Best Cheap Eats in Indianapolis Two People, Under $20
🏁 Indianapolis · 23 verified deals · Updated August 2026
Indy quietly runs some of the best cheap-eats corridors in the Midwest: Burmese noodle bowls under $10 on the Chin south side, $3.15 pupusas and $6.99 Yemeni shawarma along the International Marketplace, a 1905 cafeteria-line deli where two sandwiches cost $13.75, and a $6.90 slice meal in Irvington. Every price on this page was read from the restaurant’s own menu or ordering system in July 2026 — no delivery-app markups, no seven-year-old listicle prices.
🍜 Chindianapolis — The Burmese South Side
The south side along Madison Ave and Stop 11 Rd feeds one of the largest Chin (Burmese) communities in America — and it's the best-value dining corridor in the city.
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Chin Brothers Restaurant
Burmese Bowls $8.99–$9.99 — Two From $17.98
The anchor of Chindianapolis: a Chin refugee family opened the grocery here in 2009 and the restaurant next door in 2010. Sabuti (corn-and-beef soup, the Chin staple) is $8.99; Shan noodles, mohinga, and nan gyi thohk are $9.99 — any two bowls land between $17.98 and $19.98. Closed Sundays.
📍 Indianapolis — South (Stop 11 Rd) · ⏳ Mon–Sat 8am–7pm
A big Burmese menu on Madison Ave — but be honest with the math: mohinga, tea leaf salad, and Shan noodle salad all run $11.99, so two of those is $23.98. The pairing that clears the line is two orders of the $9.99 egg fried rice at $19.98. Go in knowing that, or budget the extra four bucks for the good stuff.
📍 Indianapolis — South (Madison Ave) · ⏳ Mon–Sat, closed Sun — call ahead
Lafayette Rd and W 38th St pack 100-plus languages into 2.5 square miles. This is the corridor where two people almost never break $20.
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Al-Rayan Restaurant & Bakery
Yemeni Sandwiches $6.99 — Two for $13.98
Yemeni cooking on W 38th — falafel and chicken shawarma sandwiches are $6.99 each on the owner menu, lentil soup cups are $2, and hummus is $6.99. Two sandwiches is $13.98; add soup for both and you're still under $18. Saltah and mendi plates run $12–14 when you want the full spread. Open late, every day.
Salvadoran griddle pupusas — steak & cheese, bean & cheese, and revuelta all $3.15 on the owner's ordering page. Three apiece with curtido and salsa is $18.90 and a genuinely full meal. Second location on W Washington St. Open every day.
The $7.33 combo era is over — combos are $12.99 now. But two à la carte gyros on pita still squeak in at $19.98, and the $6 single smash burgers put a pair at $12 with room for fries. Open past midnight most nights, 2am Friday–Saturday.
📍 Indianapolis — West (38th) · ⏳ Daily, late — 2am Fri–Sat
The sizzling banh xeo crepe grew from $9 to $13.95, so the play now is one crepe plus an order of fresh spring rolls, shared, at $19.95 — or three $6 roll orders for $18. The pho bowls are $12.95, which puts a pair over the line.
Honest math on this Lafayette Square marisquería: asada tacos are $5.68 now, so four breaks $20. The card is the three-piece quesabirria order with consomé, shared as a lighter meal, at $17.74. Open to midnight Friday–Saturday.
📍 Indianapolis — Lafayette Sq · ⏳ Daily, late Fri–Sat
Indy's deepest value category — every price below was read from the taquería's own menu or ordering system, not a delivery app.
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Paco's Taqueria
Street Tacos $4.09 — Four for $16.36
Five locations across the city, one owner menu: al pastor and pollo street tacos $4.09, asada $4.19. Two tacos apiece is $16.36 — a fifth pushes past the line, so order smart. Birria consomé plate $13.99 and birria ramen $12.99 for bigger appetites. Open daily 9am–10pm.
Madison Ave taquería with its own ordering site: tacos $3.59 — five split two ways is $17.95 — and on Taco Tuesday the price drops to $2.75, which buys seven for $19.25. Quesabirria plate $15.99, tortas from $10.99.
📍 Indianapolis — South (Madison Ave) · ⏳ Daily 11am–10/11pm
Carnitas by the Pound $9.99 — Feeds Two for $16.54
The best build on the south side: a pound of carnitas $9.99, tortillas $1.56, rice and beans $4.99 — $16.54 feeds two properly. Weekends add $2.60 tamales (six for $15.60). Tacos $4.25 if you'd rather go standard.
