17 Best Cheap Eats in Dublin (2026): Where to Eat for Less

Dublin is expensive — but eating cheaply in Dublin doesn’t have to mean fast-food chains. The city has a wide range of cheap eats Dublin options: family-run Vietnamese pho counters, falafel kitchens, late-opening slice-counter pizza places, pub lunches, and cafes tucked inside museums and galleries. This guide picks the 17 best cheap eats in Dublin for 2026, from taco counters to market stalls, plus the premium-restaurant lunch deals that put the city’s best kitchens within reach.

Pair with our pillar on Dublin restaurants & food, our Dublin on a budget guide, and our best brunch Dublin guide.

Cuid 01

How Cheap Can You Realistically Eat in Dublin?

The honest 2026 baseline:

• Snack-priced: Pizza by the slice (DiFontaine’s), bagels, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, market sandwiches, pasta side. Fine for a snack, thin for a full meal.
• Budget meals: Tacos (El Grito), burritos (Boojum), falafel wraps (Umi), pub-lunch sandwich plates, Irish stew at a basic pub.
• Sit-down meals: Most central pub lunch deals, pho (Pho Kim), ramen, sushi, mid-range Asian, dosa, Vietnamese full meals, pizza calzones, gastropub lunch.
• Food and a drink: Affordable at most options in this guide; the premium lunch deals are the exception.
• Family of 4: Boojum, Umi, DiFontaine’s, Bunsen burger and several pubs running family lunch deals keep a family meal affordable.

Lunchtime is the secret to cheap Dublin eating. A set lunch is often the most affordable way into a top kitchen, but check the days before you plan around one: The Pig’s Ear serves lunch on Saturdays only (12:00-14:00), and dinner there is à la carte with mains at €22-36.50, while Etto does lunch Thursday to Saturday. Build your day around a substantial lunch and a small dinner.

Cuid 02

Mexican & Latin American Under €15

1. Boojum

The Dublin Mexican burrito institution. Multiple locations across the city. A burrito is a cheap, filling meal, and bowls and tacos are on the menu too. Standard ingredients but reliable. Most branches close between 21:00 and 22:00 (check yours on Boojum’s store locator), so treat it as a dinner stop rather than a post-pub one.

2. El Grito

Authentic Mexican taqueria on Mountjoy Square, with a second branch on Lower Rathmines Road. Tacos are the draw. Better quality than Boojum but smaller. Worth the walk for an authentic taco fix.

Cuid 03

Middle Eastern & Mediterranean

3. Umi Falafel

Palestinian falafel kitchen with several Dublin locations. Falafel wraps are modestly priced, and combos add spiced potato wedges and a soft drink. The vegetarian standout in Dublin’s cheap-eats scene. Strong vegan options.

4. Pickle

Sophisticated Indian restaurant at 43 Lower Camden Street, with a minimum charge of €35 per person, so treat it as a splurge rather than a cheap bite. Far above the standard Dublin Indian.

Cuid 04

Asian Under €15

5. Pho Kim

Vietnamese pho specialist on Parnell Street. Mains start at about €14.50, with beef meatball noodle soup and chicken pho on the menu. Family-run, authentic, busy.

6. Xian Street Food

Authentic Chinese street food with branches on South Anne Street, Earl Street North and Suffolk Street. Hand-pulled noodles, dumplings and spicy lamb skewers.

7. Kimchi Hophouse

Korean restaurant on Parnell Street. Mandu dumplings, bibimbap bowls and strong Korean fried chicken.

Cuid 05

Pizza & Italian

8. DiFontaine’s

Famous Temple Bar pizza-by-the-slice spot, with calzones too. Open late; a Dublin post-pub institution.

9. Pi Pizza

Quality pizza on South Great George’s Street, with full pizzas to share. Better-quality than DiFontaine but pricier.

Cuid 06

Burgers, Fried Chicken & Quality Fast Food

10. Bunsen

The Dublin burger institution. A cheeseburger is €10.95 and a double €14.75. Strong vegetarian and vegan options. Multiple central locations.

