Restaurant prices in the tourist zones can be alarming, but that was never where New York’s food culture actually lived. Each of the categories below comes in comfortably under fifteen dollars.
Pizza, by the slice
Corner pizzerias sell by the slice, and a plain cheese slice runs three to five dollars. Folding it and eating as you walk is the local method. The reliable quality test is whether office workers are lining up in it.
Bagels
The default breakfast. A bagel with cream cheese is around five dollars; adding lox costs more but stays inside the budget. New York bagels are widely held to be different because of the water.
Halal carts
Chicken over rice from a street cart is the most substantial ten dollars in the city, and the portion is large. Pick the cart with the longest line and you will rarely be disappointed.
Chinatown
A bowl of noodles or a plate of roast meat over rice sits around ten dollars, with generous portions. Prices down here have stayed remarkably steady for decades, and it is the best value in Lower Manhattan.
- Avoid: anywhere immediately around Times Square or directly opposite Rockefeller Center.
- Look for: two or three blocks off the main attraction, especially down side streets.
- Lunch specials: plenty of proper restaurants do a midday menu at half the dinner price.
- Happy hour: roughly 4pm to 7pm, with discounted drinks and bar snacks.
On tipping
Counter service where you carry your own food usually needs no tip. Sit-down restaurants with table service expect 18–20% of the pre-tax total. In New York that is effectively obligatory rather than optional.
