One of San Diego’s most affordable food traditions returns in just a few days.

San Diego Restaurant Week will take place from Sept. 16 to 21.

A plethora of different cuisines — including Italian, Greek, Japanese, and Italian just to name a few — will be included in the week long occasion which will feature more than 190 restaurants in 12 regions throughout the county offering affordable lunch and dinner menus.

Many downtown and Gaslamp District restaurants will be a part of this list.

Arguably the best part of the week is the opportunity it gives to food lovers to dine at posh, more decidedly expensive eateries for a large discounted price.

Participating restaurants offer visitors three course meal dinners for only $20, $30, and $40 a person.

But festivities will also go beyond dinner, with some locations offering two course lunch menus that run from $20, $15 and as low as $10 a person.

No tickets or passes are necessary to take part but reservations are strongly recommended.

And for the first time ever, a tasting will kick off the week’s festivities.

McFarlane Promotions, who puts on both events, described SDRW Taste 2012 as an exclusive preview to what to expect for the coming week.

On Fri. Sept. 14, 40 of Restaurant Week’s participating restaurants will be on hand serving samples from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Broadway Pier in the Port Pavillion.

Tickets for the tasting are $75 each with 10 percent from each going to the Food Bank of San Diego’s Backpack Program to feed a child for the weekend.

Restaurant Week attracts more than 100,000 diners.

It is held twice a year annually.

It will return in Jan.

Mayor Jerry Sanders will be on hand for an official press conference for the event on Sept. 13.

For a complete list of participating restaurants visit www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com.