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Brisbane's Best Cheap Eats

Verandah out front of Latin manna West end

Updated: Sep 15, 2024

When it comes to finding the best cheap eats in Brisbane, where meals can still be found for $20 or under, it pays to have a sense of adventure.

For scattered throughout Brisbane's inner city and suburbs are a wealth of great value multicultural eateries, from Polish to Greek, Lebanese to Latin American, Persian to African, where you can feast like a king without breaking the budget.

Of those, here are 20 of the best - some long-standing Brisbane institutions and others hidden gems off the beaten track that you didn't know about till now:

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers

Plates of gnocchi pasta at Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers Paddington

Gnocchi Gnocchi Brothers, Australia’s very first dedicated Italian gnoccheria, can be found on Paddington’s Given Terrace

Food on plates at Mirchh Masala Woolloongabba

Mirchh Masala is a secret Indian restaurant that peddles the most authentic (vegetarian) street food to be found

Exterior of Kafenio West End

Kafenio offers traditional Greek and Cypriot cuisine from its blue and white West End workers cottage

Sing's Asian Kitchen

Seating at Sing's Asian Kitchen

Sing’s Asian Kitchen at Rosalie is one of the inner west’s long-lasting gems

Taste of Saffron

Exterior of Taste of Saffron

Taste of Saffron is a Persian and Mediterranean restaurant serving authentic cuisine in Stones Corner

Entrance to Sendok Garpu, Brisbane

One of Brisbane's best Indonesian restaurants has opened in the city's Asian street food laneway

No No's Lebanese Food

Woman at counter of No No's Lebanese in Red Hill

A colourful and basic Lebanese eatery that has been on this bend of Waterworks Road since time immemorial

The Ukrainian Club

People dining at The Ukrainian Club Holland Park West

The Ukrainian Club Restaurant and Bar brings a traditional slice of The Ukraine to a quiet suburban street

Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n

Interior of Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n

This colourful flag-trimmed cottage in Paddington provides authentic Nepalese cuisine

Exterior of Polish Club

Club Polonia is the place to go for traditional Polish cuisine, beers and vodka

People dining at El Torito, West End

This lively West End restaurant dishes up some of the best Mexican food in Brisbane

Authentic Char Grill & Kebab

Exterior of Authentic CharGrill & Kebab Turkish Bardon

The quaint hilltop eatery is serving up the best Turkish street food to be found in Brisbane

Biang Biang Fresh Noodle

Plate of nnodles, Biang Biang Fresh Noodle Fortitude Valley

This little noodle bar in the Valley dishes up the fattest and freshest, authentic Chinese biang biang noodles in town

Verandah at Latin Manna West End

This quirky colourful Colombian restaurant is located in an old West End cottage

Female staff member in traditional dress roasting Ethiopian coffee beans over a little stove outside Mu'ooz African Eritrean Restaurant

Mu’ooz, the long-time fave Eritrean restaurant of Moorooka, has upped roots and moved into a quaint Queenslander in West End.

Que Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

Que Huong restaurant's huge dining room and balcony full of people

Enjoy mountainous portions of homey Vietnamese and Chinese food at rock bottom prices

Exterior of Caravanserai West End

This hilltop cottage lit by colourful Turkish lights and candles is an enduring Brisbane favourite

Exterior of Tapri Rosalie

An authentic and delectable Indian street food diner, unlike anything to be found elsewhere in Brisbane

Mamak Malaysian Roti & Satay

People dining inside Mamak Malaysian Roti & Satay Brisbane CBD

Bringing the authentic tastes of Kuala Lumpur's Indian-Malay street stalls to Brisbane CBD

Arhibu Ethiopian Restaurant

Bowl of popcorn in a dish at Arhibu Ethiopian Restaurant Moorooka

An authentic Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant found in an arcade in the heart of Brisbane's Little Africa

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