1. Yashin Sushi

1A Argyll Rd, Kensington

London W8 7DB, UK

020 7938 1536

In the evenings this Kensington legend’s exquisite sushi is out of reach of all but the highest rollers, but at lunchtime things are much more democratic. There’s five pieces of sushi and a sushi roll, a beautifully composed salad and miso soup on offer at prices not far off Yo’s — choose from salmon (£16), tuna (£18) or yellowtail (£20). Say no to soy sauce — the chefs prefer diners to abstain so the flavours can shine through.

2. Hereford Road Restaurant

3 Hereford Rd, Bayswater

London W2 4AB, UK

020 7727 1144

At two courses for £13.50 or three for £15.50, the set lunch menu at this former Victorian butcher is eye-poppingly good value. It’s fairly but not exclusively meaty, with shades of St. John: start with cold roast forerib of beef with watercress and horseradish, follow it with roast quail and pearl barley or whole grilled mackerel, and finish up with rice pudding or custard tart. Get it from Thursday to Saturday.

3. Rabbit

172 King's Rd, Chelsea

London SW3 4UP, UK

020 3750 0172

Lunch on the King’s Road doesn’t have to melt the plastic. At two courses for £14.50 and three for £19.50, Rabbit’s set menu is excellent value, and underpinned by far more thoughtful cooking than its jolly-hockey schtick might suggest: picture treacle-cured chalk-stream trout, bacon, apple, marigold and puffed wild rice, followed by aged chorizo, labneh, cridpbread and crispy kale. For dessert? Maybe crunchy honeycomb, mascarpone and tarragon sugar. It’s available Tuesdays to Fridays, 12pm to 3pm.

4. Cafe Murano St. James

33 St James's St, St. James's

London SW1A 1HD, UK

020 3371 5559

With its Mad Men-goes-to-Milan vibe, Cafe Murano is great for dazzling a date, or indeed a visiting parent; no scary ferments here. The two-for-£19 or three-for-£23 daily menu, which focuses on a different region each month, is available from 12pm to 3pm, 5.30pm to 7pm, and, for those on Italian time, from 10pm to 11pm. Pick a starter and main or a main and dessert: mushroom and lardo bruschetta followed by crispy sage-topped risotto, maybe, or braised lamb and a dinky cheeseboard.

5. BAO Fitzrovia

31 Windmill St, Fitzrovia

London W1T 2JN, UK

020 3011 1632

Fitzrovia’s Bao 15 menu’s concept is simple but sensational: feast on a bao — including the Fitz-only cod in a black bun — a Taiwanese fried chicken chop; and a pork loin and soy egg or mapo aubergine rice bowl from 12pm to 3pm, Monday to Friday. Adding beer or wine for £3 still brings this in comfortably under £20 a head.

6. Xu

30 Rupert St

London W1D 6DL, UK

020 3319 8147

Xu’s two pre-theatre menus, both at £19.50 a head and for a minimum of two diners, have suitably thespy names. There’s The Importance of Shou Pa Chicken, and vegetarian version The Dumpling in the Golden Vase. Regulars will love the fact that they’re both basically round-ups of the a la carte’s greatest hits, from the cuttlefish toast and lardo rice to the sweet and sour aubergine and mapo tofu.

7. Ducksoup

41 Dean St, Soho

London W1D 4PY, UK

020 7287 4599

Not really a menu, but excellent nonetheless. For the price of a soul-sapping salad, smoothie and bag of crisps from Pret, weekday worker-bees in the vicinity of Dean Street can sit down to a daily special (roast turnip, farro, radicchio and parmesan; cod cheeks, white beans, watercress and aioli…), plus a glass of wine or non-alcoholic fruit shrub for just £10. Quacking stuff.

