Which high street food chains offer the best value for money? They needn’t be the cheapest options, of course … Andrea Epsom, Hull
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Readers reply
Nordsee, if you’re in Germany. Fish-based fast food. You can go healthy or have chips and it’s very good value. BlackAsTheNightCat
In Singapore, I’d single out Wok Hey: freshly cooked stir-fried noodles and rice. It’s £4 or thereabouts for a proper portion (with chicken) and you can add extra bits or go without the meat. Perhaps I should buy a franchise … it would go down a storm in the UK. Four meals for the price of a Wagamama … Shanghaidiver
I think Nando’s is pretty good. You get a pile of food for a pretty reasonable price. It’s reliable and they do bottomless soft drinks and frozen yogurt and healthy veg. Of course, it helps to like chicken. JosephineJW
For quality versus price, I’m giving Franco Manca a heads up. Their pizzas aren’t as cheap as one collected from Domino’s, but they are a lot more interesting and tasty. If someone wants to buy us a meal out, we often suggest it, as they won’t end up too out of pocket, but hopefully will feel they gave us something nice. (Not all our chums are trillionaires.) usafool
I’ve always been a bit of a fan of Greggs’ rolls – especially the ham and egg salad. A meal deal with a 500ml bottle of Irn-Bru (guess where I live) costs about £3.60. It’s tasty, it’s filling and at least half the deal is made from girders. Can’t knock it. (Well, you can, but you’ll bruise your knuckles.) zebideedoodah
Chopstix! Good price, amazing selection, very filling and fresh. Noodles or fried rice plus one, two or three mains. I could eat here every day of the week and not be bored. You know its the best place in the food court when the queue is the largest and full of people in uniforms from the shops or emergency services. Amazing_typing_cat
I’m going to go with Côte Brasserie (lunchtime prix fixe, two courses for £16.95). I’ve eaten at about half a dozen of their places in a variety of towns and they’ve always been consistently good, clean and with excellent service. I’m also going to suggest Lounges. The menu’s huge and contains meals for all tastes, wallets and appetites, so you could happily go there with a meat fanatic, a vegan and somebody who just fancies a sarnie and everyone would have choices. PetetheTree
Wetherspoons. You can get a pint for under £2, a refillable hot drink for under £1.50 and breakfast for under £4. None of these things are possible anywhere else on the high street. Plus, it opens at 8am; in many smaller towns, there is nowhere else open until 9.30am. People turn their nose up at it, but it has been the best (non-takeaway) value on the high street for the past 20 years. referendum
Morrisons’ cafe does free meals for the kids – you can’t get better value than that! MediumSam
None of the national chains offer good value, in my opinion. Best bet is go to a local market to the greasy spoon there – usually you get plenty and the quality is good enough. Justdreaming
McDonald’s for budget. Do the Food for Thoughts survey [using a code from a McDonald’s receipt] and you get a £2.99 Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with cheese, Fillet-o-Fish, McChicken Sandwich or six nuggets with chips or a salad. Use the free wifi to go to the Food for Thoughts website. Best value on the high street. If you don’t have a code, buy a £1.19 hamburger from the value menu. Homeless12345
Leon. Delicious, fresh fast food; not cheap, but not ridiculously expensive either. It seems very ethical, too. Henry Dimbleby co-founded it, but it’s been sold on. However, I still find it very good. ainjd67
Sadly, after much thought, the answer is: none of them. Independents are invariably cheaper and nicer. If I only had £2 and wanted to be full, I’d find a chip shop. GK1978
