We love satisfying our food cravings and nabbing a bangin’ food deal at the same time—and what better way than getting a chicken wing fix while also getting more bang for your buck (yes to making savings for the next meal). We’ve eaten far and wide across Wellington to bring you the ultimate guide to 30 of the best cheap eats this city has to offer. From hand-pulled noodles to gluten-free deep-fried brie, we’ve got you covered with our guide to Wellington’s best cheap (and cheerful) eats. Yaaaas.
Here are 30 of the best cheap eats in Wellington.
Little Penang
179 Victoria Street, Te Aro
Specialising in authentic Malaysian dishes, Little Penang’s soy sauces are imported from Malaysia (for that lip-smacking mee goreng mamak) and inspired by the street food of Penang, they offer the most flavour for your buck—and the best char kway teow in town. There’s daily specials and delicious snacks like their karipap (curry puffs), roti with sambal, and flaky pastry pork buns. Don’t let the queues put you off, the wait is always 100% worth it, making Little Penang a firm favourite and one of the best cheap eats in Wellington.
Satay Malaysia
255 Cuba Street, Te Aro
This hidden gem at the top of Cuba Street is our go-to to get a rendang and roti fix in Wellington. We love a cheap eats lunch deal. Grab a curry or rendang for $19.50-$20 (which includes rice and roti). The roti is the best —flaky and light with a zillion layers, perfect for dipping and the ultimate vehicle for mopping your bowl after.
Sushi Bi
2 Woodward Street, Wellington Central | 2 Bunny Street, Pipitea
Image credit: Sushi Bi | Instagram
Sushi B serves up the best cheap eats in Wellington if you’re craving an afternoon sushi fix. While Vic Uni commerce students studying nearby get 10% off all day (with their VicCom cards), the rest of Wellington can get in on the deals with up to 33% off after 4pm. It’s the perfect early dinner (or snack) before your commute home on the train. We’re eyeing up a tray of their famous torched salmon nigiri.
A Taste of Home
128 Vivian Street, Te Aro
A Taste of Home is run by chef owners Tina Hu and Steve D’Souza who left fine-dining to make delicious things they like to eat. Specialising in Chinese-style street food, the restaurant has a cult following since 2017, which is unsurprising when you check out their menu. Snack on spicy deep fried tofu “munchies” with sweet garlic and chilli ($12), or go for a comforting Yo Po Mian (a.k.a. hot oil noodles)—hand-pulled and laden with peanuts and seasonal veg for $15. Don’t forget their deep-fried mini milk buns drenched in condensed milk for $10, too. Nothing else on the menu is over $21, and believe us when we say no matter what you pick, you won't be disappointed.
Chow
45 Tory Street, Te Aro
Head to Chow on a Monday for their signature two-for-one specials. Their menu is designed to share, so it’s the perfect spot to hit if you’re like us and like to try a little bit of as much as possible. Some classic favourites on Chow’s menu include blue cheese and peanut wontons, salt and pepper squid with wasabi mayo, and their vegetable jungle curry. Get as many dishes as you like, and only pay for half. They also have an express lunch menu on Tuesday-Sunday, with your choice of two dishes with broth and rice for $17.
Library Bar
1/53 Courtenay Place, Te Aro
Head next door to Library Bar on Tuesdays for their two-for-one desserts, another of the best cheap eats in Wellington (but sweet edition). Grab your crew and choose a range of desserts to share, then pay for two desserts for a cheap eats steal at $17-19 for both. From spiced orange crème brûlée to earl grey chocolate mousse, it’s definitely a forks-at-the-ready situation.
The Little Waffle Shop
53 Courtenay Place, Te Aro
Image credit: The Little Waffle Shop | Instagram
Downstairs from the Library Bar is The Little Waffle Shop, where freshly pressed waffles are made to order from a magical hole-in-the-wall. Open ‘til late every night, the waffle of the week changes weekly depending on what dessert mood the team are in, so keep an eye on their socials for the flavour of the week! Waffle Wednesdays are the best cheap eats day (and night) to satisfy your waffle cravings, and for only $6.
