Cheap Eats Near ASU Tempe: Meals Under $10

Eating Well Near ASU Without Going Broke

The restaurants right on Mill Avenue or in the immediate campus area are priced for people with visitor budgets. Walk two or three blocks in any direction and the picture changes significantly. Here's where ASU students actually eat when they're watching their spending.

Tacos and Mexican — Under $8

Filiberto's Mexican Food is the classic answer. Multiple locations near campus, open 24 hours, and a carne asada burrito that costs around $7 and could fill two people if they weren't both hungry. Not a culinary experience, but genuinely good fast food. The Apache Boulevard location is the most convenient for most students.

Los Reyes de la Torta on Apache is a small spot that most students drive past without noticing. The tortas here are enormous and cheap — most are under $9. The al pastor and the milanesa are both good. Cash preferred.

Cafe Rio Mexican Grill is a step above fast food but still under $12 for most items. The Tempe location is near campus. Better for sit-down quick-service. Not the absolute cheapest but solid quality for the price.

Asian Food — Under $9

Pho Cao on Apache does a bowl of pho for around $8–$10 depending on size. It's a full meal — the broth is good, the portions are generous, and you leave full. Vietnamese pho is one of the better values in the cheap food category because you get broth, noodles, protein, and a pile of fresh vegetables all in one bowl.

Chachi's Kitchen near campus does solid fast-casual Japanese (teriyaki bowls, ramen-adjacent dishes) at student-friendly prices. Most items under $9.

China 1 Express has multiple Valley locations and runs lunch specials under $8. Not the most exciting food, but reliable and filling — fried rice, orange chicken, the classics.

Pizza and Italian — Under $10

Oregano's Pizza Bistro on McClintock has a lunch menu that brings items under $10. Their pan pizza is thick and good. Dinner prices are higher, but the lunch hour is legitimately cheap.

Domino's and Pizza Hut delivery deals near ASU are worth knowing about — not exciting, but if you're feeding three people on a budget, the online specials (two medium two-topping pizzas for $6.99 each or similar) work out to an embarrassingly low per-person cost.

Sandwiches and Quick Service — Under $8

Subway is obvious but the $6–$7 footlong deals (check the app) are genuinely competitive. There's one close to campus on University Drive.

Which Wich Superior Sandwiches has a Tempe location with a solid variety of sandwiches in the $7–$9 range. Better quality than Subway, similar price point.

Breakfast All Day — Under $8

Waffle House exists in the Phoenix metro area and if you've never been, it's worth experiencing. Large portions, cheap prices, open 24 hours. A full breakfast plate runs $6–$8.

IHOP on Baseline Road runs regular specials — the $5 and $6 breakfast deals are real. Not walking distance but close enough to Uber split between a couple people.

The Grocery Reality

For true under $5 meals, you're cooking. But cooking isn't complicated if you have a few basics:

• Rice and beans: under $1 per meal, highly nutritious
• Eggs: $2–$3 for a carton, multiple meals
• Pasta and jarred sauce: under $3 per meal
• Frozen burritos from Trader Joe's: $1.50–$2 each, not terrible

A weekly grocery run of $50–$70 from Fry's or Trader Joe's covers three meals a day if you're actually cooking. That's under $10 per day total — better than most of the restaurants on this list, if you have time to cook.

The Actual Takeaway

Eating under $10 per meal in Tempe is completely achievable if you know where to go. The trap is defaulting to the visible options (the campus-adjacent chains, the Mill Avenue restaurants) that are priced for a broader audience. The real cheap eats are two blocks off the main strip, on Apache Boulevard, and in the strip malls that don't look Instagram-worthy but serve food that's actually good and doesn't cost $15.