Next month me and my boyfriend will take a two week trip in Europe. Since money is tight and we can't afford to spend a lot we were thinking of ways to spend as little money as possible while eating. Cooking is out of the question so we need to find some places that offer good food at a reasonable price. Apart from fast-food, what other places we could eat at? Maybe the places that serve local food sell it at reasonable prices?
Why is cooking out of the question? Stay in a hostel, that way you will have access to a kitchen. Most hostels do have private rooms if that's why you didn't think of staying in one. Often when traveling I'm walking around town during the day anyway, so instead of stopping in a restaurant I go to a supermarket and get a sandwich or something similar that can be eaten on the go.
Yea, without cooking, you might be out of luck trying to save money on food, especially in Europe. I have a few friends studying abroad right now and they've always commented on how expensive stuff is. So if you can, try and find some way to cook or perhaps buy a bunch of Nature Valley bar type of snacks and save a bit that way.
I agree with crimsonghost; if you did not book already your accommodation, hostels are usually cheaper and have kitchens with fridges, oven, microwaves, pans etc. Or AirBNB, they let you cook many times. We've been in many places and usually, cooking ourselves or making a picnic was the cheapest food we had (in Paris, everything is so expensive!) If you go to Germany, many little restaurants have good prices. But even good prices can come up as pretty expensive when you eat out two or three times a day!
I've never been to Europe, but when I travel to places like New York on my own dime (and not my employers), and I'm on a tight budget, I mainly stick to hole in the wall diners and/or street vendors. The street vendors are usually reasonably priced and you don't need to leave a tip. I believe it's not customary or mandatory to tip at restaurants in Europe since the employees are already paid a fair hourly wage - unlike the US - but even then, diners often have dirt cheap specials. In New York, for example, I was often able to get breakfast, lunch or dinner for around $10-$12 at the diners - and that included the tip. So my meal was about $10 and a 20% ($2) tip, plus I would often just drink water, so that kept the checks down too. Also I wouldn't rule out "junk food" that's high in fat and calories if you're going to be walking around all day - you'll burn off most of it anyhow. Just worry about finding stuff that is cheap and filling.
I find the best way to save money on food when traveling is to be more adventurous and diligent in finding finding restaurants to eat in. Often the big name restaurants will only be somewhat authentic anyway and it really is better to find the spots hidden from tourists because those hole in the wall type places are usually the most authentic and even least expensive food options when traveling.
