Best Cheap Eats in Manhattan
Ten verified cheap eats in Manhattan, checked against current hours and prices, from a $2 slice to a $4 falafel sandwich.
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- 1Midtown · $ · SE corner of W 53rd St & 6th Ave
The original halal food cart, parked on this corner since 1990, that gave rise to NYC's entire halal-cart genre and the now-global Halal Guys chain.
Because this single cart, still working the same corner more than 35 years later with hours confirmed on its own 2026 location page, is the reason 'halal cart' became a New York food category at all.
Order Chicken and gyro combo platter, white sauce on, hot sauce to taste.
Go late, it runs into the early morning most nights (4am, 5am Fri-Sat) and the line moves faster after midnight than at lunch.
- 2Upper West Side · $ · 2090 Broadway (at W 72nd St)
Stand-up hot dog counter open since 1973, famous for the 'Recession Special.'
Because the Recession Special, two hot dogs plus a tropical drink, is confirmed at exactly $7.50 including tax on the shop's own current menu.
Order The Recession Special: two franks and a papaya drink.
Eat standing at the counter like a regular, there's no seating and no table service.
- 3Chinatown · $$ · 13 Doyers St
Also No. 1 on Best Dim Sum in Manhattan → · No. 1 on Best of Chinatown →
Map ↗verified 7w agoChinatown's oldest dim sum parlor, serving small plates since 1920 on the same Doyers St corner.
Because it has served dim sum from this exact Doyers St corner for over a century, with individual plates currently priced between about $2.50 and $9.95.
Order The classic pork egg roll, $7.
Go for an early weekday lunch, the narrow room fills up fast on weekends.
Photo: Bagelpigeon, CC0 1.0 Photo: Bagelpigeon, CC0 1.0 - 4Nolita · $ · 27 Prince St
Also No. 2 on Best Pizza in Manhattan →
Sicilian-style square-slice pizzeria known for its pepperoni 'Spicy Spring' square.
Because it stays open until 3am or later on six nights a week, per its own 2026 posted hours, with Wednesday as the lone midnight-close exception.
Order The Spicy Spring square, pepperoni cups and all.
Skip a late-night run on Wednesday specifically, that's the one night it closes early.
Photo: Rachel Kramer Bussel, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Rachel Kramer Bussel, CC BY 2.0 - 5Greenwich Village · $ · 119 MacDougal St
The oldest falafel shop in America, opened in 1971 by Syrian immigrant Mamoun Chater and still run by his family.
Because a falafel sandwich here currently runs about $4 to $4.35, making it one of the cheapest genuinely iconic sandwiches left in Manhattan.
Order The falafel sandwich, extra hot sauce.
Ask for the hot sauce on the side, it's sharper than the tahini and easy to over-pour.
- 6Financial District · $ · 136 Church St
Also No. 10 on Best Tacos in Manhattan →
Map ↗verified 7w agoTijuana-style taco counter inside Chelsea Market, known for adobada and carne asada tacos made to order.
Because two tacos here, priced at $6.00 and $5.65 as of the current menu, still add up to a full meal well under $15.
Order Two tacos: one carne asada, one adobada.
The line looks longer than it is, order while you're in it rather than stepping out to scope the room.
From @lostacos1 on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 7Lower East Side · $ · 118 Eldridge St
Also No. 4 on Best Dumplings in Manhattan → · No. 6 on Best Dumplings in NYC →
Map ↗verified 7w agoFamily-run dumpling counter opened in 1999 by Vanessa Shu Qin Weng, serving pan-fried and boiled pork and chive dumplings.
Because a full order of fried dumplings here runs around $1.50 for four pieces, making it one of the most extreme cheap-eats values in Manhattan.
Order Pan-fried pork and chive dumplings, four to an order.
Order the pan-fried over the boiled, and grab extra napkins, they're juicy.
From @vanessasdumplinghouse on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 8West Village · $ · 7 Carmine St
Also No. 1 on Best Pizza in Manhattan → · No. 3 on Best Pizza in NYC →
Map ↗verified 7w agoNo-frills counter-serve NY cheese-slice pizzeria operating since 1975.
Because it has held down the same Carmine St spot since 1975, though its own listed slice price varies by source from about $2.75 to $5.
Order A plain cheese slice, folded in half.
Ask what's fresh out of the oven, a hot slice here beats a reheated one by a mile.
Photo: Rob Young, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Rob Young, CC BY 2.0 - 9Chinatown · $ · 198 Grand St
Cash-only Vietnamese sandwich counter tucked in the back of a jewelry storefront on Grand Street.
Because a full banh mi here runs about $7 to $8, cash only, from a counter hidden behind a jewelry storefront most passersby would never suspect.
Order The classic pork banh mi.
Bring cash, they don't take cards, and look for the jewelry-store entrance rather than a restaurant front.
- 10East Village · $ · 32 St Marks Pl
The pizzeria that pioneered NYC's '$1 slice' era, opened in 2007 on St. Marks Place.
Because the plain cheese slice that started this shop's fame at $1 now costs $2 per its own current pricing, still among the cheapest slices left in the city.
Order A plain cheese slice, folded New York style.
It stays open until 3am, a solid late-night stop after a night out in the East Village.