How much should I budget for meals in London???

[Anonymous]

Realistically speaking, how much should I budget for myself for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily in London --- assuming that I will eat breakfast in the hotel or at a small café, and lunch and dinner at a normal (not fancy) restaurant? No need to include alcohol/wine (keeping those costs separate). Having never traveled abroad and hearing how expensive London is, I'm a little clueless and somewhat concerned that I might over or under estimate the costs. FWIW, I need to put together a budget proposal for a business trip, and I was told that the $125 US I budgeted as a daily ball park figure was way too high. Our daily per diem is typically in the $85-100 US (depending on the city), so I thought $125 seemed like a high but conservative estimate (trying to be conservative and budget more than necessary rather than less so I can come in under budget and not submit surprise expenses). Regardless of per diem, my meals will be covered at 100% since this isn't a standard work trip (and no, I don't work for the government).

Thanks for the tips!

[Anonymous]

I think if you typically get $85-100, then $125-150 would be a rough, probably low end, analog. However this seems to be more about what sort of budget they have to offer you?

[Anonymous]

Thanks, PP! And nope, they aren't offering me a budget. Rather, I am drafting a budget. My costs are covered at 100% regardless of what they are, but I need to have a ballpark figure for budgeting purposes. I would prefer to aim higher rather than lower since it looks better to come in under budget as opposed to going over budget.

[Anonymous]

Figure it's what you'd spend in SF. FYI breakfast would cost you less if you ate somewhere other than the hotel.

[Anonymous]

Take what you would spend in DC in $, replace the dollar sign with a £ sign, then convert back to USD at the current exchange rate.

So, if a Big Mac is $4.00, change to £4.00 and multiply by 1.66 to get $6.64.

[Anonymous]

London is EXPENSIVE! I paid nearly $6 for a water bottle! Add 25% to whatever your budget is!

[Anonymous]

I am pretty well traveled and I find London the most expensive city to eat in. Rome, NYC, Paris all are cheaper food wise. I would take what you would spend in NYC and double it and plan to lower standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take what you would spend in DC in $, replace the dollar sign with a £ sign, then convert back to USD at the current exchange rate.

So, if a Big Mac is $4.00, change to £4.00 and multiply by 1.66 to get $6.64.

This is what I usually do for a rough estimate.

[Anonymous]

In London you can spend as much or as little as you would like on eating out.

I disagree that it is 1.6 times the cost of eating in DC - an actual example: a Big Mac costs GBP 2.79, around $4.64, so not super expensive and a lot less than $6.64.

You should never eat in your hotel. You can get a decent breakfast in a small cafe for $10 equivalent. Lunch from a high-end fast food place like pret-a-manger for $12-15. A nice meal in a gastropub or curry house should cost around $30-60.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take what you would spend in DC in $, replace the dollar sign with a £ sign, then convert back to USD at the current exchange rate.

So, if a Big Mac is $4.00, change to £4.00 and multiply by 1.66 to get $6.64.

Frequent traveler here. That method is surprisingly accurate.

We just use the US Gov't per diem rate though. It's $193 for London:
http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem_action.asp?MenuHide=1&CountryCode=1114

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Figure it's what you'd spend in SF. FYI breakfast would cost you less if you ate somewhere other than the hotel.

I always get a hotel that has bfast buffet "included" for a little bit extra per night, but as long as it stays under my hotel allowance, it works out great for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take what you would spend in DC in $, replace the dollar sign with a £ sign, then convert back to USD at the current exchange rate.

So, if a Big Mac is $4.00, change to £4.00 and multiply by 1.66 to get $6.64.

Frequent traveler here. That method is surprisingly accurate.

We just use the US Gov't per diem rate though. It's $193 for London:
http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem_action.asp?MenuHide=1&CountryCode=1114

Totally agree. We just came back from London and the prices of food in restaurants if they had been posted in dollars instead of pounds would have been the same in the US. I would plan to use something higher than 1.66 for exchange. When we got money from our ATM while we were there last week was exchanged at 1.75 or more. The exchange rate on our credit cards was about 1.68.

[Anonymous]

It really depends what you want to eat. $10-$15 for breakfast, $15-$20 for lunch, and $20-$30 for dinner are all fair, but, you could certainly spend more. I'm happy with a sandwich and chips from Pret a Manger for lunch, but you might not be. DD and I just had dinner (pasta dish and water) for less than 20 GBP total. Lunch that day, though, (drinks and pasta dish) was 30 GBP.

I'd figure out the percentage difference between the government per diem rates for your city and London and then apply that to your companies per diem rate to get your company London rate.

$45-$65 for one person is doable., but you could eat much better if you want. Keep in mind that many people in the government do not spend their entire per diem, they instead pocket the difference.

[Anonymous]

I traveled to London for work a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. It was expensive, but quite worth it. Hope you enjoy the trip!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take what you would spend in DC in $, replace the dollar sign with a £ sign, then convert back to USD at the current exchange rate.

So, if a Big Mac is $4.00, change to £4.00 and multiply by 1.66 to get $6.64.

Frequent traveler here. That method is surprisingly accurate.

We just use the US Gov't per diem rate though. It's $193 for London:
http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem_action.asp?MenuHide=1&CountryCode=1114

Totally agree. We just came back from London and the prices of food in restaurants if they had been posted in dollars instead of pounds would have been the same in the US. I would plan to use something higher than 1.66 for exchange. When we got money from our ATM while we were there last week was exchanged at 1.75 or more. The exchange rate on our credit cards was about 1.68.

We also just returned from London and found this to be true. Having a credit card with no foreign transaction fees helps reduce the sting a little bit, too.