🦬 Buffalo Cheap Eats

Best Cheap Eats in Buffalo, NY
Two People, Under $20

🦬 Buffalo, NY  ·  20 spots  ·  Updated August 15, 2026

Buffalo invented the Buffalo wing — at the Anchor Bar in 1964 — and Buffalo is now where wings stopped being cheap: the ten-wing orders we once carded at $7.99 ring up at $17.41 to $19.49 on the same shops' own menus. So we re-priced this whole page from menus the restaurants control, August 15, 2026. Beef on weck still works — at a custard stand, $19.50 for two, sundaes included. Taco Tuesday is $1.99 verbatim on Niagara Street. The last under-$20 wing play in town is a weekday lunch special. And we cut two of our own cards and printed the reasons.

🦬 Local Buffalo Spots

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Anchor Bar

Split a Single Wing Order — about $20–23  🏆 Birthplace of the Buffalo Wing 1964

The birthplace of the Buffalo wing — Teressa Bellissimo invented it here on Main Street in 1964. Their own menu prices a Single — ten wings — at $16 and a Double at $32, so two people splitting a Single with celery, blue cheese and drinks land around $20–23. That's a bucket-list splurge, not a bargain, and we card it that way: you're paying for the memorabilia-covered walls and the bragging rights of eating where it all began.

📍 1047 Main St, Buffalo  ·  ⏳ Daily
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Duff's Famous Wings

Lunch Special: Weck + 5 Wings — $19.99  💡 Dine-In, Mon–Fri 11–4

The great Buffalo wing debate: locals say Duff's perfected what Anchor Bar invented. At dinner the old math is dead — their own menu prices beef on weck at $15.99 and ten wings at $16.99, so "split a sandwich and wings" runs $25.98 now. The play that survives: the dine-in weekday lunch special, 11am–4pm — beef on weck plus five wings for $19.99, or a BLT and a grilled cheese for $19.98. Medium-hot is the classic sauce; order the Loganberry, a WNY original.

📍 3651 Sheridan Dr, Amherst  ·  ⏳ Lunch deal Mon–Fri 11–4 · (716) 834-6234
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Ted's Hot Dogs

Charcoal Dogs for Two — check current prices

A Western New York institution since 1927 — Sahlen's hot dogs broiled over real charcoal, handmade onion rings, hand-spun milkshakes. The dogs have long carded around $4 apiece, which would put two dogs and shared rings comfortably under $20 — but Ted's ordering system doesn't publish prices anywhere we can verify, so check the menu board or the app before counting on old numbers. One geography note: there's no store inside Buffalo city limits — the closest are Tonawanda, Williamsville, Orchard Park and Union Rd.

📍 Multiple WNY locations (none in the city proper)  ·  ⏳ Daily
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Bocce Club Pizza

Two Mini Chicken Fajita Subs — $17.02  💡 Wings Are $17.41 Now

Cup-and-char pepperoni since 1946 — hand-stretched dough, whole-milk mozzarella, pepperoni that curls into little grease-filled cups. Correcting our own card: the sub-and-wings pairing we used to print is dead — their own ordering menu prices a ten-wing order at $17.41, more than double the $7.99 we once claimed. What still works: mini chicken fajita subs are $8.51, so two are $17.02, or a quarter cheese pizza ($8.53) plus a mini sub for $17.04. The pizza is still the point; the budget just has to route around the wings.

📍 Amherst & East Amherst locations  ·  ⏳ Hours vary by store
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Pete-n-Paul's Pockets

Two Pita Pockets — call for prices

A genuinely-South-Buffalo institution on South Park Ave — chicken finger, souvlaki, taco and meatball pockets, generously stuffed at neighborhood prices. Straight talk: the shop's old web domain has lapsed to a squatter, so there's no owner menu to cite and no dollar figure we'll print — call (716) 825-6655 for the current board. It was open and busy as of spring 2026. Don't skip the critters: fried dough bites that have been a local obsession since the '90s.

📍 2124 South Park Ave, South Buffalo  ·  ⏳ Call ahead — (716) 825-6655
🗺️ Map
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Jimmy's Texas Hots

Two Texas Hots + Shared Home Fries — $13.17  💡 Daily 8am–11pm

A Delaware Avenue counter classic serving the Texas Hot — a hot dog under spicy meat sauce, mustard and onions, a distinctly Western New York tradition. Their own site and ordering menu price it exactly: a Texas Red Hot is $3.99 dine-in ($4.25 online) and home fries $5.19, so a hot apiece plus a shared order of fries is $13.17–13.69. Coffee is $2.69 a cup now, so add two and the ticket climbs past $18 — still cheap, no longer the "well under $15 with coffee" it used to be.

