Cheap eats in Philadelphia under $15: where and how to eat well

Philadelphia is one of the easier big American cities for eating on a small budget. Cheap meals cluster in a few neighborhoods, and a handful of habits keep a check down. Prices vary by place, so read the menu before you sit down.

Which neighborhoods have cheap food?

South Philadelphia is the classic answer, with Italian bakeries, sandwich counters and cheesesteak shops. Chinatown, in the blocks around 10th and Race Streets, has noodle shops, bakeries and rice plates at low prices. West Philadelphia, along Baltimore Avenue and around 40th Street, has Ethiopian, Indian, Thai and Mediterranean cooking, with lunch specials near the universities. The Northeast has diners and family restaurants with generous plates. Center City has cheap lunch counters, food courts and market stalls at midday, though dinner prices are higher.

What can you eat for under 15 dollars?

A sandwich, a pizza slice with a drink, a bowl of noodle soup, a rice plate, tacos, a pastry and a coffee. Philadelphia's sandwich culture is a help: a roast pork, a hoagie or a cheesesteak is a full meal, often large enough to share. A pretzel from a bakery is cheap, and so is a water ice in warm weather. A guide in this series explains how to order a cheesesteak, roast pork and hoagie. At a market food hall, you can often pick a small plate from two or three stalls.

Is Reading Terminal Market cheap?

It can be, with care. The market has stalls at every price, from sandwiches and soups to full plates. Go at an off hour, share a large sandwich, and fill up on a bakery item. The market is busiest at lunch and on weekends, so a weekday morning is calmer. Check the stall's own hours, since some close earlier than others, and some stalls close on certain days.

How do lunch specials work?

Many restaurants sell the same dish for less at lunch, on weekdays between about 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Specials may include a soup or a drink. Look for a chalkboard or a sign in the window. Dim sum in Chinatown can be inexpensive if you order small plates and share, though it adds up when many carts stop at the table. Ask for the price before you accept a plate on a cart.

What about BYOB?

A BYOB restaurant has no liquor on the menu, so the check is lower. If you want wine with dinner, buy a bottle at a state store and bring it, and ask about the corkage fee. A BYOB dinner with a modest bottle can cost less than the same dinner at a restaurant with a full bar. A separate guide in this series covers the details. Pennsylvania state stores have their own hours.

What extras raise the check?

The menu price is not the total. Pennsylvania adds sales tax to restaurant meals, and Philadelphia's combined rate is higher than the statewide rate. A tip of 18 to 20 percent is expected at table service, and at a counter it is up to you. Delivery apps add fees and can raise prices, so pick up your order or order direct. Drinks, extras and side dishes raise a check quickly.

What are the best money-saving habits, and what should you watch out for?

Share a large plate. Skip the soft drink and ask for water. Order the lunch special. Walk to a market on Sunday morning and look at Headhouse Farmers Market, which runs Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to the Food Trust, for fruit, bread and a snack. Eat a larger lunch and a smaller dinner. Take leftovers. If you are a student, ask about discounts at campus-area restaurants.

Watch for tourist-area menus with high prices, and ask before you order any "market price" item without a number. Cash-only places are still common in South Philadelphia, so bring some bills, and be wary of a long menu in an empty room. A sign of a good value is a short menu, a steady line at lunch and food that comes out fast.

Where can a student or a visitor on a tight budget start?

Start with a plan for three meals instead of one. Breakfast can be a bakery pastry and coffee, or a bagel from a shop that bakes in the morning. Lunch is the main meal: a sandwich, a noodle soup or a rice plate from a lunch counter in Chinatown, South Philadelphia or University City. Dinner can be a smaller plate, a shared pizza or a pot of something from the grocery hot bar. Keep a bottle of water with you to avoid buying drinks, and use the transit system's day pass if you plan several trips. Many museums and parks are free or low cost, so a day of walking and market snacks can fit a small budget and still feel generous.

Neighborhood stores sell cheese, bread and fruit that make a picnic in a park such as Rittenhouse Square, Franklin Square or Fairmount Park. If you are staying for a week, a grocery store with a deli counter can supply breakfast and lunch for several days at a fraction of the cost of restaurant meals.

How do you remember the cheap meals worth repeating?

A roast pork sandwich at one counter and a rice plate at another are different bargains, and Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing places to eat by the dish, so each one gets its own rating. Tag the ones with Good Portions or Quick Service, and put them in a list called "Cheap and good" that a roommate or classmate can add to through an invite link.

Following friends adds their finds to yours, which is how a student ends up with a map of South Philadelphia lunches by October. Best in town then shows which rated dishes the city keeps coming back to.

Found a bargain plate this week? Rate the dish in the Mosey app so the next hungry reader knows where to go.

More guides to read next:

• Philadelphia Chinatown food guide: Race Street, dim sum and late night
• East Passyunk Avenue food guide: where to eat in Passyunk Square
• West Philadelphia and University City food guide

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.