11. Wowburger

Quality burger chain with strong vegetarian options and multiple central locations.

Cuid 07

Market & Food Hall Cheap Eats

12. George’s Street Arcade

Victorian covered market with several cheap-eats stalls, from Cornish pasties and Italian sandwiches to Lebanese hummus plates. Each stall sets its own hours. The single best one-stop for varied cheap eating in Dublin.

13. Temple Bar Food Market

Saturday-only at Meeting House Square. Prepared food, sandwiches and Irish cheese plates. Best Saturday lunch in the area.

Cuid 08

Pub Lunch Deals Under €15

14. The Pieman Cafe

Pie shop on Crown Alley in Temple Bar, serving savoury pies. Excellent steak and Guinness pie.

15. The Long Hall (Pub)

Victorian pub serving simple bar snacks to go with your pint.

16. Mulligan’s

Heritage pub with classic Irish lunch dishes. Friday fish and chips, Sunday roast.

17. The Confession Box

Old-school north-side pub, and a family-friendly one; check the pub’s own site for what’s on the food menu.

Cuid 09

Premium Restaurant Lunch Deals

Several of Dublin’s top restaurants offer prix-fixe lunch deals that bring fine dining into cheap-eats territory:

• Etto (Merrion Row): Good-value set lunch, served Thursday to Saturday only. One of Dublin’s top restaurants, and lunch is the most affordable way to try it.
• The Pig’s Ear (Nassau Street): Lunch on Saturdays only, 12:00-14:00; closed Sunday and Monday.
• Pichet (Trinity Street): A lunch menu worth a look; the current menu and price are on Pichet’s own site.
• Saba (South William Street): Good-value Thai lunch dishes; one of the best Thai restaurants in the city.
• Bang (Merrion Row): Two-course lunch menu; check Bang’s website for the current price.
• Suesey Street (Fitzwilliam Place): Its early-bird dinner menu is the value play here.
• Yamamori: Lunch ramen and bento boxes.

For value-conscious foodies, this is the single best Dublin food strategy: have a substantial premium-restaurant lunch and a smaller dinner. You eat at the city’s best restaurants for cheap-eats prices.

Cuid 10

"Free" Eats: Where to Get Food Included in Other Activities

Some of the best-value Dublin meals are technically included in other activities:

• Guinness Storehouse: Includes a free pint at the Gravity Bar. Standard tickets start at €24, so treat it as a day out with a pint thrown in rather than a cheap lunch.
• Distillery tours: Roe & Co, Teeling and Jameson all include whiskey tastings.
• Some hotel breakfasts: Premier Inn and Maldron offer rates with breakfast; compare the room-plus-breakfast price against eating out before you book.
• Hotel happy hours: Many Dublin hotel bars offer pre-dinner happy-hour pricing on small plates and snacks.
• Free trad music sessions: A pint at The Cobblestone is a complete evening; no cover charge.

Cuid 11

Self-Catering & Grocery for Even Cheaper Eating

If you’re staying in an aparthotel or apartment, grocery shopping cuts food costs substantially:

• Tesco Metro: Standard supermarket prices; city-centre branches and meal deals make for an easy cheap lunch.
• Aldi: Cheapest supermarket. Aldi Smithfield, Talbot Street, Liffey Valley.
• Lidl: Similar to Aldi. Multiple locations.
• SPAR / Centra: Convenient but pricier; for late-night needs only.
• Hodson Bay Fruit Markets: Smaller fresh-produce markets across Dublin for cheaper fruits and vegetables.

A self-catered breakfast (cereal, bread, butter, jam, fruit, coffee) costs a fraction of a cafe breakfast.

