Downtown West Palm Beach has an active nightlife, free concerts, hookah, kava and fine dining.  Dining options range from raw vegan to French, Turkish, Cuban and seafood.  If you like a little entertainment with your meal you can find belly dancers, fire dancers, body painting, Salsa lessons and art shows.

But what if what you want is a cheap lunch?  Rest assured; although West Palm Beach is a pricey city, there are plenty of amazing lunch deals.

On the corner of Olive and Fern is Makeb’s bagels.  Whether you want the very best bagel and cream cheese you have ever devoured, or a luncheon salad or sandwich, Makeb’s is especially delicious and priced to please. 

On Olive Street between Evernia and Datura are two great breakfast and lunch places, Paris Café and Palm Beach Café.  Both serve homemade soup daily, and both offer sandwich and salad specials for under $10.

Paris café is arguably healthier fare, while Palm Beach Cafe offers comfort food.  Both have sidewalk café seating as well as indoor seating.  Both have amazingly sinful desserts.

Clematis Street offers legendary food, drink and entertainment.  If you are looking to experience Clematis and not spend a lot of money, come for happy hour, and watch the specials.

If you are on Clematis and want great, easy, cheap food anytime, look for Yankee Dogs on the corner of Clematis and South Rosemary.  Don’t let the name fool you – they have a lot more than hot dogs.  Vegetarians, burger lovers and everyone else will find a great home-cooked meal here, virtually 24 hours a day.

Don Ramon operates a 24-hour food window on Clematis, offering desserts, meat pastries and other Cuban fare.  Their sit-down restaurant is moderately priced, and very popular.

If you are in City Place and need a cheap bite, it’s Publix to the rescue!  Yes, Publix is a grocery store, but this particular Publix offers a wide variety of deli foods cheap, and has a lovely sidewalk café where you can enjoy the sights and sounds of City Place.

Downtown West Palm has a lot of great pizza, and a lot of great pizza deals.  My favorite pizza so far is Pizza Girls, at 114 S. Clematis Street.  My favorite eggplant is at Nico’s, on the corner of Clematis and Olive.  They have good pizza, too.

If a fun dessert is what you are looking for, Sloan’s Ice Cream has two downtown locations, one in City Place and one on South Clematis.  Oh My Chocolates has gelato and sandwiches as well as candy.  They have two locations, too – one on Clematis and one on South Olive.

If you ever find yourself in downtown West Palm Beach, give me a call.  We’ll do lunch.