Best Cheap Eats in Cambridge

Counter-service pizza-by-the-slice from the Portland, Maine cult favorite. Known for mashed-potato-and-bacon, fig-and-prosciutto, and other combinations that sound weird and work. Whole pies too.

Hokkaido-style ramen chain from Japan. Rich tonkotsu broth, perfectly cooked noodles, tender pork slices. Counter seating, quick service.

Chef-driven fast burgers in the former 7-Eleven space on JFK Street. Late-night favorite for students, with all-star beer list.

Started as an MIT food truck, now a Cambridge institution. The chickpea fritter sandwich is perfect. The BBQ seitan is addictive. Fast, fresh, vegetarian-forward. Multiple locations but the Harvard Square flagship feels right. Even meat eaters love this place.

Fast-casual vegetarian chain with seasonal menu. MIT-founded, locally sourced, innovative plant-based food.

All-vegetarian diner with vegan options. Comfort food classics reimagined plant-based. Retro diner atmosphere with modern values. Full bar.

Harvard Square institution since 1971. Eclectic menu, half-price food with drink purchase before 7:30PM. Cozy basement setting, college-friendly prices.

Shanghai-style restaurant at the corner of Mass Ave and Inman Street. Hand-pulled noodles, pork-and-crab xiaolongbao, and Sichuan-style fried chicken. Cheery, hip dining room with chalkboard walls and modern bamboo light fixtures.

Cambridge's oldest family- and woman-owned bar. North Cambridge dive that's been pouring cold beer and keeping firefighters, lawyers, and politicians on a first-name basis since 1934. The name says 'Lunch' — it doesn't actually serve any.

Best ramen in town. Authentic Japanese ramen with rich broths and fresh noodles made daily. Cozy space in Central Square with excellent tonkotsu and miso options.

Taiwanese-style dumplings and noodles. Hand-wrapped dumplings made fresh daily, extensive noodle soup menu. No-frills, cash-only, lines out the door.

Fresh lobster rolls at wholesale prices. Counter service, no frills, just incredible lobster. Cash only, lines common, worth the wait.

Independently owned specialty coffee shop in East Cambridge. Famous for Liège waffles and quality coffee. Transforms into a natural wine bar some evenings.

Harvard Square outpost of the beloved Medford torta shop. Signature Mexico City-style tortas (crusty bolillo rolls filled with milanesa, pastor, or chorizo), tacos, and margaritas. Full liquor license is unique among the Tenoch locations.

Popular Somerville donut shop expanded to Harvard Square. Artisan donuts with creative flavors like Brown Butter Hazelnut, Maple Bacon, and seasonal specials. Fresh coffee and espresso drinks.

Long, narrow neighborhood coffee shop between Harvard and Porter Squares. Quality espresso, pastries, bagels, and sandwiches. Rotating local art, a loaded community bulletin board, and regulars who treat it like their second living room.

Slow-fermented sourdough bagels shaped and boiled in-house. Expanding the storefront in 2024 to meet demand. Not New York-style but Bon Appétit once called them among the best bagels in the US outside of New York.

Inman Square ice cream institution since 1983. Extremely broad house-made flavor rotation — adzuki bean, burnt sugar, grape sorbet, carrot cake, honey lavender, green tea, ginger — from owner Raymond Ford.

The Central Square satellite of Gerry Wolf's 1369 Coffee House. Same house-made chai, same union-shop ethos as the Inman original, closer to the Red Line. A default Central Square study seat for MIT and Lesley students.

Porter Square ramen shop with a single menu item: Jiro-style pork ramen — thick wheat noodles, a mountain of bean sprouts and cabbage, two slabs of chashu pork, in a garlic-fat-and-shio tare broth. At the end of your meal, you stand up and share your dream with the room. Cash only.

Cambridge Taiwanese institution since 2000. Scallion pancakes, soup dumplings, beef noodle soup, and the full Taiwanese home-cooking repertoire that doesn't usually travel to American Chinese restaurants. A second location opened later in Waltham.

Belgian waffles built to order — Liège-style on sweet dough and lighter Brussels-style on yeasted batter. A Harvard Square fixture since 2011, with a Boston-area food truck that grew out of the brick-and-mortar.

Harvard Square location of the Boston-area homemade ice cream chain. Kosher-certified scoop shop with frozen yogurt, house-roasted coffee, and baked goods. Open late, especially in summer.

Cafe at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Porter Square. Croissants, cinnamon rolls, breads and more made by pastry chefs and students. Opened December 2024.

Late night pizza institution. Sicilian-style squares with thick, crispy edges. Open until 2am. This is where you end up after the bars close. The upstairs seating is prime people-watching. Cash only for slices. A Harvard Square rite of passage.

Inman Square coffee institution, named for its street number at 1369 Cambridge St. The quintessential Cambridge 'third place' — living-room feel, strong iced coffee, a steady population of readers and writers.

Authentic North Indian street food at prices that make no sense (in a good way). The chole bhature is perfect. The thali platters are generous. No frills, strip mall location, incredible food. This is what dhaba-style should taste like. Best value Indian in Cambridge.

The first New England outpost of the iconic NYC-slice shop from Greenwich Village. Thin-crust cheese and pepperoni by the slice; consistently has a line stretching down Brattle Street.

Central Square Cantonese-Sichuan restaurant with a live seafood tank at the front. Wide Chinese and Malaysian menu with destination dishes (Peking Duck, Salt-Baked Chicken, Sichuan Poached Fish) alongside weekday lunch specials.

Three-floor fast-casual Mexican spot in Harvard Square with the Square's signature rooftop bar (260-person capacity). Late-night burritos, frozen margaritas, and a daytime breakfast burrito that has carried many students through midterms.

Flagship grilled-cheese counter in Central Square with an attached 21+ arcade bar (A4cade / Roxy's Arcade). Food-truck-era classics plus upgraded seasonal sandwiches; pinball, vintage video games, DJ nights, and karaoke in the back.

Central Square dive bar and music institution operating on two floors — The Lounge at street level and The Cantab Underground downstairs. Bluegrass Tuesdays, funk Thursdays, and the long-running Boston Poetry Slam on Wednesdays.

MIT graduate student pub in Walker Memorial on the Charles River. Nobel laureates, grad students, and guests of MIT affiliates welcome; general public cannot enter without an MIT ID. Cash only. Open only during the academic year.

Central Square Irish pub by day, DJ-driven dance club by night. Home base for the LFC Boston Supporters Club, with every English Premier League match on the TVs.

Two-level Harvard Square institution: a diner downstairs and a college dive bar upstairs, with a beer garden added in recent years. Famous for the double cheeseburger and the unchanged fifties-meets-seventies décor.