We’ve all been there – staring at a menu, stomach growling, wallet feeling light. The cheapest options beckon like sirens, promising to satisfy without breaking the bank. But beware! Not all budget-friendly menu items deserve your hard-earned cash.
Some are downright ripoffs, while others hide health hazards behind their tempting price tags. Let’s uncover which cheap eats to skip and which rare gems actually deliver bang for your buck.
1. House Salad
Paying $8 for iceberg lettuce and three sad tomato slices? Robbery on a plate!
Restaurant house salads typically use the cheapest, least nutritious greens available. Make a superior salad at home for a fraction of the cost.
2. Basic Pasta Dishes
That $14 spaghetti marinara has roughly 30 cents worth of pasta and 50 cents of sauce. The math is criminal!
Restaurants mark up pasta dishes by an astounding 1000%. Even with unlimited breadsticks, you’re paying premium prices for ingredients that cost pennies.
3. Fancy Water
Bottled water’s restaurant markup hits 2000%! That $7 Pellegrino started life worth mere nickels.
Fancy bottles create an illusion of luxury while draining your wallet. The environmental impact adds insult to injury – shipping water across oceans burns fossil fuels.
4. Chicken Tenders
Frozen, pre-breaded, and flash-fried from a bag – yet priced like culinary masterpieces! Most restaurants don’t make these from scratch.
They’re the same freezer-aisle tenders you’d find at any grocery store. Kids might love them, but your wallet deserves better than this lazy kitchen shortcut.
5. Loaded Potato Skins
Potato skins – literally the part most people throw away – transformed into a $12 appetizer through the magic of marketing. The potato costs pennies, and that bacon topping?
Usually pre-crumbled bits from a food service bag.
6. Mac And Cheese
Unless you’re at a specialty spot, restaurant mac and cheese often comes from institutional-sized boxes or freezer bags. That “homemade” claim? Pure fiction.
The kitchen likely microwaved it or scooped it from a steam table. .
7. Breakfast Pancakes
Pancake batter costs pennies per serving, yet restaurants charge $10+ for a stack! Many use premixed batter from food service suppliers – nothing you couldn’t make better at home.
The real profit machine? That tablespoon of maple-flavored corn syrup they drizzle on top.
8. Bruschetta
Stale bread revived with a brush of olive oil, topped with diced tomatoes that are often days old. Voilà – a $12 “authentic Italian appetizer”!
The markup on bruschetta reaches criminal levels considering the ingredient cost.
Many kitchens prep these hours ahead.
9. Edamame
Frozen soybeans boiled with salt selling for $8-10? Highway robbery! Restaurants buy these by the massive frozen bag for pennies per serving.
The “preparation” involves zero culinary skill – just boiling and salting.
10. Mozzarella Sticks
Straight from the freezer to the fryer! These deep-fried cheese logs never met the restaurant’s chef.
They arrive pre-breaded in bulk boxes from food distributors. The markup approaches 300%, making this one of the least worthwhile fried indulgences on any menu.
11. Quesadillas
Melted cheese between tortillas somehow justifies a $12 price tag? The math doesn’t add up!
Quesadillas cost restaurants almost nothing to make – we’re talking cents, not dollars. Even “loaded” versions with yesterday’s leftover chicken rarely contain more than a dollar’s worth of ingredients.
12. Soup Of The Day
Yesterday’s leftovers, reborn! “Soup of the day” frequently means “ingredients we need to use before they spoil.”
That’s why it’s often the cheapest menu option. Made in massive batches and reheated throughout the week, these soups lose nutrients and flavor with each passing day.
13. Nachos
A mountain of chips creates the illusion of value, but look closer – the toppings only cover the top layer! Restaurants use this visual trick to hide how little cheese, meat, and guacamole you’re actually getting.
The chips cost pennies, while the sparse toppings are carefully rationed.
14. Kids’ Menu Grilled Cheese
Two slices of white bread, one processed cheese slice, and a $7 price tag? Daylight robbery!
Kids’ menu grilled cheese sandwiches represent the highest profit margin item in many restaurants. The entire sandwich costs the restaurant about 30 cents to make.
15. Basic Breakfast Eggs
Two eggs with toast for $9.99? Eggs cost restaurants about 15 cents each, and that toast? Pennies.
The markup on basic breakfast plates exceeds 1000%! Unless they’re using farm-fresh organic eggs (they’re not), you’re paying premium prices for the most basic preparation possible.
16. WORTH IT: Happy Hour Wings
During happy hour, restaurants often sell wings at near-cost to get you buying drinks. This creates a rare window of actual value!
Fresh wings require real cooking skill and proper fryers. When discounted, they become one of the few menu items worth your money. .
17. WORTH IT: Daily Specials (Sometimes)
Chef specials can be legitimately good deals, especially early in the week. Mondays and Tuesdays often feature quality ingredients restaurants need to move before they spoil.
These dishes frequently showcase actual cooking skill rather than assembly-line preparation. Ask if it’s made fresh today.