Best Cheap Eats in Soho and Chinatown Under £15

The best cheap eats in Soho and Chinatown prove that some of the most expensive streets in London still hide a proper meal for under £15. This is the short list of long-standing budget tables we send people to: eight rooms where a main comes in under fifteen pounds, often well under, grouped by what they do best, each with cuisine, a price guide, the address and the dish to order.

Steaming bowls of noodles and dumplings on a small table at a busy Chinatown restaurant in London

Why Soho and Chinatown are the value heart of W1

The West End is not where you expect to eat cheaply, but Soho and the Chinatown blocks around Gerrard Street are the exception. Decades of family-run Cantonese kitchens, Japanese canteens and a newer wave of fast Asian counters keep prices low by doing a few dishes in volume and turning tables quickly. The room may be plain and the seat may be a stool, but the cooking earns its reputation.

The trick to eating well for under £15 here is to order what each kitchen does in bulk: roast meats over rice, a bowl of noodle soup, Japanese curry, udon or a few steamed bao. Every place below was trading at the time of writing. If you want the full field rather than this budget cut, our restaurants in Soho directory lists hundreds with addresses and hours, and the where to eat in W1 pillar covers the wider postcode.

Japanese canteens: the most food for your money

If value is the only metric, Chinatown's Japanese rooms win. Big plates, low prices, no fuss.

Misato

Japanese. £. 11 Wardour Street, W1D. A Chinatown legend for portions that barely fit the plate at prices that feel like a misprint. The katsu curry and the chicken karaage are the orders, and most mains land under £10. Cash-friendly, often a short queue, and you will not leave hungry. The most food per pound in W1.

Tokyo Diner

Japanese. ££. 2 Newport Place, WC2H. On the edge of Chinatown, a calm, long-loved canteen with a no-tipping policy and free green tea, so the price on the menu is the price you pay. Donburi rice bowls, curry rice and katsu keep a full meal under £15. A reliable, civilised choice when the counters are too loud.

Cantonese rice and roast meats

The Gerrard Street institutions are where you go for roast duck, char siu and a bowl of noodle soup, the dishes Chinatown built its name on.

Four Seasons

Cantonese. ££. 12 Gerrard Street, W1D. Famous across London for its roast duck, lacquered and hung in the window. A plate of duck on rice is the order, sits comfortably under £15, and is one of the best single cheap plates in the West End. Busy at peak, so go early or off-peak.

Wong Kei

Cantonese. £. 41-43 Wardour Street, W1D. A Chinatown hallmark since the 1980s, spread over several floors with a famously vast menu. Stick to the soups, congee and rice dishes and you can eat for under £10. Long known for brisk, no-nonsense service; check whether they want cash before you sit.

Cafe TPT

Cantonese. £ to ££. 21 Wardour Street, W1D. A straightforward, long-running Cantonese cafe doing roast meats over rice, claypot dishes and noodle soups. The barbecue pork and roast duck rice plates are honest, generous and under £12. The kind of unglamorous room locals rely on.

Dumplings, bao and noodles

For something smaller and quicker, these three counters give you Soho and Chinatown's best handheld and noodle bowls.

Beijing Dumpling

Northern Chinese. ££. 23 Lisle Street, WC2H. Hand-folded dumplings and xiao long bao soup dumplings made in the window. A steamer basket and a plate of pan-fried dumplings between two keeps each person under £15, and the soup dumplings are the reason to come. Compact, so expect to share a table.

Bao Soho

Taiwanese. ££. 53 Lexington Street, W1F. The original Bao, where fluffy steamed buns and braised pork made their name. Each bun is small and inexpensive, so three or four plus a side comes in around £15 for a very good lunch. Walk-in only; put your name down and wait nearby.

Koya

Japanese udon. ££. 50 Frith Street, W1D. Hand-rolled udon in clean, restorative broths in a quiet Soho room. A bowl of udon with a topping sits around £11 to £13, making it the most satisfying sub-£15 bowl in Soho proper. Go off-peak for a stool without the wait.

One for Soho proper: Korean comfort

Bibimbap Soho

Korean. ££. 11 Greek Street, W1D. A sizzling stone bowl of bibimbap, rice crisping at the edges under vegetables, egg and your choice of topping, for around £10 to £13. Fast, filling and squarely under budget, it is the easy Soho answer when Chinatown is rammed. Order it with the chilli paste on the side if you want to control the heat.

How to keep the bill under £15

  • Order the volume dish. Roast meats on rice, curry rice, udon and noodle soups are priced to keep regulars coming back, so they give the most food.
  • Share dumplings and bao. Small plates split between two stretch further than one big main each.
  • Skip drinks and sides. Tap water and free tea, where offered, keep you under budget; a soft drink or extra side is what tips a cheap meal over £15.
  • Carry cash. A few of the oldest rooms prefer it, and it saves a fumble at the till.
  • Go off-peak. The best-value rooms are walk-in and busiest at 1pm and 7pm; arrive either side and you skip the queue.

For a wider sense of how the West End's food scene fits together, Visit London keeps an official food and drink guide for the city.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find the best cheap eats in Soho and Chinatown?

For under £15 a main, the long-standing budget tables worth knowing are Bao Soho for Taiwanese buns, Misato and Tokyo Diner for huge Japanese plates, Wong Kei, Four Seasons and Cafe TPT for Cantonese rice and roast meats, Beijing Dumpling for dumplings, and Koya for udon. Stick to soups, rice plates and noodles and most of these come in well under the £15 mark.

Where is the cheapest food in Chinatown?

Misato on Wardour Street is famous for very large portions at low prices, and Wong Kei has plenty of soups and rice dishes under £10. Tokyo Diner near Newport Place keeps the bill down with free tea and a no-tipping policy. All three sit at the cheaper end of Chinatown without dropping in quality.

Can you eat in Soho for under £15?

Yes. Soho and the neighbouring Chinatown are some of the best value parts of central London if you choose the right rooms. Bao Soho, Koya, a Korean bibimbap and any of the Chinatown rice and noodle houses give you a proper meal for under £15, often well under, even though the West End around them is far pricier.

What should I order for a cheap meal in Chinatown?

Go for the things the kitchens do in volume: roast duck or char siu over rice, a bowl of noodle soup, Japanese curry rice or udon, or a few steamed bao. These are the dishes priced to keep customers coming back, so they deliver the most food and flavour for the money.

Is Chinatown cash only?

Some of the oldest Chinatown rooms are cash only or prefer cash, Wong Kei among them, so carry notes as a backup. Most newer places and the Soho counters take cards, but it is worth checking on the door or asking before you sit down to avoid a surprise at the till.

Start with the full list

This is the budget cut: eight rooms where the bill stays under £15. When you want to compare every option with addresses, cuisines and opening hours, the restaurants in Soho directory lists the lot, and the where to eat in W1 guide widens the search across Mayfair, Marylebone and Fitzrovia. You can always head back to the W1 London homepage for the rest of the postcode.