1 Al Frash
The balti triangle (a patch of Sparkbrook to the South of Birmingham) packs over 50 restaurants into three streets. Al Frash is one of the best. The curry is accompanied by enormous fluffy nan breads. Dishes are cooked to order. About £8.
186 Ladypool Rd, Birmingham, 0121 753 3120, alfrash.com
2 Baozi Inn
The Baozi Inn flies the flag for Sichuan noodles, buns and snacks. Order a bowl of noodles or one of the Sichuan specials. £6.
23 Newport Court, London WC2, 020 7287 6877
3 Cafe Espana
Good Spanish cooking at very reasonable prices. Sharing a paella option will nudge you over the £10 a head limit but it would be worth it. Around £10.
63 Old Compton St, London W1, 020 7494 1271
Cha Cha Moon
At Alan Yau's latest place (modelled on traditional Chinese noodle shops) every dish is priced at £3.50. Around £7.
15 Ganton St, London W1, 020 7297 9800
5 Chez Fred
You can opt for fishcakes or scampi but most go for the cod, haddock, or plaice. £7.
10 Seamoor Rd, Westbourne, Bournemouth, 01202 761023, www.chezfred.co.uk
6 Numera Bos Cirrik
This is a small Turkish oçakbasi house (a restaurant where the majority of dishes are cooked to order on a blisteringly hot charcoal grill). Order grilled lamb (the accompaniments - hot fluffy pide bread, a plate of deep red, grilled sweet onions with a sumac dressing and salad - are superb). About £8.
34 Stoke Newington Rd, London N16, 020 7249 0400
7 Kerala
Family-run Keralan restaurant with great seafood and biryanis. The lunch buffet makes over-eating a duty! Around £8.
15 Great Castle St, London W1, 020 7580 2125
8 Dashi Sushi
The prices are low, the fish is fresh. You get a whole bento box for the price of a single finger of nigiri in a smart Japanese restaurant. £3.50-£8
Platform Two, Bath Spa Railway Station, Dorchester St, Bath, 01225 780099
9 Pharoah's cellar bistro
No frills, small bills! At the Cellar (evenings only) there are bargains to be had: simple pasta dishes, some interesting starters along tapas lines. £8.
17 Glandovey Terrace, Aberdovey, Gwynedd, 01654 767250
10 Quarter
The cooking is good - modern Italian bistro-style including pasta, pizza and salads - service is friendly and there is a forgivingly priced wine list. Eat for around £9.
7 Falkner St, Liverpool, 0151 707 1965
11 Launceston Fryers
A portion of cod and chips to eat in costs around the £6 mark - pay an extra pound or so and you can have the special which adds peas, bread and butter. About £7
10 Westgate St, Launceston, Cornwall, 01566 773063
12 Food for Friends
Order a soup, salad, and cardamom and saffron crème caramel, if it's on the menu. A magnet for vegans and vegetarians. Around £9.
17-18 Prince Albert St, Brighton, 01273 202310, foodforfriends.com
13 Francesca's
Good news: fantastic pizzas. Bad news: the queue to get one. However, you can order drinks to soften the pain while you queue. Lunch, £4, supper, £9.
Manor House Rd, Jesmond, Newcastle, 0191 281 6586
14 Moon
In terms of numbers, Manchester is well-served for curry houses. Cut-throat competition can have an adverse effect on quality, however this is a reliable curry house with very good curries, decent portions and low prices. Around £8.
450-452 Wilmslow Rd, Withington, Manchester, 0161 434 8588
15 New Tayyabs
Award-winning Pakistani kebab and grill house in London's Whitechapel. £8.
83-89 Fieldgate Street, London E1, 020 7247 9543
16 Franco Manca
Brixton's best-kept secret. Could this be the best pizza in Britain? £5.60 for the most expensive pizza.
4 Market Row, Electric Lane, London SW9, 020 7738 3021
17 Wahaca
This modern Mexican won the OFM Cheap Eats Award last year. The burritos are worth noting and there's a faultless guacamole. Around £10.
