Eat in a Michelin-starred London restaurant for £12.50

Thirteen London restaurants carrying one or two Michelin stars have decided to lower the price of their menus to below £30 (less than 33.60 Euros), the famous Club Gascon being the most generous example, with a menu offer of £12.50.

According to London daily newspaper The Evening Standard which features a list of all the cut-price luxury menus, Club Gascon is the best value with an offer that includes a dish of the day, a glass of wine, dessert and coffee. In second place for value is the Pied à Terre (which has two Michelin stars), which offers a five-course menu for £29.50 (33.10 Euros), closely followed by the one-starred Foliage restaurant, which is offering four courses at a price of £29.00 (32.50 Euros).

David Moore, owner of Pied à Terre, explains: "business has only just started returning to normal but we are still seeing a trend of hunting for good value food. Being leaders in the market doesn't exclude us from having to find ways of attracting clients to our tables."

Will Smith, proprietor of the Arbutus and Wild Honey restaurants - both with one Michelin star - is offering menus at a price of £18.95 (21.20 Euros) after what he describes as "a tough year for everyone." "The key is that we prefer to have a full restaurant than a half-empty one," signalled Smith.

Ben McCormack, director of the restaurant guide Square Meal, said that in his opinion, restaurants carrying Michelin stars were playing with fire. "This doesn't sit well with the brand. A Michelin star is a sign of quality so to see a restaurant that has the Michelin approval making last-minute offers of this kind looks a little bit like a cry for help," he said.