Apres Surf, Mermaid Beach: This neighbourhood kitchen and bar is the go-to for primo cheap and tasty eats. Monday is $5 Classic Cheeseburger night, and on Wednesdays all of the Apres burgers (like beef and bacon, and southern fried chicken) are just $12.50 with fries. Thursdays are for $1 dumplings (handmade on site), while on Friday from 5:00–7:00 pm it’s all about them 50-cent wings. Go get ’em!
The Cambus Wallace, Nobby Beach: This popular local haunt throws the cheap eats around all week. There’s $5 sliders every Tuesday (beef, pulled pork or crumbed zucchini), plus whisky-glazed ribs or sirloin steak for just $15 on Wednesdays, and $10 sourdough toasties (combos like salami, Swiss cheese and gherkins) with fries and slaw on Thursdays. The market-fresh oysters are just $1.50 each from 4:00–6:00 pm Fridays and Saturdays, and all day Sunday.
Burleigh Pavilion, Burleigh: There are cheap eats on the daily at The Pav. You can get a meal with a schooner of tap beer or a glass of house wine or sparkling for just $20 – and the ocean views are thrown in for free. The twenty-buck meal deal rotates daily – on Mondays it’s beer-battered fish and chips, on Tuesday it’s nachos, on Wednesday it’s any burger and on Fridays you can choose from any pizza.
Miami Marketta, Miami: It took out the Best Place for Tasty Cheap Eats category of the 2019 EAT/drink Awards for good reason! Every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, locals arrive in droves for a street-food feast on the cheap at Miami Marketta. There’s everything from Mexican to Italian, Hungarian (hellooo langos), Greek, Japanese and more all under one roof. Plus, there’s always toe-tapping live beats to set the tone for a cheap and cheerful night out.
Mr PP’s Deli & Rooftop, Southport: Mr PP’s is a popular hang for a budget-friendly gnaw. It’s happy hour every day from 4:00–6:00 pm where you can get $5 cheese boards, tap beers, basic wines and spirits. There’s all-you-can-eat pasta (for 1.5 hours) every Wednesday for just $20, including dishes like succulent beef rigatoni and garlic-infused spaghetti aglio e olio. Head back on Thursday nights with the crew for three-for-two pizzas and live-music bingo.
FuFu, Mermaid Beach: Get your broke self into FuFu on Wednesdays for $5 baos, then again on Friday to fill up on a spread of favourites with its $30 banquet. FuFu also dishes up 50-cent wings and $5 beers until 6:00 pm every day.
Aviary Rooftop Bar, Southport: Like the sound of all-you-can-eat pizza? Of course you do. Every Tuesday night, gather your best pizza pals and head to Aviary for bottomless pizzas for just $29. There’s also gluten-free and vegan pizzas on offer at no extra charge! Grab yourself a few cheeky cocktails for the perfect prelude to Hump Day.
Hail Mary, Burleigh Heads: Want to fill your belly with Mexican? Hail Mary does $10 burritos before 7:00 pm on Wednesdays, then on Thursday grab a pal and feast like kings for just $25 each with its Pineapple Thursday meal deal – nachos, six tacos and two drinks for $50. On Saturday and Sunday you can get two tacos and a beer for just $16 at lunch, then on Sunday you can fill up with a large nachos and a jug of sangria for just $35.
Burgster, Palm Beach: Curb your cravings on Mondays and Thursdays with $5 cheeseburgers (or $10 for a double, $15 for a triple). There’s $5 tacos on Taco Tuesday, on Wednesdays there’s $1 wings and $10 margaritas all night, and on Fridays the kitchen dishes out $1 oysters from 3:00–5:00 pm. Yep, that’s our kind of happy hour.
The Bavarian Broadbeach and Coomera: We love cheap eats – but free eats taste even better! Every day from 4:00–6:00 pm it’s Royal Snack Hour at The Bavarian – all you have to do is buy a drink and you’ll be able to snack on mini sausage rolls, Texan sloppy fries and Cajun popcorn chicken for free! It doesn’t stop there – from Monday to Thursday The Bavarian does $10 lunches – we’re talking hearty eats like smoked-pepper kransky sandwiches, sloppy fries and Southern fried chicken burger, all for just ten bones.
Aloha Bar & Dining, Broadbeach: If you’re broke on Wednesdays you can get $1 dumplings at Aloha, or head in on Thursday for $2 tacos all night long. Prefer Sunday? Get in there for $1 oysters, served until they sell out. You’ll find plenty of tasty eats on the cheap here served until the wee hours.
Alfred’s Diner, Mermaid Beach: If you’re hunting for a cheap breakfast, both Alfred’s muesli and avocado on toast are just $10. Head back (two visits in one day is fine) for a cheap lunch – hot dogs start at just $7, or get your mitts around a pulled-pork or falafel burrito for $12.
Bonita Bonita and Bon Bon Bar, Mermaid Beach: The home of taco Thursdays – choose from a range of tasty tacos for just $5 every single Thursday, or head in on Fridays for $10 nachos next door at Bon Bon Bar. There’s also a $29 banquet on Sundays, while on Mondays it’s hospo night and there’s 50-cent wings (and $10 margis).
The Arc, Nobby Beach: You’ll find cheap eats aplenty here. On Wednesdays you’ll get either a pizza or a burger with a beer for $20 (plus free comedy!) and on Fridays for ‘locals night’ the kitchen slings $8 pizzas all day and night.
Salt Meats Cheese, Surfers Paradise: Anything that comes in bottomless quantities is a great vibe. Foodies can eat until they burst at Salts Meats Cheese at The 4217, with bottomless authentic woodfired pizzas for just $25 (with a drink purchase) on Mondays. On Wednesdays you and your pals can tuck into half a kilo of gnocchi for just $35, while on Thursdays plant-based eaters can fill up on all-you-can-eat vegan pizzas for just $25.
Frida Sol, Palm Beach: Just like its sibling Bonita Bonita, Frida Sol slings $5 tacos on Thursdays, as well as $10 nachos from 5:00 pm on Fridays. Head back for Sangria Sundays, where you’ll get a four-course banquet for $29, washed down with $15 jugs of sangria.
Mount Lebanon Deli, Nobby Beach: This long-standing Nobby Beach is famous for falafel, and you’ll find lunchtime particularly busy here as the locals line up for the well-known falafel wrap, which start from just $7.50. You’ll even have a few acorns left over for a sneaky baklava and a couple of kourabiedes to go.
Ally Chow, Nobby Beach: Get your penny-pinching paws on delicious baos from Ally Chow every Thursday night – they are only $5 each. Pork-belly katsu bao, anyone?
Govindas, Burleigh Heads: If you’re after a meat-free day then scoot down to James Street in Burleigh Heads where you’ll find seriously tasty vegetarian nosh. The menu changes on the regular and for just $10 you’ll get a choice of two hot dishes with rice (make sure one of those is the potato bake) or you can get a hefty slice of vegetarian lasagne for just $9.
