This article was featured in New York’s One Great Story newsletter. Sign up here.
Thanks to a strong cocktail of costs — rent, insurance, ingredients, ConEd, endless red tape, and the fixers necessary to navigate it all — it’s never seemed more expensive or precarious to operate a restaurant or to dine in one. So many factors go into menu pricing, and operators get squeezed on every side; we’ll never all agree on what constitutes an “affordable” meal, but we can all agree the math often feels out of whack. Start with a round of $20 cocktails and some raw-bar bites, apps for the table, entrées at $40 each, dessert, a decent bottle of natural wine that will run north of $75, then maybe another bottle — and a night out for four in this town can easily match the price of a new laptop.
It’s not as if most people make a habit of eating $500 dinners, but buzzy, expensive places make up the bulk of restaurant chatter. This is now Mayor Mamdani’s New York, where “halalflation” is a real concern and affordability is the mandate. It’s the perfect time to bring back New York’s guide to the city’s “Cheap Eats,” a proper celebration of all the work and care that go into cooking food for everyone. With a $17 pre-tip, pretax ceiling (chosen because it’s the hourly minimum wage in the city) and a few ground rules (nothing too obvious, an emphasis on newness, no cheating by choosing something like a pickle plate on an otherwise pricey steakhouse menu), I landed on these 58 items, each of which carries enough heft to be a satisfying snack or full meal. It’s barely a blip in a city so filled with delicious food, but everything here — bourbon wings near the Staten Island Ferry, pho from a Bronx pizzeria, Brooklyn Afghan milk-fudge pastries — is a reminder that eating well never means spending tons of money as long as you know where to look.
Though the takeout spot from the Thai Diner team is built on a foundation of coconut-crusted chicken fingers, this plant-based take on a Filet-O-Fish with scallion, cilantro, spicy nam prik noom, and American cheese is the sleeper hit.
203 Mott St.; mommypai.com
The Naanini is the sandwich that popped off on TikTok, but the lower-priced Scissor Wrap — a tortilla filled with spiced chicken, romaine, tamarind ranch, chile flakes, and popped water-lily seeds for crunch — may be better.
20 Christopher St.; instagram.com/fontysdeli_dukaan
Elmhurst’s favorite Eim Khao Mun Kai debuted a long-gestating offshoot in the East Village last year. The specialty is khao mun kai, steamed boneless chicken over ginger rice, a Thai take on Hainanese chicken.
129 Second Ave.; instagram.com/eimkhaomunkai
Tokuyamatcha has made onigirazu — the sandwich-shaped cousin to onigiri — a focus at its café mini-chain. My favorite is one that looks like ramen with pork belly, egg, pink fish cake, and rice flavored with chicken broth.
Multiple locations; tokuyamasalon.com/cafe
An ideal weekday lunch: two onigiri (with fillings like pollack roe, beef with burdock, or bonito flakes and mushroom), miso soup, and daily sides like fluffy golden tamago. The order-at-the-counter spot is an oasis of calm.
143 W. 29th St.; hanamizukinyc.com
Every taco at this Times Square taqueria can be upgraded into a mini-quesadilla. The Panucho Yucateco is a blanket of crunchy Oaxaca cheese on top of axiote-spiced pork, refried beans, and pickled red onion.
1450 Broadway; tacoelrey.com
The lunch counter El Sazón R.D. runs this bodega that’s open all night. Its smashburgers with queso frito and chimi sauce are just right at 2 a.m., best with some morir soñando, a Dominican orange drink.
31 Loisaida Ave.; instagram.com/lapulperia.nyc
No version of the chopped cheese better encapsulates all the ways the bodega sandwich has been reinterpreted than these Pakistani beef patties cut up with peppers and onions. Add fries loaded with cheese and tamarind sauce.
160 First Ave.; eatnishaan.com
Owner Jesus Villalobos grew up in his family’s Venezuelan restaurant; his empanadas (served in Williamsburg and the East Village) pull inspiration from everywhere. Prices start at $3.50 and rise to just $7.50 for oxtail.
Multiple locations; titisnyc.com
This new coffee shop makes just one pastry: a slender roll that’s like a buttery croissant meets an Olive Garden breadstick. They’re $4.50 each or $12 for a three-pack. Get the trio and a $1.50 cup of matcha sweet cream for dipping.
