🎸 Memphis Cheap Eats

Best Cheap Eats in Memphis, TN
Two People, Under $20

🎸 Memphis, TN  ·  43 verified spots  ·  Updated July 28, 2026

Memphis barbecue has a price problem nobody mentions: a small rib order at Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous is $21.50 — for one person — while A&R Bar-B-Que feeds two with sides and drinks for $19.00. That gap runs through the whole city. Every price below comes from a menu the restaurant itself controls, checked July 28, 2026, City of Memphis only. We cut 14 of our own cards to build this list.

🎸 Local Memphis Spots

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A&R Bar-B-Que

Two Shoulder Sandwiches — $13.50  💡 $19 Buys Two Full Combos

The best two-person math in Memphis barbecue. Owner menu: the regular shoulder sandwich is $6.75, so two are $13.50 — and the combo, which adds a side and a drink to each, is $9.50, meaning $19.00 feeds two people completely, drinks included. Andrew and Rose Pollard have run it since 1983; both locations are inside the city. Bologna sandwiches are $4.99 and hot links $3.99 if you want to go cheaper still.

📍 1802 Elvis Presley Blvd + 3721 Hickory Hill Rd  ·  ⏳ Daily
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The Bar-B-Q Shop

Two Pork Sandwiches — $13.98  💡 Home of BBQ Spaghetti

Frank Vernon's Madison Avenue pit invented BBQ spaghetti and the Texas Toast sandwich, and Food Network once called its ribs the best in America. The owner menu prices a regular BBQ pork sandwich at $6.99, so two people eat for $13.98, or $17.47 with a side of beans. Honest note: adding an order of that famous BBQ spaghetti ($7.99) pushes the ticket to $21.97 — worth it, but not under twenty.

📍 1782 Madison Ave (Midtown)  ·  ⏳ Closed Sun
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Interstate Bar-B-Que

Bologna Sandwiches — $14.00 for Two  💡 Pork Pairs Run $24

Jim Neely's South Memphis pit is nationally ranked, and it's carded honestly: the BBQ bologna sandwich is $7.00 on the owner menu, so two land at $14.00, and a bologna plus a small chopped shoulder is $19.00. But two pork sandwiches are $24.00 — over the line. Come for the bologna, or split the difference. BBQ spaghetti runs $6.75 for a 6-ounce order.

📍 2265 S Third St  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Leonard's Pit Barbecue

Two Mr. Leonards — $16.00  💡 Moved — and the Buffet Is Gone

The oldest name in Memphis barbecue, smoking since 1922 and the pit that defined Memphis-style shoulder. Two things every other list still gets wrong: the Fox Plaza location is closed — the brand and building were sold — and the legendary all-you-can-eat buffet did not survive the move. What's real, from the current owner menu: the Mr. Leonard shoulder sandwich, Memphis-way with sauce and slaw, is $8.00, so two are $16.00, or $19.50 with a side of slaw.

📍 1100 N Germantown Pkwy, Cordova  ·  ⏳ Buffet discontinued
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Cozy Corner BBQ

Two Sliced Pork Sandwiches — $9.98  💡 Cornish Hen $12.25

The cheapest verified barbecue in the city and the most unusual menu in it. While every other pit does pulled pork, Cozy Corner smokes whole Cornish game hens ($12.25 as a dinner plate) and sells BBQ bologna sandwiches for $3.95. Owner menu: sliced pork sandwiches are $4.99, so two people eat for $9.98 — half the budget. Open since 1977 on N Parkway. Skip the rib plates if you're counting: two of those run $27.98.

📍 735 N Parkway  ·  ⏳ Closed Sun–Mon
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Corky's BBQ

Two Pork Shoulder Sandwiches — $15.98

Memphis's best-known barbecue export, and the one card on this page whose old price claim turned out to be exactly right. Read off the printed owner menu: a regular pulled pork sandwich is $7.99, so two are $15.98, and BBQ bologna at $6.49 makes that pair $12.98 — with a side to share at $3.99 you're still only at $16.97. The sleeper is the $8.99 Spaghetti Dinner: two full plates for $17.98. What breaks the budget is the upsell — "make it a plate" adds $4.99 each and "make it a combo" $4.49 each, and either one clears $20 for two. For scale, their own Slab Dinner For 2 is $36.99. Two Memphis-proper locations; Collierville, Olive Branch and the out-of-state stores don't count here.

