1. Scrigno del Duomo, Trento, Italy
The Scrigno's cellar restaurant serves some of the finest grub in northern Italy, as does the upstairs wine bar opening out on to the beautiful Piazza Duomo … but for half the price. Pitch up at the bar or in the glass-paved courtyard for regional favorites such as Puzzone cheese fondue and white truffle.
· scrignodelduomo.com, set meals from £18
2. Brandstätter, Salzburg, Austria
When staying in Salzburg, in-the-know Austrian gourmands frequently sidestep the city proper in favour of the cozy 35-bed Hotel Brandstätter in Liefering, on the outskirts. But you don't need to stay there to eat at its famed kitchen, specialising in seasonal produce, pheasant and veal.
· hotel-brandstaetter.com, three-course à la carte from £18
3. Zur Plainlinde, Bergheim, Austria
Being "just outside Salzburg", it seems, is something of a cheapo-gastro trend. The Zur Plainlinde restaurant sits half way between the city and the Maria Plain pilgrimage church in the small village of Bergheim, with great views from its terrace. Chef Gerhard Brugger has trained a number a Michelin chefs in a colourful career that included a brief stint as a professional percussionist.
· plainlinde.at, lunch menu from £16.50
4. Chez Marie, Brussels, Belgium
A small restaurant in the Ixelles neighborhood of Brussels decked in wood panels and gilded mirrors. The traditional French menu changes every two weeks, and if you're willing to pay a little extra, the wine cellar has over 400 vintages and is doted on by the best sommelier in the city.
· Rue Alphonse de Witte 40, +32 2 644 30 31, two-course lunch menu from £13
5. Arbutus, London, UK
Three courses at a Michelin-starred Soho restaurant for under £20? Can't say fairer than that really. Two-year-old Arbutus keeps the prices low by using less expensive ingredients such as pollack, pig's cheek or bavette of beef, whipped together by gastro-magician Anthony Demetre on a menu that alternates daily.
· arbutusrestaurant.co.uk, three-course lunch menu for £16
6. The Goose, Oxfordshire, UK
2008 Michelin star newbie The Goose is an unassuming 16th-century redbrick pub on a South Oxfordshire B road, with a cosy bar lit by tea lamps and an intimate main dining room. A modern menu using well-sourced local ingredients includes smoked ham hock, lamb rump, seared liver, and a savarin of strawberries.
· Britwell Salome, Oxfordshire, +44 (0)1491 612304, three-course lunch menu for £15
7. Bistro Terrine, Munich, Germany
An Art Nouveau French Bistro in the Schwabing district with the best value lunch in the city. A small dining room is divided into banquettes and wooden boards, with an outdoor terrace perpetually teeming during the summer. Autumn dining is best here … look out for the venison served with hazelnut gnocchi in a port wine sauce.
· terrine.de Amalienstrasse 89, lunch menu from £17.50
8. Orico, Bellinzona, Switzerland
Orico is one of the finest restaurants in Italian-speaking Switzerland, based in a stately townhouse at the foot of Castelgrande, one of Bellinzona's three UNESCO heritage castles. Ingredients are all sourced from the surrounding pasture and rivers, including freshwater lake perch and a carpaccio of duck liver.
· locandaorico.ch, three-course lunch menu for £19.50
9. Stephane Derbord, Dijon, France
Stephane Derbord's self-titled restaurant is Dijon's restaurant du jour, a few minutes' wander from the Hôtel Wilson. Cheap lunch menus include catfish from the Saône, Bourgogne cheeses, and duck foie gras served under a huge glass roof in a dining room presided over by Stephane's wife Isabelle Derbord.
· restaurantstephanederbord.fr, three-course lunch menu from £19
10. Le Cilantro, Arles, France
A contemporary bistro on Arles' bar and restaurant-lined Rue Porte de Laure, owned by renowned local chef Jérôme Laurent. The menu is a modern blend of traditional and fusion dishes, matching amuse-gueules of creamed yellow tomatoes and shrimp with fillets of Charolais beef with a shallot marmalade.
· 31 Rue Porte de Laure, +33 (0)4 90 18 25 05, two courses for weekday lunch from £15
