Eat well in Frankfurt without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Frankfurt for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Edel's stand in the Kleinmarkthalle plates Frankfurt's cheapest proper Grüne Soße, eaten standing among the market crowds at lunch every weekday.
Try: Grüne Soße with eggs at the market counter
Tip: A full plate costs less than a cocktail across town; pair with a roll from Huck's stand two aisles over.
Schreiber's sausage counter in the Kleinmarkthalle is Frankfurt's definitive cheap lunch, hot Fleischwurst handed over the glass for pocket change.
Try: Hot Fleischwurst with mustard and a roll
Tip: Cash ready, order fast, eat standing; the whole transaction takes ninety seconds once you reach the front.
Apfelwein Wagner proves Frankfurt tradition is a budget cuisine: Handkäs at €5.10 and Rippchen with kraut under €15 on Schweizer Strasse every day.
Try: Handkäs mit Musik at €5.10, Grüne Soße at €14.50
Tip: Order Handkäs and a Schoppen for the cheapest authentic Frankfurt dinner going; bread comes with it, and nobody hurries you out.
Saravanaa Bhavan feeds Frankfurt generously for little on Kaiserstraße, dosa and thali portions that defeat most appetites at lunch prices and dinner alike.
Try: Masala dosa or the full vegetarian thali
Tip: The thali is the value play: multiple curries, rice, bread and dessert on one tray, refilled in the South Indian tradition.
Best Worscht in Town remains Frankfurt's benchmark cheap hot lunch all week long, currywurst and Huck sourdough bread for well under ten euros.
Try: Currywurst with bread, heat level of your choosing
Tip: Level B is the sensible ceiling for first-timers; the bread is from Bäckerei Huck and soaks up the regret.
Gref-Völsings sells Frankfurt's founding Rindswurst hot for pocket money, a 130-year institution disguised as an Ostend lunch window on weekdays.
Try: Rindswurst in a roll at the Braterei window
Tip: Weekday lunch only; the price has crept up over 130 years but remains one of the city's great food bargains.
Frittenwerk's fresh-cut fries fill Frankfurt station-district lunch breaks for under ten euros, poutine gravy included and vegan dips on the board.
Try: Loaded fries or poutine
Tip: The plain fries with two house dips are the honest budget order; poutine upgrades still land under most lunch menus.
Der Fette Bulle keeps a serious burger and fries in reach of a Frankfurt lunch budget, portions built for the Kaiserstraße appetite at any hour.
Try: Cheeseburger with fries
Tip: The lunch hours before 12:30 dodge both the queue and the office rush; water is the local's drink here, and free-ish.
Ramen Jun's bowls are Frankfurt's best value hot meal near the Messe, a complete dinner in broth for the price of two fair-trade coffees in this town.
Try: A full tonkotsu bowl
Tip: Skip the sides on a budget; the bowl alone is a meal, and tap water comes without the German side-eye.
Margarete's weekday lunch is the Altstadt's quality-per-euro anomaly in Frankfurt, seasonal plates at canteen prices in a listed hall by the Römer.
Try: The weekday changing lunch plate
Tip: Lunch runs 12:00 to 14:30 only; the vegan option usually undercuts the meat plate by a euro or two.
Zeit für Brot's Kaiserstraße counter beats every station snack in Frankfurt on price and quality, organic bread rolls from early morning until evening.
Try: Belegte Brote and a cinnamon roll
Tip: A topped bread and coffee runs cheaper than anything inside the Hauptbahnhof and tastes double the price.
Baguette Jeanette's filled sticks are Bornheim's classic cheap lunch in Frankfurt, French bakery prices held on the long Berger Straße shopping mile.
Try: A filled baguette to take to the park
Tip: Eat it on the benches at Bornheim Mitte or carry on to the Günthersburgpark lawns ten minutes north.
Eis Christina's cones remain one of Frankfurt's great cheap pleasures, Nordend gelato at prices that survived the espresso inflation almost untouched.
Try: Two scoops in a cone
Tip: Cash speeds the queue; the price board by the window has barely moved in years and the portions have not shrunk either.
Im Herzen Afrikas stretches a Frankfurt food budget furthest when shared, Eritrean platters that feed two for one main-course price elsewhere.
Try: Vegetarian injera platter, shared
Tip: The vegetarian platters are the value champions; count one platter per two people and add injera before adding dishes.
Medici's €29.50 business lunch is Frankfurt's white-tablecloth bargain, a Michelin Guide kitchen at weekday-menu pricing near the Römer on weekdays.
Try: Business lunch, two courses €29.50
Tip: It stretches the definition of budget upward, but per course this is the cheapest polished cooking in the Altstadt.