Paris comes across as a really gastronomic city, so you might be worried about how much food is going to cost during your trip. Sure, there are some VERY expensive restaurants in Paris, but I’m happy to let you know that there are tons of really affordable places too. If you’re on a budget, you can save a LOT of money by tracking down these great cheap eats in Paris.
Baguette sandwich
You CAN’T come to France without trying a baguette sandwich, plus they’re one of the best cheap eats in Paris. There are over 1,300 bakeries in the city, and you’ll find baguette sandwiches at most of these. They can vary in price from €3-€10, depending on the bakery and type of sandwich. The most classic is jambon-beurre, ham and butter, but there are usually a couple of different types, including at least one vegetarian option.
Since there are soooo many bakeries, it’s hard to say which has the best baguette sandwiches, but I can give you a helpful tip. Look out for awards on bakery windows, like “meilleure baguette de tradition” (pictured above), the best traditional baguette in Paris. Le Grenier à Pain in Montmartre has won the contest twice, and their sandwiches are top-notch. Even if a bakery has won 2nd or 3rd prize, or another contest, its bread, and therefore its sandwiches, will still be pretty darn good.
Gluten intolerant? Pas de problème, go to La Manufacture du Sans Gluten, which is a great gluten-free bakery, also in Montmartre. You can stop by it, or Le Grenier à Pain, during the walking route of Day 3 of our Paris Itineraries.
Image Courtesy of Gosselin via Instagram
Fougasse
For a change from a baguette sandwich, or if you’re craving a savory snack, look out for fougasse. Originally from the South of France, this is a small savory flatbread filled with various ingredients, such as ham, cheese, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. Many bakeries sell it, like Gosselin in Saint-Germain, and the Grenier à Pain’s fougasse is also amazing.
It usually costs €3-€5 and is in a basket on the counter or displayed near the sandwiches, not next to the baguettes. The vendor might ask if you’d like it “chauffée,” which means heated up. If you’re planning on eating it right away, say “oui”, this’ll make it extra tasty.
Quiche
The French ADORE quiches, which are savory egg-based tarts filled with different ingredients. The most famous is Quiche Lorraine, which has ham, cream, and sometimes cheese, but you’ll usually find some vegetarian options like goat cheese and spinach.
Most bakeries sell them for about €4-€6, and the vendor will likely ask if you’d like it “chauffée” – heated up. Some sit-down restaurants, like casual brasseries, modern cafés, or tea salons, such as Le Loir dans la Théière in the Marais, also serve them. They’ll be more expensive at a sit-down restaurant, but still pretty affordable and cheaper than a lot of other dishes.
Crêpes
I think crêpes are among the best cheap eats in Paris, AND they’re also super tasty. Plus, you can get them in two ways, from a street stand or a sit-down crêperie. Either way, it’s a bargain meal or snack in Paris.
You’ll find crêpe stands all around the city, usually in touristy or busy areas. Here you’ll pay between €3-€10 for a crêpe, depending on what ingredients you choose. There’ll always be a choice of sweet and savory toppings, and these will be listed separately as different options. The most common sweet option is Nutella, but the most traditional is sugar and lemon. For a savory crêpe, ham and cheese is pretty popular, or cheese and egg, or mushrooms.
A sit-down crêperie is a tad more expensive, but it’ll give you the chance to relax and rest your feet over your meal, use the bathroom, and try a traditional crêpe. Originally from Brittany, a savory crêpe should be made of buckwheat flour (which is gluten-free) and is called a galette. Sweet crêpes use regular wheat flour and are called crêpes de froment.
Most takeaway crepe stands use the regular white flour for both. Looking at the menu at a traditional crêperie, you’ll see more creative recipes, for both savory and sweet crêpes, than you’ll find at a takeaway stand. There are sit-down crêperies all over Paris, but the best are in the Montparnasse area, on rue Odessa and rue du Montparnasse, where the famous Crêperie de Josselin is located.
Instead of wine, order some cider with your crêpe. Low in alcohol, it’s also from Brittany and is the beverage that’s commonly paired with crêpes. It’s also usually pretty affordable, too.
Croque-Monsieur
This is another very classic type of cheap eats in Paris. A croque-monsieur is like a grilled cheese sandwich, but with a French twist. It’s made of two slices of white bread, with ham and bechamel sauce inside, and then topped with more sauce and grated cheese before being heated in the oven. You might also see a croque-madame, which is a croque-monsieur with a fried egg on top.
Some bakeries sell croque-monsieur for about €5, and they’ll heat it up for you. You can also find them at virtually all brasseries and casual cafés, like the ones included in our Paris Itineraries. Here they’ll cost around €9-€12, which will be among the cheapest dishes on the menu, so they’re a great option for a good-value sit-down meal.
Flammekueche
Although it’s hard to pronounce the name of this creamy “pizza” from the eastern region of Alsace (it’s something like flem-kooosh), trust me, they are REALLY tasty and affordable. The base, which is crispier than pizza dough, is topped with thick cream, bacon, and onions, but some places offer other varieties, including vegetarian options.
