Eating well in Paris for €15 a meal or less is not only possible, it is how most Parisians eat on an ordinary day. The trap is the tourist-strip place pushing a €30 “menu touristique” no local would go near. The real cheap eats in paris cluster in eight clear categories: bouillons (three courses for €15-20), Marais falafel under €10, market lunches at €8-12, crepes and galettes for €5-10, takeaway sandwiches and quiches for €5-9, Belleville and 13th-arrondissement Asian noodles for €8-13, neighborhood-bistro lunch formules at €15-22, and the worst-kept secret of budget Paris, the Monoprix prepared-food section. This guide names the addresses, the prices, and the strategy that turns a Paris food trip into a €30-a-day adventure instead of a €100-a-day grind.
For the wider view, our Paris dining guide maps the full dining landscape, and our budget Paris guide sets eating alongside accommodation, attractions, and transit. For markets and bakeries in particular, see Paris food markets and best bakeries in Paris.
The Paris Cheap-Eats Strategy
The Parisian budget rhythm is two real meals a day plus a coffee or pastry break, not three sit-down restaurant meals. Lunch is the bigger one, eaten between noon and 2pm; dinner is often a lighter market picnic, a boulangerie takeaway, or a small bistro plate. Most central neighborhood bistros run a “formule de midi” (lunch set menu) at €15-22 for two courses, or €20-28 for three. The same kitchens charge €40-70 at dinner. That gap is the single most important move for eating well on a budget in Paris.
Tap water (carafe d’eau) is free at every restaurant by law, so always ask for it. A bottle adds €5-12 to the check. Coffee runs €1.50-3 at the bar (au comptoir), €3-6 sitting down (en salle), and €4-8 on a terrace. A tip is optional, since service is included by law, but rounding up to the euro is appreciated.
The places to avoid are predictable. Anywhere within 500 metres of the Eiffel Tower base, the lower end of the Champs-Élysées, Place du Tertre in Montmartre, the Notre-Dame parvis, Rue de la Huchette in the Latin Quarter, and the corners around the lower Sacré-Coeur staircase: tourist density runs highest there and food quality stays uniformly poor. Two simple rules cover most of it. If a server greets you in four languages at the door, the food is below average. If there is a photo menu out front, keep walking.
The Bouillons: Three-Course Meals Under €20
The bouillon is the most efficient cheap-eats category going. Founded in 1855 as Paris’s answer to the workingman’s lunch, bouillons serve traditional three-course meals at €15-20 in cavernous Belle Époque rooms. They take no reservations, the queue is half the fun, and the tables turn fast. This is the cheapest sit-down meal in central Paris.
Bouillon Pigalle (18th, 22 Boulevard de Clichy)
The flagship of the modern bouillon revival, opened in 2017 by the Moussié brothers. 200 seats, with a 60-to-90-minute queue at peak. Open noon to midnight every day. The three-course menu lands at €15-20: oeuf mayo for €1.90, bourguignon for €12.50, lemon tart for €4.50. Wine starts at €3 a glass. No reservations, so arrive at 11:30am or 5:30pm to skip the line. Métro: Pigalle (Lines 2, 12).
Bouillon République (3rd, 39 Boulevard du Temple)
Same owners as Pigalle, opened in 2020. Identical pricing and concept, with smaller crowds because it gets photographed less. The Sancerre by the glass is the pick here at €5. Métro: République (Lines 3, 5, 8, 9, 11) or Filles du Calvaire (Line 8).
Bouillon Chartier (9th, 7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre)
The original, going since 1896, and at 1,000 seats the largest in Paris. The decor has not been touched in a century: brass coat racks, a painted-tin ceiling, paper tablecloths the waiters scrawl your order on directly. Three courses for €18-22. Queue 30-60 minutes at 7-8pm, far less at 1pm. Métro: Grands Boulevards (Lines 8, 9).
