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Which city is best for low-cost dining in the UK? Where is best to go for a highly-rated but affordable dining experience?
With 6 in 10 adults in Great Britain cutting back on non-essential spending, including going out to eat, it’s likely that many are searching for lower-cost alternatives for the things they used to spend their money on [Source: ONS]. So, how could you save some money while still enjoying meals with friends or lunches out with colleagues? Here, we’ll be revealing the best and worst cities for eating out on the cheap, along with where you can find other good-quality dining options that won’t break the bank.
What we did
We gathered a range of data from TripAdvisor and analysed it to uncover the best UK cities for cheap eats. So, for those wanting to treat themselves to a reasonably priced meal, this can help you decide where to go.
Our unique data source is per 100k capita for fairness, but with our interactive table you can find at the bottom of the page, you can also view cities with the highest number of cheap eats options in total, rather than just by per capita density.
Ready to find the best and worst cities for dining on a budget? Let’s jump into the data, starting with cities with the biggest number of cheap eats options.
UK cities with the most cheap dining options (per 100k capita)
According to TripAdvisor data, Chichester was crowned as the UK city with the highest concentration of cheap eats dining options available per 100k capita. But just a few short miles up the south-east coastline, Brighton & Hove had much fewer options to choose from in comparison to Chichester. Despite the differences between these cities, 3 out of the top 10 cities with the most cheap eats dining options per capita were based in the South East, with Brighton & Hove, Chichester & Canterbury all featuring on the list.
Further north in the UK, Yorkshire & The Humber made the top 10 twice with Wakefield (143) and York (135). The North East also has two cities in the top 10, with Newcastle-upon-Tyne (139) and Durham (134). Newcastle, Durham and York are all big university cities, so they may well have established some cheaper dining options to cater for students with a tighter eating-out budget.
Brighton & Hove was the city with the largest population on the top 10 list, although smaller cities like Chichester (population 31,654) and Canterbury (population 55,240) also feature prominently within the top 10, suggesting that these smaller cities offer a high concentration of cheap eats options compared to their population.
UK cities with the least cheap dining options (per 100k capita)
Moving on to the cities with the least cheap dining options, Westminster has been revealed as the city with the fewest low-cost choices. According to TripAdvisor data, the city only has 25 cheap eats options per 100k capita. Considering the affluence of the city-status borough in central London, this ranking is likely to be unsurprising.
This was followed closely by Lisburn in Northern Ireland and Newport in Wales, each with 31. Northern Ireland was prominent here, with Lisburn, Armagh & Bangor all making the top 10 for cities with the least cheap eats dining options per 100k capita, meaning you’ll probably want to avoid these cities if you’re Northern Irish and looking for a low-cost meal out.
Despite cities in the North East making the top 10 list for most cheap eats options, Sunderland features in the fourth spot as a city with fewer cheap dining options. With just 32 affordable dining options per 100k capita, it seems that those in the region will have a bigger selection if they go to the nearby cities of Newcastle or Durham.
UK cities with the most highly-rated cheap eats options (per 100k capita)
Having lots of cheap dining options is great, but it’s even better if you can get good quality food that’s affordable at the same time! With this in mind, we’ve also uncovered the UK cities that have the most cheap eats dining options rated 4* & above on TripAdvisor, per 100k capita.
Brighton & Hove took the top spot with the most amount of 4*+ rated cheap eats restaurants (91 per 100k capita) making it the city with the highest density of affordable and quality eateries in the UK. This was followed by Chichester (88) and Canterbury (87), meaning the top 3 cities out of our top 10 list are cities based in the South East. Yorkshire & The Humber also featured prominently, with York (80), Wakefield (79) and Ripon (78) all making the top 10 list.
Both highly populated cities (e.g., Brighton & Hove, Edinburgh) and smaller cities (e.g., Chichester, Ripon) appear on the list, indicating that high-quality cheap dining can be found in high density in cities of all sizes. This data also shows that good quality, cheap food can be found across the majority of regions in the UK.
We then went on to find out which cities have the most 5* rated cheap eats restaurants per capita. From this, we found that Chichester also took the top spot here, with 32, followed by Canterbury with 31, and Ripon with 30.
London made the list here at number 5 with 22 5* rated cheap eats restaurants per 100k capita, which is unsurprising since they have plenty of highly regarded dining options, even having topped National Geographic’s Best Foodie Cities list back in 2019. What’s great to see is that their foodie city status still includes more affordable restaurants so that people aren’t being priced out of enjoyable dining experiences!
Each UK region’s best cheap eats city
Some regions have the same city leading in both categories: cheap eats and top-rated cheap eats. Examples include:
- North East: Newcastle-upon-Tyne (139) & (86)
- East Midlands: Lincoln (83) & (43)
- West Midlands: Lichfield (106) & (64)
- Wales: Wrexham (105) & (62)
In several regions, different cities lead in each category, showing a distinction between quantity and quality of cheap eats. In the South West, for instance, Truro leads in cheap eats (134), while Bath leads in top-rated cheap eats. So, quantity doesn’t always equal quality across the cities, although it’s probably still worth looking at the top city for each category in your region to help you decide where you want to search for your eating-out options.
A comment from us
Whether you enjoy catching up with friends over a nice meal at the weekends or you’re known to grab a quick midweek bite from your local low-cost café, it’s important to go out and do the things you love with the people in your life. However, being mindful of how you spend your money should also factor into your decisions on eating out.
Making sensible financial decisions must be balanced with socialising and treating yourself to meals out. With the cost-of-living crisis affecting many people, some might find it more difficult to keep up with socialising when it involves spending money on eating out. A recent national survey by Feather & Fern PR revealed that 35% of Brits aren’t dining out as often as they did in 2023, which could be because of struggles with money. This is why finding cheaper options and watching your budget is so helpful and can mean you’re still able to join in on socialising.
- Neda Mahmoodi, Psychologist at UK Debt Service
Explore our findings in full
Interested in seeing everything we found out? Check out the interactive chart below for a full report on our findings.
Data correct as of July 2024. Sources used:
- UK Cities: Wikipedia
- Cheap Eats Restaurants: TripAdvisor, including restaurants, quick bites & bars/pubs.
- Populations: World Population Review, Wikipedia, ONS
Whether you love finding a bargain when it comes to eating out or you’re a foodie who travels around in search of incredible dining experiences, we hope you’ve enjoyed these insights and findings on the best and worst cities for cheap eats.
If you’re struggling with debt, you can get in touch with the UK Debt Service team for support. We offer free access to our Support Hub, where you can be signposted to a variety of support resources from apps, videos and organisations. If you want to gain more insights from our specialist advisors on how to better control your finances, get in touch today.