📍 5259 Poplar Ave + 1740 N Germantown Pkwy (Cordova)  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Tops Bar-B-Q

Two Pork Sandwiches — $9.98  💡 Plates Are $19.98, Not $16

A Memphis-grown chain since 1952 with a dozen locations inside the city, and the value is in the sandwiches, not the plates: pork shoulder is $4.99 regular, so two people eat for $9.98. Correcting our own old card — two pork shoulder plates are $19.98, not "under $16," and they clear twenty by two cents, so any upgrade breaks it. BBQ pork nachos are $8.99 if you want one thing to share.

📍 12 Memphis locations  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Tom's Barbecue & Deli

Two Pork Sandwiches — $15.98  💡 Rib Tips Are Plate-Only

A Getwell Road neighborhood pit where the sandwich board does the work: pork shoulder is $7.99, brisket $8.99, smoked sausage $5.99. Two pork sandwiches make $15.98, sausage plus pork $13.98. We're correcting our own math here — the old card promised rib tips and brisket for $14–18, but rib tips are sold plate-only at $19.99, so that combination is really $28.98. Closed Sundays.

📍 4087 Getwell Rd  ·  ⏳ Mon–Sat 10:30am–6pm
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One & Only BBQ

Two Pulled Pork Sandwiches — $13.98

Owner-menu verified from the current to-go sheet: a third-pound pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwich is $6.99, so two are $13.98, and grilled BBQ bologna is $5.99. Another correction to our own card — there is no ribs-and-sandwich pairing under twenty here; the cheapest four-bone rib order is $14.99, which puts that combo at $20.98. Card points at the Cordova store, which is unambiguously inside Memphis.

📍 153 Timber Creek Dr, Cordova  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken

Two 2-Piece Snacks — $15.96  💡 New Address on Winchester

Guy Fieri's Memphis stop, and the sweet-spicy love sauce is the reason. Owner menu: the 2-Piece Snack — leg and thigh — is $7.98 and includes a side, a biscuit and a drink, so two complete meals run $15.96. Weekday afternoons, Daphne's Pink Bag Special is $8.00 for three tenders with fries and a drink, 2:30–5:30pm. Note the move: they're at 1725 Winchester Rd now, not the old Millbranch address still listed in a lot of places.

📍 1725 Winchester Rd  ·  ⏳ Pink Bag Mon–Fri 2:30–5:30pm
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Sunrise Memphis

Two Biscuit Sandwiches — $13.00

The biscuit counter that anchors Memphis breakfast, a block from the medical district. Owner menu: The Usual, the McBetter and the Dirty South are all $6.50, so two people eat for $13.00, and even two Roosters — fried chicken, pimento cheese, jalapeño jam — only reach $15.00. Full plates and bowls run $9 to $13.50 if you want more. Opens early, and the line moves.

📍 670 Jefferson Ave  ·  ⏳ Breakfast & lunch
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Elwood's Shack

Two Exit 233 Biscuits — $14.00  💡 Breakfast Only — BBQ Runs Over

A converted shipping container behind a Summer Avenue strip mall that outcooks most sit-down restaurants. The breakfast board is where two people eat cheap: the Exit 233 — jalapeño sausage, fried egg and cheddar on a biscuit — is $7.00, so two are $14.00, and plain country biscuits are $4.20. Straight talk on the rest: their BBQ side starts at $9.60 for bologna and two pulled pork sandwiches are $21.60, so this is a breakfast card, not a barbecue one.

📍 4523 Summer Ave  ·  ⏳ Breakfast 7–10:30am
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Dyer's Burgers

Two Singles — $12.00  💡 20% Gratuity Added to Two-Tops

The Beale Street burger fried in grease that's been strained and carried forward since 1912. Owner menu: a single is $6.00, so two people eat for $12.00 — cheaper than we used to claim — and combos with fries and a drink are $9.50. Read this before you go: their menu states that parties of two or more get an automatic 20% gratuity, all checks after 9pm get 20%, and cards carry a 3% fee. Your $12.00 rings up around $14.40. Still under twenty, but nobody else tells you that.

