With ever-increasing prices for food around the Boston area, it’s becoming more and more difficult to find an affordable meal around the city. Luckily, there are still some great cheap gems if you know where to look. Here is a local’s roundup of the 17 best Boston cheap eats in 2023!
Most of these spots are under $10, with a few that are a bit closer to $15.
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Last Updated: November 29th, 2023
Best Cheap Eats Boston 2023
Banh Mi Ba Le
First on the best cheap eats Boston list is Ba Le. Located in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, this takeout spot is a local favorite for Vietnamese dishes and desserts. You can get a banh mi sandwich for only around $7.
Each sub roll comes on a baguette and is filled with cilantro, cucumbers, radish, carrots, liver pate paste, protein, and optional jalapenos. Popular proteins include Vietnamese cold cuts and beef (my favorite). The sub is nearly a foot long, so you’re getting an amazing value for the price.
Just because it’s a sandwich shop doesn’t mean you should skip on their wide variety of other Vietnamese foods. They serve delicious bo kho (beef stew), Vietnamese spring rolls, rice cakes, and banh thit nuong (rice noodles with meats).
Note: be warned that on weekends, lines can get pretty long. However, it moves quickly.
1052 Dorchester Ave, Boston, MA 02125 / balebanhmiboston.com
See More: Boston’s Best Vietnamese Restaurants
Mana Escondido
Located in Boston’s South End, Mana Escondido is a popular spot for affordable and authentic Puerto Rican cuisine. I highly recommend their Tripleta Sandwich ($9), which comes in a set of two. Each sandwich is loaded with chicken, roast pork, steak, cheese, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, and a cream sauce. The “buns” are actually crispy fried plantains.
The sandwich is salty from the meat, but the refreshing veggies balance it out. I was skeptical of the plantain bun, but they held the contents together well and added a fantastic crunch to each bite.
68 Aguadilla St, Boston, MA 02118 / manabostoncafe.com
Saus
Next on the best cheap eats Boston list is the top spot for poutine and Belgian fries in Boston! Saus is a fast-casual restaurant specializing in inventive fried chicken sandwiches, thick-cut Belgian fries, and poutine. The fries can be paired with one of their many sauces — they have over 23 to choose from, including a vegan sauce menu.
Each order of fries ranges from $6-8 dollars and comes with your choice of one sauce. I always opt for the “Secret Saus”, which is similar to a Thousand Island ranch. Other great sauces include garlic-herb, bacon-parm, and truffle ketchup.
Saus is also one of the only Boston-area restaurants that serve poutine (~$8). The Canadian meal consists of a bed of fries doused in gravy, cheese curds, and optional toppings like bacon and kimchi. Given its large size (and saltiness sometimes), I recommend you split it with someone.
Optional: If you want more than just fries, do the fried chicken sandwich and french fry combo (~$15).
33 Union St, Boston, MA 02108 / sausboston.com
Dumpling King
It’s no secret that Boston’s Chinatown is the perfect neighborhood for cheap eats. The next four restaurants on this best Boston cheap eats list will be located in Chinatown. First is Dumpling King in Beach Street Food Court.
At Dumpling King, you can order 10 pan-fried pork dumplings or leek dumplings for only $6. The dumplings have a thick, chewy wrapping, and a generous portion of seasoned pork on the inside.
The food court that Dumpling King is located in is very small, so the dumplings are best for takeout. You can also get a large bundle of frozen dumplings to bring home and cook yourself!
Further Reading: Best Chinese Food in Boston
Hing Shing Pastry
For a quick breakfast or snack, check out one of Chinatown’s many bakeries. I personally like Hing Shing Pastry and Ho Yuen. They freshly bake Chinese pastries every morning, with each ranging from $1-5.
Popular pastries include the pineapple bun, pork bun, and beef curry pastry (my favorite). Interestingly, the pineapple bun doesn’t actually have a pineapple flavor. It has a simple sugar-crusted topping that gives the physical appearance of pineapple.
For dessert, get the Portuguese egg tarts at the Corner Cafe. The tarts have a flaky crust and egg custard filling that’s slightly caramelized on top.
Susu Gourmet
Located further out on the outskirts of Chinatown, Susu Gourmet is an authentic restaurant for Cantonese steamed rice rolls for only $4-7 per order. The rice rolls are silky and chewy. They don’t have much flavor on their own, so they absorb the flavor from their toppings and sauces. Fillings include roast pork, beef, shrimp, veggies, etc. They then pour a soy sauce glaze all over to top it off.
70 Tyler St, Boston, MA 02111 / susugourmetbostonma.com
Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe
The last best Boston cheap eats I’ll feature in Chinatown is Gene’s for hand-pulled noodles. If you’ve never had Chinese hand-pulled noodles before, they’re homemade, springy, and have a satisfying chew.
86 Bedford St, Boston, MA 02111 / genescafe.com
Galleria Umberto
In Boston’s Little Italy, skip the $25 pizza at Regina Pizzeria and head to Galleria Umberto instead. Their very limited menu specializes in Sicilian street food like arancini, panzerotti, and pizza slices. Each square-shaped slice is only around $2 and is topped with a generous coating of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese (honestly, I think this is the best deal on this best cheap eats Boston list) The crust is thick and chewy.
Other must-try items are the arancini (~$5) and the panzerotti (~$2.50). The arancini is heavy and indulgent; it’s a deep-fried rice ball filled with seasoned ground meat, cheese, and peas. The panzerotti is much simpler. It’s a deep-fried mashed potato filled with cheese.
Umberto is open every day (besides Sunday) from 10:45AM to around 2:30PM. I recommend going earlier in the day because long lines form in the afternoon and they close when they run out!
