Forty quid used to sound like a fairly ordinary night out for two.

Now it can disappear somewhere between shall we get a side? and go on then, one more drink.

So we went looking for Peterborough meals where two people can still sit down, eat well and keep the food bill under £40.

And we found three very different answers.

One gives you three courses each for £24.

One puts a big Turkish sharing platter in the middle of the table for £32.95.

And one uses almost every penny of the budget at £39.90.

Same £40 ceiling.

Completely different night out.

£24 FOR TWO AT PARCS AND THE PLATES LOOK FAR POSHER THAN THE PRICE

At Parcs Restaurant at Peterborough College, three courses currently cost £12 per person during the weekday lunch service.

That is £24 for two.

Three courses.

For less than some places charge for one main and a drink.

The price catches your eye, but what makes Parcs more interesting is what diners say after they have eaten there.

People regularly mention the presentation, friendly service and food that looks considerably more polished than the price might suggest.

That matters because Parcs is part of Peterborough College.

The people cooking and serving are learning the trade, so you are not simply getting a cheap lunch.

You are eating somewhere that is actually training people to do this the right way.

One recent diner described the atmosphere as relaxed and said the plates across the table were consistently good.

Another praised the value and presentation.

And that is what makes the £12 price feel more interesting than simply being cheap.

There is, however, one catch.

This is not the place for a random Saturday afternoon when you suddenly decide lunch sounds better than wandering around town.

You need the weekday lunchtime slot to work for you.

If it does, £24 for two is difficult to ignore.

£32.95 FOR TWO AT TURKISH GRILL WERRINGTON THIS ONE IS MADE FOR SHARING

At Turkish Grill Werrington, the mixed kebab for two starts at £32.95.

You get chicken shish, kofte, chicken wings, Turkish bread, rice, salad and sauce.

This is the kind of meal where nobody really owns their own dinner.

Everything lands in the middle of the table and the negotiations begin.

Who gets the last wing?

Who has mysteriously eaten most of the bread?

And who suddenly claims they were “not that hungry” once there is only one decent bit left?

The appeal is obvious if you would rather share one big platter than stare at two separate mains and spend the next 20 minutes wondering whether the other person ordered better.

But there is one question we would want answered before sitting down.

Is it enough for two properly hungry adults?

Because £32.95 sounds comfortably under budget.

Then somebody says, Shall we get a side as well?

Then another side.

Maybe some extra bread.

And suddenly the nice clean £40 challenge starts getting a little wobbly.

If you have tried the mixed grill for two, tell us.

Did you both leave full?

Or did the sides start creeping onto the bill?

£39.90 FOR TWO AT 1498 TEN PENCE LEFT AND NOWHERE TO HIDE

At 1498 The Spice Affair, the set menu is advertised at £19.95 per person on selected evenings.

For two people, that is £39.90.

Which leaves you with...

10p.

This is not the option for anyone hoping to squeeze in just one more thing.

But it does mean you know almost exactly where you stand before ordering.

What makes 1498 more interesting than the cost is what diners actually mention afterwards.

Rather than simply saying they had a nice curry, people repeatedly pick out specific dishes.

Lamb chops.

Butter chicken

.

Poppadoms.

Interesting Goan dishes.

Attentive service comes up too.

There is also one useful detail that no menu can really tell you.

Some diners mention that the room can get noisy when there are larger groups in.

For some people, that will not matter at all.

For others hoping for a quiet evening, it might.

Either way, if you want an evening meal and you are happy to use almost every penny of the food budget, this one just about squeezes in.

£39.90.

Ten pence left.

And drinks were definitely never part of this experiment.

SO, CAN TWO PEOPLE STILL EAT OUT IN PETERBOROUGH FOR UNDER £40?

Yes.

But the interesting bit is what that £40 actually buys you.

At Parcs, it buys three courses each and still leaves a decent chunk of the budget untouched.

At Turkish Grill Werrington, it buys one big sharing platter and the chance to discover how generous both of you really are when there is one chicken wing left.

And at 1498, it takes you right to the edge.

£39.90.

No room for financial heroics.

No pretending the drinks do not count.

Just 10p left to remind you how tight the challenge really is.

So the question is not simply whether two people can still eat out in Peterborough for under £40.

They can.

The better question is what kind of £40 meal you want.

Three polished courses at lunchtime?

A big platter in the middle of the table?

Or an evening meal that uses virtually every penny?

Now tell us yours.

Where in Peterborough do you go when you want dinner for two without spending the whole meal worrying about the bill?