admittedly, I went up again but only to get my money’s worth.

All in all, most disappointing and not cheap. The white wine was also bad.

1.5/10