Your Ultimate Guide To Brisbane’s Best Cheap Eats That Won’t Break The Bank In 2026
Dinushka Gunasekara
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 in 2026.
Never miss a new opening or upcoming event in Brisbane again—get us in your inbox here.
Know your budget? Jump ahead:
$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. Hai Hai’s West End outpost also joins in happy hour, with $5 izakaya-style snack plates available during these same hours.
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-for-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?
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 whole chicken for $15 every Monday and Tuesday, plus a ¼ chicken and chips for just $10 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
Image 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 $9.99 pizzas all day, while Tuesdays offer two tacos for $9.99 (take your pick from pork birria or fried cauliflower). Later in the week, it’s all about chicken with 50c wings on Wednesdays and $19.99 chicken schnitty on Thursdays. End the week on a high with Brooklyn Depot's Friday special: $9.99 cheeseburger and fries up until 2:30pm.
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 pizzas or lunch classics, like their parmi, rump steak, or world-famous burgers. Thirsty? You can also grab a $5 schooner to wash it down.
You might also like:
Harajuku Gyoza
184 Grey St, South Bank & Albert Lane, Brisbane CBD
Image 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 don rice 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
Image 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.
Honten Sushi
258 Adelaide St, Brisbane City
The heartiest way to get to payday is by dining out at Honten Sushi. Here you’ll find lunch specials from Monday to Friday, with the likes of Japanese chicken katsu curry for $9.80, donburi rice bowls (with your choice of protein, from chilli chicken to teriyaki salmon and vege tempura) for $8.90, and tonkotsu ramen with crispy katsu for $14.80.
$30 or under
Yoko Dining
2/5 Boundary St, Brisbane City
For a fancy lunch without the fancy price tag, turn to Yoko Dining's $28 donburi lunch set from Monday to Friday. Choose from three options: tuna or wagyu donburi, both served with karaage chicken, or the mushroom don with silky tofu. All three come with potato salad, too. Our tip? Pre-order your lunch so you don’t miss out.
Hizola’s Kitchen & Bar
6/100 McLachlan St, Fortitude Valley
Image credit: Hizola’s | Instagram
Forgot your meal prep? No worries, Hizola’s is serving up $20 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.
Greca
3/5 Boundary St, Brisbane City
There's nothing better than tucking into a big Greek feast on your lunch break. At Greca, you can nab a mixed grill platter for $28 between 12pm to 3pm. Chicken souvlaki and spiced lamb loin chops are paired with yoghurt flatbreads, a tomato and onion salad and fava—a yellow split pea dip perfect for dipping.
Under $40
Happy Boy
East St, Fortitude Valley
Opting for the banquet usually means settling in for a long time (and a long bill)—but not at Happy Boy. The express weekday lunch banquet is just $39, with a line-up of signature plates including eggplant with roast pork belly, wagyu beef brisket stew and roast duck with fried rice. Not hungry enough for the full spread? Choose from a selection of Chinese BBQ and lunch specials ranging from $18 to $22.
Nonda
76 Skyring Tce, Newstead
Image 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, lotus chips with edamame avocado dip and the sashimi taco. 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.
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 $35 on Mondays, a coral trout pie with Kipler potatoes for $28 on Tuesdays, porchetta on the spit for $38 on Wednesdays, and a classic chicken schnitzel with apple and fennel slaw for $29 on Thursdays.
Main image credit: Fritzenberger | Facebook
Urban List Best Of: has our highest stamp of approval—curated lists of the very best recommendations for you to eat, do, see, buy or book, carefully chosen by our Editors.