Food & Drink

Penny Pinchers, Here’s Your Ultimate Guide To Brisbane’s Best Cheap Eats

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– Brisbane Editor | Urban List

Trying to save? Or a bit skint til payday (no seriously, who thought monthly was a good idea?)? Between cossy lives and all the obligations that drain your bank, living the champagne life on a beer budget can be quite the challenge. That’s why it pays to know your way around Brisbane’s best cheap eats, daily deals, and weekly specials. 

From stacked burgers to slurpable bowls of ramen, you don’t need to restrict yourself to the side menu if you know where to go. Whether you’ve got $10 or $20, put your money where your mouth is with the ultimate guide to Brisbane’s cheapest meals in town.

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$15 or under

Hai Hai

102 Latrobe Tce, Paddington

Every Monday and Tuesday from 5pm to 6pm is ramen happy hour at Paddington’s Hai Hai. Slurp up $10 bowls of the good stuff featuring their famous 24-hour tonkotsu, with vegan-friendly ramen also available. 

Fritzenberger

11-12 Little Stanley St, South Bank

There are plenty of budget-friendly reasons to swing by Fritzenberger. On Mondays, get your hands on $12 classic burgers or 2-4-1 burgers on Tuesdays (with a mate or solo, we don’t judge). On Wednesday, the crew are doing $1 southern-fried wings with any drink purchase—the only question left is are you going for their signature buffalo sauce, sweet and spicy, or classic BBQ? 

Hizola’s Kitchen & Bar

6/100 McLachlan St, Fortitude Valley

hizola'sImage credit: Hizola’s | Instagram

Forgot your meal prep? No worries, Hizola’s is serving up $15 lunch specials from Monday to Friday full of their signature contemporary Cantonese flavours. Take your pick from their poke bowl or packed lunch bowls with your choice of crispy beef, General Tso’s chicken or wok-tossed vegetable. If you’ve got a few dollars extra, we recommend adding on the duck spring rolls or a peach iced tea to wash it all down. 

Good Lookin’ Rooster

Multiple Locations

Whether you’re looking to wrap up the work week or start your weekend early, Good Lookin’ Rooster is doing their bit with a  ¼ chicken and chips for just $8  every Friday. We’re talking juicy and free-range rotisserie chicken with their famous seasoned chips all day long.

Brooklyn Depot

172 Grey St, South Brisbane

brooklyn depotImage credit: Brooklyn Depot | Instagram

Grab a drink and grab a deal at Brooklyn Depot—the NY-style spot for loaded burgers and pub fare. On Mondays you can get a chicken schnitty for $14.99, while Wednesdays offer 50c wings with a plethora of sauces to deck ‘em out. Later in the week, it’s all about the lunch specials with $14.99 burgers on Thursdays and $5.99 pizzas on Fridays from 11:30am to 4pm. 

Brewdog

235 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley

Your weekday lunch is sorted at Brewdog, with a stacked $15 lunch menu available from 11am to 3pm. Choose from burgers, pizzas, or lunch classics, like their parmi, rump steak, or world famous buffalo wings. Thirsty? You can also grab a $5 schooner to wash it down. 

Harajuku Gyoza

184 Grey St, South Bank & Albert Lane, Brisbane CBD

harajuku gyozaImage credit: Harajuku Gyoza | Instagram

Harajuku Gyoza is dishing out some serious midweek perks without emptying your pockets, thanks to their lunch specials running through the busy work week. Grab your favourite pair of chopsticks because Mondays and Tuesdays offer two-for-one plates of gyoza—so you can grab five cheeseburger gyoza and five buffalo chicken gyoza for just $15. And the specials don’t stop there, with their bowls going for just $15 on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Beef, chicken, pork, tofu—you name it, they’ve got it.

Hashtag Burgers & Waffles

Multiple locations

If there's one thing we love, it's options. Hashtag Burgers & Waffles has you covered, with $10 burgers available every Monday to Friday  until 5pm. There are five different burgers to choose from, including smashed patties with smokey bacon and the Crazy Jane, which comes packed with a deep-fried mac 'n' cheese patty.

Yums! Chicken 

Various Locations 

yums kitchenImage credit: Yums! Chicken | Facebook

Could you polish off a kilo of wings? Find out at Yums! Chicken, where they dish up 1kg of crispy wings for just $15 every Wednesday. You can also get half a kilo for $10, but why would you? Choose from flavours like southern crispy, spicy crispy, buffalo, sweet BBQ, lemon pepper and more, with fries just $6 extra.

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$25 or under

Newstead Social

2 Masters St, Newstead

newstead socialImage credit: Newstead Social | Facebook

The heartiest way to get to payday is by dining out at Newstead Social. Here you’ll find $18 lunch specials from 11:30am to 2pm Tuesday to Friday, with the likes of seasonal salads, chicken burgers, and grilled goldband snapper on the menu. Post-work, head in on Tuesdays for $20 burgers or Thursdays for a parmi and a pint for $25 from 5pm. 

Under $40

Felons Brewing Co

5 Boundary St, Brisbane CBD

Feast away with Felons Weekly Eats—a range of deals available all day from 11am. Snag a 250g butcher’s cut of steak with fries for $34 on Mondays, a crumbed pork cutlet with crispy sage for $34 on Tuesdays, house-made pie with classic sides for $25 on Wednesdays, and grilled market fish for $36 on Thursdays. 

Nonda

76 Skyring Tce, Newstead

nondaImage credit: Nonda | Instagram

Indulge in modern Japanese flavours without damaging the pocket thanks to Nonda’s $35 lunch specials. The snack and main pairing has a bunch of options for you to mix and match, making this one worth a few visits. For starters, we love the Coffin Bay oysters, octopus ceviche with avocado puree and the ocean trout tataki. As for mains, you’ve got a tough decision ahead of you with the likes of crispy pork belly, wagyu with teriyaki butter, and Nonda’s crowd-favourite Mooloolaba king prawn with spaghetti and shio kombu butter. 

Main image credit: Fritzenberger | Facebook

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