The number one "must-have" in Geneva is a bigger budget than that, even for most fast-food.

The good news is that you're not missing out, because most of the food here is rather disappointing.

PARIS : Attention! A Paris la nourriture est presque toujours congeleé même dans les bistrots et restaurants (voir émission à la Tv française)

I agree with Andy, most food here is bland, when not tasteless. And quite overpriced. So a budget must-have meal, I cannot think of any. The closest you can get to that is a meal at La Buvette des Bains des Pâquis, on the lake.

If you'd like to spend a little bit more that your set budget and taste something good and typical, go for Malakoffs. Best ones are at the Auberge de Luins between Nyon and Gland (and you'd need a car to get there).

Hmmm.. bit disappointed in Geneva in terms of food... I guess its very much the same for Europe compared to asian countries where there is a huge variety of street food and pocket friendly local delicacies. When I am travelling there i really have to try to work up an appetite to keep up with the food that they offer.

But since I am coming there, will definitely try the things you have mentioned.

i dont know about compared to elsewhere  - but compared to the uk the kebabs are very good .. and compared to other geneva food are cheap 

If you can up your budget just a little bit you have a few options. Check out Maison d'Asie up Rue de Servette, they do a decent pho for under 20 CHF. Also Indochine on Rue de Lausanne for reasonably priced Asian food. There's another Vietnamese place in the Paquis that's alright, I forget the name. It might be on Rue de Prieure? 

If you like chicken, there's Chez Ma Cousine near Manor or in the Old Town. They only do one or two dishes, but it's a nice roast chicken and spuds.

I agree with the other comments, restaurants aren't Geneva's strongest area. But it's fun to eat out sometimes, and these places are all affordable.

A good Malakoff can be ordered in advance at Cafe du Soleil in Petit-Saconnex (also fondue and raclette), no need to go to Luins. There is also a branch of Chez ma Cousine in the same area.

Sadly I don't think I've had more than 2 meals in 2 years that I would recommend to others were as 75% would be things I would disappointed with if I had thrown together while learning to cook at university. Add the ludicrous prices for aforementioned poor meals and you have a...well...unforgivable combination. 

As a general rule here, two things are missing - Value and customer service. So If you want a really nice meal, you will have to up your budget. There are a few nice places to eat for a decent price (I would personally recommend the eritrean restaurants) but generally speaking it seems the logic behind most restaurants is 'what are the very basic ingredients required to make this dish' rather than going the extra yard and maybe even adding something extra without adding cost.

The idea in my mind for a restaurant should be better food than the client could make at home. This is sadly the furthest thing from the truth here.

Street food is almost non-existant.  But as Amy states, it is nice to go out for food.

So I would search for Eritrean restaurants, there are 2 decent burger places, Inglewood & Holy cow, not 'amazing' but certainly a good eat at a reasonable price.

The main issue I think is the worker pay being high and meat prices being very high, so restaurants either skimp on the extras or on the meat.

For example, I am iranian and have never left an iranian restaurant still hungry, except in geneve as the portions are what I would consider from the 'child-menu'

Chez ma cousine is good simple affordable food, with great service too. I would suggest hitting up the market in plainpalais on sundays as there are always plenty of options to choose from.

One option to work around the appalling state of cuisine in the city is to get the yearly discount card which is ~50% off a bunch of restaurants and it costs ~90CHF, or use lafourchette.ch  which you can book tables and there are usually a bunch of discounts too. Also keep an eye on buyclub and deindeal for vouchers you can buy with big discounts. 

I would say that versoix is the best place to get sushi and most of the places in geneva wouldnt survive a day in japan, but once in a while there is a dcent stock of fish and a paticularly good Itamae (the son of the owner of mikados is a boss at making sushi).

Sorry for the lack of positives, but generally speaking unless you pay through the nose, go in with very low expectations.

lafourchette.ch
assiettegenevoise.com
 

Planpalais market on Sunday and look for the falafel guy. Its easy to find since there is always a line.  Best hangover food in town. 

My favorite kebab is ozer kebab off the les essert stop in petit lancy. Take the 14 tram. 

A good take away Chinese place is in eaux vives. It's called Dragon something off the rue de lac stop from the 2 or 6. For like 12 swissies you get a dish with rice and a drink. 

10-15 Francs is a pretty tight budget for Geneva. I can think of:

- a burger at Holy Cow. A menu with fries and drink is ~20 francs so a burger should be around 15.

- The chinese take-away place that Jonathan mentions at Rue des Eaux-Vives is decent. 

- There's also a chinese take-away place in Halles des Rives (indoor market near Rive); I can't remember prices but should be around 15 francs.

- In Rue de Carouge there's a very small Thai take-away place that has similar prices. Very close to Theatre Casino.

- There are several cafe's with business lunch menus that are around 15 francs, all over Geneva. Some of them are decent, but it depends day-by-day.

- Kebab - the one at Rue de Berne in Paquis (Parfums <something>) is pretty good.

10-15 francs???...

McDonalds...

I dont think Mc Donalds would pass as a Must Have food in geneva

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