Finding good quality and affordable food in Downtown Brooklyn for a student can be mission impossible sometimes and as a student I must admit there’s not much in Downtown Brooklyn that’s within our budget, but while attending City Tech for the last few years, working in Downtown Brooklyn for over 3 years, and researching on Yelp I have come to realize there are certainly good food for an affordable price from anywhere between $5 – $15.00 and here are five places I would like to share with you where you can get a good quality meal for a good price:
Brooklyn Fare
Besides Trader Joe’s (located in Cobble Hill), there’s another supermarket/organic market where you can build your own meat entree or vegetable entree or pick up a sandwich. This market is known as Brooklyn Fare and it’s about a 10-12 minute walk from school. Their meat entrees are usually $9.99 and for vegetable entrees are $8.99 (prices may have changed). It’s a great place to visit and they have a lot of great products you may not find at Trader Joe’s.
Cafe Metro
Cafe Metro is by far one of my favorite places to go to for lunch because it’s my to-go place for salads! Panera, Au Bon Pain, Hale & Hearty, and many other restaurants and fast food casual places have salads and provides a customer with the option to build their own salad, but I find that it’s a lot more expensive at these places. I spend just a little bit under $10 for my salad, but I can add a lot of different toppings and special toppings without an extra charge unlike other restaurants. If you love salads as much as I do, than you will love Cafe Metro. Lines can get crazy between 11:30AM-1PM, so I usually pre-order my salad to avoid the crazy lines.
Hanco’s
When I first discovered there was a Vietnamese spot that opened up in Downtown Brooklyn, I was very excited about this! Vietnamese food is almost no where to be found in our area. If you love Vietnamese food, check out Hanco’s as they have an array of items such as banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) , pho, rice vermicelli, bubble teas, coffee, rice dishes, and various appetizers. It’s a little more expensive than what you can find in South Brooklyn and Chinatown, but you won’t be spending $15+ on a sandwich or a bowl of noodles for sure.
Court Order
Last December, I stopped by Court Order for lunch because I remembered my boyfriend said they had pretty good wraps and soups and all made from scratch, but what he didn’t tell me was that Court Order actually gives student discount (must present school ID) which is 10% off, but you must spend $5.00 or more. I actually found out during my first visit and took advantage of that student discount. How many restaurants/food places do you know that gives you a student discount? The food is pretty good here and mostly under $10, now that’s a good deal!
Golden Fried Dumpling
Golden Fried Dumpling has been in Downtown Brooklyn for 3+ years now and it still remains as the most cheapest, affordable, and tasty dumplings on this side of Brooklyn. The price range for their dumplings range from $1.00 – $5.00. Now I mean seriously, where are you going to find hand-made dumplings for that cheap in Downtown Brooklyn? Any way, besides dumplings there are other menu items that are just as inexpensive like: sesame pancake sandwiches, rice & noodle dishes, buns, soups, and etc. I wouldn’t recommend eating here as they have very limited space and seating area in this establishment, but it is worth checking out.
Hopefully I have inspired you and woke you up to a few places that have cheap and affordable eats that can fit within your budget as a student. If you would like to read more about different restaurants in Downtown Brooklyn that I’ve tried you click here or if you want to hear more about affordable restaurants, click over here.
Are there any restaurants in Downtown Brooklyn you feel are affordable and has good quality?
