Posted on Tue, Jun. 24, 2008

In London, it's dining that can do in your budget. Dodge the best restaurants, and you should be fine.

Below, find our suggestions for reasonably priced eats and not-to-be missed freebies.

* Fifteen: Located between the financial district of The City and up-and-coming Clerkenwell, Fifteen offers training scholarships to troubled kids, who take classes and food-related trips and work in Fifteen's kitchen - and can end up with a scholarship-support post abroad. Though superchef Jamie Oliver doesn't own the place, he did start it and keeps a hand in it. The regional cuisine justifies the months-long waiting list; the day we visited, lunch items included carpaccio of buccleuch beef hung for 21 days, a leg of pork pot-roasted in milk, Sicilian fisherman's stew and a selection of artisan cheese. You can drop in for breakfast or lunch at the casual (and less expensive) Trattoria upstairs, or book for lunch or dinner in the main restaurant. A three-course fixed-price lunch is a bargain at 25 pounds (about $50), but you'll have to resist the temptations of the regular menu, where entrees start at around 20 pounds. Proceeds go to the Fifteen Foundation. (011-44-870) 442-2470; www.fifteenrestaurant.com. * Salvation Army Cafés: Honest, tasty soups and fresh sandwiches at a bargain price are the mission of Salvation Army's cafés near St. Paul's Cathedral, 101 Queen Victoria St., and a smaller one at 275 Oxford St. Grab your lunch, then drop a contribution in the kettle. Free lunch concerts are offered Fridays at the Oxford Street facility. Even if you're not religious, you'll be comfortable; there's no proselytizing. www.salvationarmy.org.uk. * Café in the Crypt: This crowded cafeteria is saved by the atmospheric vaults beneath the church of St. Martin in the Fields, located at Trafalgar Square. Options include hearty comfort food plus custom-made salads; a hot meal plus wine costs about 10 pounds, or about $20. Proceeds support the work of the church, perhaps best known for its classical and jazz concerts at lunch and many evenings. The café is open 8-8 Mondays-Wednesdays, 'til 10:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, noon-8 Sundays. (011-44-207) 766- 1158; www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org.