Paris is known to be an expensive city to visit and after living here for nearly 7 years I know first hand that eating out can be alarmingly costly. If you’re travelling to Paris on a budget and want to still eat well then our guide has some of the best spots to grab quality, affordable food.
How to eat on the cheap in Paris
Other than our favourite cheap restaurants further down in the article, here’s our top tips to save money when considering where to eat out in Paris.
- Boulangeries: Generally you’ll be able to get a decent sandwich in any neighbourhood boulangerie in Paris. They’ll range from €3.5-6 depending on the fillings and you can generally get ‘formules’ which will include a pastry, sandwich and drink for €7-8.
- Crepes: A French (originally from Bretagne) classic, there are creperies all over the city (see our Best Crepes Paris guide). Savoury crepes are surprisingly filling and they’re hard to make a bad one! You can easily get a good Crêpe complète (a savoury crepe with a fried egg, ham and cheese) for €10. Check our Best Crepes Paris guide for the best spots in Paris.
- Picnics: There’s plenty of beautiful parks in the city centre and whilst you’re here, why not enjoy some of the country’s amazing food for cheap? Supermarkets across the city stock great cheese & charcuterie and you can get a great baguette for just over €1. However this is great between May-September, outside of the this period the weather most likely won’t be suitable.
- Falafel: Paris has some really good falafel restaurants and they’re a great, healthy, cheap meal. You can get a falafel pita to go from most places for around €5-7. Check out our Best Falafel Paris guide for the best spots.
- Kebabs: Okay this is an obvious option but Paris does have some really good kebab restaurants. Discover them in our best kebab Paris guide.
Best Cheap Restaurants in Paris
Looking for the best cheap eats in Paris? Our list has spots that offer a good main course option for under €14. The majority are not restaurants however – see our most affordable restaurants Paris guide.
La Baguette du Relais
Wanting steak frites but on a budget? There’s a great sandwich version of the famous Le Relais de l’Entrecôte in the Marais. La Baguette du Relais offers the famous steak frites experience but in a baguette. You’ll get a healthy amount of French fries and thin slices of ribeye steak (cooked to your liking) all smothered in the famous Entrecôte sauce. The base sandwich is €14 but is surprisingly filling. There’s various other options including an XL version, gluten free bread and a charcoal bread option.
What to know before you visit
- There’s only an outside eating area with tall tables & bar stools
- You can’t reserve
- Open all day Saturday – Monday
Address: 10 Rue des Archives, 75004
Tel: 01 40 09 72 11
Website: https://www.labaguette.relaisdevenise.fr
Bouillon Pigalle
The one real ‘sit-down’ restaurant on this list, the Bouillon Pigalle is all about classic French bistro food for cheap. You can expect to spend around €20 per person for wine, entrée, main and dessert. Their main courses are between €10-14 and are on the generous size. On the menu you can expect to find the classics such as steak frites, French onion soup, snails and beef bourguignon. The only downside is that if you haven’t reserved, you can expect to queue for up to 1.5 hours during peak times.
What to know before you visit
- You can reserve online but make sure to reserve 1 or 2 weeks in advance
- Prepare to queue if you haven’t got a reservation – expect at least 1 hour during peak times
- Vegetarian friendly
Address: 22 Bd de Clichy, 75018
Tel: 01 42 59 69 31
Website: https://bouillonlesite.com/
Mangez et Cassez-Vous
Mangez et Cassez-vous (literally meaning eat and get out!) is one of the cheapest eats in the city. Serving up home-made burgers for only €3.20 and fries for €1. There’s various burger options including a very French version with a blue cheese sauce, onions and salad. Their patties are a decent thickness and note that these aren’t smash-burgers. Don’t expect gourmet-burger style brioche buns here – they’re basic ‘nature’ bread buns. The result is a great, tasty thick grilled-style burger at an extremely reasonable price.
What to know before you visit
- Expect to queue briefly during peak hours
- Some of their restaurants don’t have much seating or toilets
Addresses:
64 rue Alexandre Dumas, 75011
39 rue Taitbout, 75009
5 Bd de Picpus, 75012
79 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine, 75011
Website: https://www.instagram.com/mangezetcassezvous/
Cosi
We had to had to put a sandwich option on this list and it’s epic. Cosi offer really good sandwiches with freshly made foccia bread baked in their gas fired pizza oven. The bread here is seriously good and is always served warm as it’s straight out of the oven. The sandwiches cost between €8-14 euros and you can expect deli classics such as roast beef & mustard as well as many vegetarian and vegan options. There’s currently two restaurants – one in the upper Marais and one in the 6th arrondissement.
Addresses:
5 Rue des Filles du Calvaire, 75003
54 Rue de Seine, 75006
Website: https://www.instagram.com/cosiparis/
