What Is the Best Cheap Eat in Nashville?
- 2 sections
- 1 table
- 2 sources cited
For a full meal, the critics’ pick is the $6 Recession Special at Robert’s Western World on Lower Broadway. The Infatuation’s guide to meals under $20, published February 19, 2026, says “it’s impossible to beat the Recession special” and describes it as “a crispy slab of bologna between bread, a bag of chips, a crisp PBR, and a moon pie” (The Infatuation). The guide comes back to it when it praises NY Pie’s $12 lunch special of two slices and a fountain drink as “the greatest mid-day deal in town, apart from Robert’s recession special”. Robert’s is open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. every day, and it is all ages until 6 p.m. and 21 and over after that (Robert’s Western World). The guide lists 12 more meals under $20. Pupusas at Pupuseria Reina La Bendición on Nolensville Pike are $3.25 each. Kien Giang’s bánh mì is $7.50. The Dino’s cheeseburger is $8, served daily from 5 p.m. If you want a full plate rather than a sandwich, the guide’s Southern pick is Arnold’s Country Kitchen in The Gulch.
Meals Under $20 in the Guide
| Place | Neighborhood | Food | Price the guide gives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert's Western World | Downtown | bar food | $6 Recession Special |
| Pupuseria Reina La Bendición | Nolensville Pike | Salvadoran | $3.25 pupusa; $8.75 torta de asada |
| Kien Giang | White Bridge | Vietnamese | $7.50 nine-inch bánh mì |
| Dino's Bar & Grill | East Nashville | bar | $8 cheeseburger |
| NY Pie | West Nashville | pizza | $12 lunch special, two slices and a drink |
| Bare Bones Butcher | The Nations | sandwiches | $13 for any sandwich |
| Sonobana Japanese Restaurant & Grocery | Belle Meade | Japanese | $13.50 bento |
| Riddim N Spice | North Nashville | Caribbean | $14 to $18 jerk chicken meat and two |
| King Tut's | Nolensville Pike | Egyptian food truck | $15 falafel sandwich |
| Daddy's Dogs | The Nations | hot dogs | $18 combo with tots and a drink |
| Brown's Diner | Belmont-Hillsboro | American | $18 burger and tots, tax and tip included |
| Arnold's Country Kitchen | The Gulch | Southern meat and three | under $20; no item price given |
| Big Al's Deli | Salemtown | breakfast | under $20; no item price given |
Source: The Infatuation, February 19, 2026. Prices change; check the menu before you go.
Eating Cheap in Nashville
- Eat the big meal at lunch: NY Pie’s lunch special and Sonobana’s bento are both priced for the middle of the day.
- Go down Nolensville Pike: two of the 13 meals, the pupusas and the King Tut’s falafel, are on the same road.
- Pick a meat and three for a full plate: more options are in the best meat-and-three restaurants in Nashville.
- Eat late at a bar kitchen: Dino’s and Robert’s both stay open until 3 a.m.; more late kitchens are in the best late-night food in Nashville.
Ways to cut the rest of the trip’s cost are in the cheapest way to visit Nashville.