Best Cheap Eats in Virginia Beach, VA
Two People, Under $20

Citrus (357 N Great Neck)

Share the Loaded Breakfast Nachos — $15.00

The employee-owned breakfast-and-lunch cafe — Lance and Cheri Shores opened it in 2006 and handed it to their staff in 2022. Card the surviving store only: 357 N Great Neck Rd, since the W Great Neck location closed September 9 (see Still True? below). The shareable play off the owner menu is the Loaded Breakfast Nachos at $15.00 — house chips under sausage, scrambled eggs, bacon, pico and a hollandaise drizzle, a plate built to split. Add a cup of Soup of the Day ($4.25) and two eat a full breakfast for $19.25. Cheaper still, French Toast Sticks are $12.00 to share. What breaks the line: the full breakfast plates run $15–$18 apiece (Cape Henry $15, Lynnhaven $17.50, Steak & Eggs $18), so two plates is over — the shareables are the move. Side salads $7.00, she-crab soup $8.25 a cup.

Tax + tip note: at Virginia Beach's flat 12%, the $15.00 nachos are about $16.80 out the door and the $19.25 nachos-plus-soup build about $21.56. Table service, so tip on top.

Pollard's Chicken

Two Value Meals — $18.30, Drinks Included (Since 1967)

The strongest two-under-$20 on this page, and it isn't close. Pollard's has been frying chicken in Virginia Beach since 1967 and the owner menu still prices a Value Meal — two pieces of chicken, a vegetable, a puff and a regular drink — at $9.15. Two of them is $18.30 with the drinks already in the ticket, which almost nothing else in this city can say. Three more builds clear the line: two tender value meals at $7.75 each is $15.50, two sandwich combos (boneless breast filet, chicken salad, N.C. minced pork BBQ or pulled chicken BBQ, with small fries and a drink) at $8.99 each is $17.98, and two plain sandwiches at $5.49 is $10.98. Two Virginia Beach stores — London Bridge and College Park. The other two locations on the owner site are Chesapeake and Norfolk, different cities with different meals taxes; don't count those as Virginia Beach.

Tax note: Virginia Beach taxes prepared food at a flat 12% (6% meals + 6% sales). Two value meals land at about $20.50 out the door; the two tender value meals at $15.50 come to about $17.36 all-in.

Famous Uncle Al's Dog House (Holland Rd)

Two Cheeseburgers + Crinkle Fries — $17.97

Hot dogs since 1985, and the house specialty is the Norfolk Snap Dog at $3.99 — a Norfolk product sold all over Virginia Beach, which is the kind of thing only a local would tell you. The clean two-person build off the owner menu is two Classic Cheeseburgers ($6.99 each) plus an order of Crinkle Fries ($3.99) at $17.97. Cheaper: the 2 Snap Dog Combo — two dogs, fries and a drink — is $12.99 for the pair, and four plain snap dogs is $15.96. Specialty dogs (Chicago, Carolina, Cuban, Reuban, Junk Yard) run $5.49–$7.99, so two of those plus a side breaks the line. Note the address carefully: this brand runs four separate owner websites for four locations with different menus and different prices, so the numbers here are Holland Road's alone.

Surcharge + tax note: the menu states a 3% credit card processing fee and a 3% packaging fee on all to-go orders, stacked on top of the 12% prepared-food tax. $17.97 on a to-go card order is roughly $21.20 all-in. Dine in and pay cash to skip both fees.

Beach Bully Bar-B-Q

Two Platters, Two Sides Each — $19.98 (19th St)

Open-pit barbecue on 19th Street, between the Oceanfront and the convention center — the block everyone walks past on the way to the beach. Barbecue is usually the cleanest two-under-$20 in any Southern city and Beach Bully holds up: two Hot Ham & Cheese platters are $19.98, and a platter means the sandwich plus two sides each. Straight sandwiches go further — two Carolina Pork BBQ at $9.49 is $18.98, two half-pound cheeseburgers at $7.99 is $15.98, and a cheeseburger platter ($10.99) alongside a hot ham & cheese sandwich ($7.99) is $18.98. Sauces run Carolina, spicy, sweet and tangy. What doesn't fit: ribs start at $14.99 for a queen rack and the combo platters open at $17.99, so those are one-person-and-then-some, not a split.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach's flat 12%, $19.98 is about $22.38 out the door. The two Carolina Pork BBQ sandwiches at $18.98 come to about $21.26.

