Budget
A Simple Diet
If you can't read chinese and you're a bit picky on what you eat, there's an excellent restaurant called A Simple Diet, located just off Hunan Road next to McDonalds. Here they have taken the Japanese innovation of recreating the menu items in plastic so that you can simply point and order. You'll be given a card upon entry - when you order, hand it to the staff who will stamp your card. When you leave, take your card to the cashier's desk to pay.
Subway
You can find inexpensive, Western-style sandwiches at the popular American sub shop Subway, which has four stores in Nanjing; two in the Carrefour stores, one in the Golden Wheel shopping mall, and one in the popular Da Yang department store. The Walmart wa-er-ma in Xinjiekou has an extensive grocery and live foods market on the basement level. McDonalds has a number of restaruants in the city, if you're interested in their ¥7 menu the Chinese equivalent of the Dollar Menu.
noodle (miantiao) and pot sticker (jiaozi) shops
Nanjing has dozens of small noodle miantiao and pot sticker jiaozi shops on many of its streets. Qingdao Lu, a secondary street running northbound before the intersection of Shanghai Lu and Guangzhou Lu has a few excellent miantiao shops, including a Hui restaurant Hui are a Chinese ethnic group that practices Islam, which serves only mutton and beef. Here, a massive bowl of hot soup and noodles will only cost about ¥6. The area closer to Nanjing University has plenty of good, cheap food, including a series of jiaozi vendors. At most Jiaozi shops you order and pay at the cashier desk by the entrance and you'll be given a ticket which you must take to the serving window.
BBQ shop
If it's late-night munchies you're after, just head down any small backstreet and follow your nose and you're sure to find a small BBQ shop. These smokey little restaurants offer spicy meat kebabs usually beef or lamb along with BBQ'd vegetables, bread, fish and even sticky-rice balls and also serve beer at about Y3 per bottle.
dumplings
If you're after genuine hand-made dumplings, there's an excellent dumpling restaurant with an English menu just off Ninghai Rd - dumplings come in a variety of fillings in sets of 6 priced between Y2 and Y5, although you must order at least 2 sets.
If you want to self-cater of just stock up on snacks/drinks then Nanjing has plenty of supermarkets and convenience stores. The main supermarkets in the central area are Times Extra on Zhongyang Lu close to Xinmofan Lu subway station, Lotus near Zhongyangmen Bus Station, Walmart on the 2nd floor of Wanda Plaza Mall in Xinjiekou and Carrefour on Zhongshan Dong Lu. There are also many Suguo CVS convenience stores which are similar to 7-Eleven and stock drinks, snacks, instant noodles and cigarettes. Most Suguo stores accept payment using the IC transport card.
Midrange
Soul Mate
Western-style restaurant and coffee bar owned by French expats, with homemade pizzas, burgers, salads and French dishes for reasonable prices. It's a good place to have a few drinks and food in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Kung
A Korean-owned restaurant, very popular among Nanjing's Korean community. Kung serves a wide variety of traditional Korean dishes such as bulgogi and kimchi in all its colourful variations. Order a selection of dishes and split them over four or five friends.
Blue Sky
Expat bar that is particularly popular with Australians with a pool table and jukebox. A sort of eclectic menu that offers pub fare like burgers or Indian food like vindaloo. The service can be slow, so don't try to grab a quick lunch here. If you're fancy ale or stout, Chinese beer is invariably light, they serve heavy imported beers.
LES 5 SENS ä¹å°æ³å½é¤å
French restaurant with a French Chef and a cosy atmosphere, providing traditional and family homemade french dishes.
German Bread Store
If you're missing some taste from home, or just looking for good bread and sandwiches, try this cafe next to Nanjing Normal University. They serve sandwiches, drinks and various styles of German bread.
Bebbis
A fondue restaurant originally established in Interlaken in Switzerland, has now opened a second restaurant in Nanjing.