Greek Food Truck
Various Locations
The Greek Food Truck is always buzzing with a crowd wherever they’re parked up across the city. Join the queues and grab a cheap eats souvlaki for $16, with your choice of meat with tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce wrapped in toasted pitta. There’s even chips stuffed inside the pitta, but we can’t say no to more chips on the side—especially their thick-cut fries topped with grated parmesan. Plus their baklava counts as a side, right? Find them at the Moore Wilson’s food pods or at various locations every day of the week. Keep an eye on their socials to stay up to date with where and when the truck is parked up next.
Crêpes A Go Go
61 Manners Street, Te Aro
Pretend you’re in France and treat yourself to a crepe from Crepes A Go Go. Freshly made crepes are served up from a bright yellow hole-in-the-wall spot on Manners Street. Take your pick from a variety of delicious sweet or savoury fillings, starting from $7. P.S. bring your student ID for an extra discount—an even cheaper cheap eat.
Aunty Mena's Vegetarian Restaurant & Cafe
167 Cuba Street, Te Aro
There’s a reason why Aunty Mena’s is a Wellington institution. For years they’ve been providing Wellington with vegetarian cheap eats in the form of dumplings, deep-fried mushrooms, wontons, and steamed BBQ buns—all for $12. Their mains? Less than $22 and all very generous portions; from soups to noodles to curries (and our personal fave, the laksa). Top tip: Get the deep-fried veggie balls and pop them into your laksa for extra crunch. Aunty’s got you covered.
The Ramen Shop
191 Riddiford Street, Newtown | 139 Karori Road, Karori | 109 Johnsonville Road, Johnsonville
Image credit: The Ramen Shop | Instagram
Starting off as a pop-up in 2013, The Ramen Shop popped up in venues across the city before finally making a home in the Newtown location. Since then, they’ve expanded to the suburbs to bring hungry punters all over Wellington that bouncy homemade ramen noodle fix. Keep an eye out for the $17 weekly ramen specials—with offerings like Spicy Tonkotsu on Mondays, Dan Dan Chicken Tuesday, and a kids meal deal on the weekends for a slurp-worthy family night out.
Dumpling'd
7 Boulcott Street, Te Aro | 39 The Terrace, Wellington Central
Dumpling’d is one of Wellington’s most popular dumpling spots and for good reason. For $13.50 you can get a box of 12 dumplings— pan-fried or steamed, which is the ultimate cheap eats win. Dumpling’d also has bao, dim sim and, at their Boulcott Street joint, a range of dinner noodle dishes. The perfect addition to your cheap eats dumpling feast.
Nam Nam
Unit 2/40 Bowen Street, Pipitea | Willis Lane, 1 Willis Street, Wellington Central
The newest Vietnamese street food kids on the block are Nam Nam and have just opened for dinner in the city. The perfect spot for cheap eats after work, as nothing on the menu is more than $18.90. Think of all the cuốn (rice paper rolls) you can eat or bánh mì options of lemongrass chicken, crispy pork crackling, Hội An style roasted pork and tofu, plus add your own creamy pâté to your heart's desire. They’ve got a lunch special combo of bánh mì and a rice paper roll for $16.30 (and only $15.90 at their Bowen St location).
Nudel
217 Willis Street, Te Aro
Send nudels (sorry not sorry), and make it a date at this cheap and cheerful corner of Willis Street. They’ve got handmade dumplings, fried rice or noodles and wonton noodle soup. Don’t leave without their massive handmade BBQ pork bao for $5.50—so good that they even supply their fluffy bao to local restaurants.
KC Cafe & Takeaway
39A Courtenay Place, Te Aro
Image credit: KC Review | Instagram
If you haven’t heard of KC Cafe, we don’t know what Wellington rock you’re hiding under but you’ve got to go, stat. This casual Cantonese-style eatery has a mind-boggling menu with 160 dishes (and then some, if you count their written menus exclusively in Chinese by the counter). We haven’t managed to conquer the menu but we applaud those who are making their way (cue: KC review). While most of these dishes fall just over the $20 mark, KC is definitely an exception in our cards. The portions are huge (most come with rice, like the salted fish, pork mince and eggplant claypot dishes), and if you’re ordering the roast duck noodle soup, you’ll have glistening duck and egg noodles for days. While you may feel daunted with the options, the deep fried squid is a necessary addition to the table with whatever you order—and their house-made KC tofu (she’s silky, soft and lush with a saucy deep-fried exterior). The go-to for many comfort eats. You can thank us later.
