Eat 4 Less

You know what? Sometimes (like yesterday), you just need to grab something cheap, quick and filling. These are the times that the multiple baguette shops in the City come in handy. It’s not big, it’s not clever… but it does hit the spot.
I popped in yesterday lunchtime (at around 1:15) as I had eaten my salad and was still starving hungry. With the horrible grey skies, rain and dip in temperature; my body was screaming for carbs and junk. This shop was on my way to my next destination, so I thought, «Nothing to lose» and dipped in to grab something.
First thing to note is that there are a few «Eat 4 Less» shops in town. This one (in Paradise Forum) seems to be one of the nicer ones. It’s pretty clean and didn’t have a queue when I went in. There are a few offers to be had at lunchtime (including soup and a roll for £1.49, meal deals with fruit/​cake) and a generous selection of different baguettes, Panini’s and fillings.
I opted for a «Peri-​Peri» chicken baguette with fries and a can of San Pellegrino lemonade. I was pleasantly surprised that this brand of lemonade was on offer, as it can be quite expensive in other eateries in the City. This second lunch feast came to the Kings Ransom of £1.99. Can’t really complain at that, can you?
The baguette was perfectly pleasant with lettuce and a generous portion of chicken inside. It wan’t award winning or anything, but hit the spot all the same. The fries were actually delicious. Much better than the alternatives at some of the many chain fast food shops. They weren’t too greasy, were crispy and had been salted to just the right level.
The customer service is short, sharp and quick. The transaction is so quick, it’s hard to actually make a judgement as to whether it’s any good or not. I did have a short delay whilst the gent at my till helped to sort out some other orders, but this was probably about 1 minute.
I would recommend this shop to anyone needing to grab a cheap, quick and filling lunch on the go. You’re not getting anything massively special, but it does a job when you’ve got to eat on the run!

As this place is very close to work I tend to pop in quite a bit. As the name suggests it is rather cheap. The food is decent and freshly made. It get’s only 3 stars as the baguette filings tend to be on the smaller side (not enough chicken for me) but the jacket potatoes are well worth it.
It’s 1.99 for a chilli cheese JP and about the same for a chicken tikka baguette. If you’re in the area and need a quick lunch to grab on the go, I’d suggest popping in. Otherwise, there are better places nearby.

Working in the city has its advantages although shopping in the Bullring on your break can be expensive as can getting your lunch everyday from one of the many café bars throughout the centre.
Personally I like to try to eat healthily during the week but finding a quality chicken salad under £4 has often proved difficult.
I’ve recently found out that the 99p baguette shop sell salad boxes which are also 99p. Although pretty basic consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, sweetcorn and peppers, you can add your choice of topping for just 49p.
For £1.48 I have a chicken tikka (which is the nice creamy one) salad bowl which works out cheaper than if I was to buy all the ingredients and make it myself.
You can choose any of their toppings from ham to jerk chicken so at least you can keep it varied. I worked out that I can save an average of £13.50 every week just by getting my lunch here. Bargain!