Working within the CBD of Johannesburg ensures that one’s lunch time menu is always kept diverse. You are however generally limited to a budget should you, like me, want to eat out as regulalry as possible to avoid having to make one’s own food in advance.

So, if you’re looking for a great place to eat on a tight budget in johannesburg you might want to try :

1. The GuildHall

   which is on the corner of Market and Harrison street. Their prices are reasonable and the food is good, but you’re afforded the opportunity to lunch in a place which you can tell has seen it all, perhaps for some it may have seen far too much but this is definitely an experience you cannot miss. Try their pizzas which, although not made in wood burning oven, are loaded with toppings and cost around R30 to R35. The few times I’ve been there I’ve had the mexican pizza and a Windhoek Draft, a bloody perfect way to end off a tough day at work.

2. Then there’s the “shop around the corner” ironically perched on the corner of Main Road and Simmonds Street in the CBD. Its the one stop shop for cheap sandwiches and anything else you might not have the energy to walk to get. The food is basic but basic is good when you’ve arrived at work sans kiddies lunch box and you’re watching your colleagues gorge themselves on their prepared breakfasts.
3. The Zoo Lake Bowls Club’s prego roll and chips is a killer deal, for R25 you get brown steak like meat in a prego roll and greasy chips accompanied with a firey chilli sauce, which you have to ask for. The beer is incredibly cheap, a draft poured straight from the tap costs about R10 and they’ve recently started stocking Windhoek Draft, so in my books they’re clear winners in the bargain eating stakes. I’ve not died yet so I am a walking testament to what you are able to safely eat on a tight budget.
4. The GoGo Bar in Newtown offers a liquid menu which will perhaps become the next big thing for the urban - indie - kid looking for a place to spend his her night making his / her way through a crowd wearing a pair of toit jean pants.
5. The Ant in Melville has tons of great specials - which appear to change perpetually. The pizza there is great, and the setting, an escape from the rush of Johannesburg has ensured upon many occasions that my sanity remains intact.

Then there’s Durban, which if you know where to go provides you with a continuous supply of gastronimically challenged eating establishments perfect for your shoe string budget, here are but a few examples of some of the more respectable eateries :

1. Spiga D’ Oro is the best place to begin and end your next drinking binge. The food is great, more importantly to those who select their meals based upon price it provides ample food for a reasonable price. When I go, I get a margerita and ask for extra Parma Ham and Rocket, washed down with a double espresso. You can eat decently for under R100 a head at Spiga D’ Oro and have an epic time judging those fashionable folk in your vicinity.
2. Johney’s / Jonnies / Sunrise Chip n’ Ranch which has potentially shut its doors and reopened them under a different name whilst I pen this handy guide has some of the best chip roti rolls in the country. The proportions of which might suggest the unexpected appearance of a small rotund boy in your roti roll, however such a surprise is always welcomed because on a budget protein is protein is protein.
3. The Glenwood Spar in the Glenwood Village Shopping Center has the most amazing selection of ready to eat sandwiches which for the average student become a part of your staple diet, when in doubt grab the Chicken Mayo Cheese Roll as it costs about R10 and will suffice for a lunch and if need be a lupper (lunch & supper). On Saturday afternoons you’ll find them making boerewors rolls outside and at a resonable R12 they’re definite winners!

There are so many more, and I’m wating for the expert, one Peter Orsmond to add to the list of Durban Cheap Eatery list.

If you have any more to add to the list or if you wish to create such a list for another city in Jozi add your recommendations to the comments list.