Amano Bakery

66-68 Tyler St   |   Buttery pastries and hot coffee

You won’t snag a main for much less than $20 at this temple for seasonal, locally-grown food but at Amano’s in-house bakery the pastries are an exceptional value. Generous, flaky and filled with butter it’s hard to go past the pain au chocolat. The cinnamon morning buns and nutty almond croissants are also worth a look.

Photo: Ken Downie

Xi’an Food Bar

11 Anzac Ave   |   Down and dirty cheap eats

It’ll only take 10 minutes to reach Xi’an Food Bar if you run – think of it as a pre-dinner workout. Everything about this place from the quirky calculator ordering system to the lumpy noodles and spicy, healing soups is fab, but you’re here for the Chinese pita bread burgers, two for a tenner.

Photo: Rebekah Robinson

Better Burger

19 Vulcan Ln   |   A classic

A honey-infused bun, secret sauce, locally-sourced tomatoes and lettuce, an Angus beef patty, cheese, pickle and onions, and then the lid. Great doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive – grab a hamburger and fries for $10 here or a cheeseburger and cold soda
for $9.

Shaolin Kung Fu Noodle

486 Queen St, and city-wide   |   Lumpy, punchy noodle dishes and plenty more besides

This brightly decorated restaurant serves food from the Henan province in central mainland China – all spicy and lamb-y – and is one of the best cheap eats in the whole city. Get a group of four together and order the following: fried cumin lamb noodles, cleaver-sliced chicken noodles, four lamb kebabs, and one Chinese-style spring onion pizza. No one should leave hungry.

Photo: Simon Young

Genzui Ramen

Upstairs, Atrium on Elliot  |   Slurpy, soupy noodles

Here’s one for the hungry – giant, steamy bowls of soup with more than enough noodles for one. Almost half the options on the menu are $10 or less and there are vegetarian dishes, too.

Barilla Dumpling

2 Alfred St   |   A satisfying mouthful

Now on campus as well as Dominion Road, demolishing a plate of dumplings here is an Auckland rite of passage. The pork and chive, beef and coriander or vegetarian iterations are all $10 for 15.

Tanuki’s Cave

319 Queen St   |   A fun bar/restaurant hybrid

This is probably more of a snack than a meal but a couple of rounds of skewers at Tanuki’s come in around the $10 mark. The chicken wings, chicken hearts, or kumara with butter and salt are the business. Go with a date or generous friend and get them to shout the beers.

Kai Eatery

1 Rutland St   |   Chick, chick, chicken

A piece of marinated and fried chicken thigh as big as your head only costs $10 at this bright orange food truck. Certainly better value and better tasting than the Colonel’s recipe, and cheaper to boot.

No. 1 Pancake

Cnr Wellesley & Lorne Sts   |   An Auckland student fave

A long-time student favourite, you can grab lunch for a fiver at No. 1 pancake. The chicken and cheese option is super-filling and includes at least a portion of your five a day in the form of cabbage and carrot. Slather with Sriracha or BBQ sauce from the bottle by the till and wolf down quick, street-side, before the cheese goes cold.

Photo: Rebekah Robinson

Sal’s Pizza

265 Queen St, and city-wide   |   Grab a slice

You’ll forgive the savage burn on the roof of your mouth after eating a slice of pizza here, because it will have only cost you five bucks. Good for feeding a crowd, with gigantic 18-inch pizzas – ideal to split with your buds. We like the pepperoni.