The 13 best cheap eats in Edinburgh

Next door to Edinburgh Central Mosque, and in the heart of studentland, Nile Valley has been churning out cheap and filling food for nearly two decades. It serves tasty Sudanese and Middle Eastern cuisine, and keeps the prices down – expect falafel and baba ghanoush wraps, rich tagines, spicy Egyptian lamb molokhia, chicken wings, tabbouleh and fish curry.

Oink – about halfway down Victoria Street, with another branch near the foot of the Royal Mile, and a third on Hanover Street – is a tiny shop serving hog roasts, and you’ll probably smell it before you see it. It sells fluffy morning rolls stuffed with moreish roast pork, crackling and a choice of sage and onion stuffing, apple sauce, chilli relish or haggis. The Piglet suits a smaller stomach, the Oink is somewhere in the middle and the Grunter is best for bigger appetites. A soup of the day and hot and cold drinks are also served.

From 5pm (and 12pm on Saturdays and Sundays) Origano serves up excellent, well-priced antipasti, pasta and pizza. The pizza dough is made in-house and is probably the main pull here; pizzas are crispily thin, topped with gorgeous cuts of prosciutto, spicy sausage and salty olives, and available in three sizes.

Founded in 2005 by three brothers wanting to share their mum's recipes, The Pakora Bar has grown arms and legs, with a now hugely successful permanent spot in the Canongate area. This quirky restaurant serves up the best in Indian street food – notably, pakoras – but also dhals, wraps and curries. The haggis pakora comes highly recommended but you can pimp it up by making it a pakora wrap for only £10. 

This lively, basement French bistro has cemented itself as an Edinburgh institution with its insanely pocket-friendly prices. Highlights include its three-course lunch menu, coming in at just £12.90 (yep, you heard us), featuring classics like steak frites and French onion soup. The best part? Every order at any time of day at Chez Jules comes with complimentary salad, bread and butter, pickles and paté. You’d be hard pushed to find an Edinburgh local who hasn't dined at this wee institution, where service is fast and to the point – but when you’re lucky if you break £20 feasting in Edinburgh, who cares?

This 24-hour bakery is a favourite at 3am when it’s flooded with revellers and night-shift workers alike after the clubs close Any local will tell you there is nothing like a couple of hot pies from Storries after one too many pints, safe in the knowledge it’s only set you back a couple of quid. Taxis are often spotted outside as partiers beg their driver to detour via the tiny Leith Walk shop for a scotch, macaroni, curry or steak pie. During the day, you can pick up a pie, cake and can of fizzy drink for around a fiver – prices Greggs can only wish for.

Now with two venues in Edinburgh, highlights of the Ting Thai menu (and there are many) include succulent marinated chicken dish gai cha plu and the nam tok nua, a fresh, spicy take on the traditional Thai beef salad. Although it’s the same menu throughout the day, prices and portions go up slightly at night, so expect to pay anything from £4 to £10 as the day progresses.

This noodle bar invites you to tailor your order based on a selection of ho fun, ramen, udon, egg or rice noodles, then add duck, vegetables, tofu, pork, chicken or beef. Throw in three bits of colour and roughage, customise things with options of chilli, spring onion or coriander, and finally pick from one of ten sauces. One of these paper Chinese takeaway boxes filled to the brim will set you back an overdraft-friendly £9.50. 

When it comes to Fringe fuel, nothing beats a slice of pizza the size of your face. Although Civerinos has four branches across the capital, when it comes to city centre cheap eats, their Forrest Road ‘slice’ bar reigns supreme. They don’t scrimp on size when it comes to slices of their New York style pizza – they’re a whopping quarter of a 20' pizza and are a meal in themselves. Bar the cracking toppings (wild mushrooms, buttermilk fried chicken, jalapeño and chimichurri and more), you’re only looking at £4.25-6.50 for a slice of the action. 

Nothing will make you feel whole after a heavy night out quite like a Snax breakfast will. This heroic institution has been curing hangovers in the city for years, with its all day breakfast priced at from only £5.60. And with that, you get two link sausages, bacon, a fried egg, black pudding, beans and a buttered roll. It's also a fantastic spot if you're after veggie or vegan options, or even wraps, baked potatoes, burgers and toasties, all of which come with a deliciously low price tag.