Jack Collins finds it is possible to dine out on a shoestring in W4

In the first of his series of Chiswick's Cheap Eats, Jack Collins visits Rice House of Kebab and Wrap, Turnham Green Cafe and Chris's Fish and Chips.

Rice - Persian for the Right Price

Amongst the commercial hustle and bustle of the Gunnersbury end of Chiswick High Road lies Rice, a cutesy Persian restaurant with a friendly atmosphere and a delicious array of dishes. Their wraps are all priced at under £6.50 and for that, you receive a huge plate filled with Iranian naan bread, abundant helpings of salad and a large skewer of the meat of your choice.

My personal choice was the chicken shish wrap (called Joojeh) in which not only was the meat incredibly tender, but was complemented perfectly by the simplicity of the rest of the dish. To add value to taste, the wrap came to only £5. They also do takeaways, but the amiable character of the restaurant and the staff who do everything to make your tenure at their establishment a pleasant one means that Rice is a winner, both in terms of food and ambience, and I’d recommend you eat in. Try it for lunch one day, you’re guaranteed a first-class meal and a warm welcome.

Turnham Green Cafe - Does exactly what it says on the tin

Turnham Green Cafe is a homely little retreat on Turnham Green Terrace. It’s warm, cosy and they have Magic 105.4 belting out the classics, which is always a bonus. For less than five pounds each, both my companion and I ordered a full English Breakfasts, which included sausages, beans, bacon, fried egg, toast, tea and chips, with the addition of two slices of black pudding (a side which was thoroughly worth the pound extra).

A sizeable portion arrived, which was more than enough to quench both our appetites and for a fiver, we got far more than we were expecting. Over discussion of our holiday plans and the ins and outs of festivals to come, we realised that we had both thoroughly enjoyed what was a standard cafe breakfast, but that we could say no more than that. It is worth noting, however, that the cafe does serve Thai food as well, but our venture was far too early in the day for any explorations into new tastes! The cafe offers a solid breakfast for a startling low price (£3.75 but we bought black pudding for an extra £1), and well worth its weight in gold.

Chris’s - “Simply the Best Fish’n’Chips in West London”

Chris’s, from the outside, is not what you’d call a work of art. Indeed, from an early age, the extra ‘s’ after the apostrophe in the name has set my grammar OCD tingling, so much so that it pains me to look at the sign. Petty as that sounds, I’d be tempted to find an alternative if this were anywhere else. But this isn’t somewhere else - this is simply the best Fish ‘n’ Chips in West London.

If the outside is no masterpiece, then they’re creating Michelangelo’s in their foodstuffs. The fish is always perfectly crispy on the outside and tasty in, and the chips are the perfect complement to the walk home from a night on the High Road (the establishment being conveniently placed on Turnham Green Terrace), as well as completing any meal which you get from here. The place that has been voted the best takeaway in Chiswick has been voted thus for a reason – it is. Just go.

Jack Collins

August 3, 2010