The study, conducted by the team at Spin Genie, looked at a variety of factors from the average price of visiting a restaurant to the top dishes, revealing the best foodie cities in the world. The study also looked at the top food influencers on Instagram right now.
The top 10 most affordable cities:
| Rank | City | Country | The average cost of a meal at a cheap restaurant US$ |
| 1 | Chiang Mai | Thailand | $1.46 |
| 2 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam | $2.11 |
| 3 | Hanoi | Vietnam | $2.53 |
| 4 | Chengdu | China | $2.78 |
| 5 | Bangkok | Thailand | $2.91 |
| 6 | Marrakech | Morocco | $3.30 |
| 6 | George Town | Malaysia | $3.30 |
| 8 | New Delhi | India | $3.63 |
| 9 | Lima | Peru | $4.17 |
| 10 | Shanghai | China | $5.57 |
Chiang Mai grabs first place as the foodie city with the most affordable meals at a cheap restaurant. On average, meals are incredibly inexpensive, costing just $1.46. Some of the best cheap eats in Chiang Mai include The Breakfast Club, a bakery restaurant at the heart of Chiang Mai, and Tong Tem Toh, a popular restaurant specializing in Northern Thai cuisine.
In second place, and just under a dollar more expensive, is Ho Chi Minh City. In this Vietnamese city, you can get a meal from a cheap restaurant for an average of just $2.11 Notable restaurants in this area include the Michelin-starred Rice Field and Cyclo resto.
Rounding off the top three is Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city. In this bustling city, you can find a cheap meal for an average of $2.53 and try some of the nation’s favourite dishes, like pho and banh mi without breaking the bank.
Further research shows:
- London tops the list when it comes to the foodie city you’ll most likely pay more for, even while dining at a cheap restaurant. With over 300 Michelin-star restaurants in the city alone, it’s no surprise London has a wide range of food hot spots that tend to be more expensive. In fact, on average, you can expect to spend $25.55 for a meal.
- George Town is the city with the most affordable restaurants. There are just under 300 cheap eats to discover in George Town, with roughly 17.7 cheap restaurants per 10,000 population.
- Paris tops the list for the foodie city with the most fine-dining restaurants. The city has, on average, 3.1 fine-dining restaurants per 10,000 of the population. From Odette to Atelier Maître Albert, the city has an impressive 709 fine-dining restaurants in total. This comes as no surprise as the famous capital is home to some of the most renowned restaurants in the world.