📍 Indianapolis — South (Madison Ave) · ⏳ Daily — from 9am weekends
East Washington's vegan-friendly tamale shop, still going: two orders of rolled tacos is $15.98, or two tamales plus two bags of chips is $18.98. Carry-out only, and the hours are short — Thursday–Saturday 11am–8pm most weeks — so check before you drive.
📍 Indianapolis — Near Eastside · ⏳ Thu–Sat 11am–8pm — hours vary
From the 1905 cafeteria-line deli to the $5 sushi counter that opened in February.
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Shapiro's Delicatessen
Rebecca Sandwiches from $6.30 — Two for $13.75
The most iconic Jewish deli between Chicago and New York, cafeteria line and all, since 1905. The half-meat Rebecca line is the play: salami $6.50, chopped liver $6.30, turkey $7.25 — salami plus turkey is $13.75, with room for two $3.75 sides. The corned beef and pastrami Rebeccas run $14 each, so that pair breaks $20. Keep it food-only through the register.
📍 Indianapolis — Downtown (S Meridian) · ⏳ Daily 10am–7:30pm (Sat–Sun from 9)
Smothered Pork Chop Sandwich $13 — Split Build $19.50
Feeding Kennedy-King since 1988 — burned down in 2020, rebuilt on the same lot, reopened 2023, and Obama has eaten here. Honest math: two dinners break $20 (they start at $18.99). The under-$20 play is one smothered pork chop sandwich $13, fries $5, and two 75¢ cornbreads, shared, at $19.50.
📍 Indianapolis — Kennedy-King · ⏳ Daily — Sun from 9am
The Indy Cajun-Creole counter, repriced honestly: the $7.75 plate is history. Veggie plates — spinach-mushroom étouffée, gumbo, vegan white chili — are $9.98 with rice and Cajun bread, so two land at $19.96. The famous chili cheese étouffée with crawfish is $11.98 now, which puts that pair at $21.96.
Mass Ave's newest cheap-eats counter, opened February 2026. Fine print first: the flat $5 covers appetizers and boba — rolls start at $6. A California and a spicy roll is $13; three $5 appetizers and a $2.50 soda is $17.50. And four $5 items is exactly $20.00 — right on the line, before tax.
📍 Indianapolis — Mass Ave · ⏳ Mon–Sat from 11:30am, Sun evenings
The revival of Indy's old hometown burger chain, now a stall at The Garage Food Hall in Bottleworks. Hamburgers $6.75, cheeseburgers $7.75, and an Indiana pork tenderloin at $9.95 — two burgers is $13.50, or a cheeseburger, hamburger, and fries for $17.75.
The fast-casual spinoff of Iozzo's Garden of Italy, opened April 2026 in Stadium Village. Italian breakfast sandwiches are $9 — two for $18 — and the small soup, small market greens, and a cornetto build lands at $16. Lunch sandwiches run $12–15, so a pair of those breaks the line.
📍 Indianapolis — Stadium Village · ⏳ Daily from 7/8am
Irvington, Garfield Park, the south side, and a donut counter that's been frying since 1955.
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Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza
Lunch Slice Meal $6.90 — Two for $13.80
The Irvington favorite restructured its lunch deal: weekdays 11am–3pm, a cheese slice is $3.95 and the slice Meal — slice, side salad or breadsticks, and a fountain drink — is $6.90. Two Meals is $13.80, the widest margin on this page. 3% cash discount.
📍 Indianapolis — Irvington + Fort Ben · ⏳ Lunch deal Mon–Fri 11am–3pm
The Southside Vietnamese-Chinese standby's lunch special is now $9.50 (11am–2:30pm): soup, crab rangoon or egg roll, an entrée from 21 choices, and fried rice. Two full lunches is $19.00. The $10.99 dinner specials put a pair at $21.98, so go at lunch. Closed Sundays.
📍 Indianapolis — Southside · ⏳ Mon–Sat, lunch deal 11am–2:30pm
Weekday Lunch Special $9.99 — Two for $19.98, Drinks Included
Garfield Park's brand-new kitchen and taphouse (opened June 2026 in the old Garfield Brewery space): weekdays 11am–3pm, $9.99 buys a personal pizza with up to three toppings, a side, and a fountain drink. Two of those is $19.98 — the only deal on this page with drinks in the math.
📍 Indianapolis — Garfield Park · ⏳ Daily 11am–10pm, lunch deal Mon–Fri 11–3
The cash-only donut institution, frying since 1955. Glazed yeast donuts are 95¢ each, $11.40 a dozen; filled are $1.15. Two people split a dozen warm glazed for $11.40 and change nothing about their day except its quality. Doors open 5:30am at both stores — they sell out.
