Ten dollar meals still exist in San Diego. You just have to know where to look. We went through every cheap eats recommendation locals consistently bring up and narrowed it down to 12 spots where you can get a real, filling meal for $10 or less. Not appetizers. Not kids’ menu hacks. Actual food that an adult human will feel satisfied eating.
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Ba Le French Sandwich Shop
A banh mi for $4.25. In 2026. That’s not a typo. Ba Le has been in City Heights since the early ’90s and the prices have barely moved. The Dac Biet (#1 special) is the move: pork, pate, pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro, jalapeño on a crispy baguette. Cash only. The inside looks like it hasn’t been updated since the Clinton administration, and nobody cares because the sandwiches are that good. Open 8 AM to 5 PM daily.
4879 University Ave, City Heights
Alexi’s Greek Cafe
Falafel wrap with fries and a drink for around $7. Gyro pita with the same deal for a dollar or two more. The lunch menu runs until 5 PM, which is generous. This is a tiny cash-register-and-a-few-tables setup on Fifth Ave in Hillcrest, and the gyro is legitimately great. Not “great for the price” great. Just great. Locals have been recommending this place for years and the prices somehow haven’t caught up. Park on the surrounding side streets and skip the paid lots.
3863 Fifth Ave, Hillcrest
Bronx Pizza
Two slices and a soda for about $9. NY-style, thin crust, properly foldable. The slices are big enough that two of them is a meal. Bronx has been in Hillcrest since 2000, and the line out the door on weekend nights proves the formula still works. Cash only. No frills. No table service. You order at the counter, grab your slices, and eat standing up or find a spot on the bench outside. That’s the experience and it’s perfect.
111 Washington St, Hillcrest
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Mona Lisa Italian Foods
The deli counter at Mona Lisa in Little Italy puts out fresh-made Italian sandwiches (salami, capicola, provolone on a baguette) every morning, wrapped in plastic and stacked on the counter. They run about $2 each. Two of them is a full lunch. When they’re gone, they’re gone, and construction workers from the neighborhood buy them by the handful starting around 7 AM. The deli has been family-run since 1956. Three generations of the Brunetto family. The grocery side of the shop is worth browsing too.
2061 India St, Little Italy
Carnitas Uruapan
Dinner plate for one is about $11 (slightly over $10, but the portion makes up for it). This is a San Diego institution, open since 1986. They slow-roast whole pigs and serve the carnitas by the pound or on plates with rice, beans, tortillas, and salsa. The pork is crispy on the outside, tender inside, and seasoned in a way that makes you understand why people drive across town for it. The La Mesa location closed in 2025, but the original on El Cajon Blvd is still going.
7149 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego
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Flavors of East Africa
The chicken meal is around $9 and will fill you up for most of the day. Kenyan-owned, serving East African dishes like jerk chicken, curries, oxtails, and sambusas. The Farmers Market Combos (rice, meat, and a veggie) are the best value on the menu. The El Cajon Blvd location in North Park is the original, and there’s a second spot on College Ave. This is one of those places where the food is so specific and well-made that it doesn’t need to compete on price, but it does anyway.
2322 El Cajon Blvd, North Park
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Pupuserias (Multiple Locations)
Pupusas run $2 to $3 each. Two or three of them with curtido (the pickled cabbage slaw) and salsa roja is a full meal for under $8. El Salvador Pupuseria gets mentioned the most, but there are solid pupuserias scattered across City Heights, National City, and Chula Vista. The mixed pupusa (pork, cheese, beans) is the standard order. This is one of the most underrated cheap eats in San Diego, and most of the city doesn’t even know about it.
Sayulitas Mexican Food
The burritos here are absurd. A regular burrito is around $10, and it weighs enough that most people can’t finish it in one sitting. They run daily specials on their Instagram. Multiple locations across San Diego (City Heights, Mira Mesa, South Bay, and more). The portions are the point. You’re getting two meals for the price of one. The carne asada and al pastor are the most popular, and the salsa bar is solid.
4126 University Ave, City Heights (+ multiple locations)
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The Kebab Shop
A chicken kebab plate with saffron rice and salad runs about $12, which is over the $10 mark. But the portion is big enough for two meals, which brings it back down. The chicken is cooked to order and tastes best within 15 minutes of pickup (delivery degrades it). Multiple locations around San Diego. This is a reliable, consistent option when you need something filling and reasonably healthy without spending much.
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Lido’s Italian Foods
Lunch specials Monday through Friday for around $10. Classic Italian, family-run, been in Lemon Grove for decades. Marco’s marinara sauce is the thing people talk about. The portions are generous and the food tastes like someone’s Italian grandmother made it, which is basically the highest compliment you can give a place like this. Right off the 94 at Massachusetts. Easy to miss, hard to forget once you’ve been.
7252 Broadway, Lemon Grove
Pho Cow Cali
A big bowl of pho for about $7. Spring rolls for $3. That’s a filling meal for $10. Pho Cow Cali in Mira Mesa is the local favorite for cheap Vietnamese soup. The broth is rich, the portions are large, and the price has stayed remarkably low while everything else in Mira Mesa has gotten more expensive. Cash-friendly, quick service, and consistently good.
8860 Mira Mesa Blvd, Mira Mesa
Cotija’s Mexican Food
The super burritos run $12 to $15 and are genuinely large enough to split into two or three meals. A regular burrito or a couple of tacos keeps you well under $10. Cotija’s has locations all over San Diego County and the recipes have been consistent for years. Not the flashiest Mexican food in the city, but the kind of place where you know what you’re getting every time and it’s always a solid deal.
Taco Tuesday Deals
Worth mentioning: almost every taco shop in San Diego runs Taco Tuesday specials. $2 to $3 tacos are common. Three tacos for under $10 is a full meal. Some standouts:
- Los Panchitos: fish tacos for $2 on Mondays, all tacos $2.35 on Tuesdays
- Kotija Jr.: $2 to $3 tacos on Taco Tuesday
- La Fachada, Barrio Logan: $2 to $3 tacos
- Senior Taquito, Escondido: $1 street tacos every day
For more food recommendations (at any price), check out our guides to late-night food, ramen, and coffee shops around San Diego.