58 Second Ave.; instagram.com/justinssaltbread
Rasheeda Purdie’s new East Village breakfast-ramen counter is a tough reservation (owing to its tiny size). But it’s a little-known fact that Purdie’s smoked-salmon baos with nori cream cheese — preorder online — can be taken to go.
70 E. 1st St.; ramenbyra.com
Tiffany Iung’s weekdays-only Essex Market stall channels the spirit of Hale & Hearty’s heyday with a French twist. Soups rotate often, but lentil — with onion, celery, and sometimes potato — is a workhorse; a side of cornbread is $3 extra.
88 Essex St.; chomps.nyc
This has long been an affordable Chinatown mainstay. It has expanded to a larger, brighter space but still offers the same ten-dumplings-for-$4 deal, and, yes, you can still buy one of its surfing-dumpling T-shirts, too.
21 Division St.; instagram.com/northdumplingny
The Vietnamese baguettes are made in-house, and the bánh mì nem nuóng is reminiscent of spring rolls with lemongrass-grilled pork sausage, peanut sauce, cucumber, cilantro, carrot, and daikon.
103A Eldridge St.; instagram.com/banhmicoutnyc
Whether this is the best Korean fried chicken in town misses the point. Less than $10 — the price is proudly advertised in the windows — gets a portion of sauce-glazed chicken so heaping a takeout lid can barely cover it all.
139 Hester St.; instagram.com/lululalanyc
This growing Colombian chainlet serves more than just strong coffee: There are grab-and-go baked goods and to-stay breakfasts including hearty plates of rice and beans with fried pork belly, fried eggs, and an arepa.
Multiple locations; salento-ny.com
This Taiwanese spot from Long Island City has crossed the bridge to midtown, where its lu rou fan — braised pork over rice with pickled daikon and a soy-marinated egg — shames the lunch-slop chains.
16 E. 52nd St.; yumpling.com
Get to Chelsea for fast-casual Greek: Pitas come stuffed with pork shoulder, beef kebab, halloumi, tahini-laced mushrooms, or grilled chicken. (The vegetarian options are just as flavorful as their meaty counterparts.)
209 Seventh Ave.; tzikisouvlaki.com
The name of Hand Hospitality’s Everydaily holds: I could buy office lunch here every day. Past the coffee area, food like dried-squid kimbap is pre-packed and ready to go. All of the lunch boxes are $13 or less.
35 W. 35th St.; everydailyhand.com
Descend to this basement Cambodian café for ja-kwai, an airy fried bread similar to China’s youtiao that’s perfect for dunking into a Sweet Mekong drink, made with mung bean, coconut cream, and pandan.
214 E. 82nd St.; instagram.com/artaracoffee
An IYKYK Chinatown rice-roll favorite, especially during breakfast. Go for the creamy curry fish balls atop stubby, glistening rice rolls. Ask for all the sauces. A “small” is plenty filling for a full meal to start the day.
55 Bayard St.; changlaifishballsnoodles.com
This is Ecuadoran cooking with a twist — potato cakes come towering with a spicy peanut sauce and slaw, plus optional chorizo — that got its start in a sports bar before moving into a full-service space.
9324 Third Ave., Fort Hamilton; instagram.com/barchuzo
The specialty here is “Indianish” cooking: paneer salads, phuchka, and more. At breakfast, masala scrambled eggs wrapped inside a fluffy paratha with chutney on the side is a fantastic swap for the common egg sandwich.
485 Tompkins Ave., Bed-Stuy; cheeni-nyc.com
This new diner offers an edited menu of southern comforts. The (naturally gluten-free) masa pancakes are corn-scented, golden-hued, and best when slathered with spicy honey butter.
198 Lewis Ave., Bed-Stuy; instagram.com/ultrafinediner
Lines down the block formed when this Jamaican-patty chain landed on Fulton Street last year before it expanded: The chicken-curry patty is excellent, but there’s something about classic beef that can’t be beat.
Multiple locations; juicipattiesusa.com
This once-beloved East Village bakery has been revived in Industry City’s Japan Village, and during lunch, there’s a shellacked teriyaki-chicken burger with onion, lettuce, and tomato.
934 Third Ave., Bldg. 4, Sunset Park; instagram.com/panyabrooklyn
A designer tuna melt: preserved Italian fish with pickled red onion, marinated artichoke, peperoncini, fried capers, fontina, pistou rosé, and lemon aïoli on griddled cakey milk bread.