📍 205 Beale St  ·  ⏳ Daily 11am–late
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Huey's

Two Huey Burgers — $17.50  💡 Order the $8.75 One

The Memphis burger institution since 1970, famous for the toothpicks in the ceiling. Owner menu: the World Famous Huey Burger is $8.75, so two land at $17.50 — the claim on our old card holds up. Order carefully though: the specialty burgers run $10.95 and two of those is $21.90. Five locations sit inside city limits (Downtown, Midtown, Poplar, Southwind and Cordova); the Germantown, Collierville and Millington stores are separate cities.

📍 5 Memphis locations  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Young Avenue Deli

Two Sandwiches — $16.50–$19.50  💡 Stay At or Below $9.75

Cooper-Young's music-venue-and-sandwich-shop, open till 1am seven days. Owner menu: the Hummus Pita and Veggie Hoagie are $8.25 each, so the floor is $16.50, and anything in the $9.25–$9.75 tier — chicken salad, Italian sub, turkey Reuben, hot roast beef — keeps two people at $19.50 or less. The catch worth knowing: the marquee sandwiches are exactly the ones that break it. Two Deli Clubs or two Reubens are $21.00, and two burgers $23.50.

📍 2119 Young Ave (Cooper-Young)  ·  ⏳ Daily 11am–1am
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Brookhaven Pub & Grill

Two Pick 2 Combos — $19.00  💡 Burgers Break the Budget

An East Memphis neighborhood pub whose kitchen runs to 1am daily. The honest version of this card: the burgers don't work — the cheapest is $10.50, so two is $21.00 — but the Pick 2 Combo does, at $9.50 for any two half-portions from soup, half-sandwich, house salad or Caesar. Two combos is $19.00. A house salad plus a bowl of soup is $15.50. Their menu also adds 20% gratuity to to-go orders, so eat in.

📍 695 W Brookhaven Circle  ·  ⏳ Daily 11am–1am · 21+ after 9pm
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Pho 4Ever

Two Banh Mi — $13.00  💡 Banh Mi + Combo Pho $19.50

The card that finally puts Vietnamese food on this page. Verified on the restaurant's own ordering system: banh mi are $6.50 across the board — combo, Vietnamese ham, grilled meat, fish cake, egg-and-tofu — so two people eat for $13.00. The Special Combo Pho is $13.00, meaning one banh mi and one full bowl of pho still lands at $19.50. Prices confirmed for the Cordova store; their Midtown location runs a separate ordering system, so don't assume they match.

📍 1645 Bonnie Ln Ste 101, Cordova  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Le Delights

Two Vegan Banh Mi — $17.90  💡 Pho Pairs Break $20

A Cordova Vietnamese kitchen doing eight-inch baguette banh mi and clean, clear pho. Owner menu: the vegan banh mi is $8.95, so two are $17.90, and the lemongrass chicken version is $10.95. Told straight — pho here runs $12.95 to $16.95, so any banh-mi-plus-pho order clears $21.90 and any two bowls clears further. This is a sandwich card. Worth a call to confirm before a long drive.

📍 8095 Macon Rd Ste 104, Cordova  ·  ⏳ Call ahead
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Los Comales

Two Lunch Plates — $17.30  💡 Six Tacos $17.76

The strongest Mexican card in the city, and it works four different ways. Owner menu: tacos are $2.96 (six for $17.76), tortas $9.11 (two for $18.22), and before 3pm the chicken or pastor quesadilla plate is $8.65, making two lunches $17.30. Four tacos plus chips and salsa is $15.48. Unlike most lunch-special cards, this one clears at dinner too. Two owner-confirmed Memphis addresses.

📍 1322 Madison Ave + 2860 S Perkins Rd  ·  ⏳ Lunch prices before 3pm
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La Guadalupana

Two Tortas — $18.50  💡 Summer Ave Corridor

A Summer Avenue taqueria-and-grocery with a second store in Cordova, both inside the city. Owner menu: the torta is $9.25, so two are $18.50; burritos are $9.50 (two for $19.00) and tacos $4.75, which makes four $19.00. Small meat quesadillas at $7.99 are the cheapest full route at $15.98 for two. Everything clears, but not by much — skip the $12.99 Torta Cubana.

