Cheap food in Mayfair: a local guide

North Audley Street is a perfect place to start a tour, especially as Mercato Mayfair is one of my regular foodie destinations. It’s a sustainable dining hall in the deconsecrated St. Mark’s Church – a beautifully restored Grade II listed building – where you’ll find a wide range of affordable dishes from 10 different food vendors in the main part of the church. In addition, there is its own distillery and brewery in the crypt and a roof terrace for warmer days. You can even catch a glimpse of Mercato in the BBC’s Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy – and the actor is known to buy his fresh pasta from Dez Amore, where a bowl of pasta and sauce costs around £12.50. Other highlights include Malaysian street food, bao, dumplings, ramen and Italian gelato.

Next door at number 14 is the Mayfair Chippy – you can’t miss it, this is the one with the queue. Smartly classic with a checkerboard floor and glossy white tiles, the chippy is open seven days a week for lunch, dinner and takeaway – the place for classic fish and chips served with homemade tartar sauce, mushy peas, gravy or curry sauce. The quality of the fish is always good and considering it is less than a five minute walk from Selfridges the price of just over £20 represents value for money. And it’s licensed, with a good choice of beers and a well-curated wine list.

Cross Grosvenor Square to reach South Audley Street, where at number 64 you’ll find a new addition to Mayfair’s dining scene. Farm Shop, from the Artfarm people, showcases produce from Durslade Farm, their 1,000 acre farm in Bruton, Somerset. There is a delicatessen and a butcher’s shop on the ground floor, and a wine bar in the basement. Here, wines start at less than £5 a glass and there’s a selection of cheese, meats and daily specials from the kitchen.

Wander around the corner and find the hugely popular Audley Public House (also from Artfarm), one of many chic Mayfair pubs. Dinner upstairs in the pub’s art-decorated Mount Street Restaurant isn’t on our budget-friendly list, consider it a special occasion, but in the pub bar, shepherd’s pie washed down by a pint won’t break the bank.

Another favorite is The Barley Mow on Duke Street, which has a lovely ground floor bar (where you can grab a Gala tart and piccalilly or a Scotch egg with duck and wild garlic) or head to the charming dining room between 8am and 11am for a full pub breakfast (£18) or kidneys on toast (£13).

Shepherd Market is another must visit. A small Georgian district, discreetly tucked away and utterly charming, it is best known today for its wide choice of pubs, cafes and restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. For example, Noble Rot Mayfair was a finalist in the ‘Best New Restaurant’ category at this year’s Good Food Guide awards, and for a fine dining experience on a budget, their lunch menu at £26 for three courses is hard to beat.

Elsewhere, Heddon Street is a refuge from the hustle and bustle of Regent Street and home to beautiful Sabor. The bar and counter are walk-in only and it’s a great way to experience Spanish tapas at friendly prices. And just south of Oxford Street, on Princess Street, Tendril (A Mostly Vegan Kitchen & Bar) attracts more than dedicated vegans to the delicious plant-based cuisine of former Fat Duck / The Dairy / Chiltern Firehouse chef Rishim Sachdeva, which is built around fresh, seasonal products.

Just looking for a cup of coffee? Mayfair has many independent coffee shops and cafes or small chains. My favorites include Popina, Everbean Cafe and District Coffee. As well as good coffee, all three offer excellent food, and District even serves cocktails for the bargain price of £7.50 each.

Mayfair Facts

The late Queen was born at 17 Bruton Street in 1926. Sadly, the original building is long gone, but the site is now home to Hakkasan, Mayfair.

25 Brook Street was the home of composer Handel, and next door at number 23 lived legendary guitarist Jimmi Hendrix. Now a blue plaque and a museum commemorate where these two famous musicians once lived. Continue to 67 Brook Street and you’ll find another plaque commemorating where the Bee Gees lived and worked.

At 3 Saville Row, the Beatles gave their last live performance on the roof of their record company’s headquarters in January 1969.