215 Rogers Ave., Crown Heights; bottegasocialclub.com
Crispy-chicken hysteria has died down some, but I still love Matt Diaz’s buttermilk fried chicken, served with white sauce and pickles on a squishy potato bun. (It goes well with a glass of $16 Champagne.)
355 Franklin Ave., Bed-Stuy; discobirdies.com
This city is suddenly stuffed with great new burritos and flour tortillas. Vato’s pollo en mole, rolled into the café’s sourdough tortilla, shows that not all morning burritos need eggs — though Vato has those, too.
226 Seventh Ave., Park Slope; instagram.com/vato.nyc
After moving from Noho’s Bowery Market into its own Brooklyn café, this vegan-leaning shop evolved its menu. Soft, sweet guava buns show a ton of promise for what’s to come.
189 Wilson Ave., Bushwick; instagram.com/eatatsunday
Beef patties smothered in mushroom gravy (with fried eggs and rice) get a lift from the customary macaroni salad. In a crowded nook of Brooklyn, tourists haven’t yet caught on to this fast-casual Hawaiian spot.
40 Main St., Dumbo; alohaalleynyc.com
Every other bowl in town aspires to be half as interesting as this Haitian lunch special with citrus-marinated pork, purple-cabbage slaw, plantains, black rice, caramelized onion, and the condiment pikliz.
1248 Flatbush Avenue., Flatbush; bunnan.co
The team from Astoria’s Little Flower Cafe and baker Bryan Ford run this new Afghan bakery. Ford’s sheer pira pastries combine Afghan milk fudge, pistachio frangipane, and vanilla diplomat cream.
330 Hicks St., Brooklyn Heights; instagram.com/diljanbakery
A Vietnamese take on the classic Spanish omelet — with pickled vegetables, red-pepper aïoli, and sambal honey — in sandwich form goes well with the drinks, like one that’s topped with egg-custard foam.
384 Seventh Ave., Park Slope; larryscaphe.com
This 14-seat noodle den is the kind of spot that makes you want to check in as a regular. The simple niku udon, with beef ribbons and a handful of onion as a garnish, is perfect cold-weather cooking.
634 Park Pl., Crown Heights; donudon.square.site
Brooklyn Curry Project made its name selling dosas near the Fort Greene Greenmarket. Now it serves those dosas plus thatte idli — a steamed rice-and-lentil pancake with coconut chutney — at a nearby café.
383 Bridge St., Downtown Brooklyn; filterkaapinyc.com
Fans of Heidelberg Restaurant (or anyone who likes macaroni and cheese) will appreciate this brewery’s entrée-size side of spaetzle with Emmentaler in the sauce and a golden topping of broiled Grana Padano.
545 Johnson Ave., Bushwick; eckhartbeer.com
New York has no shortage of great tamales, but this cart emerged last spring, and Jaime, the owner, is already a local hero for his pollo rojo and mole chicken. Go early — 8 a.m. — before he sells out.
Manhattan Ave. and Nassau Ave., Greenpoint; no website
Chuya Lee uses a family recipe for her kimchee-and-pork dumplings; her father is a co-founder of the dumpling chain Sanmiwago. Eight dumplings come in an order and can be had fried or steamed.
43 Underhill Ave., Prospect Heights; formosadumplings.com
Tico’s is a morning favorite, opening daily at 9 a.m. The breakfast bowl has some of everything: two sunny-side-up eggs, white rice, avocado, caramelized onions, piquillo peppers, mushrooms, and maduros.
151 Wilson Ave., Bushwick; ticocubancafe.com
This Venezuelan bakery, said to be the first in the city, serves mandoca (corn doughnuts with queso blanco), cachapas (savory corn pancakes), and heartier cachitos stuffed with ham and cheese.
169 Graham Ave., Williamsburg; lullasnyc.com
Johnny’s, named for the owners’ late father, is a modern take on the Chinese Peruvian chifa restaurant. It excels at Peru’s classic marinated chicken with aji verde sauce. (You can upsize to half a bird for a reasonable $14.)
642 Lorimer St., Williamsburg; johnnysbk.com
As a pop-up, Kora had a wait list that once numbered in the thousands. Now, you can walk into the bakery for not-too-sweet creations like ube brioche with ube pastry cream and glaze, topped with a purple-yam chip.
45-12 Greenpoint Ave., Sunnyside; fromkora.com
At Gozney ovens set up under a pop-up tent on a residential street, Oscar and Giselle serve Mexican takes on New York–style pizza, like this saucy chicken tinga with onions. Pay a little extra to get it shaped like a star.