289 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02113
Ernesto’s
An alternative cheap pizza in the North End is at Ernesto’s. The small Salem Street shop claims itself as having “Boston’s Biggest Slice”! Each one is around $7.50, but keep in mind that one “Slice” at Ernesto’s is actually two.
Ernesto’s slices are New York-style, consisting of a thin crunchy crust that is soft enough in the middle to fold. Their variety of pizza flavors includes bbq chicken, sausage and ricotta, shrimp scampi, buffalo chicken, and more. My personal favorite is the BBQ chicken. It’s sweet, saucy, and generous with the chicken portion!
The shop has limited seating, but it’s close enough to the Rose Kennedy Greenway that you can takeout and have a picnic in the warmer weather.
69 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113 / ernestosnorthend.com
Florina Pizza
The last pizza shop on this Best Boston cheap eats list is one of my favorite hidden gems. Florina is tucked away on a street corner in Boston’s residential Beacon Hill neighborhood. Each slice ranges from $3-5 and they are HUGE. One slice is enough for a moderately hungry person.
Florina serves both thin and thick pizza slices. For a first-timer, you can’t go wrong with the thin-sliced cheese pizza. My personal favorite is the buffalo chicken slice. It has a subtle, tangy kick from the buffalo sauce. Note: it’s only available on certain days.
The pizza parlor’s interior has a very casual vibe and friendly staff. Every time I go, they’re playing upbeat hip-hop music and there are regulars chatting amongst the staff.
16 Derne St, Boston, MA 02114 / florinapizza.com
Pikalo
Pikalo in East Boston and Jamaica Plain has a variety of empanada flavors that range from $4-8 each. They have classic flavors like beef, and more interesting empanada flavors such as Hawaiian pizza, buffalo chicken, and burger! They even have a strawberry-nutella dessert empanada.
For anyone who doesn’t know what an empanada is, it’s a baked or fried turnover with a filling. It’s common in Spanish and Latin American cuisine.
Multiple locations / pikalo-empanadas.com
Zo Greek
Zo Greek has multiple locations in Boston’s Downtown, State Street, and Assembly Row. Their authentic pita gyros ($9.50-$12.50) come in original pork, chicken, meatballs, etc.
Each gyro is loaded with meat off-the-spit, tzatziki sauce, and veggies.
Multiple locations / zoboston.com
Pizzeria Rustico
One of my absolute favorite bites for cheap eats Boston is an Italian-style sub. With $20 subs at famous institutions like Monica’s, it’s becoming surprisingly hard to find an affordable one. Pizzeria Rustico pleasantly caught me by surprise with their $9 subs like the meatball, chicken parm, Italian sub, and Caprese!
I recommend their “Bidabeep” sub (pictured), which comes up to $12 with tax. It has pesto, a chicken cutlet, Prosciutto Di Parma, fresh mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, fresh basil, olive oil, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze on top. The deep-fried chicken cutlet is crispy on the outside and juicy inside, and the prosciutto adds saltiness. Their homemade basil pesto has an aromatic, nutty flavor that really pulls the sandwich together.
85 Canal St, Boston, MA 02114 / pizzeria-rustico.square.site
Mangia Mangia
Every time I enter Mangia Mangia in Boston’s North End, it’s always filled with North End locals. I love their simple chicken cutlet parmigiana ($11). It consists of a crispy chicken cutlet, marinara sauce, and melted sliced provolone cheese. I’ve also tried their meatball sub. They have seasoned homemade beef meatballs and provolone cheese. My only gripe is that the sauce was too thin and wet.
To save a couple of extra bucks, the shop has discounts every day for a different sandwich. For instance, the chicken parm is $9 instead of $11 on Mondays.
147 Endicott St, Boston, MA 02113
Tenoch
Up next on the best cheap eats Boston list is Tenoch for some of the city’s best tacos! Each taco is an authentic street-food style and ranges from $3-4. My favorite taco is the asada con queso, which is steak with cheese.
3 Lewis St, Boston, MA 02109 / tenochmexican.com
Further Reading: 9 Best Tacos in Boston
North End Fish Market
For a hidden sushi deal in the city, check out the takeout-only North End Fish Market in Boston’s Little Italy neighborhood. I ordered the spicy tuna roll which came with 8 pieces and was $6.90 after tax. The other sushi rolls are about the same price This is more of a snack than a meal, but the fish was of great quality and was made in minutes.
I wouldn’t haven’t thought that sushi would be on a best cheap eats Boston guide, but it’s definitely worth checking out!
99 Salem St, Boston, MA 02113 / northendfishboston.com
Cactus Grill
I recently JUST discovered my love for pupusas, so I’ve been trying out every spot I can in the city. Pupusas are thick flatbreads or griddled cakes made with corn flour. Fillings include pork, pork and cheese, cheese and beans, beef, veggies, etc. At Cactus Grill in East Boston, it also comes with a tomato-based sauce and pickled veggies. Each pupusa only sets you back $4.
For MBTA users, you’ll appreciate that Cactus Grill is located directly off Maverick Station on the Blue Line.
44 Maverick Square, Boston, MA 02128 / cactusgrill.com
Honorable Mentions: Best Cheap Eats Boston
- Fill-a-Buster – sandwiches, breakfast, kebabs, etc. I always get the fried chicken sub special with fries on Thursday for around $11-12. Located in Beacon Hill
- Blunch – pressed sandwiches, salads, and egg-wiches. Located in the South End
Wrapping Up: Best Cheap Eats Boston
That wraps up my best cheap eats Boston guide for 2023! After reading through cheap eats in Boston, check out my other Boston food guides:
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