8. The Drop Wine Bar

Unit 22-24 Bagley Walk Arches Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross

London N1C 4DH, UK

A sociable deal, this one. For £25 — a £12.50 a head spend — on Tuesday to Friday from 12pm to 3pm, two friends, lovers or co-workers can sit down to two small plates and one big one to share. Smalls include a bubbling rarebit, ham hock and pig’s ear terrine with pea and mint salad, and asparagus with poached egg and hollandaise, while larger plate run the gamut from rib-sticking roast chicken with grelot onion and chicken-fat mash to delicate lemon sole with broad beans, peas, mint and pesto.

9. Noble Rot Wine Bar & Restaurant

51 Lamb's Conduit St

London WC1N 3NB, UK

020 7242 8963

The platonic ideal of a prix fixe at two courses for £18 or three for £22. Winter’s homage to Michel Guérard’s cuisine minceur has given way to the joys of summer at this Bloomsbury haven, offering up sun-speckled trifectas: think pork, watercress and aioli salad, grilled chalk-stream trout and asparagus sauce, and apricot tart fine. If in the mood for a minor splurge, add on that wine pairing. It would probably be rude not to.

10. Spring

Somerset House, Lancaster Pl

London WC2R 1LA, UK

020 3011 0115

Skye Gyngell’s £20 ‘scratch’ deal — three plates created entirely from scraps and offcuts — has had a lot of press, and deservedly so: none of the a la carte menu’s style or substance has been sacrificed in the name of the no-waste concept. Par for the course are dishes like shaved celery, quince, toasted almonds and avocado with preserved lemon, and lamb shanks with cavolo nero and harissa. Booking is compulsory and it’s only available from 5.30pm to 6.30pm, but it’s worth the faff.

11. The Quality Chop House

88-94 Farringdon Rd, Clerkenwell

London EC1R 3EA, UK

020 7278 1452

London’s greatest lunch-to-go, the joyfully jaw-busting egg mayo sandwich, can be found in the Quality Chop Shop’s counter. For something a little longer-lasting, take a seat next door and tuck into two courses of trencherman’s fare for £22 — think Swaledale croquettas with parsley mayonnaise, fish soup with Gubbeen croutons and, of course, the internet-breaking Belted Galloway mince on dripping toast.

12. Bar Douro

Arch 35B, Flat Iron Square, 66 Union Street

London SE1 1TD, UK

020 7378 0524

Yep, £11.50 — that really is the price of a three-course feast at Flat Iron Square’s feted Portuguese joint. Running from Monday to Friday, it’s a fairly no-frills affair but leaves no box unticked. Start with a snack — salt cod fritters, punchy smoked Portuguese sausage or a vegetarian option — follow it up with a plate of, say, braised pork cheek with turnip-top salsa verde, and round things off with a perfect pastel de nata.

13. Artusi

161 Bellenden Rd

London SE15 4DH, UK

020 3302 8200

This one’s only available on Sundays — and with so-so gastropub roasts often coming in at nearly three times the price once drinks and something sweet are factored in, there’s really no contest. Mediterranean-inflected and seasonally appropriate is the drill here: the meal might start with a pumpkin, gorgonzola and walnut assemblage, move on to onglet and horseradish, and end with a slice of their much-loved olive oil cake.

14. Kudu

119 Queen's Rd, Peckham

London SE15 2EZ, UK

020 3950 0226

Friday lunchtime? At a loose end in south London? Hasten to Peckham to take advantage of Kudu’s beguiling deal. Made up of snacks, larger plates and desserts, it includes the likes of parmesan churros with smoked paprika and brown crab mayo, braai onion squash with goats curd, cavolo nero and dandelion, and crumble-topped malted chocolate ganache. At just £16.50 for two courses and £19.50 for three, this one’s a winner.

15. Peg

120 Morning Ln

London E9 6LH, UK

020 3441 8765

Morning Lane’s Japanese-inspired grill has picked four of its best a la carte dishes for a fiendishly good value set lunch: a sesame-dressed cabbage salad; grilled chicken thigh; a shiitake congee to ward off the freeze, and toasted rice ice cream. £15 all in.