If you had £7.50 to buy lunch with what would you get?

[Lovelysummerdays]

I’m allowed to get reimbursed for lunch at work as out and about. General rules are no grocery shops, you have to eat in, so no takeaways. I’ve generally had coffee and cake somewhere but I’m going to be huge if I eat cake everyday. I stopped off at KFC today and had a rice box which was quite nice and probably slightly healthier than cake. Are there any decentish meals from fast food places for £7.50 or less?

Very odd rule. 7 pounds will barely buy a supermarket meal deal these days and you're pretty much guaranteed to blow the budget at a cafe/restaurant. ITO what you get it surely it depends what you have around you? Even maccy d's do wraps which you could opt to have with veg sticks instead of fries. They even do salad I think. Otherwise I think costa also do wraps and soups. Are there any smaller cafes nearby? Supermarket cafes that will do healthy options? I can see the temptation to be less healthy but I think you just have to resist it.

Failing this make yourself a packup that in reality will only cost you about £1 anyway and treat yourself to a low fat coffee and the occasional treat with your budget. Maybe stock up on crisps/less perishable items as well for home

If definitely go for an Oriental rice or noodle box from your local Oriental take away.

Also our local John Lewis and M+S do reay nice soup of the day with bread.

yes has the "no grocery shops" rule been misinterpreted?
A receipt that shows a loaf of bread and bits to make a pack lunch is different to a receipt that clearly shows you just bought a meal deal.

Yes I'd be checking this. Foodwise I like the M and S Chicken/Salmon Poke bowls. Used to cost about £6.50 and I used to buy them from BP/M&S garage.

Our local Co-Op has a Chozen noodle bar inside?

I’d probably end up eating an Itsu rice bowl every day 🤣

If the allowance is £7.50 per day, why do they care where you get it from, that's such a random rule. Even if people were using it to do non-lunch related food buying then it makes no difference to the company really if there is a budget set aside and people are entitled to claim it.

Anyway without knowing which towns you are based in it's hard to make suggestions, but if I had a £7.50 budget I would get a sushi box from Itsu or similar. But in your case where it sounds like there sometimes aren't decent options, I would bring lunch from home and spend the £7.50 on coffee and cake, or if you are worried about your waist-line, take the cake to go and give it to someone else in your life - I don't think the receipt would be so specific to say you had a coffee in and took the cake away. Anyway it's a nice dilemma to have - lucky you :)

I'd honestly pay the extra.

I think I'd be buying a £4.00 meal deal from a supermarket then cruising back through MacDonalds to pick up a discarded receipt off a table... 😉

Itsu
Leon
Wasabi
Pret salad or bowl

Might have to add 50p here or there but so much better than KFC / McD IMO

OP I can claim a lot of my meals back and while I don't have such restrictions I prefer to eat at a table rather than in the car. One of my favourites is actually Tesco Cafe - it's reasonably priced, decent freshly cooked food and quick. It's as good as the likes of Costa etc tbh.

As others have said i would be looking for little independent places. Even if you have to add £1 or £2. You'd be paying that to make a pack up. We have a lovely little Korean restaurant in the city nearest to us. They do a much deal for £8.

Is there a supermarket like tesco or Morrisons near you?

They usually do decent meals at a decent price.

Eating calorie laden cake and coffee everyday is not good for you and won’t fill you up.
Try and have a proper meal.

@Tootsurly chicken bacon avocado, although usually when I can't be arsed to bring lunch in from home

Sometimes it's the time not the cost.

Unfortunately I no longer use independent cafes because many can take 20 to 30 mins to produce any food and the quality is variable.

Some are great but when you don't know how long it's going to take and you only have 10 to 20 minutes spare to get your food and eat it, it's not worth the risk.

I'd challenge this at work OP, citing time pressures if you have to start looking for a sit down place because their rules don't allow you to use the take away options that might be right jn front of you.

As long as the time and location on the receipt matches 'work' then it is obviously a work lunch.

I expect these rules have been written by someone who never leaves the office?

Perhaps you could pre-order your lunch in an independent place.

You might have to go a couple of times so they get to know your face and then ask if you can pre-order X for a certain time the next day.

You can pre-order after each visit, especially if it’s a place that you enjoy and you’ll be supporting small businesses.

Oh I absolutely agree on the time pressure thing!

The person who mentioned tesco cafe is onto something I think. Any of the supermarket cafes.

Not at all. To varying degrees, all of the above now do salads, grilled stuff and healthier options. There is actually a lot of nutritional value in some of their offering these days.

Why no grocery shops?? I'd want to eat what suits my dietary requirements and you get more for your money from a grocery store or takeaway than you would from a sit-in cafe.

It seems odd you have to eat in. What difference does it make to your employer where you eat it?
Something like Bahn Mi sandwich from a Vietnamese cafe? Though in London those are often more expensive than that.
Just go to a caff and get jacket potato, or omelette and salad, panini or a cheeky fry up?

Or say you need a 'reasonable adjustment' to eat outside in a park etc as your vitamin D levels are low...😉

In a previous job I was on the road most of the week. My go-tos if available, as mentioned by others, were Itsu, Leon, Wagamama. B list - Pret, Nando, McDonalds (wraps and good coffee). Chains are useful when you are in a new place everyday, I know independents are often very much better but you don’t really have the time to seek them out or if you’re needing to be fed and watered at irregular hours.

In my city and nearby town here is a local noodle chain and I'd get a decent meal with that (just checked and still can) - also small local cafe could get bacon sandwich or possible even a cooked breakfast. I think wetherspoons if you picked breakfast or your meal carefully could come under £7.50.

If you went in the done up market food court near to us you wouldn't be able to get a coffee and cake for that much.

I'd have gone for a meal deal but if you can't do that small cafe may well be best bet. Though local coffee place I would avoid if rushed as food great but they take their time most of the proper old style cafes in town are relatively quick.

MurdoMunro make a good point though local business only good if you are regularly in the same area and have time to find them.