🏙️ Little Rock Meal Deals

Best Cheap Eats in Little Rock
Two People, Under $20

🌆 Little Rock, AR  ·  12 verified deals  ·  Updated July 2026

Little Rock punches above its weight. It claims to be the birthplace of cheese dip — invented in 1935 at Mexico Chiquito — and it's home to a Black-owned barbecue joint that's been smoking since 1937. The SoMa and River Market districts are stacked with cheap, soulful cooking: Honduran baleadas, handmade dumplings, fried catfish, a blue-plate lunch that hasn't changed since the '80s. Two people can eat across the capital without breaking a twenty. Here is where.

🌆 Local Little Rock Meal Deals
🍖 ✓ verified

Sims Bar-B-Que

Sandwich + Sides for Two — Under $20

Little Rock's oldest barbecue joint, Black-owned and serving since 1937, with a one-of-a-kind mustard, vinegar, and brown-sugar sauce you won't find anywhere else. Ribs, chopped beef, and smoked sausage at affordable prices; two eat for around $20. A civil-rights-era institution. Closed Sunday.

📍 Little Rock (S Broadway)  ·  ⏳ Closed Sun
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🫕 ✓ verified

Mexico Chiquito

Cheese Dip & Tex-Mex for Two

Arkansas calls itself the birthplace of cheese dip, and this is where it started in 1935. Share the original yellow cheese dip with a couple of a la carte plates or a lunch combo and the famous fruit punch; two land right around $20.

📍 Little Rock (W Markham St)  ·  ⏳ Daily
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🥬 ✓ verified

The Root Cafe

Split a Burger & Fries for Two — ~$16

An award-winning SoMa farm-to-table cafe sourcing over 75% locally, beloved for its pimento cheeseburger, house-made brats, banh mi, and big Southern breakfasts. A sandwich each, or a shared breakfast, puts two around $20. Closed Monday.

📍 Little Rock (SoMa, S Main St)  ·  ⏳ Tue–Sun; closed Mon
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍔

David's Burgers

Burgers & Bottomless Fries for Two

An Arkansas burger institution with bottomless fresh-cut fries brought to your table. Combo prices have crept up — two people realistically land $20–30 now — so it's a value play for the fries and hospitality more than a strict under-$20 stop.

📍 Little Rock (multiple)  ·  ⏳ Closed Sun
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🐟 ✓ verified

Flying Fish

Share a Catfish Plate for Two — Under $20

A River Market fixture for Southern-style fried catfish, po'boys, hushpuppies, and shrimp. A catfish basket runs about $10 and a po'boy a couple dollars more, so two eat for around $20 — Billy Bass wall included.

📍 Little Rock (River Market)  ·  ⏳ Daily
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🥙 ✓ verified

Layla's Gyro

Gyros & Mediterranean for Two

A no-frills, much-loved family spot for Greek, Syrian, and Mediterranean cooking — gyros, hummus, baba ganoush, kababs, and the double-crusted Yazoo pizza. A gyro plate runs about $11; pair it with a cheaper calzone or side to keep two under $20.

📍 Little Rock (N Rodney Parham)  ·  ⏳ Ongoing
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍕 ✓ verified

U.S. Pizza Co.

Pizza & Salad for Two

An Arkansas pizza institution since 1972, known for thin-crust pies and a famous house salad with red-wine-vinegar dressing. Share a medium pizza and a salad and two land right around $20.

📍 Little Rock (Hillcrest & more)  ·  ⏳ Ongoing
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🥐 ✓ verified

Community Bakery

Share a Sandwich, Soup & Pastries — Under $20

Little Rock's beloved bakery-cafe since 1947, in the historic Cohn Building in SoMa — European pastries, artisan bread, soups, paninis, and espresso. Two share sandwiches, a soup, and a pastry for well under $20.

📍 Little Rock (SoMa, S Main St)  ·  ⏳ Daily
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🌮 ✓ verified

El Sur Street Food Co.

