Best Cheap Eats in Sydney
Let’s be real - Sydney’s food scene can chew through your budget faster than you can say “extra halloumi, please.” But look a little closer and you’ll find that good eats don’t always come with a fine‑dining price tag that can drain your wallet.
From late‑night noodles in Haymarket to no-fuss Indian in Darlinghurst, the city’s full of flavour bombs that cost less than some of Sydney's toll roads. Whether you’re a local on a budget, a hungry traveller, or just someone who loves a bargain bite, these cheap eats prove you can dine well in Sydney without feeling the pinch. Discover a world of quality food filled with delicious bowls of pho, juicy burgers and slices of pizza, without needing to break the bank.
Where to dine on a dime in Sydney?
For the purpose of this guide, a cheap eat is a spot where you can sit down, fill up and leave happy for around $20 – $30 for a main. That might be a steaming bowl of noodles, a loaded plate of pasta or a generous curry with all the trimmings, but the idea is the same: you’re getting proper, satisfying food without blowing the weekly budget.
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It's perfect for sharing a multicultural Asian street‑food feast in lantern-lit lanes.You need to try chicken laksa, pancake roti or mango sticky rice.Look out for hawker-style stalls, hanging lanterns and a buzzy communal vibe.Read moreIf you are longing for a holiday to Asia to wander the streets of Shanghai, Vietnam or Tokyo to enjoy traditional Asian hawker food, head to Spice Alley in the Kensington Street precinct in Chippendale, 5 minutes from the CBD. Wander the laneways and choose from Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese cuisine all at very reasonable prices. This bustling little alley has multiple Asian street food restaurants within its confines. The walls of alley itself features several Asian restaurants that focus on their speciality of street food, with seating seating with overhead colourful lanterns adding to the atmosphere. A great choice to take the kids, there is something here to offer everyone and parents will love the choice of BYO.
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Read moreSpice I Am restaurant has wooed Sydney-siders with its fiery fare and simple surrounds, making for an authentic taste of Thailand in inner-city Sydney. After opening in 2004 to the rapture of Thai diners, Spice I Am has since garnered a strong reputation for dishing up the best Thai food this side of Khao San. Spice I Am has opened in Victoria Street Darlinghurst.
Photography: Reef Gaha
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It's perfect for classic cocktails and elevated pub-grub in a heritage haunt.You need to try the burger and fries or pub-style fish and chips.Look out for polished wood interiors, chandelier lighting and relaxed lounge ambience.Read moreSituated in a terrace house on Stanley Street in Darlinghurst, The Colonial Indian cuisine hails from the old North-West Frontier Province, which was a term used during British occupation. There is a large selection of curries available, all marinated and cooked in the traditional clay tandoor.
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This Thai Town institution has queues running out onto the street every opening hour and it's no surprise because the food is a cut above the rest and service is snappy. Chat Thai opens at 9.30am and closes at 3am, churning out authentic dishes such as green papaya salad, larb and pork satay. Opposite Capitol Theatre on Haymarket.Read more -
Read moreBar Reggio's Italian-born staff have continually satisfied customers with generous servings of traditional Italian and modern Australian cuisine for over 20 years. The restaurant is located in the trendy shopping, entertainment and dining strip of Crown Street at Darlinghurst, ten minutes walk from the CBD. If you love Italian flavours and like to eat abundantly in a relaxed environment, Reggio's is highly recommended. Great value for families.
Longing for the pure joy of twirling pasta on your fork?Sydney is stacked with incredible Italian joints serving serious flavour and comfort in every bowl. When your next pasta craving hits, add these spots to your must‑twirl list.
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It's perfect for bold Indian street eats in Surry Hills’ chic heart.You need to try Curry Bombs (trust us).Look out for Bollywood-bright walls, cozy industrial flare and curry aromas around every corner.Read moreMasala Theory brings some fun to the cheaper eats game, serving “neo‑Indian” dishes that are big on personality without sacrificing your budget. Think crisp vada pav sliders, loaded chaat and buttery curries made for mopping up with flaky naan, plus veggie‑forward options that don’t feel like just a side. With colourful, Bollywood‑bright interiors, it’s the kind of spot where you can roll in with friends, share a table full of flavour, and still have some spare change.
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Read moreBill & Toni’s is old‑school Darlinghurst in the best way: formica tables, bottomless orange cordial energy, and plates that land big without the price tag to match. Their menu runs from loaded schnitty‑and‑pasta combos to classic lasagne, garlic bread and generously topped pizzas, with plenty hovering around that sweet $20. It’s busy, loud, and gloriously unfussy - the kind of cheap eat where you roll out full, happy, and wondering how they’re still charging those prices in inner‑city Sydney.
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Read moreSouthern Thai cuisine is known for its heat and tongue-tingling, nose-watering spiciness and that's the order of the day at Chinatown's Caysorn Thai. Hidden upstairs in the Prince Centre in Haymarket, this casual spot dishes out Hat Yai fried chicken with sticky rice, kanom jeen curries and tangy noodle soups that taste straight out of a Thai market stall, most sitting well under $30. It’s buzzy, BYO, and beloved by Thai diners, which is always a very good sign in the cheap eats game. Try the house specialty: sour fish curry with lime juice, but pile on the Asian salad ingredients to douse the fire in your mouth.
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Read moreLeichhardt's authentic Italian past lives on in one of its oldest and most beloved cafe restaurants, Bar Italia. This Italian institution has been dishing up honest plates of pasta, pizza, focaccia and veal schnitty since the ’50s, with plenty still under the $25 mark. Come for the serious coffee and stay for a scoop (or three) of house‑made gelato, best eaten on the footpath as the Inner West rolls by.
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Packed in like sardines, customers to this Potts Point stalwart know what they're here for, and it's certainly not the service or décor. You'll have to wait outside until you're briskly summoned indoors to perch on plastic chairs or rub shoulders with a random on a wooden bench. We wouldn't suggest coming as a group, this place is best enjoyed with your other-half over a plateful of mixed pan fried dumplings.Read more
