Best Cheap Restaurants in Orlando Florida ($12 or less)
The Real Orlando Cheap Eats Guide (Beyond Tourist Traps and Theme Park Food)
Forget the $18 theme park hot dogs and $25 mediocre pasta on International Drive. Real Orlando – where actual humans live and eat – has some of the best cheap food in Florida. This guide will take you from Vietnamese sandwiches in Mills 50 to Puerto Rican comfort food in Azalea Park, all for less than what you’d pay for a sad airport sandwich. Find the Best Cheap Restaurants in Orlando Florida.
Mills 50 District: Asia in Orlando (home of many of the best cheap restaurants in Orlando Florida)
Bánh Mì Nha Trang
Location: 2021 E Colonial Dr Price: $4-6 for massive sandwiches Must order: Classic bánh mì with pâté
This tiny shop makes the best Vietnamese sandwiches in Florida. Four dollars gets you a foot-long baguette stuffed with meat, pickled vegetables, cilantro, and magic. The bread is baked fresh daily. Cash only, barely any English spoken, absolutely perfect.
Pho 88
Location: 730 N Mills Ave Price: $8-11 for huge bowls Must order: Pho Tai (rare beef pho)
Bowls are comically large – easily two meals. The broth has been simmering since approximately 1988. Free tea, aggressive air conditioning, and the best hangover cure in Orlando.
Sticky Rice Lao Street Food
Location: 2021 E Colonial Dr (same plaza as Bánh Mì Nha Trang) Price: $8-12 Must order: Papaya salad, sticky rice, grilled meats
Lao food is like Thai food’s cooler, spicier cousin. Everything is meant to be eaten with your hands using sticky rice as your utensil. One order of papaya salad and grilled pork can feed two people for $15 total.
Domu:
Location: Multiple locations, original at 2201 E Colonial Price: $12-15 for ramen Must order: Tonkotsu ramen, wings
Yes, $15 seems expensive for this list, but their bowls are huge and the quality rivals $25 ramen in bigger cities. Go at lunch for $2 off. The wings are Korean-style and absolutely necessary.
https://domufl.squarespace.com/
Azalea Park: Caribbean and Latin Paradise
Lechonera El Jibarito
Location: 5770 E Colonial Dr Price: $7-10 for massive plates Must order: Pernil (roast pork) with rice and beans
The line on weekends tells you everything. Massive portions of perfectly seasoned Puerto Rican food. The pernil is fall-apart tender. One plate can honestly be two meals. They run out of the good stuff by 2 PM on weekends.
Taino’s Bakery
Location: 5876 E Colonial Dr Price: $1-3 for pastries, $6-8 for sandwiches Must order: Tripleta sandwich, quesitos
Puerto Rican bakery where $10 gets you lunch and dessert for two days. The tripleta (three-meat sandwich) is $7 and defeats physics with how much meat they fit in there. Pastries are $1-2 and better than anything at fancy bakeries.
Caribbean Sunshine Bakery
Location: 6900 E Colonial Dr Price: $6-10 for plates, $1-3 for patties Must order: Oxtail, beef patties
Jamaican spot where the oxtail is so good people call ahead to reserve it. Beef patties are $2 and basically a meal. The festival (fried dumpling) is $1 and life-changing.
Pine Hills: Soul Food Central
Nick’s Kitchen
Location: 3555 N Pine Hills Rd Price: $8-12 for plates that could feed a family Must order: Fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens
Soul food so good it makes you understand why people move to the South. The lunch special is $8 and includes meat, two sides, cornbread, and a drink. The portions are aggressive. The mac and cheese should be illegal.
Johnny’s Fillin’ Station
Location: 2631 N Hiawassee Rd Price: $7-10 Must order: BBQ sandwich, Brunswick stew
Real barbecue from a place that looks like it might fall down in a strong wind. The BBQ sandwich is $7 and stupidly good. The Brunswick stew is basically a meal in itself for $4.
Downtown/Parramore
Se7en Bites
Location: 617 Primrose Ave Price: $8-12 Must order: Chicken pot pie, any sandwich
Tiny place that makes everything from scratch. The portions are huge. The chicken pot pie is $10 and could feed two normal people or one hungry person twice. Gets slammed on weekends so go early.
Black Bean Deli
Location: 325 S Orange Ave Price: $7-10 Must order: Cuban sandwich, black beans and rice
Cuban sandwich that rivals anything in Miami for $8. The black beans and rice for $4 is a full meal. Downtown workers have been keeping this place alive for 20 years for a reason.
International Drive (But the Good Parts)
Nile Ethiopian Restaurant
Location: 7048 International Dr Price: $10-15 for huge portions Must order: Vegetarian combo
Hidden behind a gas station. The vegetarian combo is $12 and gives you like 8 different dishes with injera bread. It’s meant for two people but honestly could feed three. BYOB with no corkage fee.
Havana’s Cuban Cuisine
Location: 8544 International Dr Price: $8-12 Must order: Cuban sandwich, vaca frita
Not the touristy Cuban places. This is where actual Cubans eat. The lunch special is $8.99 for a full plate with meat, rice, beans, and plantains. The Cuban sandwich is $7 and authentic.
Food Trucks That Don’t Move
La Chona Tacos
Location: Usually at 6521 S Orange Blossom Trail Price: $2-3 per taco Must order: Al pastor, lengua
Real Mexican tacos for $2 each. Not the gentrified stuff, the real deal with onions, cilantro, and meat that’s been cooking all day. Five tacos and a Mexican Coke = $12 and you’re stuffed.
