Marrickville Pork Roll ★ 4.7
Sydney's A$5.50 banh mi counter on Illawarra Road, Marrickville. Pork roll with house pate, the city's most-recommended budget lunch. Daily from 7am.
Try: Pork banh mi
Eat well in Sydney for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Cheap eats worth seeking out
Phu Cuong ★ 4.5
Cabramatta's classic A$7.50 banh mi counter on John Street, Sydney. Pork, pate, chilli, herbs and pickled veg, just outside the train station.
Try: Banh mi
Mamak ★ 4.5
Late-night roti canai counter on Goulburn Street, Haymarket, Sydney. Roti with three curries comes in under A$11; the city's most-rewarded budget dinner.
Try: Roti canai with three curries
Pho Pasteur ★ 4.4
Vietnamese pho counter on George Street, Haymarket, Sydney. The dac biet special with rare beef, brisket and tendons under A$18. Daily 9am-10pm.
Try: Pho dac biet
El Jannah Granville ★ 4.6
Quarter charcoal chicken with toum and chips for A$15 on South Street, Granville, Sydney. The canonical Sydney charcoal chicken takeaway, open late.
Try: Quarter charcoal chicken with toum and chips
Spice Alley ★ 4.3
Hawker laneway on Kensington Street, Chippendale, Sydney. Six Asian eateries under A$18 a plate; pick from chicken rice, laksa, banh mi or dumplings.
Try: Hawker-style noodles or rice
Kenny's Pork Rolls ★ 4.3
Kenny's Vietnamese bakery on Oxford Street Darlinghurst: crisp pork-belly banh mi plus 11 other rolls and a Saturday-night 3am window for after-dark cravings.
Try: Crisp pork-belly banh mi
Harry's Cafe de Wheels ★ 4.3
Heritage A$10 pie cart on Cowper Wharf, Woolloomooloo, Sydney since 1938. Tiger pie with mash, peas and gravy is the canonical late-night Sydney bite.
Try: Tiger pie
Ho Jiak Nasi Lemak ★ 4.4
Malaysian nasi lemak from Ho Jiak in Haymarket, Sydney for A$22. Pandan rice, sambal, ikan bilis, fried chicken and a hard-boiled egg on each plate.
Try: Nasi lemak with fried chicken
Viet Bling ★ 4.4
Viet Bling banh mi on Illawarra Road, Marrickville, Sydney for A$8.50. Hank and Nancy Tran took over the Alex'n'Rolls site in Marrickville in 2026.
Try: Pork banh mi
KK Bakery Chicken Maryland Roll ★ 4.5
Cabramatta banh mi on John Street, Sydney for A$8. The marinated chicken Maryland roll is the menu signature. Open 7 days from 6:30am, takeaway only.
Try: Marinated chicken Maryland banh mi
Manoosh Lebanese Pizzeria ★ 4.3
Lebanese flatbread shop on Illawarra Road, Marrickville, Sydney for A$8. Za'atar, lamb-spice and halloumi-and-tomato manoosh from the wood-fired oven.
Try: Za'atar manoosh flatbread
Fishermans Wharf Seafoods ★ 4.4
Sydney Fish Market takeaway counter at Bank Street, Pyrmont. Fish and chips, salt-and-pepper squid and prawn rolls in paper boats; daily 7am-4pm.
Try: Fish and chips paper boat
Olympic Meats ★ 4.5
Greek grill house on Marrickville Road, Sydney. Nothing on the menu over A$21; walk-in only, BYO, queues from 5pm every night, lamb on the spit.
Try: Greek grill plate
Bills Ricotta Hotcakes ★ 4.5
Bill Granger's original ricotta hotcakes at Bills on Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney for A$25. Walk-in brunch counter, the canonical Sydney breakfast.
Try: Ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter
King of Sweets ★ 4.5
Middle Eastern sweet counter on Haldon Street, Lakemba, Sydney. Diamond-cut baklava, knafeh and zenoud by the piece; counter slices under A$8.
Try: Diamond-cut baklava slice
Lazybones Lounge Lunch ★ 4.3
Daily prix-fixe lunch at Lazybones Lounge on Marrickville Road, Sydney for A$25. Two-course French-leaning bistro lunch in the supper club's daytime hours.
Try: Daily prix-fixe lunch