Everything we ate in NYC (January 2024)

Before we went to New York, I thought we would eat soooo much - and we spent a lot of time researching, saving and planning across TikTok and Instagram as well as other travel blogs, deciding where to eat during our trip. But as it happens, when we were there, we actually didn't eat all that much... Nevertheless, I did want to share everywhere we ate in New York in January 2024 in case this is helpful to anybody.

Pod 39, New York (Breakfast)

We stayed at Pod 39, a small budget-friendly hotel in midtown Manhattan, and the bar/lounge area downstairs had breakfast available everyday for guests. There was free filter coffee, tea, and ice cold water - I don't drink coffee but my fiancée said it was nice! They also had a variety of bagels (plain, sesame, everything etc) on offer, which you could get for just a few dollars with jam, butter, or cream cheese. As well as this there were some different pastries and muffins available as well as cappuccinos, lattes etc if you wanted. I was really pleasantly surprised by breakfast, and the bagels were definitely filling!

Target and 7-11

We of course got ourselves loads of snacks at Target - a birthday cake KitKat, some Hostess brand cakes - and 7-11, like Golden Oreos and Skittles Gummies. All stuff we struggle to get over here! And of course, a huge shoutout to the Big Gulp machines at 7-11 which allowed me to fulfil my TikTok influencer girly dreams.

Bagel Express on Lexington

As happy as I was with the plain/buttered bagels at the hotel, I did want to get a proper filled bagel and found Bagel Express around the corner where I ordered an everything bagel with sausage and cheese as well as a bottle of juice, for around $7.95 - it was really big, tasted nice, and filled me up for the whole morning. I didn't necessarily love the type of cheese, as it was typical American cheese, but I should have asked for actual cheddar so that's my bad! The sausage was absolutely delicious, though, and there was no queue at all so the service was super quick.

Previti Pizza on Lexington

Also on Lexington we found Previti Pizza, where we visited twice - two huge slices of cheese pizza and a coke for $8! And honestly we could not fault the pizza, it was so flavoursome and the slices were huge. The staff were really friendly, and service was quick, and it was close to our hotel; we saw no reason to walk any further to grab a slice when we had amazing NYC pizza right by our accommodation! You'll struggle to find actual 'dollar pizza', in my opinion, but you can definitely find it for a reasonable price outside of the super busy areas.

Raising Cane's

I am nothing if not easily influenced by people on TikTok and I'd seen sooo many people visiting Raising Canes in Times Square during a trip to NYC; we of course wanted to visit Times Square anyway, and we decided to eat here too. First of all the atmosphere is buzzing - there's a DJ, and it was jam packed even when the city itself wasn't so full of tourists. We did wait a while for our food, but honestly I wasn't surprised given how many orders were going through; my fiancée ordered the sandwich combo and I opted for the 3 fingers combo, both of which come with a drink. For the two meals it was just over $28, which I was chuffed with for such a tourist hotspot location and when let me tell you the chicken is soooo well cooked and flavoursome, the sauce is TASTY, and the Texas Toast is to die for... highly recommend!

Juniors at Times Square

I really wanted cheesecake (obv) and this is where we ended up going for it; we had to wait around 15 minutes for a table and it was so busy, but there was a nice vibe and a really big/varied menu. We ended up sharing a chicken salad sandwich with chips (and they were chunky chips, not fries) and a slice of Oreo cheesecake with a hot chocolate and a refill Pepsi. We paid bang on $50 with tip, which was definitely our most expensive meal but again for the portion size and location I wasn't mad about it at all! The food was all really fresh and delicious, and you get complimentary beets/pickles too if you so wish. Definitely worth a visit if the queue isn't too big.

The Allerton Club

The downstairs of our hotel was also home to the Allerton Club, a bar/restaurant that was open to the public too. We got 25% off a meal here with our stay, so of course we decided to eat here one night when it was too cold/we were too tired to head out and find somewhere for dinner. We both ordered the smash burger and a coke, which were tasty - the portion sizes were enough for us but definitely not as big as other places! There is just a lovely atmosphere in here, with low lighting and dark wood and a varied cocktail menu if you fancy a tipple. With our 25% off the bill came to around $30, which I was more than happy with.

McDonalds

I truly believe that trying McDonalds abroad is a cultural experience, and if you disagree that's okay but I'll always try and do it at least once! In terms of American McD's, I genuinely didn't think it was any different to what we have over here except the chicken nuggets weren't as nice and they have some different sauce options which were fun to try. Meh! One thing that I did absolutely LOVE that we can't get here, though, was the frozen Coke. Whyyyy do we not have those in the UK?!

We just didn't eat as much as I thought we would - we found ourselves super busy, and the food we did eat was very filling! So here's everything we ate in NYC if you're looking for budget food in New York for your next trip...