Monsta Lobsta
Location: Rotating, check Instagram Price: $12-15 for lobster rolls Must order: Connecticut roll
Ok $15 for a food truck seems high but it’s a LOBSTER ROLL. A real one. With actual chunks of lobster. This would be $28 at a restaurant.
Hidden Gems in Random Strip Malls
Shin Jung
Location: 1638 E Colonial Dr Price: $10-15 Must order: Korean BBQ lunch special
All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ for lunch is $15. That’s not a typo. Quality is legit, banchan (side dishes) are unlimited, and they don’t rush you.
Pho Vinh
Location: 657 N Primrose Dr Price: $8-11 Must order: Bún bò Huế
Better than Pho 88 but nobody knows about it. The bún bò Huế is $10 and has enough meat to feed a small army. They give you free shrimp chips while you wait.
Zaza New Cuban Diner
Location: 3500 S Orange Ave Price: $7-10 Must order: Midnight sandwich, croquetas
Cuban diner that looks like nothing but makes the best midnight sandwich in Orlando for $8. Croquetas are $1 each. The coffee is $2 and stronger than your feelings about your ex.
The Breakfast Spots
Peach Valley Cafe
Location: Multiple locations Price: $8-12 Must order: Apple fritters
The apple fritters are the size of a dinner plate and $4. That’s a meal. The regular breakfast plates are huge and under $10.
The Donut King
Location: 4744 S Orange Ave Price: $1-3 per donut Must order: Apple fritter (sensing a theme?)
24-hour donut shop where everything is made fresh. Donuts are $1-2. The croissant sandwiches are $5 and massive.
The Pizza Situation
Lazy Moon Pizza
Location: Multiple locations, original near UCF Price: $5-6 for slices bigger than your head Must order: Any slice, they’re all huge
One slice is a meal. Two slices and you need a nap. College kids have survived on this place for decades.
Pizza Bruno
Location: 1990 Curry Ford Rd Price: $10-15 for personal pizzas Must order: Whatever the special is
Fancy pizza that’s actually worth it. Personal pizzas are $12-15 but they’re art. Go during happy hour for $2 off.
The Vegetarian/Vegan Options
Dandelion Communitea Cafe
Location: 618 N Thornton Ave Price: $8-12 Must order: Whatever the daily special is
Vegan place that meat-eaters actually like. Everything is under $12 and portions are huge. The daily special is always $8 and always good.
Loving Hut
Location: 2101 E Colonial Dr Price: $8-11 Must order: Pho, bánh mì
Vegan Vietnamese food that’s somehow really good. The pho is $9 and just as satisfying as the meat version. The vegan bánh mì is $5 and doesn’t make you miss meat.
The Strategy Guide
Best times to eat cheap:
- Lunch specials (11 AM – 3 PM) everywhere
- Happy hour (3-7 PM) at slightly nicer places
- Late night (after 10 PM) at 24-hour spots
Areas to avoid:
- International Drive tourist corridor
- Anything within 2 miles of theme parks
- Restaurant Row (overpriced for tourists)
- Winter Park (unless you hate money)
How to find the good stuff:
- If the strip mall looks sketch, the food is probably fire
- Follow where hospital workers eat (they know value)
- If there’s no English on the sign, you’re in the right place
- Line of locals = good, empty tourist trap = bad
Money-saving tips:
- Most portions can be two meals
- Water is free (it’s Florida, you need it)
- Lunch specials are dinner-sized
- Food trucks cluster together, compare prices
- Happy hour at nice places beats full price at chains
The University Area (UCF)
Worth its own section because college kids know cheap food:
Gringos Locos
Location: Downtown UCF area Price: $5-8 Must order: Tacos, quesorito
Drunk food that’s good sober. Massive portions, everything under $10.
Boba Tea Houses
Multiple locations near UCF, all $4-6 for giant drinks that are basically a meal in sugar and tapioca form.
The Truth About Orlando Food
Orlando is one of the most diverse cities in the South. The tourist areas are trash, but real Orlando has incredible food from every corner of the world, usually for under $10 a meal.
The key is getting away from the theme park bubble and into the neighborhoods where people actually live. Mills 50 for Asian food, Azalea Park for Caribbean, Pine Hills for soul food, and random strip malls for everything else.
A good meal in Orlando shouldn’t cost more than $10-12. If you’re paying more, you’re in the wrong part of town. If your meal doesn’t come with enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow, you ordered wrong.
Final Pro Tips
- Cash is king at the best cheap spots
- Download Google Translate – lots of menus aren’t in English
- Ask for hot sauce – the good stuff is usually behind the counter
- Tip well – these places survive on regulars
- Go early or late – avoid standard meal times
- Share plates – portions are usually huge
- Check health grades – A or B only (C means adventure you don’t want)
- Parking – Most strip malls are free, downtown is not
- Take Colonial Drive – It’s the cheap food highway
- Trust the locals – If Caribbean people are eating there, the Caribbean food is good
The best part? You can eat at a different cheap spot every day for a year and not repeat. Orlando’s food scene is criminally underrated, as long as you know where actual Orlandoans eat.
Skip the theme park food, save your money, and eat where the locals eat. Your wallet and stomach will thank you.
BTW check out our guide on eating cheap in Toronto, Canada next! A Brit’s Guide to Eating Cheap in Toronto (Without Living on Tim Hortons)