📍 4818 Summer Ave + 8075 Cordova Rd  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Maciel's Tortas & Tacos

Four Street Tacos — $14.00  💡 Tortas Run $21 for Two

Downtown's counter-service taqueria, and a correction to our own card: no price on the owner menu produces the $9 we used to claim. Street tacos — pollo, asada, pastor, tinga, chorizo — are $3.50 each, so four make $14.00 and five make $17.50, with chips and salsa at $2.50. The tortas are the famous item and they're $10.50 to $13.00, which puts two at $21.00, so this stays a taco card. Bartlett location doesn't count here.

📍 45 S Main St + 820 Cooper St  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Molly's La Casita

Lunch Specials, Takeout — $18.81  💡 Service Charge Changes the Math

A Midtown Tex-Mex fixture since 1976, carded with a warning no other list gives you. Lunch specials, 11am to 3pm, start at $8.55 — two vegetable enchilada plates are $17.10 pre-tax. But the menu prints a mandatory 20% dine-in service charge and 10% on takeout. That's not a tip: dine-in becomes $20.52 and misses, takeout is $18.81 and makes it. Dinner doesn't work at all — the cheapest two entrées are $22.00.

📍 2006 Madison Ave  ·  ⏳ Lunch 11am–3pm · takeout to stay under
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Wang's Mandarin House Express

Two Lunch Specials — $16.30  💡 Each Includes Rice + Soup or Soda

The most complete meal-for-two on the page at the price. On the restaurant's own ordering system, lunch specials are $8.15 from 11am to 2:30pm — chow mein, lo mein, beef with broccoli, kung pao, twice-cooked pork — and each one comes with fried rice plus your choice of soup, an egg roll, or a canned soda. Two people: $16.30, everything included. Their hot wings are $7.95, or $8.95 with fried rice. A separately-owned Wang's Mandarin House on Park Ave runs $8.50 lunch specials.

📍 544 S Highland St  ·  ⏳ Lunch 11am–2:30pm
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Dim Sum King

Three Dim Sum Plates — $17.55  💡 The $9.95 Kitchen Plates

Summer Avenue's dim sum room, re-priced honestly. Owner menu: medium plates — siu mai, steamed pork buns, egg tarts, turnip cake, spare ribs — are $5.85 flat, so three shared plates make $17.55; large plates like har gow and soup dumplings are $6.85. The all-day Kitchen section is $9.95 a plate for BBQ roast duck, pork belly or soy sauce fried noodles, so two of those is $19.90. Correcting ourselves: the lunch special is $12.95, not the $9.95 we used to print.

📍 5266 Summer Ave  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Soul Fish Cafe

Split a Catfish Plate — $16.00

Catfish is the Memphis dish this page name-checks and rarely delivers on, and Soul Fish is the exception — with a claim that checked out exactly. Owner menu: the small catfish plate is $16.00 with fries, hushpuppies and slaw, easily split; the three-piece is $18.00 and the catfish po'boy $16.25. The cheapest sandwich, the Memphis po'boy, is $11.25. Cooper-Young and Poplar Avenue are the in-city rooms; Germantown and Collierville aren't.

📍 862 S Cooper St + 4720 Poplar Ave  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Imagine Vegan Cafe

Large Sandwich Platter — $15.99  💡 Two Vegan BBQ Sandwiches, One Price

The page's only vegan card, and it happens to be a barbecue card too. The Large Sandwich Platter is $15.99 and is explicitly built for two — a pair of chopped BBQ sandwiches topped with slaw, served with fries and BBQ beans. Backups: two Messy Dogs at $6.99 each, eight boneless buffalo wings for $7.99, plain hot dogs $5.59. Family-run in Cooper-Young. Note a 15% dine-in service fee and a 25¢-per-item charge on to-go boxes.

