Best Cheap Places to Eat in the U.S.

Breaking bread on a budget? Even with restaurant inflation at an all-time high, it’s still possible to eat well and save your hard-earned cash. In August 2023, we analyzed Google ratings of 28,000 budget-friendly restaurants across 50 U.S. cities. We considered everything from major fast food chains to mom-and-pop joints slinging American comfort food, from coast to coast. The only qualifiers are that a restaurant has to be designated as one dollar sign on Google’s cost scale and have 200+ reviews.

With sky-high prices everywhere you look, it helps to know where you can score the best cheap eats, whether you’re close to home or exploring a new city. Keep reading to find out the top budget-friendly restaurants across the nation and get our expert tips on how to save while dining out.

Key findings

We analyzed the data on the best cheap eats in America. Here’s a glimpse at some of the highest rated and lowest rated places to eat for cheap, including fast food chains across the country:

• Mickey’s Subs in Tampa, Florida is the No. 1 place for cheap eats in America.
• Charley’s Cheesesteaks and Wings in Houston is the single highest ranked fast food location in America (4.9 rating, 462 reviews).
• Cheba Hut “Toasted” Subs is the highest rated fast food chain in America.
• KFC, Krystal and Papa John’s are the lowest rated fast food chains.
• New York City, Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon have the highest ranked cheap eats on average.
• Only five single-$ restaurants in America had a perfect rating of 5 stars after 200+ reviews (as of the time of writing).

Top 100 budget eats in the United States

Looking for something a bit more local than the big fast food names but still wallet-friendly? This ranking excludes all chain restaurants, which we defined as any brand with 10 or more locations.

Cities with the highest average rating for budget eats

Wondering which cities have the highest ranked cheap eats, on average? We’ve got you covered. Here are the top 10 based on highest average rating for budget-friendly restaurants:

• New York City, with an average rating of 4.762.
• Austin, Texas, with an average rating of 4.760.
• Portland, Oregon, with an average rating of 4.756.
• Chicago, with an average rating of 4.748.
• San Diego, with an average rating of 4.744.
• Philadelphia, with an average rating of 4.742.
• Houston, with an average rating of 4.722.
• Los Angeles, with an average rating of 4.720.
• St. Louis, with an average rating of 4.716.
• Tampa, Florida, with an average rating of 4.716.

The No. 1 budget restaurant in 50 U.S. cities

We also analyzed the best budget-friendly restaurants in 50 U.S. cities.

Spoiler alert: Tampa, Miami, St. Louis and Baltimore stand out as the only cities in our analysis with a 5-star budget restaurant. And, Tampa has the distinction of being the only city with two 5-star budget restaurants — Mickey's Subs and Tampa Bay Empanadas.

Here are the 50 cities we looked at and the No. 1 spot for cheap eats in each place.

Every fast food chain in the U.S., ranked by average rating

Finally, we sorted through every fast food chain in the U.S. and ranked them based on how high their average Google review rating was at the time of the analysis. This ranking includes fast casual restaurants which offer limited service counters or even self-serve kiosks.

Top 25 fast food locations in the U.S.

Think fast food is the same everywhere you go? Think again. Here are the top 25 fast food locations across the country (by average customer Google rating), according to our analysis.

Tips to save money when eating out

These budget-friendly eateries are proof that delicious food doesn’t need to come at an extravagant price. Whether it’s an unassuming hole-in-the-wall joint or your neighborhood fast food chain, here are some extra ways you can save money when eating out.

Join restaurant loyalty programs

It pays to be loyal, and that may also be the case at your favorite restaurants. Whether you frequent a fast-casual joint or grab a coffee on-the-go, these programs are free to join and offer points, coupons and even birthday perks. According to a 2023 restaurant survey conducted by HungerRush, more than half of consumers visit establishments where they earn rewards at least twice per month.

