Cheap Restaurants in Istanbul — Budget Eats Under 300 TL

Istanbul is one of the world's great cities for budget eating. While fine-dining prices have risen sharply in recent years, the city's lokanta culture ensures that an excellent, freshly cooked two-course meal remains accessible at almost every price point — if you know where to look.

The best budget meals in Istanbul follow a simple formula: a hazır yemek (ready-cooked) lokanta at lunchtime, where a bowl of lentil soup, a main dish of the day and bread can cost well under 150 TL; a pide or lahmacun salon in the afternoon, where hand-stretched flatbreads emerge from wood-fired ovens for under 100 TL; or a balık ekmek (fish sandwich) at the Galata Bridge, Istanbul's most iconic street food at under 60 TL.

The key to eating cheaply in Istanbul is timing and location. Lunch at a neighbourhood lokanta — far from the tourist centres of Sultanahmet and Taksim — delivers the best value. The Asian-side districts of Kadıköy and Üsküdar consistently offer lower prices than their European-side equivalents, and the Fatih and Eminönü districts offer some of the city's lowest-priced authentic cooking.