NY Bagel Cafe

Two Egg Platters — $17.38 (Family-Run, All Day)

Family owned and run by Long Island and Westchester transplants, baking bagels on Princess Anne Road and serving breakfast and lunch all day. The owner menu makes this one of the easiest cards on the page to clear: two 2-egg platters at $8.69 each is $17.38, and two orders of french toast or pancakes at $8.59 each is $17.18. Go cheaper and it gets almost silly — two fried egg sandwiches is $9.98, two bagels with cream cheese is $7.78. Over twenty bread and bagel options. Where it breaks: omelets are $11.49 (though each comes with home fries and a buttered bagel), the lunch sandwiches run $9.69–$12.59, and anything with lox on it — $12.59 for a bagel with fresh lox and cream cheese — is a one-person splurge, not a split.

Tax note: 12% prepared-food tax puts the two egg platters at about $19.47 out the door — under $20 all-in, which very little in this city manages.

Pocahontas Pancake & Waffle House

Two Eggs, Meat & Pancakes ×2 — $17.90 (Oceanfront Since 1974)

Virginia Beach Oceanfront breakfast institution since 1974, run by the Zervoudakis family since 1986 — Mary, Angelo, and George kept the Pocahontas name and brought in local artist Jim Johnson to paint the wall and window murals. Voted 'Best Pancake House in Virginia Beach' by Food Network's 'Best Of' series. The dining room reads like a Jamestown-history theme park: hand-painted murals, a teepee structure built right inside, decades of regulars. The owner menu is the whole reason this card works — two eggs any style with bacon, sausage or ham is $8.95, and every egg plate comes with toast and jelly or two side buttermilk pancakes, so two full breakfasts is $17.90 with the pancakes included. Cheaper still: two eggs any style on its own is $3.85, scrapple and two eggs $7.95. Going pancake-first costs more than you'd think — a plain buttermilk stack is $9.00, so two is $18.00 and nothing else fits. Open daily year-round. 3420 Atlantic Ave at the North End.

Tax + tip note: 12% prepared-food tax takes $17.90 to about $20.05, and this is a sit-down room with servers — budget a tip on top.

Mary's Kitchen

Two Early Birds — $9.58 (Cheapest Breakfast for Two in the City)

Mary Craft opened Mary's Confectionary on 17th Street in 1951 and moved to the Virginia Beach Blvd address in the early 1970s; the kitchen still cooks her recipes. The owner breakfast menu holds the cheapest two-person ticket we found anywhere in Virginia Beach: The Early Bird is $4.79 — two eggs any style with two bacon strips or two sausage patties, a side of grits, home fries, hash browns or spiced apples, and toast or a biscuit; or two eggs and two buttermilk pancakes. Two of them is $9.58. It is served until 9am daily, so this one is worth the alarm. After nine, Rise & Shine at $5.49 (two eggs, a side, toast or biscuit) puts two at $10.98, $12.98 with meat. The 17th Street Classic — three buttermilk pancakes with bacon, sausage or baked ham — is $7.49, so two is $14.98. Even two Hungry Mans, three eggs each with Edward's Virginia smoked sausage or country ham, is $19.58. Breakfast sides are $1.99 and the homemade cinnamon buns $3.49. Six blocks from the Oceanfront with a big free lot.

Tax + tip note: at 12%, two Early Birds are about $10.73 out the door — the only build on this page that clears $20 twice over. Table service, so tip on top. Hours: the site's contact page says 7am–2pm daily; the breakfast menu header says 6am–3pm. Their own site disagrees with itself, so call before an early start.