Bouillon Julien (10th, 16 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis)
The most beautiful bouillon interior, full stop: 1906 Art Nouveau with peacock-feather mosaics, etched mirrors, and original furniture. Three courses run €22-28, pricier than Pigalle, but the room alone earns the difference. Métro: Strasbourg-Saint-Denis (Lines 4, 8, 9).
Bouillon Saint-Michel (6th)
The Left Bank entry in the revival, with the same Moussié-brothers menu. The queue stays reasonable most evenings, and the room is smaller than Pigalle.
Falafel and Middle Eastern Under €10
The Marais’s historic Jewish quarter, along Rue des Rosiers, has run a tight falafel rivalry since the 1970s. Wrapped in pita, dripping with eggplant and tahini, eaten standing on the cobblestones outside: this is one of the city’s great cheap meals, and it comes in well under €10.
L’As du Falafel (34 Rue des Rosiers, 4th)
Founded in 1979, and the cult choice. The “Falafel Spécial” at €8.50 packs deep-fried falafel balls, fried eggplant, red cabbage, hummus, tahini, and pickled pink turnip into a warm pita. Closed from Friday afternoon through Saturday for Shabbat. Expect a 10-to-30-minute queue at any weekday lunch.
Mi-Va-Mi (23 Rue des Rosiers, 4th)
Where locals turn when the L’As queue gets out of hand. The same €7-9 sandwich, with sit-down tables in the back.
Chez Marianne (2 Rue des Hospitalières-Saint-Gervais, 4th)
A broader Mediterranean menu: falafel, hummus plates, shakshuka, schnitzel sandwiches. €8-15. Sit-down restaurant or takeaway window.
King Falafel Palace and Le Falafel King (Rue du Roi de Sicile)
Two more falafel windows facing off on the parallel street, at €7-9. Quality holds up across the whole Marais falafel block, so you can hardly go wrong.
Crepes and Galettes Under €12
The crepe is the original Parisian street food. Sweet crepes from sidewalk windows run €3-7; savoury buckwheat galettes in a proper creperie run €8-15. Brittany brought the galette to Paris when Bretons poured into Gare Montparnasse in the 19th century, which is why the densest cluster of genuine creperies still sits in the 14th, just west of the station.
- Breizh Café (109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 3rd; several branches) — Bertrand Larcher’s Brittany-cidered creperie. Galettes €9-15, sweet crepes €6-10. Reserve for lunch and dinner. The benchmark modern creperie.
- Crêperie Plougastel (47 Rue du Montparnasse, 14th) — old-school Breton, €9-13 galettes, cash preferred.
- Au P’tit Grec (68 Rue Mouffetard, 5th) — not French, but the cheap gyros and the savoury crepes both run €6-8 to take away.
- Street crepe vendors — the Eiffel Tower base, the foot of Sacré-Coeur, Place de la Bastille; €3-6 for a takeaway crepe with Nutella, banana, or lemon-sugar. Quality is hit or miss, so pick a stand with locals in line.
- Crêperie de Josselin (67 Rue du Montparnasse, 14th) — family-run since 1972, with a cult-loved galette complete (egg, ham, cheese) for €11.
Market Lunches Under €15
The most authentic and most consistently good cheap meal in Paris is the market lunch counter. Covered markets like Marche des Enfants Rouges and Marche d’Aligre hold 5 to 15 lunch stands run by serious cooks, some of them trained in restaurant kitchens, some immigrant entrepreneurs whose food has become neighborhood legend. Most stalls sell €8-15 plates from noon to 3pm.
Marché des Enfants Rouges (3rd, 39 Rue de Bretagne)
The oldest covered market in Paris (1615), with a dozen-plus lunch counters spanning Moroccan (Le Traiteur Marocain, lamb tagine €12), Italian (Alain Miam Miam sandwiches €8-10), Japanese (CISCO bento €13), Lebanese (Soroya mezze €10-14), and French. Queues run from noon to 3pm, so arrive at noon sharp on a Saturday or 1:30pm on a weekday for the shortest wait. Métro: Filles du Calvaire (Line 8).
