£100 For dinner? You must be joking: A guide to cheap eating

Tracey MacLeod

Restaurant critic, The Independent

CHOWKI, 2-3 Denman Street, London W1

Ambiance: Cool, modern "industrial" sub-continental restaurant in the heart of London's theatreland, a world away from the traditional curry house. Bustling atmosphere. The food comes from three regions, Bangladesh, Gujurat and Karnataka, changing by season

What do you recommend? Starter: Curried tuna fish-cakes served with coriander chutney (£3.50). Main: White pumpkin dumplings with raisins and mint in tomato yoghurt curry (£6.95)

What about the wine list? House white wine is a French Sauvignon (£9.95); the most popular red is a French Merlot

And for pudding? Karnataka (coconut fudge with saffron and cardamom) (£2.75); mango sorbet (£2.75)

Average cost per head with half a bottle of wine: £20.95

Heston Blumenthal

Chef with three Michelin stars

MALIK'S TANDOORI, Cookham, Berkshire

Ambience: It's a listed building with classic interior. The walls are covered in green ivy, and the floor is very old polished wood. Malik's has a very antique feel. It's a place I can relax and enjoy someone else cooking

What do you recommend? I really enjoy a lot of the dishes on their menu, but my favourite is the stuffed chillies. Their pancake kebab is also superb. I've always got to have a fresh made-to-order naan bread with my meal. It's absolutely delicious and really accompanies the main courses

What about the wine list? They have decent French and Australian house wines (£2.95 a glass)

And for pudding? The menu includes home-made firni, which is similar to rice pudding (£4.95), and cinnamon pears (£4.50)

Average cost per head: About £25/£28. Definitely under £30 so it's an absolute bargain

Richard Harden

Author of Harden's London Restaurants

NEW TAYYABS, 88-89 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, London

Ambience: : No-nonsense Pakistani cuisine in converted East End pub. Popular with locals, City types and occasional tourist

What do you recommend? If you want real value and quality, the best places to look are the sub-continental restaurants (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi) and the best place for them is the East End. Anything with lamb is good, especially from the grill. Vegetarian starters are also excellent. Each day there is a special; Friday is meat biriani

What about the wine list? There isn't one. you can buy it in the off-licence near by. Could always try a lassi. They come in four flavours: sweet, salt, mango and banana

And for desert? Kulfi pistachio or rice pudding

Average cost per head: £15

Paul Heathcote

Chef/proprietor Longridge Restaurant, Longridge

THE THREE FISHES, Mitton village in the Ribble Valley, between Preston and Blackburn

Ambience: Gastro pub with roaring fires, strong emphasis on local producers and farmers. Chef Nigel Howarth and partner Craig Bancroft already own the Michelin-starred Northcote Manor

What do you recommend? The one-day-old organic curd cheese served on a crumpet with cress and beetroot salad. For main course there is treacle-roasted ribs or you could try Reg Johnson's corn-fed chicken breast which comes with Delamere goats cheese, crackwheat, broad beans, celeriac sauce

Wine list: Wines start from £10.95 for the Shiraz, McClaren Vale, Simon Hackett, Australia (£3 a glass). If you want to bust the budget go for the Douro, Touriga Franca, Crooked River, SJ de Pesqueria from Portugal (£22.50)

And for desert? Manchester tart with organic lemon cream or the Pimms jelly

Average cost per head: £30 (just)

Matthew Norman

Restaurant critic, Sunday Telegraph

PATIO, 5 Goldhawk Road, London

Ambience: It's like a 1935 middle-class Polish drawing-room. The owners Eva and Kaz are very welcoming, and it's great to find such an unpretentious place. There are even Gypsy fiddlers playing there sometimes, which complements the mood

What do you recommend? Patio serves excellent Polish food, with a shot of vodka on the house. I normally have either borscht or blini to start. For a main course my favourites are stuffed dumplings, grilled trout or venison. The roast potatoes cooked in goose fat are superb, and the amount and variety of vegetables is extraordinary. They just keep bringing more to the table

What about the wine list? Recognisable labels with a minimum mark-up, something rare in London