Cuid 12

Practical Tips for Cheap Eating in Dublin

• Eat lunch out, snack for dinner: A premium restaurant’s lunch menu usually costs less than dinner there.
• Skip Temple Bar restaurants: You pay a Temple Bar premium for food you can get for less elsewhere in the city.
• Use cafes for “working lunches”: Café-as-workspace culture means you can sit for hours over one coffee and a pastry.
• Loyalty cards work: Many independent cafes run stamp cards; useful for longer stays.
• Pubs serve food into the evening: Good for an after-museum dinner if you skip premium restaurants. Ask when the kitchen closes, as it is usually well before the bar.
• Tap water is free and good: Don’t buy bottled water; Dublin tap water meets EU standards.
• Look for kids-eat-free deals: Maldron and Premier Inn hotels offer free kids’ meals with adult dinners.
• Saturday vs Sunday: Many cheap-eats spots are quieter on Sunday than Saturday.
• Lunch in markets: George’s Street Arcade and the Temple Bar Food Market (Saturdays) both serve cheap plates; hours at the Arcade vary by stall.
• Aldi or Lidl meal-deal lunch: Sandwich, crisps and a drink for a few euros; eat in a park.

Cuid 13

Best Cheap Eats Dublin by Neighbourhood

St Stephen’s Green / Grafton Street

Bunsen burger (multiple sites), the Bewley’s Café Grafton Street, Saba Thai lunch.

Temple Bar / Liffey

DiFontaine’s pizza, the Brick Alley Café, the Pieman Café. Avoid the main Temple Bar pubs for cheap eating — prices spike here.

Capel Street / Northside

Pho Kim Vietnamese, Xian Chinese street food, Kimchi Hophouse and Brother Hubbard North.

Liberties / Camden Street

Two Pups Coffee and Brother Hubbard South. Quality cheap eats with neighbourhood-feel.

Smithfield / Stoneybatter

Token (pizza, retro arcade), the Cobblestone for pub lunch, L. Mulligan Grocer gastropub deals.

Docklands

3FE coffee+food. Generally pricier than Capel Street equivalents.

Cuid 14

Cheap Eats by Dietary Needs

Vegetarian

Cornucopia (one of Dublin’s longest-running vegetarian restaurants, open since 1986, with self-service counters), Umi Falafel, Govinda’s self-serve vegetarian plates on Abbey Street, the Fumbally veg dishes, Brother Hubbard veg options.

Vegan

Veginity, the Fumbally, Cornucopia. All three keep vegan plates at sensible prices.

Gluten-free

Most Dublin restaurants flag gluten-free options on menus. Pho Kim Vietnamese (rice noodles), Asian rice-bowl restaurants, and modern Irish kitchens like the Fumbally are reliably GF-friendly.

Halal

Umi Falafel (Palestinian; halal-certified), several Pakistani and Indian options around Parnell Street, multiple Turkish kebab houses including Cleaver East’s sister restaurants.

Cuid 15

Late-Night Cheap Eats Dublin

The post-pub Dublin food landscape: where to fill up late at night:

• DiFontaine’s Temple Bar: Pizza by the slice, open late.
• McDonald’s on O’Connell Street: Late-opening; check the McDonald’s app for tonight’s hours.
• Subway (multiple locations): Subs at fast-food prices; hours vary by branch.
• Centra and SPAR convenience stores: Some city-centre branches open late; hot food counter, sandwiches, hot dogs.

Cuid 16

Cheap Eats Dublin: Side-by-Side Comparison

A quick reference for the most-recommended cheap-eats spots:

• DiFontaine’s: Pizza by the slice; Temple Bar, open late. Best for late-night.
• Boojum: Burritos; multiple locations, most closing 21:00-22:00. Best for a quick, filling dinner.
• Umi Falafel: Modestly priced wraps and combos; multiple locations. Best for vegetarian.
• Pho Kim: Pho, mains from about €14.50; Parnell Street. Best for cold-day Vietnamese.
• Bunsen: Cheeseburger €10.95, double €14.75; multiple locations. Best for proper burger fans.
• The Pieman Café: Savoury pies; Crown Alley, Temple Bar. Best for traditional Irish-style cheap eat.
• Kimchi Hophouse: Bibimbap €14; Parnell Street. Best for Korean.
• Xian Street Food: Hand-pulled noodles; South Anne Street and Earl Street North. Best for Chinese street food.
• Pi: Full pizzas to share; South Great George’s Street. Best for quality pizza.
• El Grito: Tacos; Mountjoy Square and Rathmines. Best for authentic Mexican.