Marché d’Aligre (12th, Place d’Aligre)
The cheapest market lunch in central Paris. Maghreb and Middle Eastern takeaway stalls: merguez sandwiches €5-7, falafel plates €8-10, tagines €10-12. Open Tuesday to Sunday morning. Pair it with the small flea market behind the covered hall. Métro: Ledru-Rollin (Line 8).
Marché Mouffetard (5th)
A pedestrianized market street rather than an enclosed hall, with several takeaway counters and the Au P’tit Grec gyro window. Tuesday to Saturday morning, plus Sunday morning.
Sandwiches and Takeaway Under €10
Boulangeries and patisseries double as sandwich shops at lunch. The classic Parisian working lunch is a jambon-beurre, ham and butter on a quartered baguette, for €4-6, eaten on a bench or in a park. The better boulangeries also turn out quiche, pissaladière, and small salads.
- Jambon-beurre at any quality boulangerie — €4-6. Best of the lot: Du Pain et des Idées (10th, closed Sat-Sun), Maison Mulot (6th), La Parisienne (5th, the 2025 baguette champion).
- Quiche Lorraine at boulangeries — €5-8 a slice. Maison Pradier does it well.
- Croque-monsieur takeaway at café windows — €6-9.
- Pan-bagnat (the Niçoise tuna salad sandwich) at Mediterranean delis — €7-10.
- Boulangerie BO sandwich + soup combo (12th) — €9-12.
- Frasca Food & Wine (10th) — an Italian-leaning sandwich plus a glass of wine for €13.
- Le Petit Cler sandwich window (Rue Cler, 7th) — €6-10, with an Eiffel-side terrace nearby for the picnic.
Asian Noodles in Belleville and the 13th
Paris’s Vietnamese Chinatown runs along Avenue d’Ivry and Avenue de Choisy in the 13th, with a second Asian neighborhood around Belleville on the 19th-20th border. Pho, banh mi, ramen, dim sum, and Cambodian noodles all sit in the €8-13 range, served by family operators most tourists never stumble onto.
Pho 14 (129 Avenue de Choisy, 13th)
Paris’s most famous pho. A bowl of pho bo runs €10-13, with a queue out the door to match. Métro: Tolbiac (Line 7).
Pho 79 (3 Rue Volta, 3rd)
The central-Marais option, with a shorter line and the same €10-13 pricing.
Saigon Sandwich (5 Rue de la Présentation, 11th)
Banh mi at €6.50-8, and one of the best Vietnamese sandwiches in the city.
Higuma (32 Rue Sainte-Anne, 1st)
Japanese ramen in the “Little Tokyo” pocket near Opéra, €11-14. The lunch queue is a given.
Le Cambodge (10 Avenue Richerand, 10th)
Cambodian noodles, with the bobun at €13. Reservations advised.
Bistro Lunch Formules Under €25
A real bistro lunch is the single best food value in Paris. Most neighborhood bistros run a two-course “formule de midi” or a three-course “menu de midi” for €15-22 on weekdays, and charge double that for the same cooking at dinner. Cheese, charcuterie, a glass of wine, dessert: serious cooking, table service, weekdays only.
- Le Petit Cler (29 Rue Cler, 7th) — two-course formule €19; a classic French bistro on the Eiffel-side pedestrian market street.
- Le Square Trousseau (1 Rue Antoine-Vollon, 12th) — a 1900 bistro near Marché d’Aligre; formule €18-22.
- Le Petit Vatel (5 Rue Lobineau, 6th) — three-course lunch €18 in a tiny Left Bank room.
- Robert et Louise (64 Rue Vieille du Temple, 3rd) — a Marais bistro with a fireplace; lunch formule €18-22.
- Bistrot Paul Bert (18 Rue Paul Bert, 11th) — a classic 11th-arrondissement bistro; lunch €22, and book ahead.
- Café Constant (139 Rue Saint-Dominique, 7th) — Christian Constant’s bistro; lunch €22-28 (a touch over €25, but a great deal).
- Le Saint-Honoré — one of many neighborhood lunch spots; the trick is simply to ask for “la formule de midi” at any bistro.
