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Food & Drink

17 Of The Best Cheap Eats In Queenstown

20th Jan 2026
Written by:
Alice Rich
Contributor & Former Editor | Urban List NZ
  • Someone holds a porkzilla 'burgel' against a beautiful lake backdrop.

If you’ve taken the plunge and booked a last-minute flight to Queenstown, chances are your bank balance has taken a hit. And while Queenstown’s million dollar views, luxury onsen and adrenaline-spiking adventure sports don’t exactly scream ‘cheap’, it’s absolutely possible to—as they say—have your Queenstown, and eat it too. 

Here are 17 of the best cheap eats in Queenstown. 

Jump To: 

$10 And Under

Cookie Time Cookie Bar Queenstown

18 Camp Street

Someone with red nail polish holds up a loaded cookie in front of the Cookie Bar shopfront.
Image credit: Cookie Time Cookie Bar | Instagram

My flatmate once got her dad to do an 11-hour roadie just to get a cookie from The Cookie Bar—they’re *that* good. Plus, a single freshly-baked hot cookie will only set you back a (ridiculously) reasonable four bucks. Feeling baller? Throw down a tenner and you’ll procure a cookie trio, a milk and mini cookie combo, or an ‘extreme loaded cookie’ which couldn’t not be a helluva good time. 

Insider Intel:

  • There are also cookie bars in Christchurch and Dunedin. Did somebody say cross-country cookie crawl? 

The Locker Room Sports Bar

10 Brecon Street

Someone with interesting rings leans in to pick up a chicken wing off a plate.
Image credit: The Locker Room Sports Bar | Instagram

$5.50 won’t get you very far most days of the week but before 9pm on Wednesdays at The Locker Room Sports Bar it’ll magically transform into half a pound of chicken wings (provided you’ve got the funds to fork out for a drink). Or shell out $9.50 for a whole pound. 

Insider Intel: 

  • Other sweet deals include $7.50 Taco Tuesdays, or swing by on a Thursday to snag a hot 'dawg' (which is like a regular hot dog, but with riz) for the princely sum of $3.50.

The Boat Shed Cafe, Bistro & Bakery

9300/847 Frankton Road, Frankton

A gorgeous choux pastry topped with a green matcha swirl.
Image credit: The Boat Shed Cafe & Bistro | Instagram

This cute-as-a-button choux bun is part of The Boat Shed Cafe & Bistro’s delectable bakery offerings (along with a lemon meringue tart and a baileys chocolate cheesecake). Sink your teeth into a matcha cream swirl-topped crispy pastry shell and be rewarded with a moreish strawberry centre. Yours for just $8. 

Insider Intel:

  • Once upon a time The Boat Shed was the New Zealand Railways Shipping Office. 

Fergbaker

40 Shotover Street, Queenstown

A delicious-looking cross-section of a flaky pie.
Image credit: Fergbaker | Instagram

Fergbaker’s flaky pastry pies clock in at a measly $8.90 a pop (or $7.90 if you’re vegetarian). You’ll find all the usual suspects—like mince and cheese, chicken bacon and mushroom, and steak with cracked pepper—and they all hit the mark, but it’s the juicy lamb and kumara number spiked with horopito gravy that feels particularly iconic. 

Insider Intel:

  • These folks don't do gluten-free (at least, not yet) so if you're Coeliac or wheat-intolerant head elsewhere to avoid your hopes being dashed. 

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$15 And Under

Brunch On Church

The Spire Hotel, 5 Church Lane, Queenstown 

A bacon and egg brekkie bun sits on top of a bright yellow coffee cup.
Image credit: Brunch On Church | Instagram

If you thought the days of $3 coffee were long gone, you ought to skip your caffeine-powered bod along to Brunch On Church. Yes, you'll find the gloriously cheap coffee but it's worth giving into the temptation of their brekkie buns, too. Not least because you can grab a bacon and egg bun and a coffee for a piddly $11. 

Insider Intel: 

  • Less about the meat? These folks do a supreme egg and cheese bun for $9 a hit. 

Taco’s Land 

Lakefront | 65 Shotover Street 

Sauce is poured into a pottle beside a stack of birria tacos at Taco's Land.
Image credit: @jaffe.santos.photos | Instagram

Birria is the name of the game at the Taco’s Land foodtruck and you can slurp it up as a cup of spicy, springy ramen noodles or slathered across a pair of golden tacos. Swipe a single for $12, two for $20 or three for $27. 

Insider Intel: 

  • Heads up, you probably won't want to eat tacos from anybody else after you've tried this. 

Saigon Kingdom 

88 Beach Street, Steamer Wharf | 12 Hawthorne Drive, Frankton 

If you’ve ever had a Vietnamese summer roll, you know these vege-packed rice paper snacks can be surprisingly filling. And at $12 for two, it’s the epitome of savvy snacking. Head to Saigon Kingdom and choose from prawns and BBQ pork, grilled chicken or wok tossed tofu, and don’t skip the nuoc cham sauce. 

Insider Intel:

  • Feeling called to devour something hot and crispy instead? Flash twelve bucks and nek minit you'll be wolfing down four golden spring rolls. 

threesixty Restaurant and Bar 

Crowne Plaza Queenstown, 93 Beach Street

A glorious deep dish pizza.
Image credit: Crowne Plaza Queenstown | Instagram

On Mondays we go to fancy hotel restaurants with pretty lake views and load up on 22cm deep dish pizzas. And, no, I haven’t gone rogue. As luck would have it, on Mondays from 5.30pm, threesixty does 2-for-1 dine-in pizza so provided you bring a mate, or just do some creative accounting, you can score a prosciutto and manchego-topped feed (among others) for as little as $12.50. Hot damn. 

Insider Intel:

  • Gluten-free bases are also available. 