For a Dublin trip on a tight budget, hitting 4-5 of these spots delivers excellent cheap eating across a 3-4 day trip.

Cuid 17

Cheap Eats Near Tourist Attractions

Knowing where to eat cheaply near major Dublin attractions saves significant money:

• Near Trinity College / Book of Kells: The Pepper Pot (Powerscourt), Hatch & Sons (Little Museum).
• Near Guinness Storehouse: Bunsen Liberties, The Brazen Head lunch deal, the Roe & Co cafe.
• Near Kilmainham Gaol: Kilmainham Restaurant, takeaway from Boojum Inchicore.
• Near EPIC / Docklands: 3FE Grand Canal, the Mayson aparthotel cafe, Boojum Custom House Quay.
• Near Phoenix Park: Cafes in the park, Token (Queen Street, Smithfield), L. Mulligan Grocer (Stoneybatter).
• Near St Patrick’s Cathedral: Brother Hubbard South (Harrington Street), Bunsen Camden.
• Near the Natural History Museum / National Gallery: Etto lunch deals, the National Gallery’s own Galleries Café, Hatch & Sons.

For more on getting around the city, see our Dublin transport pillar.

Cuid 18

Three More Tips for Cheap Eating in Dublin

A few additional money-saving moves most visitors miss:

1. Use the Dublin Pass for free meals included with attractions. Some Dublin Pass attraction bundles include lunch at partner restaurants. Calculate carefully — the Pass only pays off if you visit enough paid attractions to beat buying the tickets separately.

2. Look for “Early Bird” restaurant menus. Many premium Dublin restaurants offer Early Bird menus in the early evening, priced below the regular dinner menu; times and discounts vary, so check before you book. The Pig’s Ear, Pichet, Saba and Bang all run versions.

3. Lunch at the National Museums. The Silk Road Café at the Chester Beatty (free entry to the museum; both closed until January 2027), the Galleries Café at the National Gallery, the National Library Café and the IMMA Café all serve reliable cafe-style lunches in atmospheric museum settings, with the bonus of free museum access.

Cuid 19

A Week of Cheap Eating in Dublin

Here’s how a week of budget eating in Dublin can look for a single traveller, built from the spots in this guide. Assumes you’re staying somewhere with breakfast not included.

• Day 1 (Mon): Aldi meal-deal sandwich lunch; Boojum bowl dinner; a coffee.
• Day 2 (Tue): Brother Hubbard brunch (it opens at 08:00 on Harrington Street, 09:00 on Capel Street); Aldi snack lunch; Bunsen burger dinner.
• Day 3 (Wed): Tesco meal-deal breakfast; a pie at the Pieman Café; Umi Falafel dinner.
• Day 4 (Thu): Skipping breakfast (saving for lunch); Etto set lunch, since Thursday is the first day of its lunch week; DiFontaine’s pizza slice and a soft drink for dinner.
• Day 5 (Fri): Aldi breakfast; lunch at the Pepper Pot in Powerscourt; Boojum quick dinner.
• Day 6 (Sat): The Fumbally weekend brunch; a plate from the Temple Bar Food Market; pub lunch later at Mulligan’s.
• Day 7 (Sun): Sunday brunch at Brother Hubbard on Capel Street (from 09:30 at weekends); a pint and a bar snack at The Long Hall.

Cut breakfasts further (own muesli, banana, instant coffee in your apartment kitchen) and the week gets cheaper still. The premium-restaurant lunch deals (Etto, Pig’s Ear, Pichet) are particularly good value — you get fine-dining cooking without the dinner bill.