📍 Indianapolis — Tremont St + Southport Rd · ⏳ Daily from 5:30am · cash only
💡 Indianapolis Pro Tip: Two things to know before you order. First, Marion County adds a 2% food-and-beverage tax on top of Indiana's 7% sales tax, so prepared food runs 9% — the builds on this page that land at $19.90-something pretax will ring up around $21.75 out the door. The $20 line here is menu math, same as every city on this site. Second, the calendar matters: Jockamo, Big Lug, and Egg Roll #1 are lunch-window deals (weekday 11am–3-ish), Don Juan's tacos drop to $2.75 on Tuesdays, La Frontera's tamales are weekends only, and Long's is a 5:30am cash-only run. Plan the day around the windows and Indy is one of the cheapest good-eating cities in the Midwest.
📍 Regional Chains
Bigger than one storefront, smaller than the home-page national list — regional chains with real Indianapolis addresses.
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White Castle
Sliders À La Carte · Breakfast Combos — Two Under $20
The 1921-born slider empire keeps 15 castles across Indianapolis — including 102 W 16th St near downtown. Our July 2026 cart read at the chain's Las Vegas castle sets the pattern: Original Sliders $1.39 à la carte — ten built one by one is $13.90, cheaper than the bundled Shareable Meal unless you want its fries and drinks — the Breakfast Bun combo (sausage-egg-&-cheese slider, hash brown nibblers, coffee) $7.97, two breakfasts for $15.94, and the Crispy Chicken Combo $9.56, two for $19.12, while beef combos run past the line. Prices shift castle to castle, so run the same math on your store's menu in the app before you order.
📍 Indianapolis, IN (15 castles) · ⏳ Many open late — check your castle
$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 — runs nine metro stores — four in Indianapolis proper plus Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Greenwood and Geist. 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.
📍 Indianapolis, IN (4 city stores + 5 metro) · ⏳ Online ordering deal · limited time
This page used to carry prices we couldn't stand behind, so we re-checked every card against owner menus in July 2026 and cut what didn't hold. Edwards Drive-In closed in January 2022 and its food-truck successor is gone too; Mel's Drive-In in Mars Hill shows closed as of 2026. Seven former cards — The Tamale Place, Mug-n-Bun, La Parada, Rock-Cola 50's Cafe, Tortas El Guero, Aquí es Jalisco, and Los Comales Latin Market — are still open (Los Comales we're not even sure of), but none publishes current prices anywhere their owners control: Mug-n-Bun's own menu page literally says "we are updating our menu," and the $1.75 tacos and $3.49 tamales we used to list traced back to years-old roundups. They come back when we can read a real price. Two spots verified clean but over the line: the Aristocrat Pub's Hoosier tenderloin is $18 (a pair is $36), and every entrée at Barry's African Restaurant on Lafayette Rd is $22-plus. Julieta Taco Shop downtown lands right on the line: four $5 tacos is exactly $20.00, before tax. And the ones we want back: Steer-In, Workingman's Friend (234 N Belmont Ave, cash only, weekday afternoons), World Famous Hotboys, and the Garage's arepa, pizza, and poke stalls are all real and probably qualify — their prices just live behind ordering systems we can't read from here. Every price that survived is on a card above, sourced from the restaurant's own site or ordering page.
🇺🇸 Also Valid Nationwide
These chain deals work anywhere in the country, including Indianapolis.
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Firehouse Subs
Two $5 Snackers — $10.75 · Born in Jacksonville 1994
Jacksonville's biggest food export reaches here too: founded in 1994 by two firefighter brothers, now 1,200+ stores — with one store in town at 4576-4578 S. Emerson Ave. The $5 Firehouse Snackers (BLT, Cordon Bleu, Sweet & Spicy Ham, Turkey Jalapeño half-subs) feed two for $10.75 all-in, and two small 4-inch Hook & Ladders run $12.78. The 8-inch mediums most people order run $10-plus — the only medium pair that stays near the line is the build-your-own ham or turkey. Priced on the chain's own ordering system at its Jacksonville San Marco store, July 2026 — prices vary by store, so confirm at yours.
📍 Indianapolis, IN (4576-4578 S. Emerson Ave.) · ⏳ Two eat from $10.75 · varies by store
The Pick 6 lets two people build a shared meal — choose six items across wings, tenders, and sides — starting around $19.99. A reliable two-for-$20 play at any BWW. Dine-in or takeout; pricing varies slightly by market.
The $9.99 Big YUMMM tier gets Red's Double Burger, the Haystack Double, or a 7-inch Donatos pizza — each with one bottomless side — so two people land right around $20.