Zero's Subs

Two Oven-Baked Subs — $16.58 (VB’s Own Since 1967)

Virginia Beach's hometown sub chain — Gene Schmidt opened the first Zero's here in 1967 around hearth-baked rolls and premium deli meats, a perennial 'Best of the Beach' winner with nine VB storefronts. No promo needed to clear the line: the Hilltop store's own ordering page prices whole oven-baked subs at $8.29 — BLT, Grinder, Cosmo, Grub Steak & Cheese, Ham & Cheese and the rest — so two whole subs is $16.58, and one whole sub split between two is $8.29. Half subs run under $10 apiece if you'd rather each build your own, and even the premium subs stay in range — Club, Chicken Bacon Ranch and Roast Beef & Cheese are $9.99, so two is $19.98; only the Godfather and Italian Gladiator ($10.99) push a pair over. There's a pizza play too — a 10" pie is $8.99 with toppings at +$0.69, so two personal one-topping pizzas is $19.36. That's all before the fabled 2 Fer Tuesday two-for-one, which only sweetens it. One caveat this card used to lean on and now footnotes: pricing is set per store, so the $8.29 is the Hilltop number — nearby locations land close but confirm yours.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach’s flat 12%, two $8.29 subs are about $18.57 out the door — comfortably clear even taxed.

Iggles Cheesesteaks & Burgers

Two Half Cheesesteaks — $19.98 (Cult Philly-Style, Since 2009)

Cult Philly cheesesteak shop on Virginia Beach Blvd, all-Philly-sports decor on the walls, reviewers regularly saying it rivals the big names back home. Hand-shaved steak, choice of yellow American, white American, provolone or Swiss. The January 2026 owner menu prices everything half/whole, and the half is what makes this work: a half cheese cheesesteak is $9.99, so two halves is $19.98 — on the line before tax. Splitting one whole ($16.19) leaves room for exactly one homemade cheesesteak egg roll ($3.99, or 2 for $6.99), and that pairing is $20.18 — just over, so order the halves. They offer a 4% cash discount, which pulls two halves down to about $19.18. Closed Sun/Mon plus the first Wednesday of every month. 2678 Virginia Beach Blvd.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach's flat 12% on prepared food, $19.98 is about $22.38 out the door — $21.48 if you pay cash and take the 4% off.

Croc's 19th Street Bistro

Share the Mezzé Sampler — $15.00 (Eco-Bistro Since 1993)

Locally owned eco-bistro since 1993 — first Virginia Green-certified restaurant in the Commonwealth (2007), AAA Three Diamond, National Restaurant Association Good Neighbor Award winner. Co-owner Kal Habr handmakes the Lebanese mezze daily. This is the one card on the page where the two-people build is a shared plate, not two of anything: the Mezzé Sampler is $15.00 and is built to be picked at by a pair. The vegan version is $12.00, which leaves room for the Croc's pita pizza ($8.00) at exactly $20.00, or a za'atar flat naan ($6.00) at $18.00. Do not try to pair mezze with a sandwich — handhelds start at $14.00 and run to $18.00, and entrées open at $20.00. Locally sourced (S.O.L. — sustainable, organic, local) menu, chef garden on premise, famous Sunday drag brunch. 620 19th St.

Tax + tip note: full-service dining room. The 12% tax takes $15.00 to about $16.80, and a tip on top is expected — this is the card where the menu price is the smallest part of the ticket.

The Dirty Buffalo (Princess Anne)

Two Mac Bowls — $17.98 (Coastal VA Wing Champ)

VB location of the Hampton Roads wing champ — voted best wings in Coastal Virginia, featured on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives and Travel Channel's Food Paradise. Four sauces have won at the National Buffalo Wing Festival. The wings are the draw but they are not the cheap play: the 10 Wings + 1 Side combo is $20.49, over the line before tax even lands. The Mac Bowls are the honest build — Dirty Mac, Cajun Chicken, Chicken Parm, Porky's and Southwest Philly run $8.99–$10.29, so two of the $8.99 bowls is $17.98 and a Broccoli Mac ($8.99) alongside a Dirty Mac ($9.99) is $18.98. Want the wings anyway? Ten bone-in, no side, is $17.49 for the pair to share. At the corner of S. Independence Blvd and Princess Anne Rd — 2080 S. Independence Blvd. Closed Tuesdays.

Tax note: Virginia Beach taxes prepared food at a flat 12%. Two $8.99 Mac Bowls come to about $20.14 out the door.

Plaza Azteca (Original VB)

Two Lunch Specials — Under $20 (Founded in VB Late '90s)

The Mexican giant founded in 1994 in Virginia by two brothers from Jalisco — now spanning Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Tableside guacamole and famous fresh-shaken margaritas. The 2-for-20 angle: weekday lunch specials (chimichangas, enchiladas, taco platters) currently run $11.99–$12.99, and most platters are big enough that two diners can share an entrée and a couple of à la carta tacos under $20. Multiple VB locations including Hilltop and Lynnhaven — find the closest to you for the original Plaza Azteca experience.