Cuid 20

Three Cheap Eats Worth Knowing About Outside the Top 17

• The Hare Krishna Govinda’s (Abbey Street): Self-serve vegetarian Indian plates, a short walk from O’Connell Street. Run by the Hare Krishna community; the dal and rice are particularly strong.
• Lemon Crepe & Coffee (South William Street): Sweet and savoury crepes, freshly made to order. Bargain breakfast or snack.
• Mama’s Revenge (Charlemont Street): Mexican fast-casual burritos and tacos. Less well-known than Boojum.

Cuid 21

When to Avoid Cheap Eats

A few realistic warnings:

• St Patrick’s Festival (14-17 March 2027, parade on 17 March): Expect queues at most cheap-eats spots, Boojum and DiFontaine’s included. Plan ahead and arrive at off-peak times.
• Six Nations rugby weekends: Central pubs fill up around Ireland’s matches; if you want a pub meal, eat well before kick-off.
• Christmas Markets evenings: Smithfield and the Iveagh Gardens markets compete for the same dinner crowd; reserve restaurants ahead.
• Late-night cheap eats on New Year’s Eve: DiFontaine’s and other late openers may close earlier than usual or have major queues.

Cuid 22

Cheap Eats Dublin: FAQ

What is the cheapest meal in Dublin?

A DiFontaine’s pizza slice, an El Grito taco or a supermarket meal-deal lunch are among the cheaper filling meals in the city. For a proper sit-down meal on a budget, Umi Falafel or a pie at the Pieman Cafe both work.

Where do locals eat cheaply in Dublin?

Boojum (early dinner), DiFontaine’s (late-night), Umi Falafel (lunch), Pho Kim (Vietnamese), the Long Hall (pub lunch), Two Pups (coffee + cheap brunch).

Are Dublin pub meals cheap?

Reasonably. Lunch at a heritage pub such as Mulligan’s is one of the more affordable ways to sit down to a full meal in the city centre, and the Long Hall does simple bar snacks to go with a pint. Pub dinners usually cost more than lunch.

How can a family eat cheaply in Dublin?

Self-cater breakfast at the hotel/apartment, eat lunch at premium-restaurant set-lunch deals (Etto from Thursday to Saturday, the Pig’s Ear on Saturdays, Pichet), and grab takeaway dinner at Boojum or Bunsen. Keeping restaurant meals to lunchtime is the easiest way for a family of four to hold the daily bill down.

Are vegetarians well-catered for in Dublin cheap eats?

Yes. Umi Falafel, Cornucopia (one of Dublin’s longest-running vegetarian restaurants), Govinda’s on Abbey Street and most Asian restaurants have strong, affordable vegetarian options.

Where can I eat cheaply in Temple Bar?

DiFontaine’s pizza slice, the Brick Alley Café, the Library Project Café and the Temple Bar Food Market (Saturdays). Avoid the main Temple Bar restaurants, which are noticeably pricier than equivalent dishes elsewhere.

Is €15 enough for a meal in Dublin?

Usually. Most of the cheap eats in this guide serve a filling meal for €15 or less, though the premium-restaurant lunch deals cost more. Budget a little extra if you want a drink with it.

Cuid 23

Plan the Rest of Your Dublin Food Trip

Cheap eating in Dublin doesn’t mean compromising on quality. Pair this with our pillar on Dublin restaurants & food, our Dublin on a budget guide, our free things to do in Dublin for budget-balanced itineraries, and our traditional Irish food guide.

If you would rather graze your way around with a guide, the Dublin food tours guide covers the tastings that include enough food to count as lunch.

Plant-based eaters have their own well-priced options — the guide to vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Dublin has the full list.

Cuid 24

Keep Reading

• Best Restaurants Near Temple Bar & Trinity — eating well in the most expensive square kilometre in Ireland.
• Best Fish and Chips in Dublin — one of the few things in the city that costs less than it would in London.
• Late-Night Food in Dublin — where to eat cheaply between midnight and four.