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Gnocchi from Drogheria Fine
Drogheria Fine/Facebook

16 Montreal Restaurants for Delicious, Affordable Eats

Here’s where to get pillowy gnocchi, crispy falafel, and a flavour-packed goat roti, all for a good price

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Gnocchi from Drogheria Fine
| Drogheria Fine/Facebook

"Cheap eats" is a nebulous term. Sure, a croissant is inexpensive, but it isn’t nearly filling enough to sub for an entire meal. For this map, the focus is on those spots serving up dishes both substantial enough for lunch or dinner and affordably priced — somewhere in the ballpark of $10.

Be it the griot cubes and heaping pile of rice from Villeray mainstay Marché Méli-Melo, a grilled chicken sandwich from Concordia student favourite Antep Kebab, or the crisp falafels from Nilufar in Shaughnessy Village, one thing is sure: You won’t leave hungry.

If your personal favourite isn’t listed below, have a look at some of the other maps featuring affordable options for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, dumplings, and poutine — or send us a tip at montreal@eater.com.

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Boucherie Abu Elias

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Ridiculously good sandwiches abound at this part-butcher shop, part-sandwich counter out in Ville St-Laurent. Get the lamb, shish taouk, kafta, filet mignon, or sujuk (sausage), all char-grilled to perfection and stuffed into pitas with tangy pickles.

When it comes to the price-to-meal ratio in Côte-des-Neiges, 36-year-old Pushap is legendary. Vegetarian thalis come at bafflingly low prices so that you can spend the rest on its samosas and Indian sweets (sold by the pound).

Falafel St. Jacques

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The sandwiches at this much-loved counter-service gem in Ville St-Pierre are vegetarian, inexpensive, and oh so delicious. Its falafel pita is widely regarded as one of the best in the city, but don’t sleep on the meat-free shiitake mushroom shish taouk or the sabich (fried eggplant sandwich) either.

Montreal Chinese Crepes & Dumplings

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Jian bing (Chinese crepes) filled with soybean paste, barbecue pork, and some less conventional options like jerk beef and beer-battered fried chicken are half of what this Montreal West haunt is offering. Platters of boiled and fried dumplings — slightly pricier than the crepes — make up much of the rest.

Marché Méli-Melo

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Méli-Melo has been a premier purveyor of home-style Haitian food in Villeray since 1984. This modest grocery store-meets-takeout-counter serves rich and flavourful griot (pork cubes) with rice, beans, and pikliz every day of the week.

Marché Hung Phat

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Only one of the best Vietnamese grocery stores and banh mi shops in Montreal, Hung Phat has been doing lots right since opening in 2006. That includes offering delicious, satiating grub for less than $10.

Momesso

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An over four-decade-old neighbourhood institution in NDG, Momesso’s Italian subs are the main draw here. The seven-inch options hover around $10, with classic fillings including sausage, chicken, steak, and pepperoni. Daily trio specials (with fries and a soft drink) further sweeten the deal.

Phyllo Bar Melina's

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Flaky phyllo dough encases spinach and feta (spanakopita), ricotta and feta (tyropita), and leek and potato (prassopita) for only $5 each at this Parc Avenue counter. Sandwiches, soups, salads, and traditional Greek dips are similarly priced and equally worth your while.

Drogheria Fine

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If you’ve ever braved the lineup at Kem CoBa, you’re familiar with its gnocchi-slinging next-door neighbour. The smell of simmering tomato sauce tends to waft over, and it may have even convinced you to abandon ice cream plans in favour of pasta once before — its boxes of piping hot, pillowy gnocchi are just $5.

Tacos Frida

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What is arguably St-Henri’s favourite taco joint is also among its most affordable. From carnitas and pastor to nopales and tinga, the food at this Oaxacan family venture is all great — and it’s served in a homey space to boot.

Nilufar

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Concordia students are known to chow down on low-priced falafels and pitas here — often served up by Nilufar herself. She’s known for her vibrant personality, both from behind the counter and the computer screen — i.e., on Facebook.

Yin Ji Chang Fen

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Longstanding Guangzhou restaurant chain Yin Ji Chang Fen was an instant hit with Montreal’s downtown crowd after opening in March 2021. Located on Ste-Catherine, near Concordia, the restaurant keeps a long menu of congee options and dim sum dishes, but its main attraction is its cheung fun, paper-thin Cantonese rice noodle rolls filled with shrimp, pork, beef, and more coming in at around $5.

Antep Kabab

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There are few better ways to spend about $10 in Montreal than on Antep Kebab’s chicken sandwich, grilled fresh to order and served with a slathering of yogurt and homemade hot sauce on freshly baked, sesame-topped Turkish bread.

Greenspot

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A St-Henri mainstay for longer than most Montrealers have been alive, Greenspot means different things to different people: a late-night poutine and greasy burger for some and a diner breakfast for others. Either way, it’s filling and affordable.

