YOU don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to dine at a posh Michelin-star restaurant.
Quality food at some of the UK’s top restaurants can be enjoyed from as little as £20 for TWO courses – lower than prices offered by some chains.
Whether you’re in London, Devon, Yorkshire, Scotland or Wales, you can eat like a king and queen on the cheap.
These are Britain’s cheapest Michelin-star restaurants, according to consumer group Which?:
The Coach, Marlow
This cozy pub venue serves up some of the best food in the country, with dishes from as little as £9.
It’s perfect if you’re looking for something unpretentious – you can even watch the match of the day on the TV while you’re enjoying your grub.
Head chef Brad Cacela offers a set lunch menu with two courses for £20 or three for £25.
His seasonal menu currently includes haggis bonbon with whisky sauce, turkey schnitzel, and a warm mince pie with clotted cream.
For breakfast, you can get a full English with Cumberland sausage, eggs, hash brown, grilled tomato and mushrooms for £16.50, while soft-boiled eggs and brioche soldiers is £9.
Starling, Esher
Celebrity chef Nick Beardshaw, from the BBC’s Great British Menu, is the head chef at this Surrey bistro.
And it won’t break the bank, with its Wednesday to Friday lunch menu offering three courses for just £30.
Dinner is also a set menu at £55 for three courses – and you’ll also get two choices per course.
Top menu picks include a truffle le barisien cheese served with fruit soda bread and a chalk stream trout en croute with seaweed hollandaise.
The Star Inn, York
This posh Yorkshire riverside restaurant serves up great pub grub at reasonable prices.
Enjoy amazing views of the River Ouse on the outdoor terrace or cosy up by the fireplace while you enjoy some of the best food in Yorkshire.
Its Market Menu offers two courses for £28 or three for £33 – and you’ll even get a glass of bubbly on the side.
The menu offers three choices for each course, with winter veg soup, prawn cocktail or pheasant risotto to start, and a choice of chicken schnitzel, fishcake or truffle macaroni cheese for mains.
The Elephant, Torquay
The Elephant has held its Michelin star for 19 years – so you’re bound to enjoy some top class food.
It offers a great value two-course lunch menu for £35.95 – and you can even get it on the weekend.
The deal is available Wednesday to Saturday, with two choices per course.
The Masons Arms, Exmoor
This thatched-roof pub in rural Devon serves up delicious French and British classic dishes.
Its a la carte menu is up to £70 for three courses.
But from Wednesday to Friday, between midday and 2pm, you can enjoy its Michelin-star-worthy grub for just £39.50 for two courses.
The Ninth, London
Even in pricey London you can find some great value Michelin-star cooking.
The Ninth in Fitzrovia is offering a set menu for both lunch and dinner that won’t break the bank.
You can get two courses for £38 or three for £43
You’ll find dishes such as seabream carpaccio, burrata with beetroot and hazelnut pesto and venison ragu for starters.
And for mains, options include roast chicken ballotine, grilled mackerel with confit rainbow chard and pumpkin risotto.
Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham
This Cheltenham bistro has been serving top-rated food for 35 years – but the prices have remained reasonable.
It offers a two-course set lunch menu from Wednesday to Saturday, and a dinner menu Wednesday to Friday.
It’s £43 for two courses, and £50 for three.
According to the Michelin guide, you shouldn’t skip its amazing desserts – especially its chocolate delice and cheesecake.
John’s House, Loughborough
This family-run restaurant is the only Michelin-star eatery in Leicestershire.
It’s situated inside an old 16th-century farmhouse – the childhood home of head chef John Duffin.
Many of the ingredients are fresh from the local family farm.
An evening tasting menu is normally up to £120. But this is slashed to half price on lunchtime (12pm to 1.30pm) Wednesday to Saturday, when you can get the three-course menu for £49.
The Walnut Tree, Llanddewi Skirrid
The Walnut Tree appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares back in 2004 – and it’s come a long way since then.
It landed a Michelin star in 2010 under head chef Shaun Hill, which it has retained for the last 15 years.
Today, the “no-frills” restaurant offers good value at £42 for two courses, with a sample set menu including braised shin of beef Bordelaise and skate with brown shrimp and dill sauce.
Heft, High Newton, Cumbria
Found down the back of a casual pub, Heft serves a 10-course dinner menu and four-course daytime menu.
But its lunch deal, on Thursday to Saturday at 12pm, costs £49.
There is one catch – you’ll need to arrive promptly at midday, as food is served 40 minutes later to all diners.
Meanwhile, an even cheaper two-course £45 menu is available on Sundays.
