Eating on a Budget at UCL?

I am, ironically, going to start with a place that isn't necessarily food. However, the deal is just so good I just had to add it in. The Pret subscription costs 30 pounds a month which may seem steep. However the deal gives you 20% off the whole menu and 5 free drinks a day, not to mention the first month is 15 pounds. The Pret deal says you aren't allowed to share it with others. However, if you were allowed to, each of you could split the first month fee with each of your emails for 5 months (3 quid each), have a group chat to tell others when you have used the QR code (as you must leave 30 minutes between drinks) and have 5 months of more or less free pret for just 15 pounds. But of course the Pret deal says you can't, so don't do that.

Itsu has a great deal. They have their whole sushi and salad menu at 50% off a half hour before closing. This means most of their sushi is less than £5, and their soups are generally this cheap anyway. The downside is, of course, that you have to wait until later before grabbing it, which is often not very convenient. However, there are two Itsus near UCL. The one further away closes at 7 on weekdays, which is very convenient.
Side Note: The student discount (at all times) is 15% off, and does not compound with the 50% off deal.

As of writing, Tesco's meal deal stands at £3.90, and £3.40 for clubcard holders. The Tesco meal deal is ubiquitous amongst university students for its low price, but large pay off. It includes a drink, lunch (often a sandwich or wrap), and snack (I recommend the scotch egg), which is almost always enough to fill you up. Not to mention that Tescos are littered almost everywhere in London, and of course, near UCL.

Domino's pizza tends to have a lot of deals (often changing so I can't specify), but for students they offer (as of writing) 35% off via 'Unidays' which is a free student deal app. Often these deals result in a <£5 pay if you split the purchase with friends.

Greggs generally isn't necessarily cheapest option, but they offer small portions at low prices, so it would be amiss not to mention them. If you eat small amounts, greggs is often cheap, and has smaller queues to back it.

'Too good To Go' is an app which searches for extreme discounts on food that is due to be thrown out. This isn't to say the food is poor quality, just that it isn't sold in the store. These often come in the form of 'surprise bags', which are incredibly cheap (but as you can likely tell by the name, not necessarily predictable). It is definitely worth downloading if you are looking for cheap food.

Hare Krishna 'food for all' is a stall located between UCL and the SOAS building at lunch hours. Their food is completely free and vegetarian. As a result, they are great to go to for a meal if you are really short on money. They appear near Russel Square, by UCL's institute bar.

Another grocery chain, which is not as common in London, but near UCL, Lidl is extremely cheap. Their range is perhaps the cheapest out of all major UK grocery chains. And of course, they have a selection of snack items; from 70p pizza slices (and £4 well sized pizzas) to 35p jam doughnuts.

In general, Meerkats offers a whole bunch of discounts for people who buy insurance through them. However, what many people don't know is that one day travel insurance can go as low as £1, which qualifies for the Meerkat discounts. In general, you can get a whole load of discounts for a price as low as £1. You can find more details at this other blog I found here

The Print Room Cafe is one of UCL's student cafe's. Perhaps the best part of this cafe is their jacket potatoes. They are incredibly large, and the cook does not skimp on any of the toppings (to my preference, I love overtopped jacket potatoes). And the best part is, it all costs about 3 pounds.