24hr Coffee Tea
Could someone else confirm the closing of 24hr Coffee Tea. This comfortable, yet unassuming, place has excellent coffee and tea as well as reasonable lunch options. The little Bento box deals are terrific, and come with a cup of soup and fruit. The servers are very attentive and the food typically comes out very fast. Be warned that the menu is all Chinese characters no pinyin and the servers do not speak English, so brush up on your Mandarin. Wi-Fi is available if you have either a China Mobile or China Unicom account. The two locations are located right across from each other on either side of the Shanghai Lu.
food court underneath Xinjiekou
There is an extensive food court underneath Xinjiekou off of Fashion Lady shopping mall with lots and lots of options. Included is a Dairy Queen.
Top end
Skyways Bakery
Lots of relatively expensive baked goods. The apple pies, tarts and cheesecake are all excellent. They also have cinnamon rolls, croissants, muffins, and a selection of ice cream.
Jack's
Barely passable Italian food, but decent enough if you have been in China a few years. Some staff have good English and many of the customers are expats. Pasta or pizza is around ¥40-60, while steaks start around ¥70.
Prime
The tallest bar, lounge and restaurant in Jiangsu Province, Prime offers a spectacular view of Nanjing in a western setting with superior service and gourmet international cuisine. The Cigar lounge features a live music stage western jazz musicians play irregularly and a fully-stocked bar with a large selection of wines, beer and over 100 specialty cocktails.
La Table de Mr Eiffel
This French owned restaurant offers authentic fine French cuisine and carries an extensive wine list of French wines by the glass. It is located in an exceptional environment as the restaurant is housed in an old Chinese garden house with an entrance on the Park and also comprises an outside terrace. For wine lovers, good food lovers and people searching for a moment of peace and green in the hectic city : do not miss it ! ¥100-200/ pers
OMAX Restaurant
Offers a good steak, for ¥68, and other "western-style" meals as well as Chinese dishes. The owner and hostess speak fairly good English and there is often a piano player.
Tairo
Japanese "teppanyaki" restaurant in the Nanjing 1912 district. Excellent food, and a decent option if you have a lot of extra yuan burning a hole in your pocket. This chain of teppanyaki places has consistently good food prepared right before you, and it's eat till you drop. May also have an all-you-can-eat Haagen Dazs ice cream option for extra. If you're feeling brave, try the snake pancakes! ¥150
New Cafe
Self-consciously contemporary restaurant/lounge with a fairly extensive selection of western brunch fare: waffles, omelets, french toast, paninis. They also have a good selection of coffee, tea and rather decadent desserts. The food is good, particularly in the presentation, although the service is not alway. If you just want to have a sundae or french toast and don't mind having to hunt down a server, this is a great place. Wireless access here if you have a China Mobile or China Unicom account. At least ¥50 per person for tea and a pastry, but you should probably plan on ¥80, with a full breakfast or lunch even more.
Deji Plaza
If you have some time to explore, check out a few other options in Nanjing, including the two restaurants in the upscale shopping area of Deji Plaza on the 7th floor as well as a cafe on the 3rd floor. All three are good stopping points after a hard day's shopping at Louis Vuitton, or just before hitting the arcade or cinema. Near the New Cafe on Qingdao Lu is a small German cafe inconspicuously tucked away. Very good coffee in a cozy Bavarian/Thuringian environment. Expect to pay at least ¥25 for a good cup of coffee which is the same as anywhere in Nanjing. Also worth checking out is a restaurant on the outskirts of Confucious Temple that offers a 14 course dinner; it might best be described as Chinese tapas. This is a very good way to sample dishes that you might not want to purchase entree-sized portions of anywhere, such as coagulated duck's blood soup. A fun way for more finicky groups to experience real Chinese food.
Local specialties include xiaolongbao å°ç¬¼å , thin skinned dumplings filled with soup and meat, that are served steaming hot in baskets and tangbao 汤å , which are similar, but much larger and filled with crab meat and soup. The soup in these is drank with a straw. Restaurants serving these can be found all over Nanjing usually in small hole in the wall restaurants or dining halls é¤å for cheap. You'll usually be able to find them served along side yaxue fensi duck blood noodles é¸è¡ç²ä¸ another local specialty.