Stratford restaurant serves up 'Britain's cheapest' Christmas dinnner at £1.89 a portion

You will have to bring your own crackers and there are few festive frills.

But Londoners on a budget can still dine on what is being billed as Britain’s cheapest Christmas dinner.

For £1.89, the Olive Grove in Stratford serves a plate of turkey, roast potatoes, brussels sprouts, carrot, cauliflower and gravy.

A mince pie and cream is an extra 99p.

The manager, Bobby Chan, said more than 100 people a day were already taking advantage of the offer.

He said the restaurant can cook the dish for such a low price because the portions are so strict, including five sprouts per diner and the turkey cut into two slices of 6mm each.

Families of seven visit the Olive Grove to take away a Christmas dinner, said Mr Chan, while some diners eat a Christmas dinner twice daily.

Mr Chan came up with the idea after seeing a restaurant in the North of England offering a Christmas dinner for £1.99 and he wanted to go even cheaper.

He buys in bulk to further keep down costs, but calculate that the restaurant still makes 42p profit per portion.

The Olive Grove more usually serves up full English breakfasts.

Mr Chan said: “We get our ingredients from the market, they are high quality, it’s good stuff.

“It’s the ultimate festive austerity meal. We’re open Christmas Day, but it’s first-come, first served.

“The reason we did it was because the recession is biting in and people don’t have very much money, especially old people, but we don’t mind who comes in, everyone’s welcome.

“They can’t afford to buy a Christmas dinner so for £1.89, they can come in with a group of their friends and they can enjoy themselves. It’s like a day out for them.