Arepera

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Venezuelan arepas (stuffed cornmeal cakes) are the focus at this lively spot on Prince Arthur Street, in the heart of the Plateau. The menu is extensive, with shredded, tomatoey beef, roasted pork with avocado salad, and black beans with salty andino cheese making up just a small sampling of the arepa variations on offer. Arepera’s empanadas, yucca fries, and plantain cheesecake are also reasonably priced and worth the try.

Boom J's Cuisine

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With just over $10 at Boom J’s, diners can get their hands on roti generously filled with curry goat, beef, or chicken. The Jamaican takeout joint is hard to beat when it comes to incredibly tasty, thrifty food in Pointe-St-Charles — and, since June, also in Ville-Émard.

Boucherie Abu Elias

Ridiculously good sandwiches abound at this part-butcher shop, part-sandwich counter out in Ville St-Laurent. Get the lamb, shish taouk, kafta, filet mignon, or sujuk (sausage), all char-grilled to perfection and stuffed into pitas with tangy pickles.

Pushap

When it comes to the price-to-meal ratio in Côte-des-Neiges, 36-year-old Pushap is legendary. Vegetarian thalis come at bafflingly low prices so that you can spend the rest on its samosas and Indian sweets (sold by the pound).

Falafel St. Jacques

The sandwiches at this much-loved counter-service gem in Ville St-Pierre are vegetarian, inexpensive, and oh so delicious. Its falafel pita is widely regarded as one of the best in the city, but don’t sleep on the meat-free shiitake mushroom shish taouk or the sabich (fried eggplant sandwich) either.

Montreal Chinese Crepes & Dumplings

Jian bing (Chinese crepes) filled with soybean paste, barbecue pork, and some less conventional options like jerk beef and beer-battered fried chicken are half of what this Montreal West haunt is offering. Platters of boiled and fried dumplings — slightly pricier than the crepes — make up much of the rest.

Marché Méli-Melo

Méli-Melo has been a premier purveyor of home-style Haitian food in Villeray since 1984. This modest grocery store-meets-takeout-counter serves rich and flavourful griot (pork cubes) with rice, beans, and pikliz every day of the week.

Marché Hung Phat

Only one of the best Vietnamese grocery stores and banh mi shops in Montreal, Hung Phat has been doing lots right since opening in 2006. That includes offering delicious, satiating grub for less than $10.

Momesso

An over four-decade-old neighbourhood institution in NDG, Momesso’s Italian subs are the main draw here. The seven-inch options hover around $10, with classic fillings including sausage, chicken, steak, and pepperoni. Daily trio specials (with fries and a soft drink) further sweeten the deal.

Phyllo Bar Melina's

Flaky phyllo dough encases spinach and feta (spanakopita), ricotta and feta (tyropita), and leek and potato (prassopita) for only $5 each at this Parc Avenue counter. Sandwiches, soups, salads, and traditional Greek dips are similarly priced and equally worth your while.

Drogheria Fine

If you’ve ever braved the lineup at Kem CoBa, you’re familiar with its gnocchi-slinging next-door neighbour. The smell of simmering tomato sauce tends to waft over, and it may have even convinced you to abandon ice cream plans in favour of pasta once before — its boxes of piping hot, pillowy gnocchi are just $5.

Tacos Frida

What is arguably St-Henri’s favourite taco joint is also among its most affordable. From carnitas and pastor to nopales and tinga, the food at this Oaxacan family venture is all great — and it’s served in a homey space to boot.

Nilufar

Concordia students are known to chow down on low-priced falafels and pitas here — often served up by Nilufar herself. She’s known for her vibrant personality, both from behind the counter and the computer screen — i.e., on Facebook.

Yin Ji Chang Fen

Longstanding Guangzhou restaurant chain Yin Ji Chang Fen was an instant hit with Montreal’s downtown crowd after opening in March 2021. Located on Ste-Catherine, near Concordia, the restaurant keeps a long menu of congee options and dim sum dishes, but its main attraction is its cheung fun, paper-thin Cantonese rice noodle rolls filled with shrimp, pork, beef, and more coming in at around $5.

Antep Kabab

There are few better ways to spend about $10 in Montreal than on Antep Kebab’s chicken sandwich, grilled fresh to order and served with a slathering of yogurt and homemade hot sauce on freshly baked, sesame-topped Turkish bread.

Greenspot

A St-Henri mainstay for longer than most Montrealers have been alive, Greenspot means different things to different people: a late-night poutine and greasy burger for some and a diner breakfast for others. Either way, it’s filling and affordable.

Arepera

Venezuelan arepas (stuffed cornmeal cakes) are the focus at this lively spot on Prince Arthur Street, in the heart of the Plateau. The menu is extensive, with shredded, tomatoey beef, roasted pork with avocado salad, and black beans with salty andino cheese making up just a small sampling of the arepa variations on offer. Arepera’s empanadas, yucca fries, and plantain cheesecake are also reasonably priced and worth the try.

Boom J's Cuisine

With just over $10 at Boom J’s, diners can get their hands on roti generously filled with curry goat, beef, or chicken. The Jamaican takeout joint is hard to beat when it comes to incredibly tasty, thrifty food in Pointe-St-Charles — and, since June, also in Ville-Émard.