66 Chandos Place, London, WC2, 020 7240 1883, wahaca.com
18 Bill's Produce Store
Eat surrounded by shelves groaning with goodies - fill up on one of Bill's delicious breakfasts and then fill up one of their reusable string bags with wholesome fruit and veg and rather good bacon. £9 at lunchtime.
The Depot, 100 North Rd, Brighton, 01273 692 894; 56 Cliffe High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, 01273 476918, billsproducestore.co.uk
19 One Stop Thali Cafe
Best known as the saving grace of festival goers who've tired of limp burgers, the 'extraordinary travelling thali cafe' has three permanent outposts in Bristol. About £8.
12 York Rd, Montpellier, Bristol, 0117 942 6687; 64 St Marks Rd, Easton, Bristol 0117 951 4979; 1 William St, Totterdown, Bristol, 0117 933 2955, onestopthali.co.uk
20 Tampopo
With pad thai from £6.50, papaya salad from £4.50 and ramen soup from £6.95, this small east Asian chain does a good range of filling and exciting dishes. £8-9.
16 Albert Sq, Manchester, 0161 819 1966; Unit 2, 38 Exchange Square, Manchester, 0161 839 6484; The Orient, Trafford Centre, Manchester, 0161 747 8878; 15 South Parade, Leeds, 0113 245 1816; 140 Fulham Rd, London, 0207 370 5355; tampopo.co.uk
21 Al Shami
Lebanese mezzes and soups start at £1.80, mint tea is less than a quid. This Oxford institution has been dishing up excellent food in pretty surroundings for two decades now, and although they offer set menus for £15, you can eat far more frugally. Excellent Armenian sausages and grilled garlicky chicken wings and the Al-Shami kebab is very good. £7-12.
25 Walton Crescent, Oxford, 01865 310066, al-shami.co.uk
22 The Company Shed
Local fisherman deliver their catch straight here, and the fish is promptly turned into cheap and cheerful platters of excellent, flappingly fresh seafood: the owner's husband farms the Shed's oysters, and often there are crabs or cockles. There's no fussiness to the food (and often no cutlery). This is all about the fish. BYOB. £8 for a seafood platter.
129 Coast Rd, West Mersea, Essex, 01206 382700
23 Hong Viet
Green leaf soup with prawns, white noodles with chicken, sweet and sour tofu or stir-fried pork and rice can all be had here for a fiver. Originally the canteen for a Vietnamese community centre, the restaurant opened in 2000 and has been going strong ever since. £6 for a set lunch, starter and main course.
12 Englefield Rd, N1, 020 7249 0877, huongviet.co.uk
24 Icco Pizza
Huge pizzas for £3.50. There's nothing fancy about the toppings, but on value they can't really be beaten. And they're open until 11pm for those late night mozzarella cravings. £3.50.
46 Goodge St, London W1, 020 7580 9688
25 Chez Jules
Simple French bistro doing proper coq au vin or moules frites. The set dinner menu includes things like rabbit and calvados casserole, lunch includes haddock rillettes, or beef tagine. Everything comes with gratin dauphinois or pommes frites. £7.95 set lunch, £10 set dinner.
5a Ethel St, Birmingham, 0121 633 4664, chezjules.co.uk
26 Seafood Cafe
St Ives isn't renowned for bargain eating, but you can get a delicious plate of mussels with chunky bread or Cornish crab cakes here and still be in the centre of town. £6-£12.
45 Fore St, St Ives, Cornwall, 01736 794004
27 Monster Mash
Steak pie and chips, or even haggis, neeps and tatties won't break the bank in this retro restaurant. £5.50 for sausage and mash.
4a Forrest Road, Edinburgh, 0131 225 7069, monstermashcafe.co.uk
· Charles Campion's 2009 Guide to London Restaurants (Profile Books, £8.99), is out now. Rebecca Seal is the assistant editor of Observer Food Monthly magazine.