Neil Littman attempts to find the best ‘affordable’ places to eat a tasty meal out in Enfield

A veggie breakfast at Cafe Brunello's — A veggie breakfast at Cafe Brunello’s

A friend was telling me that he often eats breakfast in his local branch of Wetherspoons but that they recently hiked their prices – a large breakfast with coffee has now gone up from £4.50 to £5.35. With not even Wetherspoons immune from inflation, I set out to see what other ‘affordable’ eating-out venues I could find around Enfield.

First stop, Café Brunello’s in Winchmore Hill Broadway, for brunch on a Saturday morning. The menu is extensive, with eggs and muffins served several ways, plus veggie and vegan breakfasts. They also serve lunches. I had a tasty veggie breakfast with coffee for £10.50. The plate was almost the size of the table! The food is all good, and almost every seat was occupied, but the prices are sadly about 20% higher than they were last year.

Next stop, midweek lunch at Kokoro in Church Street, Enfield Town. This is a Japanese/Korean fast food chain with over 50 branches in the UK. Not that long ago, Japanese or Korean food in the high street was a novelty but now, with Itsu and Wasabi leading the way, they are more commonplace. Kokoro’s concept is simple; take a tray and order at the counter from a menu including sushi and hot dishes with rice, noodles, katsu curry etc. A large serving of sweet and chilli chicken with rice and diet coke set me back £11.50. The chicken had a good kick of chilli heat, but was too much for me to finish. Smaller servings are available if you prefer.

A few doors along from Kokoro is a newish venture decorated in a garish shade of yellow which claims to be “one of the most famous Greek fast food restaurants in London”. Tasty Gyros mainly serves – as the name suggests – gyros, wrapped or open with or without salad and halloumi fries. But they also do Souvlaki and burgers and it’s a good lunchtime ‘pit stop’. A chicken gyro wrap and drink set me back £8.40. The fillings were good and I liked the tzatziki sauce, but it was messy to eat!

Finally, I went to Iroshushi in Palmers Green, which is another new addition to the borough. They serve sushi, bento lunch boxes, noodles, curry and teriyaki. It is possibly my favourite lunchtime food after pasta and a lifetime of greasy spoon meals, but it is a bit lacking in atmosphere. My bento box (14 pieces of sushi) and miso soup came to £10.50. What’s interesting to note however is that it is cheaper to eat in than get a takeaway or delivery.

In the end, while I didn’t manage to beat Wetherspoons prices, I certainly found some Enfield venues that beat them for taste!

Café Brunello’s at 729 Green Lanes, Winchmore Hill, is open Monday to Friday, 7am-4pm, and Saturday 7am-3pm:
Visit cafebrunellos.co.uk

Kokoro at 9 Church Street in Enfield Town is open daily from 10.30am-10.30pm:
Visit kokorouk.com

Tasty Gyros at 54 Church Street in Enfield Town is open daily from 11am-11pm:
Visit tastygyros.co.uk

Irosushi at 304 Green Lanes in Palmers Green is open daily from 11am-10pm:
Visit irosushi.com

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