Tax note: Virginia Beach taxes prepared food at a flat 12%, so figure about 12% on top of the menu price out the door.

Bobo's Fine Chicken

2 Chicken Sandwiches + a Shared Side — $17.19

Hampton Roads Weekly nicknamed it 'Food So Good It'll Make You Wanna Smack Your Mama' (Connie Meyer's words, not ours). Cult fried chicken spot on Shore Drive in Chic's Beach — which is Virginia Beach, not the City of Chesapeake, whatever the neighborhood name suggests. Read the owner menu carefully: solo means chicken only, meal is the one that comes with two seasonal sides and a drink. Two fried chicken sandwiches at $6.47 solo run $12.94, and one individual side at $4.25 brings the ticket to $17.19 — the honest build here. Go the plate route instead and it breaks: two 2-pc dark solos are $20.44 before tax, and the meals are $15.20–$16.09 apiece. Family-style sides — mac and cheese, candied yams, collards, cornbread. Drive-thru friendly. 3139 Shore Dr.

Tax note: prepared food in Virginia Beach carries a flat 12% (6% city meals tax + 6% sales tax). $17.19 lands at about $19.25 out the door.

Dough Boy's Pizza

$8.88 Medium Pizza (Mon–Fri to 5:30pm) — Two for $17.76

Family-owned Boardwalk pizza staple since 1989. The 2-for-20 hammer: the $8.88 medium original cheese pizza, run as a happy-hour price Monday–Friday 11:30am to 5:30pm per the restaurant's own menu page. Two medium pies is $17.76, or one medium plus toppings at $2.39 each still clears the line. Online ordering runs from the 33rd Street store only, and curbside parking is free October 1 through May 10. Coastal Virginia BEST of Reader's Choice Gold winner: Best Pizza, Best Happy Hour, Best Family Dining. The signature 'WAVE' is half pizza, half calzone — invented here. Two oceanfront locations: 3224 Atlantic Ave (33rd St) and 2410 Atlantic Ave (24th St).

Tax note: at Virginia Beach’s flat 12%, two $8.88 mediums ($17.76) run about $19.89 out the door.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

Two Wraps + Smoothies — Under $20 (200th Store Opened in VB 2006)

While founded in Destin, FL in 1993, Tropical Smoothie Cafe celebrated its 200th-store milestone right here in Virginia Beach in 2006 — a notable VB chain marker on the way from a single beach cafe to 1,400+ locations today. Made-to-order wraps, flatbreads, bowls, 'dillas, and real-fruit smoothies. The 2-for-20 play: wraps and flatbreads run $6.49–$7.49, so two wraps lands around $13–15 with room left for a smoothie to share. Multiple VB locations: 4001 Virginia Beach Blvd, General Booth, Great Neck, Nimmo Pkwy, and N Mall Dr.

Tax note: Virginia Beach’s flat 12% adds about 12% out the door; two wraps at $6.49–$7.49 stay well under $20 even taxed.

Kim's Banh Mi & More

Two Banh Mi — $17.00 (Chic’s Beach)

A Vietnamese sandwich shop on Shore Drive in Chic’s Beach — which is Virginia Beach, not the City of Chesapeake, whatever the neighborhood name says. Their own shop page numbers the banh mi WB1–WB6, and five of the six are $8.50 flat: Special Cold-Cut Combination, Pork Roll, Pork Meatball, Grilled Chicken and Fried Eggs. Only the Grilled Steak (WB6) jumps, to $10.45. So two banh mi is $17.00, and a steak alongside any $8.50 sandwich is $18.95 — only two steaks ($20.90) misses. The card’s old “$8.99, roasted pork belly $9.25” numbers were wrong in both name and price; the real board is cheaper and simpler. Rice bowls, lemongrass teas, smoothies and Vietnamese coffee round it out. 4801 Shore Dr.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach’s flat 12%, two $8.50 banh mi are about $19.04 out the door.

