Best Bay bites under $50, according to Reddit

Which restaurant has dishes like 'heaven'? Click through for some of Redditors' favorite semi-affordable Bay Area eats. Which restaurant has dishes like 'heaven'? Click through for some of Redditors' favorite semi-affordable Bay Area eats. Photo: Libby Truesdell Photo: Libby Truesdell Image 1 of / 74 Caption Close Best Bay bites under $50, according to Reddit 1 / 74 Back to Gallery

We all know the Bay Area is expensive, but when it comes to food, we also know how to get the best bang for our buck.

In 2016, San Francisco cemented its critical status as a culinary heavyweight with as many 3-star Michelin restaurants as New York City. But to enjoy the fruits of this region, one needn’t dish out hundreds of dollars (a meal at French Laundry will cost you a cool $310 ­— without the wine).

Local Redditors took matters into their own hands to share the best restaurant meals in the Bay for under $50, but many recommendations falling far below that mark.

Sol Food in San Rafael was an obvious standout as it's worth a bridge crossing simply for the tangy homemade hot sauce.

Redditors shared some under-the-radar spots as well, like Gypsy’s Trattoria Italiano in Berkeley that has the “best pasta/calzones around,” according to user djmindtricks. Just be weary of the drunk Cal students soaking up cheap beer with the famed Crazy Alfredo plate – chicken, sausage, red peppers, red wine, and Alfredo sauce.

For those not on a strict meat-and-pasta diet, vegetarians were quick to divulge their favorite spots for an upscale meal, sans the tofu and nutritional yeast. "Greens is so, so good," wrote user radix. "It's like the fancy steakhouse of vegetarian food."

When push comes to shove, the forum agreed that there’s one restaurant you can always count on for an affordable fix: In-N-Out Burger. Wrote user slowturtle2, “[It] probably beats 75 percent of places listed here.”



The Chronicle team went in search of the best meals under $15. Read the story here.