Cheap Eats in Newcastle, From the Grainger Market Out
Where to eat well for less in Newcastle, starting in the Grainger Market, with real prices and the moves older lists miss.
The best cheap eats in Newcastle start in the Grainger Market, where Snackwallah sells a vegan curry of the day with daal, rice and naan for £7 and bhel puri for £5. From there, the city's best value is a short walk or a Metro stop away: £5 bacon sandwiches at 237 East in Heaton, buy one get one free pizza slices every Wednesday at The Grove in Byker, and all you can eat Neapolitan pizza for £21 at Sanco on Forth Banks. Prices below were checked in October 2026 on the traders' own sites or their most recent listings, and we note the moves that older lists miss, such as FEDS leaving the market for Grey Street.
Start in the Grainger Market
The Grainger Market fills the block between Grainger Street, Clayton Street, Nelson Street and Nun Street, a few minutes from Monument Metro. It is run by Newcastle City Council, and it is still the best place in the centre to eat well for under a tenner at lunchtime. Treat it as a daytime plan: Snackwallah, for one, closes at 4.30pm on weekdays.
Snackwallah, Grainger Market
Snackwallah is at Units 31 to 33, Alley One (NE1 5QG), and everything it sells is vegan. The prices are the point. The curry of the day with daal, rice and naan is £7, a Mumbai sandwich is £6, bhaji wraps and bhaji butties are £5, samosa chaat is £6 and pani puri is £4. If you are hungry, the curry banquet is £12. The bhel puri at £5 is the house favourite, which the Hairy Bikers described as like eating sunshine. Drinks are cheap too: masala chai for £2 and a lassi of the day for £3. It is open 9.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am to 5pm on Saturday, with food from 11.30am, and it is closed on Sunday. It is a small family run business and a living wage employer, and all its tableware is compostable.
Pumphreys, Grainger Market
Pumphreys has roasted coffee since 1750 and still uses open flame roasting drums more than 80 years old. Its Grainger Market stall is where to get a coffee before you do a lap of the market.
FEDS, Grey Street
FEDS sold its fried chicken from the Grainger Market from 2020 and built a cult following there. In March it moved to Grey Street, into a room full of nods to 90s music and skate culture. If an older guide sends you to the market for it, head to Grey Street instead.
Chit 'n' Chaat, Eldon Square
In the old Tapas Revolution unit in Eldon Square, Chit 'n' Chaat serves Indian street food at deliberately low prices: dosas, chaats and Gobi Manchurian cauliflower. It is the easy option when you are shopping and want something better than a chain.
Pizza Punks, Grey Street
For a sit down meal on a budget, Pizza Punks at 34 to 40 Grey Street lists a margherita at £11, with pepperoni and prosciutto pizzas at £13.95. It is open 11am to 10pm Sunday to Thursday and until 11pm on Friday and Saturday.
Sanco, Forth Banks
Sanco opened at The Forge on Forth Banks with a simple rule: no menu, no limits, just pizza. You pay £21 per adult or £10.50 per child for wood fired Neapolitan pizza that keeps coming until you stop it. Go hungry and you will not find better value in town.
237 East, Heaton
From the team behind the Scranners Arms, 237 East is a neighbourhood diner in Heaton with a bit of everything, coffee from Tynemouth Coffee and bacon sandwiches for a fiver.
The Grove, Byker
The Grove at 1 St Michael's Road, Byker (NE6 1QU) is a bar, event space and pizza spot with a rooftop terrace and a retractable roof. The pizza comes from Byker Slice, and every Wednesday the slices are buy one get one free. It also hosts DJ nights, so it works for a cheap tea before a night out.
Kiln, Ouseburn
Kiln at 4 Hume Street is not a budget restaurant at dinner, but its breakfast sandwiches are: bacon and egg or sausage and egg for £6.20, a vegan sausage sandwich for £6, and bacon, sausage and egg for £8, from 10am.
Good to know
The Grainger Market is a daytime market, so eat there at lunch and save Sanco, The Grove or Pizza Punks for the evening. Snackwallah is closed on Sunday. For Heaton, take the Metro to Chillingham Road, and for The Grove head to St Michael's Road in Byker. For more places to eat, see our restaurants page, and check What's On for food markets and pop-ups.
FAQs
Where can I eat cheap in Newcastle?
Start at Snackwallah in the Grainger Market, where a vegan curry of the day with daal, rice and naan is £7. For the evening, Sanco on Forth Banks does all you can eat pizza for £21 a head.
What food is in the Grainger Market?
Food stalls include Snackwallah for vegan Indian street food and Pumphreys for coffee. FEDS fried chicken has moved out to Grey Street.
Is the Grainger Market open on Sunday?
Check each trader. Snackwallah, one of its best food stalls, is closed on Sunday and open 9.30am to 5pm on Saturday.
Where is the cheapest pizza in Newcastle?
The Grove in Byker does buy one get one free pizza slices every Wednesday, and Pizza Punks on Grey Street lists a margherita at £11.