Lucita's Express

Four Pupusas — $14.78 (Two Each)

Lynnhaven Salvadoran counter, and the owner menu confirms the number: pupusas are $3.79 in every filling — cheese, chicharrón con queso, frijol con queso, revuelta, pollo con queso, loroco con queso. Three of the same type is $10.99, so the cheapest way to feed two is a three-pack plus a single at $14.78. Five straight singles is $18.95. Note that curtido ($1.99) and pupusa salsa ($1.29) are their own line items — add both and two people eat for $18.06, still clear. Two more angles: the Loca, a giant pupusa built to share, is $15.99 on its own, and baleadas start at $3.79. Skip the entrée section if you're holding the line — burritos, quesadillas and chimichangas run $12.99–$14.99 and carne asada is $18.99, so two of anything there breaks it. Horchata, tamarindo, jamaica and maracuyá are $2.99 a medium.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach's flat 12%, $14.78 is about $16.55 out the door. Even the $18.06 build with curtido and salsa lands near $20.23 all-in.

Sal's NY Slice Pizzeria

14" Cheese Pie $14.99 — or Two Slices Each for $10.88

New York–style pizzeria with multiple Virginia Beach locations, everything made from scratch. Two clean builds off the owner menu: a medium 14" traditional cheese pie is $14.99 and feeds two with room left over, or take the pick-up lunch special — two cheese slices for $5.44, so two people eating two slices apiece is $10.88, the cheapest verified sit-down-and-eat ticket on this page. (A single slice is $3.22; the round-number "2 slices for $5" you'll see quoted around town is a few years stale.) Skip the sides if you're holding the line — garlic knots are $7.99 and 10 wings are $14.99, which pushes a pie past $20 fast.

Tax note: at 12%, the $14.99 pie is about $16.79 out the door and the $10.88 slice run is about $12.19. Both clear $20 all-in.

California Pizza Kitchen

One Margherita Pizza Split Two Ways  ·  $17.69

CPK — the chain that invented the BBQ chicken pizza in 1985 — prices like the sit-down restaurant it is: two people each ordering a main start at $33.58. The honest under-$20 route is to split. Every pizza is a 6-slice thin crust, and the cheapest, the Margherita, reads $17.69 at the Town Center of Virginia Beach, 200 Central Park Ave. store on CPK's own online ordering, August 2026 — $8.85 a head when two people share one. The Traditional Cheese is $18.69 and the Mac 'N' Cheese, the cheapest main plate at $16.79, splits the same way. With actual kids along the math turns kind: every CPKids pizza and pasta entrée is $8.49. The traps are ordering like two separate customers and the specialty list — pizzas beyond the basic three start at $19.69, and drinks push even a split pizza to the line, so it's a water-and-share play. Even Virginia Beach's 12% meals tax — the steepest on this site — leaves a split Margherita at $19.81 all-in. CPK runs exactly three price tiers nationally — $16.69 to $18.69 for the same Margherita — so confirm at yours; the dine-in menu can read slightly different from the ordering site.

Fuddruckers

Share a 1 lb Burger — $13.49–$16.49 (Feeds Two)

The Texas-born build-your-own-burger chain runs a Virginia Beach store at 1784 General Booth Blvd — the sister of the Norfolk restaurant, same franchisee and same menu (their shared to-go menu lists both addresses). The play for two is the 1 lb burger — a full pound, easily split — $13.49 for the plain Hamburger up to $16.49 loaded (Bacon Cheese, Bourbon, Works, Hangover, Tex-Mex, Swiss Melt, Inferno), each on a toasted bun with a side; split one and two eat for well under $20. À la carte, a hot dog is $8.49, a turkey burger $9.49, a chicken sandwich $9.99, and salads $9.49. Prices confirmed off the Norfolk sibling's live ordering, July 2026 — same franchise menu; prices vary by store. Closed Mondays.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach’s flat 12%, a shared 1 lb burger runs about $15.11–$18.47 out the door.