📍 2158 Young Ave (Cooper-Young)  ·  ⏳ Closed Mon
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Coletta's

Elvis's BBQ Pizza, 12" — $19.50  💡 Since 1923 — South Parkway Only

The oldest restaurant in Memphis and the birthplace of barbecue pizza — the pie Elvis had delivered to Graceland. On the owner menu the Original Barbeque Pizza is $19.50 for a 12-inch that feeds two, which means the most storied dish in the city lands under twenty dollars. Cheaper: a 12-inch cheese is $14.75 and garlic bread $1.90, making $16.65. Order at South Parkway — the Appling Road location prices the same BBQ pizza at $22.99.

📍 1063 S Parkway E  ·  ⏳ Closed Mon
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Shreya's Pizza

Butter Chicken Pizza — $18.99  💡 Opened 2026 — Nobody Else Has This

Wood-fired Indian pizza on Park Avenue, opened in 2026, and there is nothing else like it in Memphis. Owner menu: the Butter Chicken Pizza is $18.99 and feeds two, the Mumbai Street Pizza $16.99, and Paneer Tikka $17.99. The budget route is a build-your-own at $11.99 plus garlic cheese bread at $6.75 for $18.74. Five-piece wings are $6.99. Open 11am to 8pm daily.

📍 3439 Park Ave  ·  ⏳ Daily 11am–8pm
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Garibaldi's Pizza

Pie + Garlic Bread — $14.00  💡 Skip the Subs

A University of Memphis institution since 1975 and a perennial Memphis Flyer Best Of winner. Owner menu: a 10-inch hand-tossed pepperoni is $11.00 and 8-inch garlic bread $3.00, so two people eat for $14.00; a 12-inch artisan thin-crust cheese is $15.00 and splits fine. The honest caveat: the Italian and meatball subs they're equally famous for are $11.00 for eight inches, so two of those is $22.00. Two Memphis locations — the third is in Germantown.

📍 3530 Walker Ave + 764 Mt Moriah Rd  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Broadway Pizza

Grilled Cheese + Burger — $15.75  💡 12" Cheese Pie $15

A Broad Avenue neighborhood pizzeria since 1977, in a building that started as a 1930s grocery. Owner menu: a 12-inch five-blend cheese pizza is $15.00 and splits between two; a 9-inch is $10.00 with fries at $3.05. On the sandwich side, grilled cheese is $7.00 and a hamburger $8.75, so $15.75 feeds two — and Southern fried catfish is $10.00. Both locations, Broad Ave and Mendenhall, are inside the city.

📍 2581 Broad Ave + 629 S Mendenhall  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Pete & Sam's

Split a 12-Inch Cheese — $13.50  💡 Pizza Only — Dinners Run Over

A Park Avenue red-sauce room since 1948, and one this page nearly cut by assumption before reading the menu. Owner prices: a 10-inch cheese pizza is $11.50 and a 12-inch $13.50, either of which splits between two people well under budget. The specialty pies run $14.75 to $15.75. Everything else on the menu — the steaks, the Italian dinners, the famous barbecue shrimp — is a different price tier entirely, so come for pizza.

📍 3886 Park Ave  ·  ⏳ Closed Mon
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Memphis Pizza Cafe

15-Inch Cheese Pie — $14.75  💡 Happy Hour Knocks Off More

Correcting our own card: the "$10 Deals Menu" we used to advertise doesn't exist on the owner menu. What does: a 15-inch mozzarella cheese pizza for $14.75 that splits easily, a 13-inch for $12.35, and a half-sandwich-plus-half-dinner-salad combo at $8.80, so two combos make $17.60. Slices are $3.30. Weekdays 4–6pm, happy hour takes 50¢ to $1.50 off pies by size. Overton Square and East Memphis are the in-city rooms.

📍 2087 Madison Ave + 5061 Park Ave  ·  ⏳ Happy hour M–F 4–6pm
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Aldo's Pizza Pies

Weekly Specials — Mon & Tue  💡 Tue Slices Are Midtown Only

Two downtown-and-Midtown pizzerias with the most useful weekly deal board in the city — and our old card had the locations backwards. Straight from the owner's specials page: Monday, both stores, 18-inch pies at the 12-inch price from 7pm, with $5 drafts. Tuesday Downtown, $10 paninis all day; Tuesday Midtown, 2-for-1 slices, 11am to 2pm only. Wednesdays bring half-price appetizers, and Thursday is 20% off with a student or teacher ID.