Baleadas & Tacos to Share — ~$20

A SoMa spot (and former food truck) serving Honduran and Latin American street food — baleadas, tacos, arepas, and pupusas. Cheap, fresh, and certified green; two eat for well under $20. Closed Tuesday.

📍 Little Rock (SoMa, Main St)  ·  ⏳ Closed Tue
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍜

Pho Thanh My

Pho for Two

Little Rock's homey Vietnamese standby, open daily 11a–8p. Standard pho bowls run about $10–12 on the new menu, so two bowls land right around $20.

📍 Little Rock (N Shackleford)  ·  ⏳ Daily
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍗 ✓ verified

Homer's Kitchen Table

Share a Plate + Sides — Under $20

A Little Rock blue-plate institution since 1986, with daily plate-lunch deals that are the most bang for your buck — fried chicken, country-fried steak, catfish, and a real Southern breakfast. Two eat a meat-and-three lunch for around $20. Closed Sunday.

📍 Little Rock (N Rodney Parham)  ·  ⏳ Closed Sun
🗺️ Map🌐 Site

Eating cheap in Little Rock: SoMa (South Main) is the value corridor — The Root, Community Bakery, and El Sur are all walkable from one another. Sims and Homer's do the Southern plate-lunch thing best, and weekday lunch specials stretch a twenty furthest. A few spots are lunch-focused or closed Sundays or Mondays, and some of the smaller places are cash-friendly, so check before you go. And yes — order the cheese dip.

📍 Regional Chains

Verified on each store’s own ordering menu — both Little Rock locations price identically.

🍗 ✓ verified

Waldo's Chicken & Beer

Basket + Tender Sandwich — $17.48

Two Little Rock stores — Bass Pro Dr and Rodney Parham Rd — priced identically: the 3-tender basket with a side is $8.99 and the tender sandwich with a side $8.49, so $17.48 covers two, with the cheddar biscuit basket at $4.75. Rather share one tray? The 6-tender plate with two sides and a biscuit is $15.49.

📍 Little Rock, AR (2 locations)  ·  ⏳ Daily ~11am–8:45pm (Fri–Sat later)
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍽️ National Chains in Little Rock
🥤 ✓ verified

Sonic Drive-In

Two $7 Big Deal Meals — about $14

Sonic's $7 Big Deal Meal anchors the value menu — two meals run about $14, well under $20. Half-price drinks and slushes daily 2–4pm (or anytime ordering through the Sonic app).

📍 Little Rock (multiple)  ·  ⏳ Ongoing
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍗 ✓ verified

Buffalo Wild Wings

Pick 6 — Meal for Two from $19.99

2 entrees + 2 sides + 2 fountain drinks starting at $19.99. Entrees include 10 boneless wings, the All-American cheeseburger, or crispy chicken dippers; sides are fries, tots, or wedges. Dine-in or order via the BWW app. Pricing runs higher in a handful of states.

📍 Little Rock  ·  ⏳ Ongoing — varies by location
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🌮 ✓ verified

Taco Bell

Luxe Cravings Boxes + Luxe Value Menu

The $5 Classic Luxe Cravings Box (Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, Crunchy Taco, Cinnamon Twists, medium drink) makes it $10 for two, and the new Luxe Value Menu keeps ten items at $3 or less. Two people eat well under $20.

📍 Little Rock (multiple)  ·  ⏳ Open daily, late night
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍳 ✓ verified

Cracker Barrel

Early Dinner Deals — From $8.99

Weekday Early Dinner Deals: smaller-portion favorites — Chicken n' Dumplins, Meatloaf, Fried Homestyle Chicken and more — from $8.99, Mon–Fri 4–6pm, dine-in only. Two people eat a full country dinner for about $18. (The winter Meals for Two promo ended May 3, 2026.)

📍 Little Rock metro  ·  ⏳ Ongoing — Mon–Fri dine-in
🗺️ Map🌐 Site

See all national chain deals →

See All 2,000+ Deals

Browse the full directory — 168 cities, national chains, updated July 2026.

Browse the Directory