Monoprix and Carrefour: The Local Picnic Secret
The most underrated cheap-eats move in Paris is the Monoprix picnic. Every neighborhood has at least one large Monoprix, and the food halls inside rival a small market for range. The rotisserie counter alone underwrites countless Parisian Saturday lunches: a whole roast chicken for €7-10, sometimes over potatoes that have caught the dripping fat in the bottom of the bag.
Here is the pattern. Stop at Monoprix and grab a roast chicken (€7-10), two or three cheeses from the deli counter (€3-7 each), a small saucisson sec (€4-6), a baguette tradition from the bakery aisle (€1.30), a salad (€3-5), a few pieces of fruit (€2-4), and a bottle of Cotes-du-Rhone (€6-9) or Champagne (the Monoprix house Champagne is €19). Total: €25-40 for two, eaten on a Seine quay or in a park. This is how a lot of Parisians handle Saturday or Sunday lunch.
Carrefour City and Franprix are the smaller alternatives, with similar quality, though Monoprix has the strongest prepared-food selection of the three. Picard, the frozen-food specialist, is worth a stop for genuinely good frozen meals (€5-12) you can reheat in an apart-hotel.
Cheap Wine in Paris: Under €10 a Bottle
The French supermarket wine aisle is the most generous in the world to a budget drinker. A perfectly drinkable Cotes-du-Rhone or Languedoc red runs €6-9 at Monoprix or Carrefour. The same bottle in a restaurant is €30-45. For a cost-conscious traveler, the supermarket-bottle-plus-park-picnic combination is the genuine workaround.
A few cheap-but-good merchants worth knowing: Nicolas (a chain with branches everywhere) sells reliable own-brand bottles at €6-12. Le Repaire de Bacchus (also a chain) leans toward natural wine at €9-15. La Cave des Caves (3rd) is a serious independent natural-wine cellar with affordable picks. And the Sunday-morning small-producer stalls at Marché d’Aligre and Marché Mouffetard sell direct from the vignerons at producer prices, which is where the real finds hide.
The Tourist-Trap Avoidance List
A short list of the patterns to recognize and steer around:
- Restaurants with photo menus on the sidewalk.
- Menus printed in five or more languages.
- Sidewalk hosts waving you in (real restaurants never do this).
- Anywhere within 500m of the Eiffel Tower base.
- The lower-Concorde end of the Champs-Élysées.
- The middle of Place du Tertre in Montmartre.
- Restaurants sitting right on the Notre-Dame parvis.
- Rue de la Huchette in the Latin Quarter.
- Anywhere with a giant Eiffel Tower replica or French-flag bunting out front.
- Anywhere chalking “menu touristique” on a board outside.
A €30-a-Day Eating Plan
A realistic budget day, eating in central Paris:
- Breakfast — croissant plus café crème at a neighborhood boulangerie or café au comptoir: €5-7.
- Mid-morning — pain au chocolat: €2-3.
- Lunch — a market counter at Marche des Enfants Rouges, Aligre, or a bistro lunch formule: €10-15.
- Afternoon — espresso at the comptoir: €1.50-3.
- Dinner — a Bouillon Pigalle three-course, or a Monoprix picnic with supermarket wine: €15-22.
- Daily total: roughly €35-50 for a full day of eating. Two people can eat well together for €65-85 a day, wine included.
Cheap Eats by Neighborhood
- Marais (3rd/4th): L’As du Falafel, Mi-Va-Mi, the Marché des Enfants Rouges lunch counters, Bouillon République, Pho 79.
- Latin Quarter (5th): Au P’tit Grec, the Marché Mouffetard takeaways, La Parisienne sandwiches.
- Saint-Germain (6th): Le Petit Vatel formule, Maison Mulot sandwiches, Bouillon Saint-Michel.
- Eiffel-side (7th): Le Petit Cler formule, Rue Cler market-street sandwiches.
- SoPi/Opéra (9th): Bouillon Chartier, neighborhood boulangeries.