And for pudding? Cheesecake or pancakes

Average cost per head? £19.50 for the set menu and half a bottle of wine

Jean-Christophe Novelli

Celebrity chef, who earned his first Michelin star at the age of 31

THE ARTICHOKE, 9 Market Square, Old Amersham, Buckinghamshire

Ambiance: It is run by a family who work together very hard, using local produce. The chef, Laurie Gear, who runs it with his wife-to-be Jacqueline, is not trying to be a star, he is just somebody who loves cooking. I used to live in the area. I moved away but I still go there. As they say in the Michelin guide, it is worth a detour. It is not expensive but you don't feel you have to rush to make way for someone else. You don't go to be fed. You go to enjoy yourself

What do you recommend? Roast fillet of veal, on herb gnocchi, sweetbreads, baby spring vegetables, black truffle sauce

What about the wine list? A varied list of old and new world wines starting at £15.50 a bottle or £9.50 for half

And pudding? Strawberry champagne jelly, lemon granita, basil foam, black pepper tuille. And they have a huge cheese board with a selection of about 25 a night

Average cost per head: £32.50

Angela Hartnett

Patron/chef of The Connaught

ST JOHN BAR & RESTAURANT, Smithfield

Ambience: Gentrified spit-and-sawdust eaterie with its own bar and delicatessen close to the capital's thriving meat market. Offal a speciality

What do you recommend? Starter: Deep fried sprats and tartare sauce (£6.30). Main: Guinea fowl and squash (£14.90)

What about the wine list? To stay within the £30 budget you'll have to limit yourself to a single glass of Medoc (2000) Chateau Lalanda de Villeneuve (£5.15), although the wine list goes all the way up to Pomerol (1990) Chateau Petrus (£1,990 a bottle)

And for pudding? Half a dozen Madeleines (£3.40)

Cost per head: £29.75 for this meal though you may feel like paying a little extra

Joe Warwick

Editor of Restaurant magazine which annually lists the 50 best restaurants in the world

ANCHOR & HOPE GASTROPUB, 36 The Cut, Waterloo, London

Ambiance: The friendly staff wear jeans. There are no tablecloths and you can't make reservations. It was a horrible 1970s boozer but it was taken over and done up. Gastropubs began because young chefs were leaving posh restaurants and starting up on their own

What do you recommend? They have a good daily changing blackboard. I had a lovely whole globe artichoke recently and crab on toast. They do a good stuffed duck. The changing menu keeps the cost down. They will buy a whole side of pork and use it all

What about the wine list? The house wine is about £12 to £13

And pudding?: Panna cotta with strawberries

Average cost £30 per head

Richard Corrigan

Michelin-starred chef at Lindsay House

KENSINGTON PLACE, 201 Kensington Church Street, London

Ambiance: A smart brasserie-style eatery with a modern, designer décor, enormous plate-glass windows and a buzzing ambience. It is credited with being the place where the food renaissance began

What do you recommend? I went there for an early supper and had the most wonderful mackerel (grilled and served with lentils and salsa verde) for £12, a glass of wine and a pudding. It was sensational. I think the chef Rowley Leigh is one of the greatest chefs in London and how many times can you get all that for under £30?

What about the wine list? An imaginative wine list with bottles of house wine starting at £14 and a lot of affordable choices by the glass

And for pudding? Elderflower mousse with summer berries, £6.50

Average cost: £18.50 to £37 per head

Terry Durack

Restaurant critic, The Independent on Sunday

THE PRINCESS, 76 Paul Street, Shoreditch, London

Ambiance: The upstairs dining-room of a lively pub, with lots of Shoreditch chic; girly chandelier, Florence Broadhurst wallpaper, dark wood tables and chairs, attractive thirtysomethings

What do you recommend? Salad of goat's curd, baby fennel, olives and cherry tomatoes £4.95. Organic roast cinnamon chicken with lemon and cider vinegar dressing and zucchini salad £12.95

What about the wine list? A useful, democratic list categorised by style, running from a Mas du Soleil Merlot for £12.50 up to the seriously good

Desert? Raspberry and rosewater brulee with pistachio shortcake £4.95

Average cost per head: About £30pp (the meal specified is £29.10pp)