Let’s face it: it’s not easy to save money on food in Joburg. The VAT and petrol price increases have hit our pockets like wrecking balls, so dining out seems far more difficult to do. However, there are many restaurants managing to keep prices affordable while not skimping on quality. Here are five restaurants where you can find hearty dinners for under R85.

BGR Burger Restaurant (Rosebank)

Located on trendy Keyes Avenue, this a burger joint where you order at the counter and chill while you wait. (Though you’re more than welcome to sit and eat here.) Priding itself on serving fresh hand-made ground beef burgers, BBG Burger Restaurant’s focus is on the burger. The several burger options are all under R80 (a hamburger is R60, a double hamburger R80, a cheeseburger R65 and a double cheeseburger R80) plus the toppings are free. Toppings include grilled mushrooms, pickles, peppadews, special BGR Sauce and a host of others. Add crispy American bacon for R20 or chips for R25. Drinks are R20 and include Sprite, homemade lemonade and sparkling water.

A meal at BGR. Photo supplied.

Dosa Hut (Fordsburg)

At Dosa Hut you’re spoilt for affordable choices, with no less than six different types of biryanis under R85 each. Vegetable (R58), paneer (R78), chicken (R74) and tandoori chicken biryani (R85) are some of those choices. Dosa Hut has an eclectic array of southern Indian, northern Indian and Indo-Chinese foods, with vegetarian and seafood dishes featuring prominently. A charming little restaurant in Fordsburg, with a welcoming atmosphere, it’s not just the food and prices that will make a loyal patron out of you, but the helpful staff too. And, while the warm and inviting spiciness of the cuisine may be the reason to tempt you here for an evening out, you are advised to also bring your sweet tooth. No alcohol is served, but homemade juices, milkshakes and lassis are almost endless in variety.

Galata Bakery & Coffee (Braamfontein)

Quaint and warm, with the titillating scent of fresh-baked goods to whet your appetite, this is a welcoming Turkish eatery experience in the middle of Joburg. It’s a coffee shop with a deli that has foods like börek, simit, croissants, cupcakes and pies. A lip-smackingly delicious and generously portioned meal is the Tantuni Turkish bread filled with beef, tomato, red onion, parsley and red peppers. It’s moreish yet filling for just R60. You can also opt to have the same fillings in a lavash (a flatbread) or you could order the Tantuni Turkish bread ­with a side of chips for an extra R10. This is real value for money.

A post shared by GALATA BAKERY (@galata.bakery) on Nov 27, 2017 at 10:01am PST

Metanoia (Braamfontein)

Mediterranean cuisine is the name of the game at Metanoia. Expect beautiful plating and an impressively curated bar in a classy polished wood interior that reflects the verve of the restaurant’s inner-city location. The dishes showcase the diversity of Mediterranean cuisine with Greek, Turkish and Italian-inspired meals being just a few of those represented in the well-crafted menu. If eating out on a budget, go for the macaroni and cheese, which comes with a side village salad (feta, Kalamata olives, cucumber, red onion and tomato tossed with a lemon, oregano and balsamic vinaigrette), all for R85. Hearty and balanced, this meal hearkens back to the dish’s southern-Italian roots.

A post shared by Metanoia (@metanoia.restaurant) on May 31, 2017 at 6:14am PDT

Ono Poké Eatery (Illovo)

There are numerous reasons to love poké: it’s tasty, it’s healthy and it’s filling. The décor at Ono Poké is minimalistic and modern. When dining out here on a budget, go vegetarian. Choose to have tofu or chickpeas with any of the four house poké options on the menu, and you’ll pay between R75 and R95 for a vegetarian bowl – for now. Ono is planning to increase pricing in the near future to reflect the change in VAT, so hurry to catch this bargain. You could adapt the prawn Sriracha poké to a veg option, providing tofu or chickpeas on a base of slaw, avo, raddish, cashews, sugar snaps and Sriracha mayo. Talk about bang for your buck!

A post shared by ONO (@onoeatery) on Mar 20, 2018 at 2:09am PDT

Please note that, while we take care to ensure the accuracy of this information, some items and pricing may change without our knowledge.