- Canal Saint-Martin (10th): Du Pain et des Idées jambon-beurre, Frasca Food & Wine, Holybelly brunch.
- Bastille (11th-12th): Le Square Trousseau formule, Marché d’Aligre, Marché Bastille.
- Chinatown (13th): Pho 14, the Avenue de Choisy noodle shops.
- Montmartre (18th): Bouillon Pigalle.
- Belleville (19th-20th): cheap Asian and Maghreb, plus a Parc de Belleville picnic.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cheap Eats in Paris
What is the cheapest meal in Paris?
A jambon-beurre from a boulangerie at €4-6 is the cheapest proper Parisian meal. A full bouillon three-course at €15-20 is the cheapest sit-down restaurant option. A Monoprix rotisserie chicken at €7-10, split between two, is the cheapest hot dinner.
Are bouillons in Paris really cheap?
Yes, honestly cheap. Bouillon Pigalle and Bouillon République serve three courses, starter, main, and dessert, for €15-20. Bouillon Chartier (since 1896) is the original at €18-22. The decor and the waiters’ speed are part of what you are paying for.
Where can I get cheap lunch in Paris?
Three best bets: a market lunch counter at Marché des Enfants Rouges or Marché d’Aligre (€8-14); a neighborhood bistro’s lunch formule (€15-22 for two courses); or a quiche and salad from any quality boulangerie (€7-10).
Is street food good in Paris?
Some of it, not most. The genuinely good Paris street food is the Marais falafel windows (L’As, Mi-Va-Mi), the Vietnamese banh mi shops, and neighborhood crepe stands. The bad version is anything near the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Coeur staircase, or the Champs-Élysées. It is uneven across the board, so stick to the Marais and the Vietnamese pockets.
How do French people eat cheaply?
Two meals a day: a big lunch (often a bistro formule or a Monoprix picnic) and a light dinner (market plus boulangerie, or supermarket). Tap water with meals, free. Coffee at the bar at €1.50. An apero with friends in place of a restaurant dinner. The 35-hour workweek leaves room for long lunches, and tourists who shift to that rhythm eat both better and cheaper.
What is the cheapest sit-down restaurant in Paris?
Bouillon Pigalle (18th), reliably. Three courses land at €15-20. No reservations, with a 60-to-90-minute queue at peak. Le Petit Vatel (6th) is similarly cheap at €18.
Where is the best falafel in Paris?
L’As du Falafel (34 Rue des Rosiers, 4th) has been the cult choice since 1979, and the “Falafel Spécial” at €8.50 is the reference. Mi-Va-Mi, just nearby, is the local fallback when the L’As queue gets too long. Both close Friday afternoon and Saturday for Shabbat.
Can you eat in Paris for €30 a day?
Yes, comfortably. The pattern: croissant and coffee for breakfast (€5), a market counter or boulangerie lunch (€10-12), an espresso break (€2), and a bouillon or Monoprix-picnic dinner (€15-18). The trick is to skip the tourist-strip restaurants entirely and commit to one real bistro meal a day (at lunch) plus a casual second meal.
Plan the Rest of Your Paris Trip
Eating cheaply is one piece of a Paris budget trip. Pair this guide with our money-saving Paris guide for accommodation and attractions, our Paris food markets guide for where to buy picnic supplies, our best bakeries in Paris guide for sandwich and pastry stops, and our free things to do in Paris guide for the monuments you can see without a ticket. For the full dining picture, splurges included, see best restaurants in Paris and the Paris food scene. Other useful cluster reads: best cafes in Paris, best wine bars, French dishes to try in Paris, Paris food tours, Paris Michelin restaurants, and Paris cooking classes. For broader planning: plan a trip to Paris, where to stay in Paris, getting around Paris, the guide to Paris’s quarters, things to do in Paris, Paris attractions, the Paris museums guide, the best time to visit Paris, Paris with kids, day trips from Paris, romantic Paris, the Paris shopping guide, and the Paris nightlife guide.
Related Paris guides
Use these to round out your trip: