Best menu prices in Chicago

DineForLess compared the dishes Chicago orders most across 687 restaurants in Illinois. The widest gap is Burrito, which runs from $4.75 at Burrito House to $28.00 across the 35 kitchens listed for it, a difference of $23.25. The cheapest plate on the list is Salad at $4.00 from Mama Luna's Restaurant & Pizzeria, against a typical $10.49. The most widely served dish here is Salad, on 212 menus, with a best price of $4.00.

Taken together, the best prices above come to $223.91 under what Chicago typically charges for the same dishes. The menus behind them were read between 6 Sep 2026 and 9 Oct 2026. Every card shows where its price sits between the cheapest and the dearest in town, and each one opens the full list of kitchens serving that dish.

Across the dishes compared here the cheapest plate found is $4.00 and the dearest best price is $11.99. 37 of them can be had for under ten dollars at the right kitchen. The middle of the list pays about $11.99 for one of these dishes, which is what makes the gaps below worth knowing.

The single biggest gap on this page is Grilled Chicken Sandwich: Big Tony's Pizza II charges $6.50 where Chicago typically asks $17.00, a difference of $10.50 for the same plate. Big Tony's Pizza II comes out cheapest on 4 of these dishes, more than anywhere else on the page. The thinnest comparison here is Steak Sandwich, priced at only 18 kitchens, so treat that one as a smaller sample than the rest.

Which restaurant is cheapest in Chicago? No single one, which is the point of the list. The dishes above are won by 25 different restaurants between them, and every card names the kitchen holding that price today, so the cheapest plate and the cheapest restaurant are rarely the same question.

How many menus is this from? 687 restaurants in Chicago, Illinois. The prices here were read on 9 Oct 2026, with the oldest on the page from 6 Sep 2026. A dish reaches this page only once at least two different restaurants list it, so one kitchen's unusual price can never become the comparison.

Why is a dish I expected missing? Either nobody near here lists it at a published price, or only one restaurant does. The smallest comparison that did make the list is Steak Sandwich at 18 kitchens. Sizes and half portions are kept apart from full plates as well, so a side salad never sets the price for a salad.

Will I pay exactly this? Probably not to the cent. These are the prices each restaurant published on its own menu, before tax, tip, delivery or anything you add to the plate, and a restaurant can change one without telling anybody. Treat the figure as what the menu said on the date beside it.