📍 100 S Main St + 752 S Cooper St  ·  ⏳ Deals by day and location
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The Mad Grocer & Deli

Two Sandwiches — $14.00  💡 Inside Crosstown Concourse

A deli counter inside Crosstown Concourse, the old Sears tower turned vertical village, and the cheapest sit-down two-top in the building. Owner menu: the 4Twenty and the grilled cheese are $7.00 each, so two people eat for $14.00; a Good Dog is $8.00 and a City Dog $9.00, making that pair $17.00. Half po'boys run $10 to $11 and the whole ones $17 to $18, which will feed two on their own.

📍 1350 Concourse Ave (Crosstown)  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Global Café

Hummus & Pita + Falafel — $15.41  💡 Refugee Chef Collective

The best story on this page. Global Café is a food hall inside a food hall — a collective of refugee and immigrant chefs cooking their own countries' food from shared kitchens in Crosstown Concourse: Venezuela, Sudan, Mexico, Kenya, Nepal and Somalia. Owner menu: hummus and pita $7.98 plus falafel $7.43 makes $15.41 for two; chips and salsa are $5.50, empanadas and sambusa $10.95, and two bowls of African peanut soup or sopa de arbejas run $19.80.

📍 1350 Concourse Ave (Crosstown)  ·  ⏳ Daily
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Blues City Cafe

Six Tamales, Shared — $14.99  💡 The Only Beale Deal That Works

We priced all of Beale Street and this is the one room where two people eat under twenty. Owner menu: six tamales with a bowl of chili is $14.99 shared, or three tamales with a cup of chili for $10.99; add a cup of turnip greens at $6.50 and you're at $17.49. What doesn't work, in their own numbers: the golden fried catfish plate is $23.49 — for one person — and a half rack of ribs $27.49.

📍 138 Beale St  ·  ⏳ Daily
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💡 Pro tip: Gus's downtown location draws long lines on weekends — arrive before noon or after 2pm to beat the crowds. Bryant's Breakfast is cash-preferred and opens at 5am Wed–Sun, which is genuinely useful after a late night on Beale. Cozy Corner tends to sell out of Cornish hens by mid-afternoon, so go early if that's your target. Earnestine & Hazel's is best experienced late on a Friday or Saturday when the music is live. If a deal has changed, flag it on our main directory.

💳 Watch the service charge. Six restaurants on this page add a mandatory fee that fires on exactly the order this site describes — two people, or takeout, or a late seat. It is not a tip and you cannot decline it: Dyer's adds 20% to any party of two or more (and to every check after 9pm, plus 3% on cards), Molly's La Casita 20% dine-in and 10% takeout, Brookhaven Pub 20% on to-go, Kooky Canuck 18% after 8pm, Imagine Vegan 15% dine-in, Slider Inn 7% on takeout. We price pre-tax like always, but a "$12 for two" that rings up at $14.40 is worth knowing before you order. And on tax: Memphis's combined rate is 9.75%, among the highest in the country, so a $19.50 ticket becomes $21.40 at the register.

🚫 The Honest Cuts

This page carried 32 local cards. Fourteen of them did not survive an owner-price check, and they're listed here with the numbers rather than quietly deleted. First, the ones where the restaurant's own menu says two people can't eat under $20:

Then the harder category — restaurants that are open, beloved, and probably cheap, but publish no prices anywhere they control. We don't print numbers we can't prove, so these come off the list until someone shows us a menu:

And the city-limits rule, which costs us real restaurants: Germantown Commissary, Las Tortugas' original, and Petra Cafe are in Germantown; Pho 64 and Taqueria La Parrillada in Bartlett; Pho Haven in Southaven, Mississippi. Cordova, Whitehaven, Hickory Hill, Frayser and Raleigh are Memphis — the city annexed them — so those count, even when the street is named Germantown Parkway.

🗞️ Still True? What Changed While the Lists Weren't Looking

Every closure and correction below was found by checking owner sources in July 2026. Most are still listed as open, or still quoted at old prices, somewhere prominent.

Leonard's moved, and its buffet is gone. The Fox Plaza building that housed the oldest barbecue name in Memphis was sold and sits empty. Leonard's now operates from N Germantown Pkwy in Cordova, and the all-you-can-eat buffet — the thing it was known for — did not make the move. Guides still send people to Fox Plaza for the buffet.

