The Best Cheap Eats in Leeds Worth Less Than £20!
I didn’t grow up minted, so I know all too well that you don’t need to drop over twenty quid to eat proper scran in Leeds.
Truth is, bargain bites are everywhere…if you know how to look (or smell). The best ones won’t even leave you chewing for minutes just to savour the aftertaste of misery.
We did the detective work for you and made this handy guide to cheap eats in the city.
Rudy’s Pizza Napoletana
– From wearerudyspizza
Address: 2 New Station St
Contact Details: 0113 834 9697
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Sat – 11:45 am to 9:30 pm
- Sun – 12 pm to 9 pm
Rudy’s has the pies rolling in at that crisp £11 to £14 range. Even the ever-changing specials with fancier bits like truffle cream and Emilia-Romagna pancetta stay at the £15 mark.
Style-wise, it’s Naples through and through. Every slice comes with San Marzano tomatoes (unless stated otherwise), and all the classics are slung, such as marinara and marg.
Tip: Hate travelling? They have bake-at-home pizza.
Little Bao Boy
– From littlebaoboy
Address: 3, Sovereign Square, Sovereign St
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Thu – 12 pm to 9:30 pm
- Fri to Sat – 11:30 am to 9:30 pm
Patrons of Little Bao Boy are no strangers to the idea that German draft beer goes hand in hand with two bao buns priced at just £10.
The deal only gets sweeter once you peep the range. Pulled pork and beef brisket pull in the crowds, but you won’t be daft for having panko-coated cauliflower or teriyaki mushrooms served spicy.
Tip: New menus are announced first on their IG.
Poco
– From pocosicilian
Address: 24 Otley Rd, Headingley
Operating Hours: Daily – 10 am to 6 pm
Touted as Leeds’ first Sicilian joint, Poco surprised us with its value bites. I mean, £5 marg and salami pizza? That’ll always be a steal in our books.
Both the £5 arancini (vegetarian and meat versions) were also superb treats, though we leaned more on the ragu-filled one, given its heartier profile.
The £5 cannoli and bombolone doughnuts sweetened the deal. Personally, it was the cannoli that did it for me, thanks to its light sweetness (and a few of the bombolone were dry).
Tip: Show them your student ID. It’ll get you a 10% discount!
Fat Annie’s
– From fat_annies
Address: Leeds Kirkgate Market, 28-34 George St
Contact Details: 07857 950954
Operating Hours: Mon to Sat – 10:30 am to 5 pm
Fat Annie’s is golden for folks who crave hot dogs but not meat. See, their NY-style dogs are pure vegan, and the neat part is you don’t have to spend £10 to score one.
Annie Mac, their flagship dog, is only £7.25 but is loaded with Cheeze, house pickle, onions, and a secret sauce (which the staff really wasn’t giving away). As for the taste, I’d say it’s close to a smoky frank.
Tip: Crowds thin around 3 pm to 5 pm.
Mr Mackerel
– From marcusromer
Address: Market Kitchen, Leeds Kirkgate Market
Contact Details: 07510 027118
Operating Hours: Mon to Sat – 9:30 am to 5 pm
Leeds Kirkgate Market is honestly a mecca of stalls dishing out cheap eats, and Mr Mackerel is one of the standouts. Dead hearty Istanbul street food at £5 to £7 is hard to turn down, you know.
Specifically, most go for the fish sandwich, me included. It features smoky and oily mackerel, finished with salt and plated with crisp greens.
The menu packs some chicken skewers, too. Eight quid is the starting price, a bit pricier, sure, but that already includes 6 pieces of chicken, salad, rice, and even a small soup.
Tip: If you’re not a fan of the market’s energy, consider ordering online.
Senbon Sakura
– From senbon.sakura
Address: 71 Great George St
Contact Details: 0113 244 9232
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Fri – 11 am to 10 pm
- Sat – 3 pm to 10 pm
- Sun – 2 pm to 10 pm
Believe it or not, Senbon Sakura is a cheap Japanese resto that keeps it authentic; it’s one of the best local sushi spots! Your £10.50 already bags a sushi platter of salmon avocado rolls, avocado maki, and one salmon nigiri.
The seafood bento box is also yours for £14. As a fan of no-frills vegetarian gyoza, marinated egg, and deep-fried miso chicken, that’s sweet, sweet news.
Tip: Score discounts by using their app, available on the App Store and Google Play.
La Piola
– From holclarkson
Address: 2 Park Square E
Contact Details: 07809 126111
Operating Hours:
- Thu – 12 pm to 2 pm, 5 pm to 9 pm
- Fri – 12 pm to 2 am, 5 pm to 11 pm
- Sat – 12 pm to 11 pm
La Piola’s arancini is something we can’t shake. At £7, the gang indulged in breaded balls popping with tangy peppers, tomato-style pepolata sauce, and gooey cheese (with free olives since the service was slightly slow).
Coming in at a close second is their range of gourmet paninis, all between £7 and £10. Pollo pepperino got me ordering seconds, and you’d know why once you’ve tasted its flaming-hot ‘nduja marinated chicken paired with brie.
Tip: They often roll out seasonal discounts and deals. Details are often posted on their IG.
Bundobust
– From thesocialsistersagency
Address: 6 Mill Hill
Contact Details: 0113 243 1248
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Thu – 12 pm to 10:30 pm
- Fri to Sat – 12 pm to 11 pm
- Sun – 12 pm to 9 pm
It’s mostly vegan and vegetarian scran at Bondobust, and that’s no dig. The £3.75 smacked khakri (pickled cucumber), for instance, was a solid palate-cleanser, especially once you drench it in black salt or chilli.
