Eat well in San Luis Obispo without overpaying: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in San Luis Obispo for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
High Street Market & Deli drops sandwich prices after 16:20 every day, the 1927 corner grocery that feeds San Luis Obispo students on a budget.
TryStacked deli sandwiches
TipTuesday is student day: any High St sando for $9 with college ID, one per card.
Lincoln Market & Deli feeds San Luis Obispo's north side from a 1941 corner store, with breakfast burritos and Dutch crunch sandwiches under $15.
TryBreakfast burritos and specialty sandwiches
TipThe Almost Famous Breakfast Burrito sells out by late morning on weekends.
Taqueria Santa Cruz Express keeps tacos in the single digits on Monterey Street, the cheapest dependable hot meal in central San Luis Obispo.
TryAl pastor tacos and burritos
TipThe Foothill Boulevard branch at 862 Foothill runs later into the evening for the campus crowd.
San Luis Taqueria plates burritos and enchiladas at counter prices on Chorro Street, staying open past midnight when San Luis Obispo needs it most.
TryCarnitas burritos
TipThursday to Saturday it serves until 01:00, later than nearly every kitchen downtown.
Petra Mediterranean Pizza & Grill feeds San Luis Obispo generously for the money, with gyro wraps in fresh-baked pita and an all-day Sunday happy hour.
TryGyro wraps and falafel
TipHappy hour runs 15:00-18:00 and all day Sunday; the second branch sits inside SLO Public Market.
SloDoCo Donuts sells a hundred varieties for pocket change 24 hours a day, San Luis Obispo's cheapest, latest and most democratic institution.
TryDoughnuts around the clock
TipThe bacon maple bar is the 03:00 order; a second SLO shop runs on Higuera Street downtown.
Mee Heng Low Noodle House serves generous chop suey bowls at fair prices on Palm Street, and has been feeding San Luis Obispo cheaply since 1927.
TryChop suey and chow mein
TipThe Kwong family took over in 2009, the third to run the house since 1927; the Ah Louis Store faces it across Palm Street.
Firestone Grill's tri-tip sandwich remains San Luis Obispo's best-value famous meal, oak-grilled beef on a garlic-butter roll for fast-food money.
TryTri-tip sandwich
TipThe line moves faster than it looks; order at the counter and grab a patio table on Higuera Street.
Woodstock's Pizza runs slice and pitcher deals that have kept generations of Cal Poly budgets afloat at Higuera and Osos in San Luis Obispo.
TryPizza by the slice and pitcher deals
TipIt serves until midnight most nights and 01:00 on Friday and Saturday, one of the last kitchens open downtown.
Ziggy's proves plant-based fast food can undercut the drive-through in San Luis Obispo, with taquitos and house-patty burgers at counter prices.
TryPlant-based burgers and taquitos
TipThe vegan menu is clearly labelled; order the house Ziggy patty over the Impossible if you want the original.
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