Three restaurants, one storefront. At 1615 Madison, Pho Binh closed, then Sen Trang closed, and the space is now a second Pho 4Ever. Meanwhile Vietnam Restaurant on N Cleveland — which several guides list as closed — is open and has been the whole time.

Closed, and still on lists: The Little Tea Shop, downtown since 1918. Blue Plate Cafe, both locations, after its owner died — and beware, the blueplatecafe.com that still works belongs to a different restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama. Puck Food Hall, closed since 2022. Pizzeria Trasimeno at Crosstown. LBOE in Midtown, closed in 2021 and still turning up on "best burger" roundups five years later.

Prices that moved without anyone noticing: Dim Sum King's much-quoted $9.95 lunch special is $12.95. Memphis Pizza Cafe's "$10 deals menu" isn't on the menu. Uncle Lou's moved from Millbranch to Winchester. India Palace's lunch buffet ended. And at Alex's Tavern, the "Rockey burger" that appears in write-ups isn't a menu item at all — Rocky is the owner.

📍 Regional Chains

Bigger than one storefront, smaller than the home-page national list — verified on each chain's own published menus.

🍗 ✓ verified

Zaxby's

Big Zax Snak Meals ~$20 for Two · Nibblerz $5.29

The Athens, GA-born chicken-fingerz chain (~950 stores across 17 states) keeps four Memphis stores per its own directory — Kirby Parkway, Perkins Extd, Hacks Cross Rd and 2240 Union Ave in Midtown — all open to 11pm with pickup, delivery and curbside; verified July 2026. Prices from our same-day read at the chain's Dallas store: the Big Zax Snak Meal (chicken fingerz, crinkle fries, Texas toast, Zax sauce and a drink) was $9.99 — two meals right at twenty — and 2 Nibblerz (chicken sliders) $5.29 an order, two orders feeding two for about $11. Prices vary by store, so confirm on yours in the app.

📍 Memphis, TN (4 locations)  ·  ⏳ Open to 11pm · check store pricing
🗺️ Map🌐 Menu📊 Prices
🍔 ✓ verified

Whataburger

Breakfast Whatameals 2 for $12.78 · Burger Whatameals 2 for $17.98

The Texas 24/7 burger institution — founded in Corpus Christi in 1950, now ~1,030 stores across 16 states — where three Memphis stores: the two-for-under-$20 math runs both ways: the Taquito with Cheese Whatameal is $6.39 with hash brown sticks included — two full breakfasts for $12.78, served 11pm to 11am — and the flagship Whataburger Whatameal (burger, fries, drink) is $8.99, so two land at $17.98 any hour; the bacon biscuit sandwich is $4.49 solo. Prices read from the chain's own store-selected online menu in July 2026 — Whataburger only shows prices once you pick a store and they vary by market, so check yours. Open 24/7.

📍 Memphis, TN (3 locations)  ·  ⏳ 24/7 · breakfast 11pm–11am
🗺️ Map🌐 Site📊 Prices
🍗 ✓ verified

Bojangles

$5 After-5pm 2pc Dinners — Two Eat for $10

The Charlotte-born Cajun-chicken-and-biscuits chain (1977, ~800 stores) serves four Memphis stores with chain-published app deals with the price in the name: the $5 after-5pm 2-piece dinner (two people eat for $10), the Cajun Filet Biscuit with Bo-Rounds for $5, and a $19.99 8-piece family meal that feeds more than two. Cajun-seasoned chicken, scratch-made buttermilk biscuits and the legendary sweet tea; deals run at participating stores via the app or online ordering — confirm at yours. Verified on the chain's own ordering site, July 2026.