📍 2350 Delaware Ave, North Buffalo  ·  ⏳ Daily 8am–11pm
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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La Nova Pizza

Four Slices to Share — $17.96  💡 Wings Are a $19.49 Order Now

A Buffalo pizza institution since 1957 on West Ferry, celebrated for cup-and-char pepperoni on thick dough — and for wings this page can no longer card: on their own slice storefront a ten-wing order is $19.49, nearly the whole budget by itself, and a small pizza is $21.99. The slices-only play works: slices are $4.49, so four between two people is $17.96 — make one of them the chicken finger pizza, a uniquely Buffalo invention of breaded chicken, blue cheese and hot sauce.

📍 371 W Ferry St, Buffalo  ·  ⏳ Ongoing
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Anderson's Frozen Custard

Two Sundaes + Shared Beef on Weck — $19.50

Western New York's frozen custard institution since 1946, and the owner's 2026 menu makes the math exact: a small create-a-sundae is $4.51 and the beef on weck — yes, a proper one, carved roast beef on a kummelweck roll — is $10.48. Two sundaes plus a shared weck is $19.50, tight but under; kid cones plus the weck is $16.46 with headroom. Seven WNY locations, including 2634 Delaware Ave inside the city. A quintessential Buffalo afternoon.

📍 2634 Delaware Ave, Buffalo + 6 more  ·  ⏳ Seasonal hours
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Babcia's Pierogi

Two Pierogi Trios — $18  💡 The 3-for-$7 Is Gone

A Broadway Market stall with 20-plus pierogi varieties, potato-cheddar to Buffalo wing, plus Polish sausage sandwiches and czarnina. Correcting our own card: the "3 for $7" we used to print is stale — on the owner menu, trios now run $9–12 and a single pierogi is $3.00. Two people stay under $20 only if both pick from the $9 tier: $18 flat, so read the board before you order. Still the best taste of Buffalo's Polish East Side.

📍 999 Broadway (Broadway Market), Buffalo  ·  ⏳ Closed Sun
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Polish Villa II

Lunch Pierogi Plate + Golabki Plate — $16.50

A Cheektowaga Polish dining room doing stuffed cabbage and pierogi the old-country way. The owner lunch menu prices the Pierogi Plate and the Golabki Plate at $8.25 apiece — $16.50 for two; dinner platters are $12.45 each and push a pair to about $25, so go midday. One address fix every other list misses: Polish Villa II is at 1085 Harlem Rd — the Union Rd address floating around belongs to the original Polish Villa, a different restaurant.

📍 1085 Harlem Rd, Cheektowaga  ·  ⏳ Lunch is the play
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Druk Cuisine Kitchen

Momos & Thukpa — evenings only, 4pm–2am

A Bhutanese-Nepali kitchen for momos, thukpa noodle soup, chowmein and samosas — a taste of Buffalo's Himalayan community. Two corrections other lists miss: it's on Elmwood Ave in Kenmore, not North Buffalo, and it's an evening operation — 4pm to 2am daily, which makes it one of the latest kitchens in this guide. Its online storefront shows specials at $11.99–12 but hides most dish prices, so call (716) 331-3104 before building a budget around it.

📍 2768 Elmwood Ave, Kenmore  ·  ⏳ Daily 4pm–2am
🗺️ Map
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Taqueria Ranchos La Delicias

Street Tacos $4.00 — $1.99 on Taco Tuesday

A West Side taqueria on Niagara Street, and the owner menu says it plainly: tacos are $4.00, and — verbatim — "All $4.00 Tacos are $1.99!!" on Taco Tuesday. Two people at four or five tacos each run $16–20 on a normal day and roughly $8–10 on a Tuesday, the single best cheap-dinner play in the city. California burritos too, for the homesick San Diegans.

📍 1516 Niagara St (West Side)  ·  ⏳ Daily · (716) 882-2800
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Egyptian Bites

Hawawshi for Two — about $12–14  💡 Closed Sun–Mon

An Egyptian stall inside the West Side Bazaar — Buffalo's refugee-founded food hall at 1432 Niagara St — confirmed as a current vendor by WEDI, the nonprofit that runs the place. Hawawshi (spiced-meat-stuffed flatbread) has crept from the $6 we used to print to about $7, so two people grazing the stall run $12–14. Falafel wraps and koshari too, with a dozen other world kitchens under the same roof. Bazaar hours: Tue–Sat 11–8, closed Sunday and Monday.

📍 1432 Niagara St (West Side Bazaar)  ·  ⏳ Tue–Sat 11am–8pm
🗺️ Map
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Mr. Greek of Buffalo

Late-Night Wraps — about $9 each, unverified

An Elmwood Village takeout window — chicken souvlaki, gyro and falafel wraps, nearly everything around $9 tax included per local press. Its ordering page blocks our price checks, so treat that number as a guide, not a promise. What we could confirm: takeout only, and genuinely late — until 2am Tue–Thu, 3am on Fridays, and Saturdays it runs 5pm–3am. The best after-midnight option in this guide inside city limits.

