It can be pricey to eat out every day, especially if you are a student living in Melbourne with limited budget for meals.

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There are many kinds of cuisine that will cover your meals from brunch to dinner time in Melbourne.

Photo Credit: Yamato Japanese

#1 YAMATO JAPANESE

A cosy space hidden away at the end of an alleyway in the heart of Chinatown, Yamato Japanese is a small restaurant that serves as authentic Japanese food.

Stepping into the charming little restaurant immediately transports you to an izakaya in Japan, the air filled with the smell of delicious greasy bar food and friendly Japanese waitresses taking orders in fluent English. The menu serves a wide variety, from everyone’s favourite sushi rolls to curry rice bowls and ramen.

On a cold day in Melbourne, tucking into their Shabu Shabu (A$15.80/pp) served on a hotpot is great for keeping warm in this homely restaurant.

28 Corrs Ln,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9663 1706
Mon to Thur: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 10.30pm
Fri: 11am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 10.30pm
Sat and Sun: 5pm – 10.30pm

Photo Credit: Little Rogue

#2 LITTLE ROGUE

This little café is also tucked away in an alley outside Melbourne Central shopping centre, it is a gem that many only know through word-of-mouth recommendations. Despite being located right next to the ever-crowded Swanston Street, Little Rogue provides an escape away from the hustle of the city.

A popular favourite amongst its young visitors is the Matcha Latte (small for A$4.30, large for A$6) and the Iced Matcha (A$6.50), which is also available in a large takeaway bottle for enjoyment in the comfort of your own private space.

It is easy to understand why these are favourites as they are not overly sweet, which allows the fresh bitter and earthly taste of the matcha flavour to come through just right. Start your weekend right with one of their coffees and a cake pairing.

12 Drewery Ln,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Mon to Fri: 7.30am – 6pm
Sat and Sun: 9am – 6pm

Photo Credit: Sushi Hotaru

#3 SUSHI HOTARU

Sushi is a popular lunch option for Melbournians who are looking for a quick bite. Sushi Hotaru is one of the few sushi joints in Melbourne that serve the well-loved Japanese dish on a conveyer belt.

Dishing out a wide variety of hand rolls, sashimi, sushi and nigiri, Sushi Hotaru is a favourite for its no-frills ordering system, sushi train and budget friendly experience if you’re tired of the usual hand rolls.

Midcity Arcade, 118/200 Bourke St,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9663 7538
Mon to Sun: 11.30am to 10pm

Photo Credit: Brown Bagels

#4 BROWN BAGELS

A great casual breakfast or lunch alternative is Brown Bagels.

Choose something sweet with a coffee for breakfast or switch it up with one of their gourmet bagel sandwiches, some of which take on a unique Korean twist.

25 Equitable Pl,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9670 9114
Mon to Fri: 7.30am – 3.30pm

Photo Credit: Dodee Paidang

#5 DODEE PAIDANG

Situated right beside Brown Bagels is Dodee Paidang, a casual Thai restaurant that is usually packed with students and workers.

Instead of sitting along the lane outside, head down the stairs to a larger seating area. Their menu offers a wide selection of food, including the usual favourites of Pad Thai with Chicken (A$10.90) and Pad See Ew with Beef (A$10.90), as well as an extensive menu of customisable noodles: from the noodle type to the spice level.

353 Little Collins St,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9602 4968
Mon to Sun: 6.30am – 1am

Photo Credit: k aren

#6 CJ LUNCH BAR

Right along the ever-popular Hardware Lane is the simple CJ Lunch Bar, which serves value-for-money casual Korean food with generous portions, from dons to bentos.

A favourite amongst diners is the Cheese Chicken Bulgogi (A$17.50) and comes out smoking with a heaping pile of chicken marinaded in spicy Korean sauce.

391 Little Lonsdale St,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9602 5559
Mon: 11.30am – 10pm
Tues to Sat: 11.30am – 9pm
Sun: Closed

Photo Credit: Roule Galette

#7 ROULE GALETTE

Near the famous Flinders Street Station is Roule Galette, a cute little French creperie that is concealed from the busy Flinders Lane.

Upon stepping into the creperie, you will be given the option to either sit outdoors or the cosy and homely indoors, where you will be able to observe them making crepes while singing along to French tunes. Offering both sweet and savoury options, their crepes are warm and perfectly soft yet crispy.

237-241 Flinders Ln,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9639 0307
Mon to Thur: 7.30am – 8pm
Fri: 7.30am – 9.30pm
Sat: 9am – 8pm
Sun: 9am – 5pm

Photo Credit: Takahiro Shimizu

#8 DON DON

A favourite amongst Melbournians for cheap eats, Don Don has several joints spread across the city serving quick Japanese rice bowls at great budget prices.

Choose from a Teriyaki Don (A$7.70) to Beef Curry Don (A$8). Their food is great for students seeking a quick bite to eat that isn’t greasy fast food.

198 Little Lonsdale St,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Tel: +61 3 9670 7113
Mon to Sun: 11am to 9pm

Whoever said that great food comes at a hefty price is absolutely wrong. Believe it or not, you are able to treat your palates to award winning French patisserie, ramen that had been painstakingly prepared for over 10 hours or Heston Blumenthal inspired liquid nitrogen ice cream within a tight budget. Here is our guide to Melbourne’s Top 10 Cheap Eats under AUD $10.