📍 Memphis, TN (4 locations)  ·  ⏳ $5 dinners after 5pm · app deals
🗺️ Map🌐 Order📊 Prices
🍔 ✓ verified

Cook Out

Two Cook Out Trays — $15–18 · 40+ Shakes

The Thomasville, NC-born drive-thru cult legend (~380 stores across 11 southern states) serves six Memphis stores — including 4286 Elvis Presley Blvd, a shake stop on the Graceland pilgrimage — the famous Cook Out Tray: an entrée (burgers, BBQ, chicken tenders, quesadillas), two sides — a whole corn dog counts as a side — and a big drink, running about $7.50–9 depending on market, so two trays land at $15–18 with room for a couple of the 40-plus milkshake flavors. Cook Out publishes no prices online and takes no online orders — tray figures come from recent store boards, so confirm at the window. Drive-thru, open past 3am most nights.

📍 Memphis, TN (6 locations)  ·  ⏳ Open to 3–4am · drive-thru
🗺️ Map🌐 Site📊 Prices
🍕 ✓ verified

Incredible Pizza Company

Specialty Pizzas To-Go $12.50–15.50 — Split One Under $20

The Springfield, MO-born family-entertainment pizza chain's Memphis location, on Germantown Pkwy in Cordova. Skip the buffet line and order from the takeout menu: BBQ Chicken $12.50, Veggie Delight $13.50, Supreme or Meat Lover's $15.50 — whole specialty pizzas big enough to split, so two people eat for $12.50–15.50 with change left for drinks. Prices read from the chain's own online-ordering menu (linked from its site) in July 2026 — confirm your store's exact prices in the ordering app. Heads up: dine-in is the buffet-and-games side and runs past the line ($13.99–15.99 per adult, though ages 0–3 eat free) — the under-$20 play is pickup or delivery.

📍 Cordova, TN (1245 N Germantown Pkwy · Memphis metro)  ·  ⏳ Takeout & delivery · dine-in buffet priced separately
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🌮 ✓ verified

Torchy's Tacos

Breakfast Tacos $4.25 · Two Breakfast Burritos $16.30 · Taco Two Step $9.95

The Austin-born taco chain's Memphis store on S Mendenhall in East Memphis. Breakfast is served all day: bacon, crispy-potato or chorizo egg-and-cheese tacos with roja salsa are $4.25, and the loaded Breakfast Burrito (cage-free eggs, refried pintos, crispy potatoes, chorizo) is $8.15 — two burritos land at $16.30, four breakfast tacos at $17. Prices read from the store's own ordering menu, July 2026. Limited-time bonus, same $9.95 at every store in the chain (all 120 checked, July 2026): the Taco Two Step — pick two signature tacos, served with chips & salsa and a 22oz drink — a complete meal for two at $19.90. It's on the Limited Time Only menu, so it won't last forever.

📍 Memphis, TN (719 S Mendenhall Rd)  ·  ⏳ Breakfast all day · Two Step limited time
🗺️ Map🌐 Menu📊 Prices
🍕 ✓ verified

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 — keeps a Memphis store plus Bartlett and Cordova. 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.

📍 Memphis, TN (city store + Bartlett · Cordova)  ·  ⏳ Online ordering deal · limited time
🗺️ Map🌐 Menu📊 Prices

🇺🇸 Also Valid Nationwide

These chain deals work anywhere in the country, including Memphis.

🚒 ✓ verified

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 — and its own locator lists 3 stores inside Memphis. 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.

📍 Memphis, TN (3 locations)  ·  ⏳ Two eat from $10.75 · varies by store
🗺️ Map🌐 Site📊 Prices
🧀 ✓ verified

Buffalo Wild Wings

Pick 6 — Meal for Two from $19.99

2 entrees + 2 sides + 2 fountain drinks starting at $19.99. Entrees: 10 Boneless Wings, All-American Cheeseburger, 3 Crispy Chicken Dippers, or 3 Spicy Chicken Dippers. Sides: fries, tots, or wedges. Dine-in or order online via the BWW app. Higher pricing in AK, CA, HI, NY, OR, WA.

📍 Nationwide  ·  ⏳ Ongoing — varies by location
🗺️ Map🌐 Site
🍝 ✓ verified

Olive Garden

Lunch Duos — Lunch for Two Under $20

Mon–Fri before 3pm, build a Lunch Duo from mini pasta bowls, sandwiches, and flatbreads, each with soup or salad — two people typically lunch for under $20 (prices vary by location).

📍 5679 Poplar Ave  ·  ⏳ Mon–Fri to 3pm
🗺️ Map🌐 Site

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