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To kick off our Cheap Thrills issue, Donald Reid introduces our definitive guide to finding good food for less loot. CHEAP EATS doesn’t mean cutting back on quality.
f you want to eat out on a budget. you need to make some good decisions before even stepping into a restaurant. Over the next few pages we pick out some of the places around Glasgow and Edinburgh where you can eat out
for less than you think. A working knowledge of
restaurants with well-priced set menus and good deals. or which allow you to BYOB. is useful not
just if you‘re planning a night out during
impoverished weeks. but also if your decision to dine out is a bit more spontaneous.
However. to keep the bill low a hit of will power is still required once you‘ve sat down. There‘s no shame in wanting to eat well but cheaply. Of course restaurants would rather you spent £100. but very few specify a minimum spend. and you are fully entitled to order exactly what you want. So instead of ordering the conventional starter followed by a main. replace the main with a second choice from the starter list. Or have a starter then share a main (don‘t share starters — that‘s just measly). ()r decide beforehand that you‘re in for a one-course
wonder and ignore everything on the menu except the mains. The waiter will inevitably suggest starters. side dishes. extra drinks. desserts and coffee. l’olitely decline. If you‘re convinced you need carbs with your meat. save a bread roll from the lirst course. And there‘s no reason why you can't forgo coffee in the
THERE'S NO REASON WHY YOU CAN'T HAVE COFFEE IN THE LIVELIER, COMFIER (AND CHEAPER) CAFE JUST AROUND THE CORNER
restaurant and take it in the livelier. comlier (and cheaper) cafe around the corner.
Drinks always give a bill a bit of throttle. so if
you‘re in for an abbreviated meal. stick to a glass
of wine ~ the better places will offer more than
just the home wine by the glass. Alternatively.
drink beer it‘s a longer drink. so you can spin it out.
liinally. remember that even when you're eating cheaply the bottom line should be that it‘s a good experience. You might see a two-course lunch offered for £4.95. but that same liver could buy you a sumptuous sandwich sitting in at a top notch cafe. There's only one thing better than eating out well. and that's eating out well knowing that you‘re quids in.
So. over the following pages Barry Shelby will direct you towards the best places to go in (ilasgow for good food with a smaller bill while [)onald Reid does the same for Edinburgh. And keep an eye out elsewhere for our ('heap Thrills symbol which will help make those winter pennies go further if you want to enjoy film. music. theatre. comedy. art. shopping. travel. kids entertainment. clubs and books. We could say that you‘d be coining it in. but that would just be a cheap gag.
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