No one asks. Some pay double, some pay nothing.

A pay-as-you-can restaurant in Stroud served 38,305 meals last year, roughly half of them below cost and 10% free, on the simple premise that no one is asked to prove anything. The Long Table, housed in the crumbling Brimscombe Mill in the Cotswolds, lists one or two dishes a night, seats guests at two long wooden tables, and posts a base price to cover costs. On a recent evening, that price was £10.30. The dish was panzerotti with caponata and a peppery rocket salad, plated with the care of a small trattoria rather than a canteen. "I come here because everyone can eat here," said Imad Hussein, a regular. "A lot of people sitting here are paying nothing, but I have just seen people in front of me paying double." Founder Tom Herbert, a fifth-generation baker, says most of his staff started out as customers who stayed.