The 9 best budget Michelin restaurants around the world

Treat yourself to a Michelin-starred meal with plenty of holiday funds to spare.

A Michelin experience is a lot like travelling. It requires scrimping and saving but will cause serious regret if you choose the wrong destination. But never fear. If you want to collect stars from around the world, there are ways of getting around the supposed high cost. Some Michelin restaurants can leave you with a bill of thousands. But you can actually get a delectable meal for as low as $5.

Put on your comfy pants and scrounge up some change. These are the best low-cost Michelin restaurants around the world.

1. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, Singapore

Let’s start with probably the most famous budget Michelin-starred establishment. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Singapore has been attracting customers for almost a century and there’s no sign of it slowing down just yet.

Awarded a Michelin star in 2016, the street food joint still serves bowls of bak chor mee with egg noodles, minced pork, wontons, black vinegar and chilli.

Come for a bowl of bak chor mee at Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.

Cost: $6.60 – $11.

2. Taquería El Califa de León, Mexico City, Mexico

From the first Michelin-starred street food stall to one of the latest to receive a star, Mexico has Michelin-starred food all around. Taquería El Califa de León might be considered a hole-in-the-wall destination, with just four items on the menu. But with business going back to the sixties, it has perfected all of them.

Taquería El Califa de León is a Michelin-starred hole-in-the-wall.

The taqueria is best known for its beef tacos, flavoured with a squeeze of lime juice, and folded into a freshly baked corn tortilla, salsa verde or roja.

Taquería El Califa de León has just four items on the menu.

Cost: $5.

3. Borkonyha Winekitchen, Budapest, Hungary

Europe might not be your first guess when asked to pick where you might find the cheapest Michelin food. But in the Hungarian capital, you will find one exception: Borkonyha Winekitchen.

Find excellent fare at this casual hangout in Budapest.

As well as a wine list representing a ton of Hungarian vineyards, this wine bar has an enviable menu of modern Hungarian cuisine, including trout with cucumber and dill, smoked fish soup and saddle of lamb. Degustation is also available.

Borkonyha Winekitchen has an enviable menu of modern Hungarian cuisine.

Cost: $60 and up for dinner, $200 for degustation.

4. JG Melon, New York City, USA

Swap the Big Apple for the big melon at this popular American diner. Operating for 50 years, JG Melon offers cost-effective US favourites, like its famous burgers, cottage fries and spicy Bloody Marys, along with key lime pie, roast beef sandwiches and chilli bowls.

JG Melon has been a popular American diner for 50 years.

A jukebox, chequered tablecloths and occasional celebrity sightings complete the scene at this Upper East Side institution.

JG Melon offers cost-effective US favourites.

Cost: A burger will set you back $20.

5. Kam’s Roast Goose, Hong Kong

Get stuck into Cantonese cuisine at Kam’s Roast Goose, a restaurant best known for its crispy-skinned, perfectly spiced goose. Small in size (30 seats) but mighty in taste, this relatively new Hong Kong restaurant attracts long queues, and rightly so.

Make a beeline for Cantonese cuisine at Kam’s Roast Goose.

Alongside their famous goose, you can enjoy Char Siu roasted pork, roast duck, noodles in goose fat, cured Chinese sausage, and suckling pig. But make sure to get in early, particularly if you want to get a plate of the goose.

Kam’s Roast Goose is renowned for its crispy-skinned, perfectly spiced goose.

Cost: Around $30.

6. L’Antic Molí, Ulldecona, Spain

While not as cheap as some of the other options on this list, €120 ($200) is nothing to scoff at for a Michelin-starred tasting menu at L’Antic Molí’s Espacio Mans restaurant in Spain.

L’Antic Molí is housed in an old flour mill.

Built in an old flour mill, the restaurant is best known for its inventive delicacies such as artichoke with almond and wasabi, Swiss chard with squid and caviar, lemon, sea nettle and jalapeño chilli, and leek and crayfish.

L’Antic Molí is best known for its inventive delicacies.

Cost: $180 or $300 with paired wines.

7. Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta, Toshima City, Tokyo

Leaving Japan without having ramen is like visiting France without having a croissant. And what better place to go for a bowl than Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta?

The Tokyo restaurant’s specialty is Shoyu (soy-based) Soba ramen with chicken and seafood stock, flavoured with black truffle oil and cedar cask-aged soy sauce. It is for this dish that Tsuta is beloved among critics, locals and tourists alike. You can expect big queues for this small establishment, but bookings are available.

Indulge in a bowl of ramen at Japanese Soba Noodles Tsuta.

Cost: $30.

8. Bun Cha Ta Hanoi, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Bún chả, sometimes known as the ubiquitous Vietnamese salad in Australia, consists of grilled pork patties, white rice noodles, fresh herbs, pickled vegetables and spicy, sweet and salty fish, vinegar and chilli sauce.

Don’t pass up the chance to try bún chả when you’re in Hanoi.

Today, you can get bún chả all over Vietnam, but it is the northern city of Hanoi that is the most obsessed with this fresh dish. Bun Cha Ta Hanoi is considered one of the best restaurants to try it. Don’t forget to order crab Nem Ran (fried spring rolls) and a Vietnamese coffee to fortify you for a long day of exploring.

Bun Cha Ta Hanoi is considered one of the best restaurants to have bún chả.

Cost: $7.

9. Varoulko Seaside, Athens, Greece

Head down to the Mikrolimano Marina in Athens and dine at Varoulko Seaside for some exquisite helpings of traditional Greek flavours, with out-there twists on catch of the day.

Varoulko Seaside offers exceptional waterfront dining.

Sip on Greek wines as you try tomato gazpacho with strawberry, basil and crayfish tartar, octopus carpaccio, sautéed scallops with chorizo crust and mango pickle, cuttlefish risotto and much more.

Dine at Varoulko Seaside for some exquisite Greek cuisine.

Finish with an unforgettable dessert: a glass of ouzo at sunset, while looking over the bobbing boats in the harbour.

Finish your meal with a mind-blowing chocolate mushroom.

Cost: $80.