Start racking up those rewards at some of our highly ranked fast food chains including CAVA, Chick-fil-A, Blaze Pizza and Jersey Mike’s. Even your local non-chain restaurants may offer smaller-scale loyalty programs (such as a buy 10, get 1 deal), so it never hurts to sign up.

Use the best credit cards for restaurants

When you’re picking up the tab at the end of your meal, it’s important to pay with one of the best credit cards for restaurants to earn big returns on your eligible dining purchases.

When you get your grub, our top pick is the American Express® Gold Card (terms apply, rates & fees). Its rewards rate on restaurants worldwide is outstanding: 4 Membership Rewards points per $1 at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., 4 points per $1 at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point), 3 points per $1 on flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express travel and 1 point per $1 on other eligible purchases.

And, while the Amex Gold Card comes with a lofty $250 annual fee, there are two dining benefits that can help you recoup most of this annual cost.

First, cardholders receive up to $120 annually in statement credits for eligible dining purchases (upon enrollment) and up to $120 annually per year in Uber Cash toward rides or Uber Eats orders in the U.S. (Gold Card must be added to Uber account to receive the benefit).

But when you’re on a tight budget, you may want to avoid paying an annual fee altogether. The Bilt World Elite Mastercard® is a no-annual-fee card that earns 1 point per $1 on rent payments without a transaction fee (on up to 100,000 points each year), 2 points per $1 on travel (when booked through the Bilt Travel Portal or directly with an airline, hotel, car rental or cruise company), 3 points per $1 on dining and 1 point per $1 on other purchases. At least five transactions must be made per statement period to earn these rewards.

Not only will you be able to earn elevated points at restaurants all the time, but there are several opportunities to supercharge your points earnings. First, Bilt offers double points on eligible purchases (except rent) on the first of every month, dubbed as Rent Day — where you can earn 6 points per $1 spent on your dining purchases.

Bilt cardholders can also dine at select restaurants through the Bilt Dining program, which launched in the spring and is currently available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City and Washington, D.C. Enroll your card to earn up to 8 points per $1 on Bilt Dining restaurants and an extraordinary 11 points per $1 on Rent Day.

Finally, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card * The information for the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. is a terrific cash-back card for earning 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target), 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases and 1% on all other purchases.

The SavorOne also earns a whopping 10% cash back on Uber and Uber Eats purchases (through Nov. 14, 2024), making it a great choice for those who frequently book rideshares or order delivery. Cardholders can also enjoy a complimentary Uber One membership through Nov. 14, 2024 (valid in the U.S.) with free delivery on eligible orders and up to a 10% discount with Uber Eats.

Having trouble choosing a credit card? Start with our list of best credit cards.

No matter what credit card you select, it’s important to always pay your credit card statement on time and in full. Taking the risk to get hit with interest charges or late payment fees is never worth earning bonus rewards on your dining purchases.

Check your credit card offers

On a similar note, be sure to check out the targeted offers on your credit card account. Major banks like American Express, Capital One, Chase and Citi offer dozens of discounts (in the form of a statement credit) for restaurants, shopping, travel and more.

Simply enroll in each offer you’re interested in, use that associated card to pay for your meal, then reap the benefits of your rewards. It may be easy to glance over these, but you can find some hard-hitting savings by routinely checking your credit card offers.

Want to take advantage of your Amex’s targeted discounts? Here’s how Amex Offers work.

Methodology

In August 2023, we analyzed Google ratings of 28,000 budget-friendly restaurants in 50 of the most populous U.S. cities. To qualify for consideration, a restaurant had to display in a Google maps search for “restaurant” in a given city, have a single dollar sign designation in Google ($ - lowest cost rating) and at least 200 reviews.

We considered chain and non-chain restaurants separately in this analysis, defining chains as any restaurant brand with 10 or more locations.

To determine “Cities with the Best Cheap Eats”, we averaged the top 50 highest rated budget-friendly restaurants in each city, excluding chains.

^{For rates and fees for the American Express® Gold Card please visit this page.}