Red Rock Bar & Cafe

48 Camp Street, Queenstown 

We’ve all woken up in Queenstown feeling a little dusty—it’s an inevitable side-effect of Queenstown’s killer bar scene. The solution? A full English breakfast, complete with egg, baked beans, bacon, hashbrowns and buttered toast, and you’ll find it from at Red Rock from 10am, for $15. 

Insider Intel: 

  • These folks also do 'Slider Tuesday' where you can score an astonishing six sliders (in vegetarian, cheeseburger or pulled pork edits) for $20 and their legendary pint and (chicken) parmy special is priced just as reasonably. 

$20 And Under

Bella Cucina

6 Brecon Street

Dough balls sit on a wooden chopping board, accompanied by two bowls of condiments.
Image credit: Bella Cucina | Instagram

Move over bread and butter table service. Drop $16 at Bella Cucina and you’ll receive pure Italian comfort in dough ball form. Woodfired and topped with sesame seeds and garlic oil, these balls deliver. Dunk in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and revel in one of life’s more perfect moments. 

Insider Intel: 

  • Bella Cucina's menu is updated daily, at 5pm, but I'm fairly confident their dough balls are here to stay. 

Balls And Bangles

62 Shotover Street, Queenstown

A clam-shell-like donut with a creamy filling and topped with hundreds and thousands and other jovial sprinkles.
Image credit: Balls And Bangles | Instagram

A treasure trove of cheap eats, you’ll likely first be drawn into Balls and Bangles by their fairy dust-topped ‘glitter bomb’ donut ($12; above) or a freakshake (from $11) that feels straight out of 2015, or maybe your curiosity will be captured by their porkzilla ‘burgel’ ($21.50; header image) which prompts more questions than it answers. But the real treat has got to be their ham benedict breakfast bagel which can be yours for just $16.70.

Insider Intel: 

  • If you've got a child to placate, one of their loaded donuts will definitely do the trick. 

Fergburger

42 Shotover Street, Queenstown

Two giant burgers.
Image credit: Fergburger | Instagram

One does not simply leave Queenstown without housing a Fergburger. The first of what would evolve into the Ferg dynasty, part with just $16.90 for their signature ‘burg and you can take a bite knowing you’re eating a slice of history, smug in the knowledge you won’t be sending your bank balance into the red anytime soon. 

Insider Intel:

  • Order over the phone so you can skip the often epically long queue. (03 441 1232)

Atlas Beer Cafe

Steamer Wharf, Queenstown 

A dog sits excitedly beside a plate of raw steak cut into bits.
Image credit: Atlas | Instagram

Craving a whole lot of golden goodness? Head to Atlas and wrap your mouth around a share plate of poutine (think: chunky fries topped with gravy and melted cheese) for a paltry $17. 

Insider Intel:

  • Got a pup in tow? Treat ‘em to a steak for five bucks.

Ramen Ramen By Tanoshi 

Searle Lane

A woman blows on a long string of noodles.
Image credit: Ramen Ramen | Instagram

Bank balance struggling? Luckily, that doesn’t rule out a steaming bowl of ramen. At Ramen Ramen, you match your noods to your mood, choose-your-own-adventure style. Perhaps a shoyu ramen base with simmered pork belly, or a spicy soy mince veggie tan tan; pick whatever broth and noodles your heart desires, then top with however many additional toppings your bank balance allows. Depending on your choices, you could leave fully satisfied having dropped a piddly $19.50 and in this economy, that’s a massive win. 

Insider Intel:

  • Navigating complex dietaries? Snap up their vegan, keto and gluten free choices without having to pay extra. 

The Komunal Cafe

1/13 Red Oaks Drive, Frankton

A plate of rice, a fried egg, a halved boiled egg, slices of cucumber, anchovies, beef rendang and sambal.
Image credit: The Komunal Cafe | Instagram

Got a hankering for authentic Malaysian kai? Habib and Hanif, co-founders of The Komunal Cafe have whipped up exactly that with an all-day offering of nasi lemak, a staple breakfast food in Malaysia which typically includes rice, sliced cucumber, peanuts, a hard-boiled egg, fried anchovies and spicy sambal. The signature edit costs just $15. Best enjoyed with a $5 mug of teh tarik, a sweetened ‘pulled’ tea. 

Insider intel:

  • Nasi lemak translates to ‘fat rice’ because the rice is cooked with coconut cream or milk. Needless to say, it provides some serious bang for your buck. 

$25 And Under

Odd Saint

1 Earl Street, Queenstown

A brekkie bun featuring an incredibly good-looking slab of steamed egg.
Image credit: Odd Saint | Instagram

Ravenous appetite upon waking? Feed the beast with a drive thru brekkie bun from Odd Saint. Weighing in at a pretty $22, it’s an enviable stack of steamed royalburn egg, cheddar cheese, odd saint mayo and zamora pork and sage sausage slapped between two halves of an English muffin. 

Insider Intel:

  • If you do happen to come into some extra cash, the $6 garlic and herb rosti add-on is essential. 

Erik’s Fish And Chips

13 Earl Street

A picnic-style setting of fish and chips on the beach.
Image credit: Erik's Fish And Chips | Instagram

While a hoki and scoop of chips meal deal at Erik’s Fish And Chips is technically $14.50, at the very least you’ll want to shell out a further $2 for the tomato sauce upgrade. Fish and chips just demands sauce. And while deep fried pineapple tends to be the classic chaser for a fish and chip feed, their cinnamon and sugar-dusted, deep-fried kiwifruit on a stick ($4.50) has to take priority, if only for the whimsical food bragging rights. 

Insider Intel:

  • Absolutely everything on the menu is available gluten free. Rejoice!

Can't get enough of Queenstown? Check out: 

Main image credit: Balls And Bangles | Instagram. 

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