Barbecued paneer tikka for less than a tenner is also offered to foodies looking for heavier grub. If it’s up to me, you can’t have it without fennel- and chilli-spiked onion bhaji on the side (£6.50).
Tip: Enjoy free okra fries by signing up for their mailing list.
Falafel Guys
– From falafelguysuk
Address: The Northern Market, Old School Board, Calverley St
Aside from having various posts across Leeds, Falafel Guys’ major edge is going nuts on the Middle Eastern flavours, all without charging £10 or more for a single order.
‘Signatures first’ is our go-to move…especially when money is really tight. Their £8.95 chicken and halloumi cheese wrap, which doesn’t skimp on smokiness and spice, fills us up easily.
Tip: Follow them on IG. This one is big on giveaways and contests.
Outlaws Yacht Club
– From outlawsyachtclub
Address: 38 New York St
Contact Details: 0113 234 6998
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Wed – 11 am to 11 pm
- Thu – 11 am to 12 am
- Fri to Sat – 11 am to 12 am
Outlaws Yacht Club may be hard to categorise (it’s a record-salon-cafe-bar type of joint), but two things are certain here: you can chill without splurging.
I ate through a £3.50 slice of well-seasoned, made-to-order pork pie just the other week. It came out mad savoury and juicy, which is why I finished with £4.75 ice cream sitting atop a brownie.
Tip: Items get even cheaper between 5 pm and 8 pm.
Mommy Thai
– From mommythai_leeds
Address: Central Arcade, 7 Duncan St
Contact Details: 0113 244 9289
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Thu – 12 pm to 10 pm
- Fri to Sat – 12 pm to 10:30 pm
- Sun – 12 pm to 10 pm
The hardest bit at Mommy Thai is picking what dish to gobble. This rustic space brings Thai street food to the city, almost all of it, considering their nearly 100-item menu, featuring spring rolls, noodles, soups, curries, and more…so much more.
It’s smart to kick off with the best-sellers, like the £12.95 massaman, a milder and sweet-leaning curry. Their £11.95 pad thai, unsurprisingly, sells fast, too, and is often chowed down alongside the £6 steamed pork dumplings.
Tip: You’ll get price cuts if you pay in cash.
Manjits Kitchen
– From manjitskitchenuk
Address: Leeds Kirkgate Market, George St
Contact Details: 07941 183132
Operating Hours: Mon to Sat – 11 am to 4 pm
Manjit’s Kitchen went from a food truck to a stall-slash-bar joint, but the prices of their vegetarian snacks haven’t shot up. You can still enjoy strongly marinated paneer loaded into thinly rolled naan for £7.
For me, though, the real snatch is the £7.50 curry, onion bhaji, and rice deal. Just make sure to ring them up first, as the curry lineup changes daily.
Tip: They can cater parties of up to 90 folks. Call for the deets.
Dough Boys
– From doughboysleeds
Address: 1A Cross Belgrave St
Contact Details: 0113 234 6160
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Wed – 12 pm to 11:30 pm
- Thu – 12 pm to 12:30 am
- Fri to Sat -12 pm to 1:30 am
- Sun – 11 am to 11:30 pm
Inventive and cheap are the slices of Dough Boys (one of the best pizza spots in the city!). Seriously, a £4 pizza layered with hoisin sauce and mock duck is hard to come by.
If that doesn’t sound appealing at all, give my fave a shot: the hilariously (and aptly) named Sausage Fest. A bed of mascarpone, black pepper sausages, prosciutto that’s half-sweet, half-salty…Yeah, I might be drooling now.
Tip: The Sunday-to-Thursday (until 7 pm) and Friday-to-Saturday (until 5 pm) periods come with half-priced slices.
House of Fu: Ramen, Cocktails & Karaoke
– From house_of_fu
Address: 15-19 The Headrow
Contact Details: 0113 234 6907
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Wed – 11:30 am to 2:45 pm, 4:30 pm to 9 pm
- Thu to Sat – 11:30 am to 2:45 pm, 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm
- Sun – 11:30 am to 2:45 pm, 4:30 pm to 8 pm
Miso ramen that costs less than £20 and a chance to be like Freddy Mercury on the mic…that’s House of Fu for you!
£10 bowls and £9 yuzu margaritas are up for grabs once the happy hour hits (4 pm to 6 pm, daily).
You’re not just stuck with one flavour either. Gingery hakodate shio, earthy shiitake miso, and creamy pork tonkotsu are on the table.
Tip: Swing by on a Saturday if you want to go the bottomless brunch route.
Hooyah Burgers
– From hooyah.burgers
Address: 78 Albion St
Contact Details: 0113 234 6907
Operating Hours:
- Mon to Thu – 12 pm to 10:30 pm
- Fri to Sat – 12 pm to 11 pm
- Sun – 12 pm to 10:30 pm
Our crew’s certified meat lovers can’t stop yapping about Hooyah Burgers, so we gave it a whirl. That was a bad move, as almost everyone here is now hooked on their £7 to £9 loaded fries and £12.49 DIY burgers.
The £12.49 grab-and-go staples are just as tasty, particularly the Louisville, which is as American as it sounds. Think 4 oz of smashed beef, thick cheese, LTC, and pickles, all packed in brioche buns.
Tip: From Monday to Friday (12 pm to 5 pm), you can grab cheap lunch deals.