Throughout Britain’s university towns, the clarion calls of commercial giants declaring financial doom for the UK’s newest students adorn advertisements for bank accounts, groceries and anything else designed to make a quick buck. And while there is most certainly money to be made in financial fear-mongering, the truth is that the first few weeks of the first term are full of the kind of economic carelessness and wanton indulgence that would make even the crown prince of Saudi Arabia blush. God bless student loans.

That said—to borrow from Jane Austen—it is a truth universally acknowledged that eating out in Edinburgh is an expensive undertaking. But finding a good restaurant where one can dine, with a drink, for less than a tenner is a treasure hunt worthy of Indiana Jones himself. While a black bank balance may be taken as sufficient reasoning for a trip to the Witchery, The Journal is obliged to let you in on the secrets of Edinburgh’s restaurant scene. The learned foodie must use his smarts if the goal is to eat out on the cheap, but there are three ways to do it: cheat, eat en masse (or at least in pairs) or eat early.

Firstly, there is the option to forego quality and head to your local super-pub branch where, once you’ve untucked your vertical-striped shirt and thrown on your whitest tennis shoes, the identikit menu full of bogofs and drinks deals offer unrivalled cheapness. The Standing Order on George Street offers typical JD Wetherspoon’s fare where, upon my visit last week in the name of thoroughness, for just £6.95 the so-called Gourmet Burger, complete with bacon, onion rings smothered in stilton, Shropshire blue and spring onion sauce, is accompanied by your choice of mass-produced, low-quality lager. Assuming the goal is nothing more than filling up the tank—and you’re willing to ignore the fact that your meat is burnt, the sauce greasy and mass-manufactured and your chips re-heated—the hefty portions are at least functional in that respect. But if you’re trying to impress a date, The Standing Order is about as useful as a Little Chef.

You’d be better advised, then, to take advantage of your student status and collect discount cards for both Festival Inns and Saltire Taverns venues. The two catering chains own a range of restaurants and bars across the city, ranging from the mediocre to the rather good. Included on the list is Le Monde, also on George Street, where one can halve the usual price of a meal for two in surroundings far more grandiose than would, at first glance, appear affordable. Le Monde, though, is something of an exception as, by and large, these student deal cards merely open up a world of pub-grub of varying standards.

All things considered, the best thing one can do—if the aim is to sample the best cuisine Edinburgh has to offer—is to forego dinner completely. The lunch menu at The Outsider, the restaurant of choice for Edinburgh’s young professionals, is a true gem. Situated in the middle of George IV Bridge, behind a rather innocuous grey façade, the sister restaurant of The Apartment offers excellent food that, for roughly the same price as a portion of fish and chips, is fantastic value for money. The seared wood pigeon served with potato, sultana and onion salsa is a highlight at a mere £5.90. The meat is cooked to absolute perfection; the delicate flavour preserved and the texture is superlative. The accompanying vegetables are light and fresh although, if forced to find a flaw, the sauce served alongside is a little sickly-sweet. Washed down with a glass of wine or bottled lager, lunch at the Outsider is phenomenal value, coming in comfortably below £10 per head. The décor is tastefully neutral, and if you’re sitting at a table on the western side, the views of the castle add a great backdrop to any early afternoon discussions on the political goings on of princes and states.