DC Charcoal Chicken

½ Chicken + 2 Sides to Share — $16.99

Not to be confused with the Peruvian Charcoal Chicken on Virginia Beach Blvd — this is DC Charcoal Chicken (dba Charbroiled Chicken & Grill), an 11-store DC / Maryland / Virginia chain whose Hampton Roads outpost sits in Salem Crossing on Lynnhaven Pkwy. The clean share for two off their own ordering page is the ½ Chicken with 2 Sides at $16.99 — half a charbroiled bird plus two sides (fried rice, mixed vegetables, potato & cheese, string beans), plated to feed a pair. The other angle is two subs at $9.99 each — grilled chicken, Philly chicken & cheese, Philly steak & cheese, or fish — landing at $19.98 on the menu. Watch the jumps: any shrimp sub or combo is $12.99, and a whole chicken with two large sides is $29.49, so the half-bird is the one to split.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach's flat 12%, the $16.99 half-chicken plate is about $19.03 out the door — clear either way. Two $9.99 subs are $19.98 on the menu but about $22.38 taxed, so split the chicken if you want to clear $20 all-in.

Pho 79 Virginia Beach

Two Banh Mi — $17.90 (Family-Run Since 1979)

Family-run Vietnamese institution named for the year the family immigrated to the United States, 1979 — 25-plus years feeding Hampton Roads, every location run by family members. The owner ordering page prices the whole banh mi board at one number: $8.95, whether you take the Dac Biet (ham, Vietnamese bologna, head cheese and pâté), plain ham, pork bologna, head cheese, lemongrass grilled chicken or grilled pork. Two sandwiches is $17.90 — that clears, but not by the margin this card used to claim. The old "$5–7 each, two for under $15" is well out of date; nothing on the banh mi menu is under $8.95 any more. Slow-simmered 10-hour beef bone broth pho, vermicelli bowls and rice plates round it out. 4816 Virginia Beach Blvd.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach's flat 12%, $17.90 is about $20.05 out the door — a rare case where the menu clears but the ticket doesn't. Prices are per store: this is the Virginia Beach Blvd location's own menu, and the family's other Hampton Roads restaurants set their own numbers.

Zaxby's

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

The Athens, GA-born chicken-fingerz chain (~950 stores coast to coast) keeps a Virginia Beach store at 2332 Elson Green Ave per its own directory — 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.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach’s flat 12%, add about 12% out the door — pair the ~$9.99 Snak Meals or lean on $5.29 Nibblerz to keep two under $20.

Bojangles

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

The Charlotte-born Cajun-chicken-and-biscuits chain (1977, ~800 stores) serves four Virginia Beach 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.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach’s flat 12%, the $10 two-for-two after-5pm dinners run about $11.20 out the door.

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 three Virginia Beach stores — General Booth Blvd, Independence Blvd and Indian River Rd — 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.

Tax note: at Virginia Beach’s flat 12%, two trays at $15–$18 run about $16.80–$20.16 out the door — the low end clears, the top edge is a squeaker.

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 its Virginia Beach store on Princess Anne Rd. 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.

Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii

Breakfast Sandwiches on King’s Hawaiian — Two + a Drip Under $20

Born at a Kona coffee-farm stand in 1989 and named for the donkeys that hauled coffee down the volcano slopes, the Hawaiian-coffee franchise is now about 40 stores strong — and the Virginia Beach shop at 18th & Cypress in the ViBe district, blocks from the Boardwalk, is one of its longest-running mainland outposts. The food play is the breakfast-sandwich board, served all day on King's Hawaiian sweet bread: bacon or sausage egg-and-cheddar, the Aloha (ham, egg, swiss, grilled pineapple, BBQ drizzle) and the Spam-stacked Bad Ass One. Across the three store menus we price-checked (Tolleson AZ, West Jordan UT, McKinney TX — August 2026), sandwiches run $6.77–$7.93 and a small drip of the Hawaiian blend $3.69–$4.49, so two sandwiches plus a shared drip lands at $17.23–$19.89 — under the line in every market we checked. The $7–9 flavored lattes are where the math breaks; stick to drip and it holds. Prices vary by store, so check yours.

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 4 stores inside Virginia Beach. 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.

Tax note: Virginia Beach taxes prepared food at a flat 12%, so add about 12% out the door.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Pick 6 — Meal for Two from $19.99

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.

Tax note: Virginia Beach taxes prepared food at a flat 12%, so add about 12% out the door.

Red Robin

Big YUMMM Deals — From $9.99

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.

Tax note: Virginia Beach taxes prepared food at a flat 12%, so add about 12% out the door.