Scopa
141 Cuba Street, Te Aro
Another Wellington institution. An Italian restaurant, pizzeria, and with the best hot chocolate in town. Go on Tuesdays for $10 Margherita pizzas between 11.30am-3pm, and their famous Italian hot chocolate which is thick and as decadent as it gets ($4.50-$8.50 for a small or large, depending on how much you want to treat yourself). Ciao baby.
The Realm Hataitai
7 Moxham Avenue, Hataitai
To find pub gems like The Realm is like discovering hidden treasure, bringing back that nostalgic feeling remembering the good ol’ days with a solid (well medium rare, in this case) steak in one hand, and a hearty pint in the other. Case on point: every Tuesday they roll out steaks and salads between 12pm-7.30pm for $20. For those who crave other pub grub options, their $18.00 weekday express lunch menu includes classics like fish and chips, beef burgers, pasta, pizza and their signature Realm Big Breakfast.
Hataitai Hot Bread Shop
8 Moxham Avenue, Hataitai
A trip to Hataitai isn’t complete without a visit to the bakery, a.k.a Hataitai Hot Bread Shop. If you’re craving a steaming hot pastry for your next cheap eats, then look no further. They’re open 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays with classics like the apple cream doughnut, mince pies, all the slices and pastries imaginable and breads by the loaf (their cheese and bacon loaf is a crowd pleaser). The menu isn’t available online, but we can guarantee you’re likely to buy the shop when you’re on your midnight pastry and bread run.
Pho Viet Street Food
88c Riddiford Street, Newtown | 40 Dixon Street, Te Aro
Image credit: Pho Viet Street Food | Vicki Young
One of the best phở-sure in Wellington (had to be done) with a fragrant bone broth cooked low and slow the traditional way with all the warm spices. There are all the other menu additions but we are here for the dedicated phở menu, and our personal fave is the Phở Bò Viên (Beef Meatballs) for $18.90. With a bouncy and meaty texture, these are the perfect bites for your sriracha and hoisin sauce, added tableside. Add a dollop of their homemade lemongrass chilli for a spicy kick (or more if you’re that way inclined thanks to a dedicated jar at each table). They also have weekly lunch specials, so make sure you pop in and check out their specials board.
Satay Me
North City Shopping Centre, 2 Titahi Bay Road, Porirua City Centre, Porirua | Woodward house, Lambton Quay, Wellington Central | 18 Willis, 18 Willis Street, Te Aro
A staple for students and corporates alike, Satay Me are giving Pōneke punters a taste of Vietnamese street eats with their famous satay skewers. Get their Taster deal with chicken or tofu roti wrap with two skewers and rice ($14.90) or grab their OG combo with four skewers, salad and rice ($18.90)—and plenty of their signature satay sauce for the best cheap eats work lunch ever.
Basin Noodle House
20 Adelaide Road, Mount Cook
This has been many locals’ go-to dinner spot but have you ever eaten in, and for lunch? They run $17.90 cheap eats lunch specials on rice dishes between 11.30am-3pm every day of the week (including weekends). At night, don’t leave without getting the massive bowl of their famous poached dumplings in hot chilli oil for just $20.
Little Manila
North City Mall, 1 Titahi Bay Road, Porirua City Centre, Porirua | Queensgate Shopping Centre, Cnr Queens Drive and, Bunny Street, Hutt Central | 18 Willis, 18 Willis Street, Te Aro
Image credit: Little Manila | Website
There isn’t a lot of Filipino cuisine in the capital, and Ogi and Anya have since made sure there’s a whole lot more with three Little Manila sites across Pōneke and the wider region. Their sizzling sisig has all the delicious pork trimmings and is offered with rice and a salad ($18.99), as a Filipino style flatbread roll or stuffed pao with crunchy slaw and crispy noodles ($7.90), or our favourite: the loaded sisig fries with a runny egg sunny-side up ($15.00).
