Best menu prices in Columbia

Local Plate Deals compared the dishes Columbia orders most across 44 restaurants in Maryland. The widest gap is Salad, which runs from $4.99 at Pizza Boli's to $26.95 across the 22 kitchens listed for it, a difference of $21.96. The cheapest plate on the list is French Fries at $4.03 from Vennari's Pizza & Subs, against a typical $5.95. The most widely served dish here is Salad, on 22 menus, with a best price of $4.99.

Taken together, the best prices above come to $145.80 under what Columbia typically charges for the same dishes. The menus behind them were read between 27 Aug 2026 and 16 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 $4.03 and the dearest best price is $29.00. 25 of them can be had for under ten dollars at the right kitchen, and 1 still costs twenty or more even at its cheapest. The middle of the list pays about $12.99 for one of these dishes, which is what makes the gaps below worth knowing.

The single biggest gap on this page is Shrimp Scampi: Trattoria E Pizzeria Da Enrico charges $18.00 where Columbia typically asks $28.86, a difference of $10.86 for the same plate. Vennari's Pizza & Subs comes out cheapest on 10 of these dishes, more than anywhere else on the page. The thinnest comparison here is Shrimp Scampi, priced at only 3 kitchens, so treat that one as a smaller sample than the rest.

Which restaurant is cheapest in Columbia? No single one, which is the point of the list. The dishes above are won by 11 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? 44 restaurants in Columbia, Maryland. The prices here were read on 16 Oct 2026, with the oldest on the page from 27 Aug 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 Shrimp Scampi at 3 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.