Last updated: July 2026
If You Only Try Four
💰Best Under $10 → Thai Thien, the cheapest place in Calgary to get a banh mi, vermicelli platter or pho. I like the Charbroiled Pork Sub ($6.15) and the Sate Beef Pho ($7.95). Order online via Clover or face the long line-up.
💵 Best Under $15 → Don Taco’s Mix & Match tacos, 3 for $13. On Tuesdays, all tacos are just $3, making this one of the city’s best-value meals.
🍽️ Best Under $20 → Pocketholic for the four-piece inari and miso soup special for $15. Add a drink, and you’ll still be under twenty bucks!
🍷Best Under $30 → Posto Pizzeria & Bar‘s Sundays come with an all-day happy hour deal: $15 pizzas (with a drink), 25% off wine bottles, cocktails knocked down by $4, and house wine for $6. Not only is the price right, but the pizza is sublime.
👉 Cheap Eats Calgary: Best Spots Under $15
Meals under $15 still exist in Calgary, you just have to know where to look. These are the spots I keep returning to when I want something satisfying. Prices are current, orders are specific, and everything here is actually worth your money.
Banh Mi
Expect to spend between $6.50 and $12 for most banh mi, though one exceptional sandwich on this list is worth stretching the budget to $18. I’ve reviewed more than 21 banh mi shops across Calgary. → See my full ranking.
One of Calgary’s better fried chicken spots. The tenders are supersized, juicy, and the coating stays crunchy. On Tuesdays, a second order of tenders is 50% off.
→ What to order: Chicken tenders ($10), fries ($3.95), bean and corn salad ($3.75) and the special sauce.
Read the full review → Cluck & Cleaver
All the meats are juicy, well-marinated, and piled generously into each double tortilla taco. On Tuesdays, all tacos are just $3, making this one of the city’s best value lunches.
→ What to order: Mix & Match (3 tacos for $13). My favourites are the Beef Brisket, Chicken Tinga, Pork Belly Chicharrón, and Panko Chipotle Shrimp. The Diablo Shrimp is worth the surcharge.
Read the full review → Don Taco
The chicken is juicy, meaty, and tastes like actual chicken, unlike the processed, congealed texture I find at KFC. The batter was light, crunchy, and so well seasoned that I didn’t feel the need to use any of the dipping sauces.
The size and plumpness of the chicken reminded me of Church’s Chicken and LA Chicken in Richmond, B.C., but with a crispier, more flavourful coating. At this price, it’s one of the best fried chicken deals in Calgary.
→ What to order: Three pieces of chicken, a side, coleslaw, and a pop for $12.99.
Read the full review → Chicken Omnibus
→ What to order: Texture-wise, I love the pork dumplings for the firm and juicy filling and the pop of coriander. What to order: Chicken, pork or vegetarian momos ($11.99).
Read the full review → Pathway Momo
Pocketholic
My favourite inari toppings are: scallop, salmon aburi, and tempura.
→ What to order: Four piece inari and miso soup special ($15).
The personal size New Yorker is tasty as hell. Though there are so few ingredients on the pizza, the tang of tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and cheese was intense. The cheese topping was crunchy. I was surprised that even though the crust and toppings were so minimal, there was still so much flavour.
→ What to order: New Yorker ($15), Pepperoni ($17), Quattro Formaggi with Prosciutto ($23). All pizzas are personal-sized, making them ideal for one person. It’s important to note is Savino is about quality over quantity.
Read full review → Savino Pizzeria
→ What to order: The combo ($12.99) comes with soup, kimbap, tteokbokki, and two mini pastries. The kimbap is excellent, with warm rice, fluffy egg, tofu, crunchy pickled vegetables, and crisp seaweed.
Read the full review → Sso Yummy
👉 Cheap Eats Calgary: Best Value Spots Less than $30
Class Clown
→ What to order: California Classic ($13.25), natural wine. Get on the online waitlist. If you don’t want to wait, walk down the street to Bastion Burgers, read full review → Bastion Burgers.
Read full review → Class Clown
The roast chicken is impressive. Full, generous pieces of meat, intact and beautifully cooked. No dryness, no gross blue or red stringy bits. It’s the kind of chicken where you notice the quality right away. This doesn’t taste like a grocery store chicken, nor should it, as it’s almost double the cost, and worth every extra nickel.
→ What to order: Muhammara and cheese pie ($6.99), samosas (6 for $7.50), hummus (16 oz, $9.99), Doughboy doughnuts ($11.99). On Friday and Saturdays only, you can get a whole roasted and smoked chicken ($28) and a pound of applewood smoked brisket ($30).
Read full review → Doughlicious and Doughboy
On Friday and Saturday evenings, catch live music on the second floor.
→ What to order: Half priced meats (deal excludes the big beef bone) after 10:00 p.m. daily. Brisket, wings, cornbread, and broccoli salad. Try the Lil’ Darling Hard Tea ($9, 18 oz).
Read full review → Hayden Block Smoke and Whiskey
One of my favourite spots for Japanese katsu. The ebi katsu features large, juicy prawns with a crisp coating, while the pork tenderloin is consistently tender and cooked perfectly.
→ What to order: Hire Mix ($20.25), Ebi 5 Pieces ($19.25).
Read full review → Koji Katsu
Happy hour runs Monday–Saturday from 3–6 pm, with a late-night round on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 pm to midnight.
→ What to order: 6 oysters and a drink ($25), and the haddock tacos (3 for $15).
Read full review → Rodney’s Oyster House
Sundays come with an all-day happy hour deal: $15 pizzas (with a drink), 25% off wine bottles, cocktails knocked down by $4, and house wine for $6.
→ What to order: Ok..Ok, Velvet Underground, Smoked Salmon Club. The smoked salmon pizza leans indulgent, layered with cultured cream cheese and thick slices of chilled smoked salmon. I loved the contrast of textures, the delicate crunch of pickled onions, the bright pop of capers, and the fresh arugula lifting each bite. The coolness of the salmon against the warm crust, finished with a hint of coarse salt, made it feel especially luxurious.
Read full review → Posto
Go down the stairs, claim a table. Vinyl spins behind the bar, the music exactly where it should be. Loud enough to notice, quiet enough to talk. Walk in only.
→ What to order: Honeybush Hard iced tea ($7, 12 oz) or a cold Ol’ Beautiful beer ($7, 12 oz). For food, order the Chips and Curry ($15) or a Kati Roll ($7).
Read full review → Sound Room
→ What to order: One of the best lunch deals in Calgary right now. For around $20, you get a drink, a substantial salad, and your choice of a personal pizza or pasta. It’s hard to find a sit-down lunch of this quality at a comparable price.
Read full review → Una Pizza + Wine
Not every cheap meal feels like a night out. If you’re looking for something with a bit more atmosphere, here’s where I’d go for a proper date night in Calgary.
Disclaimer: I pay for all my meals. No invitations or comped dining.
Hitting the Sauce 