Maria's Cafe is a taqueria budget eat in South Side, San Antonio.
Editorially verified May 28, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: Weekend menudo is the cheap local cure; breakfast tacos all week. Cash keeps the line moving.
Address: 1105 Nogalitos St, San Antonio, TX 78204
2M Smokehouse on the South Side serves Tejano-accented barbecue; order by the quarter pound and add the cheap sides to keep a BBQ lunch under twenty dollars.
Try: BBQ by the quarter pound
Tip: Order by the quarter pound and add the cheap Tejano sides to keep a BBQ lunch under twenty dollars. Go early; it sells out.
Eddie's Taco House is a long-running Caballero family counter on the South Side where breakfast tacos run a couple of dollars and the weenie-and-egg has fans.
Try: Breakfast tacos a couple of dollars each
Tip: A few tacos make a breakfast for well under ten dollars. The weenie-and-egg taco is the cheap local favourite.
2M Smokehouse on the South Side serves Tejano-accented barbecue; order by the quarter pound and add the cheap sides to keep a BBQ lunch under twenty dollars.
Try: BBQ by the quarter pound
Tip: Order by the quarter pound and add the cheap Tejano sides to keep a BBQ lunch under twenty dollars. Go early; it sells out.
La Villita Cafe in the historic arts village downtown keeps brisket-and-egg breakfast tacos and Tex-Mex plates cheap, a rare budget bite near the River Walk.
Try: Brisket-and-egg breakfast tacos
Tip: A cheap breakfast taco a short walk from the River Walk. The brisket-and-egg taco is the order.
Ray's Drive Inn on the West Side serves the original puffy taco for a few dollars, a cheap West Side institution where the deep-fried masa shell.
Try: Original puffy taco, a few dollars
Tip: A couple of puffy tacos make a cheap, filling lunch. Cash and card both work at the drive-in counter.
Blanco Cafe is a no-frills Tobin Hill Tex-Mex diner where the carne guisada plate is the cheap, filling order; cash is welcome and the prices stay low.
Try: Carne guisada plate under ten dollars
Tip: The carne guisada plate is the cheap, filling order. Cash is welcome and the prices stay low.
Eddie's Taco House is a long-running Caballero family counter on the South Side where breakfast tacos run a couple of dollars and the weenie-and-egg has fans.
Try: Breakfast tacos a couple of dollars each
Tip: A few tacos make a breakfast for well under ten dollars. The weenie-and-egg taco is the cheap local favourite.
Garcia's Mexican Food on the West Side is a small, cash-friendly counter where the cheap carne guisada taco is the order; go early before the breakfast crowd.
Try: Breakfast tacos and carne guisada
Tip: The carne guisada taco is cheap and excellent. Small and cash-friendly; come early before the breakfast crowd.