31-56 12th St., Astoria; instagram.com/coba_pizzeria
This Indonesian spot moved into the former Sky Cafe. Its rice-cake soup, lontong sayur, features a vegetable-curry base with beef rendang and rice crisps for absorbing the creamy, spicy liquid.
86-20 Whitney Ave., Elmhurst; instagram.com/sumatera.nyc
What began as a DeKalb Market Hall stall expanded into this full-on restaurant in a former funeral parlor. (It was saged!) Get pierogi and this rye-flour soup with potatoes, leeks, parsnips, kielbasa, and a jammy egg.
57-34 Catalpa Ave., Ridgewood; pierogiboys.com
This Pakistani food truck has gone almost brick-and-mortar at a mobile stand where they grill spicy chicken and marinated beef bihari to serve inside a fried poori paratha.
72-08 Broadway, Jackson Heights; instagram.com/karachikababboiz
Come for momos (fillings include shrimp, mushroom, and beef) and stay for rildok, a spicy tomato-and-bleu-cheese soup, here made with cassava dumplings in the style of West African fufu.
31-12 36th Ave., Long Island City; instagram.com/darjeelingnyc
Titan Foods, sometimes called America’s largest Greek grocer, has a new location, and the hot bar still has some deals, like pastitsio — the cinnamon-spiced baked cheese-and-meat pasta — with a side of lemon potatoes.
23-53 Steinway St., Astoria; titanfoods.com
Masa Madre is often branded as a bakery (those conchas!), but it has standout sandwiches, the most interesting of which is smoked-swordfish salad on breads like focaccia, pan de cristal, or oval-shaped bolillo.
47-55 46th St., Sunnyside; masasunnyside.com
Only one Burmese business can claim it’s part of a boba-tea shop attached to a Popeyes parking lot. Eaterniti’s nan gyi thoke, a rice-noodle salad, comes with chicken, hard-boiled egg, and shaved shallot.
8930 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst; instagram.com/eaterniti_eats
Flushing’s latest food court is set below the city’s first 99 Ranch supermarket. My favorite vendor is Fat Potato Noodles for its Chinese rice noodles with sausage and tofu skin in spicy broth that arrives in a cast-iron pot.
37-11 Main St., Flushing; 99ranch.com
Curley’s was born during the SAG-AFTRA strikes, when the owners, who worked in the film and TV world, pivoted to sourdough bagels. Go for the sandwich with fried mortadella, egg, provolone, and dijonnaise.
43-04 47th Ave., Sunnyside; curleysbagels.com
A onetime pizzeria is now a pizzeria and Vietnamese joint. There are more than ten different varieties of pho to choose from. My pick is P7, beef flank with herbs, sprouts, jalapeños, and a lime wedge.
2004 Williamsbridge Rd., Morris Park; instagram.com/vphoandpizzeria
Qebapa, a.k.a. cevapi, and more grilled meats are staples of this new Albanian restaurant named for a Kosovo city. (And don’t skip cottage-cheese dip with green peppers that everyone should order.)
1080 Morris Park Ave., Morris Park; instagram.com/prizreni__grill
This food truck is a five-minute walk from the St. George Terminal. Go when the weather warms up for saucy, sticky, just-sweet-enough bourbon-glazed wings plus sides like cornbread and yams.
55b Richmond Terr., St. George; instagram.com/hazels423foodtruck
A chicken-shawarma sandwich stuffed with garlic and pickles at this Syrian restaurant (with another location in Bay Ridge) comes with a side of belly dancing on weekend nights. At lunch, the price drops to $11.99 — no dancers, though.
Multiple locations; lailarestaurant.com
On a Staten Island strip known for Sri Lankan cooking, one lesser-known spot, formerly Ceylon Curry, has new owners. Lamprais — stewed vegetables and rice with an egg, all wrapped in a banana leaf — remains a staple.
324 Victory Blvd., Tompkinsville; 347-466-5338
Photo: Evan Sung (Mommy Pai’s); Alex Staniloff (Hanamizuki Cafe); Sara Konradi/Eater NY (Karachi Kabab Boiz); Justin Sirois (Eckhart Beer Co.); Kate Previte (Titi’s); Nat Meier (Ramen by Ra); Paco Alonso (Vato); Dana Morrissey (Bar Chuzo); Phoenix Johnson (Bottega Social Club); Courtesy of the subjects (Remaining)
