Thanks for all todays suggestions, even though they are too late as I've already been! Anyway, back to yesterday. Not only money, but time was limited too. I wish I'd posted this a couple of days previously, so would've had more time to do my homework, instead of going armed with a piece of paper with everyones recommendations, but failing to pinpoint the exact locations. My cousin arrived hungry & thirsty, so wasn't interested in my list, only the nearest pub! I've been to Food for Thought before, being veggie, and he would have suffered the lack of meat if it wasn't for the fact that they serve no alcohol either. So, first port of call 'The Crown & Anchor', Neal St., where he had a nice BLT sandwich. But what's with the wine only being served in 175ml measures at ?5.50 per glass? So, we spent the next couple of hours savouring the atmosphere of the area, complete with a 'live' band and street entertainers & checking out the pubs wine lists. All the Taylor Walker pubs in the area only do 175ml glasses, obviously trying to make people spend more, or buy the whole bottle (which we didn't want) I actually had my heart set on 'Bistro 1', but it was too early to eat so we set off down Maiden Lane, passed 'Rules', complete with a doorman & way too posh and found 'The Porterhouse'. Nice, casual, drinking pub with seats out front in the sun & loads of space inside. Also, served wine in 250ml measures at around ?5.50, so spent an hour there, relaxing & watching the world go by. Still too early to eat so had another wander, but by now the after-work drinking brigade began to descend & were starting to spill onto the pavements. I still wanted to head back to 'Bistro 1' but we were not that close & it was a case of scrambling into the first place we came to where we could actually get in the door! So, had nice dinner in the upstairs section of 'The Bear & Staff' on Charing Cross Rd. A 'Nicholsons' pub, so yes, a chain, but couldn't fault the food or the service. To anybody running down a chain, some are rubbish, but some are actually good, especially if on tight budget. Thanks for all the advice. Will definitely visit 'Bistro 1' at a later date :)