You won’t find them in tons of restaurants in Paris, but you’ll occasionally see them on the menu of some brasseries. The best place to try them is at L’Alsacien, a casual eatery with two branches in convenient locations, Chatelet and République. Their flammekueches are €11.50-€13.50, making them another amazing option for a cheap sit-down meal in Paris.
Image Courtesy of Bouillion Pigalle via Facebook
Bouillons
If you’d like to try some other classic French dishes, but are on a budget, then go to a bouillon. These are large, “cheap and cheerful” restaurants that serve traditional French food at really reasonable prices. Some are part of very small chains (with two restaurants), while the others are independent restaurants, but all with the same approach. At any of them, you can feast on the likes of oeuf-mayonnaise, snails, steak-frites, and confit de canard, all for bargain prices. Starters tend to go for €3-€6, and main courses for about €8-€12.
The prices are very attractive, as is the decor. Many have STUNNING Art Nouveau-style decoration, think gilded mirrors, beautiful painted tiles, and stained-glass ceilings. So it feels like you’re dining in a super fancy restaurant, but without the insanely expensive bill to match. Because they’re so cheap, they’re REALLY popular, so you might have to wait in line. A few now take online reservations, like the Bouillon Pigalle, Bouillon République, and Bouillon Julien.
Image Courtesy of Man’Ouché via Instagram
Food markets
Visiting an open-air food market is a great way to learn about French eating habits, but they’re also a very good friend of budget travelers to Paris. Most neighborhoods have an open-air food market that takes place two or three times a week from 7am to 2pm, and then there are a couple of covered markets, like the Marché Beauvau-Aligre and the Marché Saint-Quentin, near Gare de l’Est, that are open daily except Monday.
These markets have stalls selling fresh produce, meats, cheese, and some street food, so they are perfect places to pick up picnic supplies. I’ve got a little word of caution for you though, be sure to check the prices, because certain items and markets can be pricey. The Marché Barbès and the Marché Belleville are more affordable than most. Another useful tip is to go near closing time, around 1:45 pm, that’s when stalls often give you extra stuff for free.
Not all the best cheap eats in Paris are classic French dishes. Man’ouché is a super tasty Lebanese flatbread sandwich that makes for a nice change from a baguette sandwich. France and Lebanon have been friends for centuries, so it isn’t surprising that you can find great Lebanese food in Paris, like these delicious sandwiches.
The bread is made right in front of you, cooked on a large, rounded pan, which is then filled with a range of ingredients. The base is usually za’atar, a green herby paste, then you can add cheese, chopped tomato, olives, or meat. The price starts at about €6 and you can get them at Man’Ouché, near the Pompidou Centre, and a few other places around the city.
Falafel sandwich
Among other non-French cheap eats in Paris are these mouth-wateringly delicious stuffed pita sandwiches. Most people, tourists and Parisians alike, get these in the Marais, the traditional Jewish district of the city. Rue des Rosiers has a bunch of falafel joints, and the most famous is L’As du Fallafel.
I have to say, their sandwiches really are AMAZING, but at €10, they’re inching out of the “cheap” range. They’re HUGE and very filling, so they’re definitely enough for a meal and are still cheaper than a sit-down meal. If you plan on going, you can bet the lines by going on the earlier or later side of meal times. If the long is really long, or if you’d rather try a creative pita sandwich, go to Miznon, which is right around the corner.
Bánh mì
Yet another alternative to a classic baguette sandwich, you can get some fantastic bánh mìs in Paris. Invented in Vietnam when the country was under French colonial rule, it’s a small baguette filled with traditional Vietnamese toppings, usually sliced meat or stewed beef, along with cucumber, shredded carrot, and fresh coriander.
The best place to get these is in Chinatown in the 13th arrondissement. There are a lot of traditional Vietnamese eateries in the area, such as Thien Heng, which sells a few different varieties, including one with tofu, for only €3-€4. If you don’t have time to go all the way down there, you can get them in the Montorgueil area at Bánh Mì Kim Linh for about €7.
Dosai
Are you looking for a SUPER cheap meal in Paris? You can’t beat the delicious and amazingly affordable restaurants of Paris’s Little India. Found between Gare du Nord and La Chapelle métro, Indian food might seem a better fit for London, however, besides being incredibly yummy and cheap, there’s a historic reason for eating in the area.
Many of the restaurants in Little India are actually run by Sri Lankans who came to France in the 1980s-2000s, fleeing the civil war. One of the most affordable is Muniyandi Vilas, a simple, but fantastic place where you can get takeaway or eat in. Among the dishes on its great-value menu are dosais, thin pancakes that come with potato curry, sauces, or other add-ons and cost only €3. So if you’re on a really tight budget or keen to try something different, this is the place to go.
If you liked my article on cheap eats in Paris, don’t miss my other articles on where to eat in Paris. Read these next:
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