Choice Bros Ghuznee Street
62 Ghuznee Street, Te Aro
Fried chicken lovers, this one’s for you. Tucked away in the Choice Bros taproom is the ultimate day-before-the-weekend (but really, it’s already the weekend if you’re WFH) cheap eats deal of the week. They’ve got $2 fried chicken wings coming in hot (or mild, get it) all day Thursday. Wash it down with their creative range of Choice Bros beers on tap and you’re sorted for every long weekend ahead.
Mr Go’s
3 Eva Street, Te Aro
Recently moved from Taranaki Street to their slick new spot in Hannah’s Laneway is Mr Go’s, Wellington’s modern Asian spot for flavoursome plates and cute cocktails in ceramic panda mugs. We love their fried chicken with sriracha garlic mayo and twice-cooked pork belly bao. With the fluffiest and freshest milk bao hand-rolled on the daily, it’s an absolute steal for $7 and you can get your mitts on it every day before 6pm.
Taste of India
19 Cambridge Terrace, Te Aro
A cheap eats win is having a tandoor-blistered naan filled with chicken tikka (boneless chicken marinated in a spiced yoghurt) set to barbecue perfection in the tandoor. Watch Taste of India’s tandoor master expertly slap the naan inside the tandoor to bake, while you wait for your order. They do takeaways only, so we recommend calling ahead. Disclaimer: The chicken tikka itself is $19.50, but it’s worth every extra dollar to go over for the garlic naan ($5.20). Maybe grab one of their curries too while you’re over this article’s budget…
Mama Brown
250 Wakefield Street, Te Aro
Image credit: Mama Brown | Instagram
Known for their American-style comfort eats (and array of race car dining chairs), Mama Brown hits the sweet spot for all things ribs, Cajun fries, waffles and burgers. Grab their two-for-one mains deal on Wednesdays (find the password online to get your in on the deal) and come back the next day for Thrifty Thursday, ft. any classic burg with fries for $15. Thanks Mama B.
Crab Shack
5 Queens Wharf, Wellington Central
With the warmer weather ahead, make the most of this spot by the waterfront with half price shack-spiced calamari on Wednesdays (usually $19), $1 hot wings on Thursday, fush and chups Friday (for $15) and half-priced mussels on Saturday. Cheap eats, eat your heart out. All deals run from 3-6pm. We’ll shell-ebrate to that.
Viva Mexico
Viva Mexico Willis St, 18 Willis Street, Te Aro | Viva Mexico Newtown, 161 Riddiford Street, Newtown | Viva México, 93 Jackson Street, Petone, Lower Hutt
Viva Mexico’s bright yellow restaurant in Newtown (and the hidden gem in Left Bank, RIP) has been part and parcel of Wellington’s vibrant culinary scene since 2010. Since then, they’ve expanded to Mexican street eats on Willis Street during the day, with their OG menu at Newtown and Petone restaurants for lunch and dinner. Choose from tacos, burrito, and quesadillas (and the cheesy-stuffed jalapeños) for under $20 each at their city location, or pop to their restaurant location for even more even quesadilla options ($16-20). Don’t leave without their ceviche marinated with leche de tigre ($19), and cinnamon-rolled churros ($12-17).
IKI Sushi Burrito
94 Tirangi Road, Rongotai
Image credit: The IKI Sushi Burrito | Instagram
The sunshine yellow sushi-burrito trailer in Lyall Bay has been slinging cheap eats in the form of $8 curry pan (Japanese style fried bread with Japanese curry filling) for as long as we can remember. If you haven’t had a piping hot curry pan beach-side, have you even lived? You can also dine in with one of their giant Mexican-burrito-meets-sushi kinda rolls, a cheap eats steal for $15-18 a pop.
Miss Kangsta
141/11 Jessie Street, Te Aro
Gluten-free friends rejoice! Miss Kangsta has got your zero-wheat snacky needs met with her special blend of GF ingredients to make the crispiest popcorn cauliflower (vegan also), as well as GF chicken and calamari bites (all priced at $15.95 for small bites). There’s even a grilled halloumi salad if you’re on a health buzz (for $19.80), but if not then we definitely recommend the GF hot brie finger with maple and ginger sauce ($12.50). 100% cheese melty goodness for your GF gut—and pull it apart slowly for the ‘gram. Mop it up with extra kumara fries (also GF and $10.95) and we’ll call it a day.
Main Image Credit: A Taste of Home | Instagram