Edinburgh is a fantastic city for foodies. Packed full of restaurants, delis, local eateries, and good old fashioned fish and chip shops, you could spend a month exploring the food scene of this amazing Scottish city and still only be scratching the surface.

Were you to spend a month doing just that, however, you might just run out of cash! Thankfully, though, there are certain foodie haunts in Edinburgh where a fine feed can be had without completely breaking the bank.

Here are our top five recommendations for cheap eats in Edinburgh.

Miros Cantina Mexicana

Miros Cantina Mexicana is one of our favourite places to eat dinner in Edinburgh. A small restaurant tucked away on Rose Street, this is a lively independent Mexican restaurant that combines live music, loud colours, and fantastic frozen margaritas, with gorgeous and authentic dishes like our personal favourite, the slow cooked lamb with Mexican honey and smoked chilli. Portions are huge, so don’t bother looking at the starters; just order some nachos and salsa to share between two or three people. Miros Cantina Mexicana is cheap, cheerful, and you’re guaranteed a fun evening, especially if you indulge in a few of the moreish frozen margaritas!

Mussel Inn

The Mussel Inn, also on Rose Street, is an award winning seafood restaurant that offers huge kilo pots of fresh mussels, cooked with a variety of flavours depending upon your taste, with queues often snaking out the door at peak times. Service can be a little bit standoffish, as it can so often be at popular restaurants that don’t need to depend on repeat custom, but the mussels are divine, as is the bread that comes ready for dipping into those gorgeous mussel juices. The Mussel Inn usually offers a lunchtime deal and weekly specials that help to keep the costs down. Just make sure you book in advance!

Valvona & Crolla

We’re huge fans of Valvona & Crolla, an independent family business and Scotland’s oldest Delicatessen and Italian Wine Merchant. A good alternative to going out to eat in Edinburgh if you’ve had a long day pounding the streets is to drive to Valvona & Crolla before stocking up on a picnic to enjoy in your accommodation (we need to be realistic about the weather in Edinburgh after all!) There are so many amazing cheeses, meats, olives, and breads to choose from, as well as a range of sweet goodies to round off the meal. With a massive selection of wine on sale as well, you can buy enough food and drink here to dine like a King for a pretty reasonable fee.

Cafe Andaluz

Cafe Andaluz on George Street is an elegant yet busy and buzzy tapas restaurant situated within easy reach of Princes Street. It offers authentic Spanish tapas at a reasonable price. To keep costs low, stick to the set menu of tapas and you won’t go far wrong. You shouldn’t need pudding here if you pick from the menu wisely, but the good news is that they offer a fantastic creme brulee for only a few pounds! Cafe Andaluz is also family-friendly, with decent options for kids and an atmosphere that won’t make the little ones feel out of place.

The Baked Potato Shop

The Baked Potato Shop deserves a special mention here because you can get a jacket potato so huge and so filling that you won’t need dinner, and all for just a few quid! The Baked Potato Shop is located on Cockburn Street in Edinburgh’s Old Town, so it makes a fantastic stop-off during a day of sightseeing. The choice of fillings is vast but I recommend keeping it simple with the chilli and cheese.

What are your favourite cheap eats in Edinburgh? Do you know of other restaurants deserving of being included on our list? Let us know by commenting below!