📍 1122 Elmwood Ave (Elmwood Village)  ·  ⏳ Late night · takeout only
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Nick's Place Express

Greek Breakfast & Gyros — call for prices

A Kenmore Greek-American counter for breakfast and lunch — gyro and souvlaki wraps, Mama's omelette, no-frills and fast. Its own site posts the menu only as photos too blurry to price from, so we won't reprint the ~$8 figures we used to run — call (716) 877-0088 for today's board. What we could confirm: closed Tuesdays, daytime only — Mon 9–2, Wed–Sat 8–3, Sun 9–2.

📍 2466 Elmwood Ave, Kenmore  ·  ⏳ Closed Tue · daytime only
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Wiechec's Lounge

Daily Fish Fry — call for the current price

A Kaisertown corner tavern keeping Buffalo's fish-fry tradition — and better than the legend, it's a daily fish fry, not Friday-only. Straight talk on the price: the $14.50 everyone quotes traces to a February 2023 news story, three and a half years stale — expect something closer to $17–20 now. The tavern has no website, only Facebook, so call (716) 823-2828 and ask before you go. Beef on weck and ham dinners too. Closed Sundays.

📍 1748 Clinton St (Kaisertown)  ·  ⏳ Mon–Sat · fish fry daily
🗺️ Map

💡 Pro tip: Tuesday is the cheapest day in Buffalo — Taqueria Ranchos drops every $4.00 taco to $1.99 — but it's also the one day Nick's Place Express is closed. Duff's $19.99 weck-and-wings deal is dine-in only, weekdays 11am–4pm. Druk doesn't open until 4pm and runs to 2am; Mr. Greek runs even later on weekends. Babcia's and the rest of Broadway Market go dark on Sundays. If a deal has changed, flag it on our main directory.

🚫 The Honest Cuts

We re-priced every card on this page against menus the restaurants control in August 2026. Two didn't survive the math, and they're listed here with the numbers rather than quietly deleted:

The bigger story is wing inflation: the ten-wing orders this page once carded at $7.99 now ring up at $17.41 (Bocce Club) and $19.49 (La Nova) on the shops' own menus, with Duff's at $16.99 and Anchor Bar's Single at $16. Those cards survived only by finding a different order.

📍 Regional Chains

Chains from one corner of the country that made it to Buffalo — priced from their own ordering menus, nearest store on the card.

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Jet's Pizza

$5 Off Any Specialty Pizza Online — Medium All Meaty $17.87

The Detroit-style original — Sterling Heights, Michigan, 1978, the chain that made the buttery, caramel-crusted square a national thing — reaches Buffalo through its Williamsville store on Sheridan Dr. The play is the $5 Off Any Specialty Pizzas deal built into the chain's online ordering menu: a medium All Meaty (pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, bacon, hamburger) listed at $22.87 on our August 2026 read at the chain's Denver store and rang up $17.87 with the deal applied — under the line with room for tax, and a medium is eight big slices, plenty for two. It's a deals-menu item so it can rotate out — and if it does, texting your order to your store takes 15% off menu-priced pizza. Prices vary by store, so run the math at yours before checkout.

📍 Williamsville, NY (5401 Sheridan Dr)  ·  ⏳ Online ordering deal · limited time
🗺️ Map🌐 Menu📊 Prices

🇺🇸 Also Valid Nationwide

These chain deals work anywhere in the country, including the Buffalo area.

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Buffalo Wild Wings

Pick 6 — Two Entrées + Sides + Drinks from $19.99

The Pick 6 is two complete meals: each person picks an entrée, a side and a drink, from $19.99 dine-in at participating locations per the chain's own announcements. Two caveats that matter in the wing capital: it's a rotating promo, not a permanent fixture, and choosing traditional wings as your entrée adds a $5 upcharge — boneless keeps it at $19.99. That's exactly at the line, not under it, but given what local wings cost now, it holds up better here than almost anywhere.

📍 Participating locations  ·  ⏳ Rotating promo · dine-in
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Applebee's

Two $9.99 Really Big Meal Deals — $19.98

Each $9.99 Really Big Meal Deal pairs an entrée — Classic Bacon Cheeseburger, Big Cluckin' Chicken Sandwich, or Big Bangin' Burger — with endless fries and a fountain drink. Two combos are $19.98, dine-in. The Cheektowaga store on Walden Ave is confirmed active on the chain's own locator.

📍 1785 Walden Ave, Cheektowaga  ·  ⏳ Limited time
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
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Firehouse Subs

$5 Firehouse Snackers — prices vary by store

Founded in 1994 by two firefighter brothers in Jacksonville, now 1,200+ stores. The area store (#739 on the chain's own locator) is at 7870 Transit Rd — which is Williamsville, about ten miles from downtown, not "Buffalo" the way our old card claimed. The Snackers line of half-subs (BLT, Cordon Bleu, Sweet & Spicy Ham, Turkey Jalapeño) is the two-for-cheap play, around $5 apiece in many markets — but our previous prices came from a Florida store read and Snacker pricing varies by market, so check the app for the Transit Rd store before you order.

📍 7870 Transit Rd, Williamsville  ·  ⏳ Prices vary — check the app
🗺️ Map🌐 Site📊 Prices

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