Pretty Handsome, Miami: As a general rule, any venue that slings a quality burger and fries for $10 has our complete and undivided attention and friends, Pretty Handsome is one such place. Formerly a takeaway joint on the corner of Christine Avenue and Lemana Lane in Burleigh Heads, the quaint coffee nook has expanded to the shop next door to deliver a cafe-by-day and dive-bar-by-night.
El Camino Cantina, Robina: Put the supermarket noods down and make haste to El Camino Cantina to chow down 10-cent wings on Wednesdays. Yes, you read right, ten. flipping. cents. The catch? You have to buy a drink (but it can be a soft drink) and you’re limited to 20 wings per drink – we’ll take 100 wings and five margs, thanks. Hot tip, if you enjoy eating your body weight in food, be sure to check out Tacos & Towers, which is available between midday and 4:00 pm daily.
Aloha, Broadbeach: At risk of sounding like your nan, $2 doesn’t get you much these days … unless it happens to be Thursday and you’ve found your way to Aloha. Here $2 will get you a taco stuffed with sashimi salmon, pork, Paina lamb, Szechuan chicken or halloumi. Seriously, you couldn’t even make it yourself at home for that.
Mount Lebanon Deli, Nobby Beach: This long-standing Nobby Beach institution is famous for its $7.50 falafel wrap and once you get a taste of the goods, you’ll understand why. Add extras or enjoy as-is and maybe you’ll have a few acorns left over for a sneaky baklava and a couple of kourabiedes to go.
La Diosa Mexicana, Surfers Paradise: For salty margaritas and Mexico City-style tacos, La Diosa Mexicana is where it’s at. Located in the Circle on Cavill precinct, this Mexican eatery serves up tacos (of the chicken and pork variety) for just $3 on Tuesdays so you can enjoy an affordable lunch on the run, or make it a proper feast and add some margaritas or Mexican beers.
The Bavarian, Robina: If you have a small tribe, you know how expensive it can be to eat out. Enter The Bavarian. The crew is slinging a Feed the Family feast, which is suitable for two adults and two kids, for $50! The share-style menu comprises pretzels, chicken schnitzels with mushroom sauce, fries, salad and even a little something sweet to finish, apple strudel for the grown-ups and ice-cream for the kiddos. Available daily before 6:00 pm and kids must be 12 and under.
Aviary Rooftop, Southport: Some would argue that ‘carb loading’ is a concept reserved for elite sportspeople, but we’d have to disagree and consider it a truly worthy Thursday evening endeavour – especially when you can feed your face full of all-you-can-eat woodfired pizza for just $25 per person. Food coma coming right up!
Burgster, Palm Beach: This beloved neighbourhood burger joint dishes up daily specials throughout the week. Thursday is our personal fave as it’s cheeseburger night! Wrap your mitts around a single for $11, a double for $14 or go all out with a triple for $18. Coming in a very close second is oyster happy hour on Friday where you can slurp back natural oysters for $1, tempura for $2 and kilpatrick for $3. The specials change on the reg so we suggest checking Burgster’s ‘gram for the latest info.
Hail Mary, Burleigh Heads: Keen to fill your belly with Mexican? Of course you do, because no-one said we Mexi-can’t! Hail Mary fangs $12 burritos and bowls on Wednesdays, then on Thursday grab a pal and feast like kings (and/or queens) for just $25 each with its Pineapple Thursday meal deal – nachos, six tacos and two drinks for $50. On Sunday you can get two tacos and a drink for just $17 at lunch, or you can share a large nachos and a jug of sangria for just $35. Holy guacamole!
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. Go ahead and don your stretchy pants for this date night.
Bine, Nobby Beach: No matter what day it is, Bine has a banger deal for you. On Mondays you can get cheeseburger and chips for $8, on Tuesdays tacos are $5 (bonus, it’s also trivia night!), on Wednesdays you can down $1 dumplings or a steak for $20. Thursday is dishing up a parmi and beer for $20 and if you’re there on weekends, you can devour a burger and beer for just 20 bones. Oh, and did we mention there’s 50-cent wings from Monday to Thursday between 4:00–6:00 pm? How good.
Precinct Brewing Co., Miami: If you’ve overdone it on taco Tuesday and fancy yourself a bit of a smarty pants, book a table at Precinct for $15 pizza and trivia. What a combo!
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.
Longboards Laidback Eatery and Bar, Surfers Paradise: Having champagne tastes on a beer budget isn’t a problem at Longboards Laidback Eatery and Bar. Tuesday you can bite into the Beach Cheeseburger and fries with a soft drink, pot of house beer or a glass of vino for a cheeky $20 note. Rustle up your pocket change for $1 wings on Wednesday and Thursday is for locals with $13 burgers and booze specials all day long.
TupeAloha, Kirra: This southern gem is luring locals with $5 tacos on Tuesday and wings for $1 on Thursdays. Best book a table because it’s got quite the fan-base.
Muso, Robina, Mermaid Beach and Chirn Park: There’s something deeply satisfying about slurping back a bowl of soul-warming ramen and with the Tokyo chicken bowls and the Tonkotsu bowls starting at just $16, it’s not too shabby on the old purse strings.
2 Bros, Southport: The words ‘we don’t cluck around’ adorn the side wall and friends, they aren’t lying. 2 Bros is like Disneyland for fried-chicken fiends, except unlike the aforementioned theme park, a trip here won’t break the bank with burgers starting at just $12. Go forth and eat.
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.
Cluccboi, Dragonboi and all of the bois, Southport: If you reside in and around Southport and the thought of having to put on pants to venture out for food is a little bit too much to bear, Cluccboi, Dragonboi, Deliboi, Sugarboi and Snagqueens are available via delivery partners (Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Menulog and Doordash) however pick-up is available if you contact the boys direct.
