Cheap eats in Westfield Stratford, London

There is a wide array of food choices at Westfield Stratford; it makes a mockery of the food court options available at The Trafford Centre. This post is a summary of cheap eats which can be had for around a tenner, as explored by yours truly during some recent work trips. It’s not all fine dining and it helps to balance out the more expensive meals.

The hierarchical structure of the food options at Westfield Stratford are quite defined, on the top floor you can find the usual chain restaurants such as TGI, Nandos, Giraffe along with an All Star Lanes. Outside in ‘the Street’ area more interesting options include Wahaca and Busaba Eatthai. The second floor will be the main focus of this post with good low to mid end options at affordable prices. This post does not cover the Great Eastern area around Waitrose with the likes of Umai by Japan Centre and Arancini Italian Deli as I simply haven’t got round to trying them yet.

There is an abundance of different types of cuisine at the ‘World Food Court’ area as the name would suggest. The pick of the bunch for me would probably be Pho (both the name of the store which multiple sites in London and the Vietnamese national dish). Here I tried the Pho Chin, beef brisket in a rich stock soup and rice noodles served with beansprouts, coriander and chilli. The broth was deep and meaty although the beef was not as tender as advertised. To accompany this I had a side dish of Nem Hai San, a spring roll filled with tiger prawn, crab and pork. This was better than the main event and I could have happily polished off a couple more.

For pizza Franco Manca is the obvious choice, sporting two wood fired ovens. I was impressed from my visit to their Chiswick pizzeria but was let down on this visit. I ordered the Gloucester old spot ham, mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, wild mushrooms and little tomato. The sourdough base this time was undercooked and this was magnified by the lack of tomato, probably due to the fast moving nature of food courts but no excuse to make sure that quality isn’t maintained.

Rhythm Kitchen serves up Caribbean fare and there was only going to be one choice for from the menu for me, jerk chicken. I chose rice and chips from the optional sides, however the chicken was only luke warm, quite disappointing as there is a visible grill smoking away with meaty goodness to entice customers. The jerk sauce also didn’t pack enough of a kick for me, which maybe toned down for the mall audience.

A fast food area can be found on the ground floor with the usual suspects of international chains along with a favourite of mine, Olive Oil & Oregano, a Greek chain. For less than a fiver I had a pork pitta wrap that equalled any of the above for comfort food. If only they had a branch up North next to my office, I think I would be there every day for lunch.

All of the above was paid for in full by myself and is in no way an advertorial for Westfield Stratford or any of the named eateries despite what it might seem. It is simply my experience of eating around the food courts.

Dogs n Dough, Manchester

Feeling slightly peckish after some Christmas sales shopping with Mrs Nom, we fancied something fast and easy so decided on Dogs n Dough for a quick bite. We were the only ones in late afternoon on Boxing day.

Mrs Nom chose the ADB hotdog, or ‘All Day Breakfast' in long form. Along with a meaty frankfurter it came with bacon, baked beans, and a poached egg on top. It was a messy business, especially with the runny yolk and the beans falling out the toasted bun.

I settled on The New Yorker with pastrami, big fat gherkin, jalapenos and swiss cheese. It was certainly the easier to eat and I was glad I chose this and not the other way around. A horseradish mayo brought all of the flavours together.

We also ordered a portion of naked fries to go with the dogs. Unfortunately due to how quiet it was we imagine, the frankfurter hot dogs tasted like they had sat for a while and Mrs Nom found them a challenge to bite through, although they were satisfyingly beefy and meaty.

For a quick bite the dogs at Dogs n Dough are a reliable option. We also attended the launch night and tried the Hawaiian dog which we remember was awesome. With a lunchtime special of £4 a dog or pizza til the end of January its well worth checking out.

Franco Manca, London

Franco Manca specialise in serving fresh sourdough pizza baked in wood burning brick oven. With six sites dotted around London, we visited the Chiswick High Street restaurant. The wood ovens are made in Naples and produces a heat of about 500 degrees centigrade. The website states that the blast cooking process locks in the flour's natural aroma and moisture giving a soft and easily digestible crust.

With 6 options on the menu, a few specials and options to add toppings, the menu is short and to the point. The decor is simple and efficient, with coat hooks next to each wall side table being a nice touch.

I decided on the meat special with wild pig capocollo, Parmigiano Reggiano, mozzarella, organic tomato and watercress. The meat was top notch and nicely cured. It could of done with less watercress however and more of the pig! The sourdough base was well cooked, yet soft and moist. Topped with the Parmesan, mozzarella and tomato it was one of the best pizzas I have had in a while, simple yet so satisfying.

My colleagues seemed to enjoy their pizzas as well as they didn't make a peep until they had finished after stating 'it's good' on the first bite. The tomato, garlic, oregano, capers, olives, anchovies and mozzarella pizza garnered the following comments:

"Classic pizza toppings combination. Moist dough and very fresh toppings. The first bite was amazing with fresh herby tomato nicely complement by an explosion of salt. However was a little too salty for such a big portion – can’t really complain when you order anchovies though."

Gloucester old spot ham, mozzarella, buffalo ricotta and wild mushrooms.

For around a tenner each for a pizza and drink, Franco Manca makes for a cheap and easy dinner. In fact that makes me think if they can deliver such affordable quality down south then no reason why it couldn't be done in Liverpool, franchise opportunity? Certainly a cut above what we currently have, but I'd probably say that about Franco Manca as well if I tried pizza in Naples.

Pizza Pilgrims, London

A quick post to keep the blog ticking during the busy Xmas season. Pizza Pilgrims was the ideal place for a quick dinner whilst working in London. Originally operating out of the back of a green van with a wood fired oven, Pizza Pilgrims set up a permanent site on Dean Street in Soho. With a sizable buzzing seating area downstairs I settled down to a Birra Moretti and ordered the Margherita with N'duja, a spicy Calabrian pork sausage.

The Margherita was topped with sweet tomato, parmesan, basil, olive oil and numerous piles of the spicy N'duja. Whilst the flavour was good with the tomato and N'duja being my favourite the pizza needed a little extra time cooking as one half of it was a bit doughy. However it was still an enjoyable pizza overall and I noticed that quite a few customers were opting for the Calzone with Napoli salami, ricotta & mushroom which looked tempting. For a quick bite Pizza Pilgrims is recommended for pizza lovers.