Zankou Chicken
Half Chicken Plate for Two
One half rotisserie chicken plate with legendary garlic paste, pita & two sides feeds two for $13–$15 — or two quarter birds for under $20. LA institution since 1984.
Cozy Corner Thai
Lunch Special for Two
17 Thai dishes — curries, stir-fries, noodles — all under $12 each with rice. Two full plates + drinks well under $20. Available 11am–3pm every day including weekends.
Islands Fine Burgers
Lunch Break Menu
Two burgers, tacos, or sandwiches under $12 each with Endless Mug drink add-on for $2.19. Two full meals + drinks under $20. Multiple LA locations, Mon–Fri until 2pm.
The Halal Guys
Two Platters
Two chicken or gyro over rice platters at $9–$10 each with legendary white sauce and hot sauce. LA food trucks and brick-and-mortar locations.
Langer's Deli
Two Half-Sandwich Combos
Voted best pastrami in America — a half pastrami sandwich on rye combo with soup or salad runs $13–15. Two people under $20 at this iconic LA deli institution open since 1947 near MacArthur Park.
Guisados
Taco Flight for Two
East LA braised taco institution — the sampler flight (6 tacos) is $12 and easily feeds two, or two flights for $24. Tacos $3–4 each individually. Multiple LA locations. One of the most praised taquerias in the city.
Mariscos Jalisco
Bib Gourmand Taco Truck
The yellow truck on Olympic and Soto since 2001 — Bib Gourmand-listed, the only Michelin-recognized taco truck in LA. Crispy fried-shrimp tacos run about $2.50 each, so six tacos plus an aguachile tostada to share lands two right around $20.
Tacos 1986
Tijuana-Style Trompo for Two
A Tijuana-rooted taqueria pressing masa tortillas in-house and slicing meat off a vertical trompo. Tacos $3.75 each — five tacos in any mix of asada, adobada or pollo lands at $18.75. Counters in DTLA, Beverly Grove, Pasadena and Westwood.
Sapp Coffee Shop
Two Bowls of Boat Noodles
Thai Town counter spot — the strip-mall booth Jonathan Gold spent years sending people to. Boat noodles run $8–9, so two people order one boat noodle and one jade noodle and walk out near $18. Closed Wednesdays.
Howlin' Ray's
Hot Sando + Fries to Share
Chinatown hot chicken counter. One Hot Sando ($14) plus the Shake Fries ($5) shares two ways for $19 total. Pick a heat level from country (mild) up through howlin' (proceed with caution). Long line, fast queue.
Chosun Galbee
K-Town Lunch Specials for Two
K-Town tabletop-grill room whose lunch menu hides the value: $9.99 per person for galbi, bulgogi or jeyuk-bokum with banchan, soup and rice. Two people lunch for $19.98. Lunch only.
Pollo a la Brasa
Half Chicken Plate for Two
A Peruvian charcoal-and-mesquite chicken room that's been on Western Avenue since 1985 and lives in the Michelin Guide. The half-chicken plate (~$13.50) plus a shared side of fries or yuca lands two under $20.
Carnitas El Momo
Family Carnitas Tacos
A family carnitas operation that's won LA TACO's Taco Madness bracket. Tacos run $4–5 — four buys two people lunch at $16–20. Truck and stall locations rotate across Boyle Heights, East LA and Monterey Park.
Bay Cities Italian Deli
One Godmother, Two People
Santa Monica's century-old Italian deli, open since 1925. Order one Godmother — prosciutto, mortadella, capicola, salami, ham and provolone on Bay Cities' own bread, ~$15–16 — and split it. Closed Mondays. The wait is real, the line moves.
Banh Mi My Tho
Family Banh Mi Run
A small Alhambra strip-mall counter the SGV regularly votes the best banh mi anywhere in the valley. Sandwiches run $4–5 — four banh mi (cold cuts, grilled pork, or lemongrass chicken) feeds two for around $18 with leftovers for tomorrow.
Burritos La Palma
Zacatecan Birria Burritos
Bib Gourmand for Zacatecan-style birria de res tucked into thin handmade flour tortillas. Burritos run $5–5.45, so four — two each — comes to about $20. The Valley Boulevard original is the move.
Cassell's Hamburgers
Burger + Side to Share
An LA burger counter running since 1948, now inside Hotel Normandie in Koreatown. Beef is ground in-house and cooked on the original cross-fired Meyer broiler. A 1/3-lb burger (~$13–14) plus one shared side keeps the bill near $20.
Carousel
Mezze Spread for Two
A Lebanese-Armenian dining room on Brand Boulevard, open since 1985. Skip the entrées and order three cold mezze ($6–8 each) — hummus, muhammara, eggplant — with the warm house pita. Two share a real meal for around $20.
Señor Fish
Fish Taco Run
An Ensenada-style fish taco shop that's been doing one thing very well for decades. Battered fish or shrimp tacos run $3.75–4.50, so five for two lands around $20. South Pasadena, Eagle Rock and DTLA branches.
El Huarache Azteca
Two Huaraches
A Highland Park family kitchen turning out the namesake huaraches — long oblong masa platters topped with beans, salsa, queso fresco and your choice of meat. Each runs $10–12, so two are $20–24. Closed Tuesdays. Cash sometimes preferred.
Daikokuya
Tonkotsu Combo to Share
Little Tokyo's tonkotsu specialist on First Street since 2002. The Daikoku Ramen plus mini chashu donburi combo runs around $22 and shares well between two; or split a single bowl and add gyoza for under $20.
Holbox
Michelin-Starred Mariscos to Share
Chef Gilberto Cetina's mariscos counter inside Mercado La Paloma — one of the rare Michelin-starred seafood spots in the U.S. that still works as a casual meal. Tacos run $5–8 each; two each puts two people in the $20–25 range for a star-level lunch.
Philippe the Original
Two French Dips
Open since 1908 just north of Union Station. Philippe's claims to have invented the French dip in 1918 — the dipped beef, lamb, pork or turkey sandwich runs $11–12 today. Two with sides and the famously sharp house mustard puts two at $22–24.
Tito's Tacos
Hard-Shell Tacos for Two
A Westside drive-up counter open since 1959 — hard-shell ground beef tacos topped with shredded cheddar and shredded lettuce, the LA-tradition kind, not the food-trend kind. Tacos run $3–4; four with chips and beans is about $20.
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These chain deals work anywhere in the country, including LA.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Bottomless Apps — $9.99
Endless rounds of two appetizers at a time from a five-item lineup: fried pickles, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, chips & salsa, or hatch queso. $9.99 covers up to four people; +$2.99 each additional diner. Upgrade to cheddar cheese curds or chips & guacamole for +$3. Dine-in only, no leftovers. Higher pricing in AK, CA, HI, NY, OR, WA.
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