Brown Bagels

Brown Bagels is a tiny underrated café with a large variety of bagels to offer. From sourdough rye to poppy seed to sesame, this bagel haven is perfect for the deprived New Yorker. Made fresh daily with a generous amount of ingredients (ham/salmon/beef) as fillings, these lightly toasted yummy bagels are priced under AUD $10 each. Sweet bagels are also available for the sugar addicts.

330 Collins St
Shop 10 Equitable Pl
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9670 9114

Chuckle Park Bar and Café

Opened from 12PM to 1AM everyday, Chuckle Park is a café by day and a bar by night. Located in one of the mini laneways along Little Collins Street, Chuckle Park is one of Melbourne city’s best hidden gems. Mouthwatering Spanish food is prepared from an old mini caravan and the heavenly slow pulled pork sliders (AUD $9.50) are not to be missed. Chuckle Park is as eccentric as its name – beautiful terrariums that glow in the dark are securely hung on the overhanging wires, the floor is carpeted with artificial grass and a Virgin Mary statue is surrounded by dozens of colourful roses.

322 Little Collins St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9650 4494

Cupcake Central Workshop

Cupcake Central bakes its cupcakes fresh daily, which sell out like hotcakes. With a seasonal menu, surprise Friday flavours, vegan & gluten free options and baby cakes for the weight-conscious sweet tooth, Cupcake Central has a long line of loyal customers that keep returning for the goodness. The most popular cupcake is the classic red velvet with cream cheese frosting. Regular cupcakes are priced at AUD $4 each while the bite sized cupcakes are AUD $2 each.

Level 2 Dining Hall, Melbourne Central
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9077 4542

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Flip Board Café

Opened and designed by architect Martin Heide and interior designer Megg Evans, Flip board has been the talk of the town since day one of its operation. This mini three story split-level café had attracted a large number of presses and is loved by all for its marvelous architecture and excellent coffee (AUD $4). Light refreshments such as fresh yogurt and baguettes are also available for purchase at the counter.

141 La Trobe Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9639 7259

La Petit Creperie

A little slice of Paris can be found at the corner of Swanston Street and Little Collins Street, where Melbourne’s smallest takeaway crepe stand stands. Founded by French enthusiasts and run by French employees, La Petit Creperie unsurprisingly serves Melbourne’s best French crepes.

A whiff of these fragrant delicacies can be detected even meters away. Freshly made to order the French way, the delicate crepes are stuffed with a sweet filling (homemade salted caramel, nutella with almonds and more) and presented prettily on a cone.

Corner Swanston St And Little Collins St
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Le Petit Gateau

It is not by sheer coincidence that Le Petit Gateau’s cakes are all incredibly delicious. Many netizens have synonymously agreed that Melbourne’s best cakes are the creations of award winning French pastry chef Pierrick Boyer.

The most popular cake is Passion Fruit Brownie; a brownie-based cake with alternating layers of passion fruit custard and chocolate mousse, topped with a smooth chocolate ganache. Other favourites include the crunchy Hazelnut millefeuille and sinful Peanut Jelly. Their coffee and cake deal (AUD $10) starts after 2.30PM.

458 Little Collins St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9944 8893

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Little Ramen Bar

Little Ramen Bar is extremely kind to offer their Classic Tonkotsu Ramen at an unbelievably affordable price (AUD $9.90). Cooked for over 10 hours to achieve a delectable creamy broth, the tasty ramen is then served with tender pork slices, bamboo shoots, spring onions and topped with seaweed.

It also serves impeccable pan-fried dumplings and other lip-smacking Japanese starters to complement your authentically scrumptious ramen. Ramen can be made without pork upon request and vegetarian options are also available.

346 Little Bourke St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9670 5558

N2 Extreme Gelato

N2 Extreme Gelato is not a typical ice cream shop. Be wowed by the spectacular show as food scientists in their gigantic white cloaks and goggles churn away to produce gelato (AUD $6 per cup) in seconds. The logic behind this magic is food science – upon contact with liquid nitrogen at –196°C, crystallization of the gelato mix takes place instantaneously. The tiniest crystals are created, giving an ultra smooth texture, which cannot be achieved in the traditional methods of ice cream making. The exciting menu changes every Thursday and expect many interesting flavours such as bizarre SPAM canned meat and classic crème brulee.

329 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy, VIC 3065
Tel: 03 1234 5678

Purple Peanuts Japanese Café

There are endless sushi kiosks in Melbourne CBD but one particular store had won the hearts of many. With a quirky name of Purple Peanuts Japanese, cutesy interiors and an interesting modern Japanese menu, the crowd soon stretched from neighbouring office workers to die hard foodies.

The refreshing prawn soba salad (AUD $9.50) is a must order – organic buckwheat noodles tossed in a chili infused sesame mayo sauce, served with large juicy prawns and leafy greens. Other hot items include the nutritious brown rice sushi rolls and onigiris.

620 Collins St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9620 9548

The League of Honest Coffee

The League of Honest Coffee is truly in its own league. Coffee is serious business here and you can tell from their vast selection of beans and accessories. Supplied by Padre Coffee (a Melbournian boutique specialty coffee), The League of Honest Coffee uses only the best-curated espresso blends. The espresso blend is rotated every few days, enabling customers to sample a variation of coffee. The café also serves impressive Mexican quesadillas that are complemented with a stimulating avocado-based dip.

8 Exploration Lane
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9654 0169

About the writer:
Hui Jun Ng was previously a marketing executive and freelance photographer in the food industry. Her work has been published on Epicure, Lifestyle Asia and Meld Magazine etc. She is currently on a break and traveling around the world. Follow her travel adventures on Instagram or The Keepers Map where she shares useful curated travel itineraries.