The 12 best cheap eats in Brisbane

A craft beer, wine and liquor bar that does great food, Zero Fox is the kind of place you take a date when you want to look sophisticated without spending much money. Their Japanese/Korean fusion menu comes in tapas-style portions that are mostly priced between $7 and $21. Special mention goes to the katsu sando, which are neat little sandwiches filled with richly crumbed pork and crunchy ’slaw. There are also heaps of vegetarian options, along with a considered drinks menu that features an exhaustive list of Australian gins. So come along for the food, but stay so you can drink your way through a gin from every state and territory in the nation.

The appeal of Taro’s is simple. It’s $19.50 for any variety of really, really good ramen. The tonkotsu ramen has a rich, silky texture and free-range egg atop. (Taro’s takes its eggs seriously, and it only buys from certified organic suppliers). For those of you who like your ramen a little lighter, try the shio ramen, which is made with a salt-flavoured umami base prepared in a pressure cooker for maximum flavour. The ambience at Taro’s is equally tasty, staffed with friendly, smiling staff who are happy to help guide you through your choices. In our humble opinion, nothing quite washes a ramen down like an ice-cold frothy, and at Taro's, you'll find Suntory Premium Malts and Orion on tap, served in chilled pint glasses with a handle.

Tucked into a little old garage on a side street, Ruen Phae feels somewhat out of place among all the Crossfit gyms of Teneriffe, but its complete lack of pretence is what makes it so good. The chairs are plastic. Overhead fans stir the air. We got the jungle curry ($18.80), which was zesty and fresh with big prawns in generous numbers, all imbued with that delicate smokiness of a scolding hot wok. Their spring rolls ($8) are perfectly crunchy, while their Thai beef salad ($19.80) is spicy yet fresh. This is some of the best Thai food in Brisbane.

If you live outside Brisbane, it’s likely you haven’t yet heard of Botanica – but you will soon. The appeal is that it's kind of the Aesop of salads: cool little shops with a fairly permanent line outside each one, doing takeaway vegetarian salads to order ($15.75 for a small box with three flavours). Get the raw broccoli salad, which comes in thin slices drizzled with garlic cashew cream. Or the freekeh salad, with roasted eggplant, prunes, mint and almonds coated in creamy turmeric sauce. There are also baked cakes and brownies. Find Botanica in Red Hill, Hawthorne, Camp Hill, Albion and Teneriffe.

Betty has quickly claimed her territory along the East Coast, with three stores in Brisbane. One of the busiest of the bunch is in the trendy West Village precinct. Don't dismiss this chain as just another burger bar: Betty's burgers are good, and they start at just $12.90. They’re made with Angus beef, fried chicken or 'shrooms', and you can fling on pickles, pineapple, avocado or bacon for a few bucks extra. Finish on a sweet note with Betty's concretes – custard ice creams enriched even further with sauces, crumbles and toppings.

If you want really good Chinese on a budget, go to this place where the chef, Richard Li, specialises in Shandong cuisine. His sweet and sour pork is a perfect medley of crisp meat and vegetables in a sweet glaze. Their special fried rice has more fun bits (fun meaning egg, bacon, prawns) than actual rice. And they do a comforting chicken and sweet corn soup that’s pretty hard to beat. We like to come here for a $15 lunch special, available from Tuesday to Friday. Also, its corner position on two Teneriffe streets makes it an excellent place to perch and people-watch. 

The second best thing about Remy’s is the beer garden, which sits beneath a shady tree and overlooks one of Paddington’s many palm-lined valleys. But the first best thing is that Remy’s does $12 cheeseburgers, or $17 for a double. And we’re talking burgers like god intended: big, fat, thick patties festooned with a grass-fed beef patty, cheese, salad and loads of sauce. Visit during happy hour for $10 tinnies, $12 wines and $25 Sangria jugs, and you’ll start to feel like some kind of god yourself.

Located in the old Palmdale shopping centre, opposite Garden City, Watany is a morning walk through Beirut with its fresh bread, classic olive oil, sumac and za’atar trio, and rare Arabic produce. The underwhelming view of the carpark completely contrasts with what you're getting here: a wholesome Lebanese breakfast representing various regions in Lebanon and the Middle East, served with tea and stories. The falafel plate features five fresh falafel balls served with salad, pickles and tahini sauce ($14.99), while the za’atar pastry is less than $5 a pop. For a classic, order the spinach and feta manoushi or the lamb fatayer. 

Shoulder to shoulder with Charlie’s fruit and veg and neighbour to Body Fit Training is sweet-and-savoury bakery Veganyumm. Whether you sit in for a snack or take home a pack, be prepared to pick and choose more than you thought you would. This place has the best vegan chicken pesto toasties, with a perfect crisp and creamy texture. For an ideal experience, sit with your back to the gym entrance, close your eyes (save your gaze for the dessert display later) and listen to the crunch of your toastie. The best part? This place closes 9pm every night. Don’t forget to grab a chunky brownie or savoury pie on your way out!

The genuine love of seafood is evident at this large fishmonger with a dining room and sushi bar attached. The kitchen up the back does a roaring trade in some of the freshest fish and chips you'll find – restaurant-quality eats at takeaway prices. You can find a superb piece of grilled cod for $10, or $20 as part of a meal deal with chips, salad, tartare and lemon. Our piece of salmon ($14) was cooked a perfect medium rare, pink and meltingly soft; the skin on top was crisped to perfection and the seasoning was spot on. Beer-battered chips are crunchy and moreish. The sushi bar, meanwhile, is well above the average in freshness, quality and price, and worth every cent.

Loving Hut is an international vegan fast food franchise and your one-stop shop for a quality feed made with good intentions. Above a freezer filled with various take-home vegan produce sits a busy takeaway-style menu. From noodles and curries to nuggets and pastries, the cuisine offered is both eclectic and exciting. At first, you’re not sure what to expect, there’s no specific vibe to the place, and the dishes share no theme other than being vegan. But it’s love at first sight when your meal arrives – we had the Singapore Noodles ($17.50), the Loving Hut Laksa ($17.80) and shared the heavenly salad ($13.50).  Snacks start at $6.50 for the steamed barbecue buns.

It was a great day back in 2007 when buddies Ritesh and Sandip arrived in Australia from India with a mere $1,000 in their back pockets. They began selling spices, opened Mirchh Masala grocery store, and hatched a plan to bring authentic Indian street food to Brisbane. House specialities include puffed and stuffed pani puri ($10.99 for eight pieces), fried samosa ($3.99 for one), and chole bhatura – a warming feast of chickpeas with airy, whoopee cushion-like pillows of house-made bread ($13.50). All pastries, doughs and curry pastes are made in the tiny Mirchh kitchen. Every one of the estimated 300-400 samosas served daily is housemade as is the ice cream on display in the dining room freezer. A mango lassi is a cooling end to a spiced-up night of feasting at Mirchh.