Cheap Eats in Paris: The Budget Food Guide
Paris has a reputation for expensive dining — and while the city certainly has its share of €300 tasting menus, it also has some of the best cheap food in Europe. With the right knowledge, you can eat extraordinarily well for under €15 a meal.
The secret to eating cheaply in Paris is the same as the secret to eating well: go where the locals go. Tourist menus near the Eiffel Tower are expensive and mediocre; a plat du jour at a neighbourhood bistro in the 20th will cost €13 and be genuinely delicious.
A few principles to keep in mind. The boulangerie is your best friend — a fresh baguette costs under €2 everywhere in Paris (legally, as boulangeries with a licence artisanale are price-regulated), and combined with a wedge of cheese from a nearby fromagerie, it constitutes a fine lunch for under €6. The marché (outdoor market) is your second ally — most arrondissements have at least one weekly market where you can assemble a picnic for very little.
For sit-down meals, the formule (set menu) at lunch is the great French equaliser. Many restaurants that charge €40+ in the evening offer a two-course lunch for €14–17, and the quality is identical — the kitchen is the same kitchen.
Finally: the 10th, 11th, 13th, and 18th arrondissements consistently offer the best value. The 6th and 8th are generally the most expensive.
Featured Places
L'As du Fallafel
34 Rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris
The most famous falafel in Paris, and justifiably so. A stuffed pita with crispy falafels, tahini, and harissa costs €8 and is a complete meal. Queue down the Rue des Rosiers.
Marché d'Aligre
Place d'Aligre, 75012 Paris
The best covered market in Paris for cheap, high-quality produce. The outdoor section has North African vendors selling spices, olives, and dried fruit at very low prices.
Bouillon Chartier
7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 Paris
A historic bouillon (worker's restaurant) operating since 1896. Steak-frites, roast chicken, and profiteroles — all at prices that feel like 1980. Cash only, communal tables.
Chez Alain Miam Miam
39 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
A crêperie hidden in the Marché des Enfants Rouges. Alain hand-folds the most spectacular buckwheat crêpes in Paris — with eggs, cheese, and whatever the market had that morning.
Dong Huong
14 Rue Louis Bonnet, 75011 Paris
The best pho in Paris, in Belleville's Chinatown. A massive bowl of brisket pho with all the trimmings costs €11. Always busy, always worth the wait.
Le Petit Vendôme
8 Rue des Capucines, 75002 Paris
A no-frills sandwich shop two minutes from the Madeleine that somehow escapes the tourist markup. The jambon-beurre on a Poilâne sourdough is €6 and worth every centime.
Krishna Bhavan
24 Rue Cail, 75010 Paris
Paris's best South Indian vegetarian restaurant, in the Passage Brady. A thali with three curries, rice, and naan bread costs €13 and will defeat even the hungriest visitor.
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