The Mexican Cafe is the perfect place for a lowkey, casual dinner with friends that isn’t going to break your bank. The atmosphere is always buzzing, and the food is always mouthwateringly delicious. Their range of $15 dinner meals and $10 lunch meals have portion sizes worth way more than what you pay and well worth the visit!

Nothing beats a good foodcourt for a meal on the cheap and the Ponsonby one is jam packed full of everything you could possibly want to choose between. The Indian and Thai food are my current go-to spots in here, but I think at this point I’ve tried pretty much everything and there’s no such thing as a bad choice.

This place is arguably some of the best food in the city, and I go there whenever I’m going to a show or a movie in town and need somewhere for a cheap meal and a quick debrief with friends. The $9.50 Chawarma is my jam.

All you can eat for $20? That’s a concept I can get behind, and it helps that it’s so much fun too. If you like the idea of pretty much choosing exactly what you want to eat, and then having it cooked in front of you, then you can’t miss this place. Mongolian-style BBQ is a great idea for groups where everyone’s got different tastes, because the sheer variety of creations that can come out of what’s on offer makes it impossible to not create something you’ll go back for more of.

Eating in town can be so damn expensive, but Umiya Sushi is my go-to when I’m studying in the library and need a break and a feed. The Donburi bowls for $5 are a lifesaver, and the array of sushi with all pieces pretty much $1 each is a greal deal too.

Authentic Malaysian with generous servings of noodles or rice - I can’t walk past without getting their chicken laksa !

Their huge menu offers everything from noodles to burgers ! The best includes their cleaver noodles - handmade from scratch. And all for easily around $10 per person !

Featuring time and time again on Metro cheap eats - this place offers exciting menu choices of dumplings as well as other Asian fare such as eggplant and stir fries

$4 pizzas. ..or $0 pizzas - it doesn’t get much cheaper than that ! Whilst most cheap eats tend to feature Asian places - this one is different with gourmet pizzas for $4 during the week of you go before 7pm ! And if it’s Friday - and you’re a friend of the restaurant (free to join !) - there’s often $0 pizza shouts on Fridays !

Formerly Crazy Noodle House, red guard still does all the Chinese tea house dishes from toast to noodles to oven baked rice dishes. You can’t go wrong if you’re wanting a generous serve of food for under $10.

Cheap Malaysian!

Amazing Indian!

Fresh Burrito’s!

More cheap indian!

Great lunch and brekky deals!

Delicious Taiwanese food - my recommendation, try something that comes in a broth!

Always craving Barilla's vermicelli & carrot dumplings! So delicious and fresh tasting.

Always a delicious new flavour to try. Perfect after a meal out or before a show at the civic

Yummy beef ribs, and they serve plum wine!

Great selection of eateries, and always such a buzz! Desserts from the italian place are divine, although Thai & Malaysian is usually top of my list when there.

Cant go wrong with tasty and cheap food, and the International Food Court is filled with it. Lots of different options for everyone and all wihtout putting a hole in your pocket.

Easily the best Indian food around, always packed but completely worth the wait. Highly recommend the Balti chicken.

The food is delicious, well priced and is super quick at arriving (even during their busy period). Free delivery for orders over $20 and a mobile eftpos machine. We think it's gotten to the point where the delivery drivers know our house. Soul Thai is a must!

Great Thai food with a good kick. Always packed for a reason.

There is a reason this place is always PACKED. The food is amazing and the portion side enough to feed me for a week. Worth the wait to get a table, or order in advance and get takeaways.

They do $5 lunches filled with veges and your choices of meat. Super yum and great when you’re on a budget.

All the meals are the same price. A great Japanese option for only $11.50 per meal. Was majorly addicted when I lived in the city. The price and taste almost made it worth getting every night!

Subway gone Donburi. Choose your veges and meats and have it all on a delicious bed of rice or noodles!

A little bit pricier but incredibly delicious food. Their $8.50 pie may seem ridiculously expensive but once you bite into the golden pastry you won’t look back!

A new establishment in the area, Bamboo Kitchen provides reasonably priced Asian-inspired takeaways. Absolutely worth stopping in if you are in the area,

Great sushi, super friendly people. My kids love it -big plus! and end of the day everything's discounted, perfect for after school munchies! and for me the cheapest coconut water around..

The best Indian takeaway around. And the cheapest! It usually lasts us for days... My kids are addicted! Super nice people and they home deliver!

OK so this is Grey Lynn but for cheap eats its my all time favourite as they do amazing free tastings on Saturday. You can fill up on cheeses, prosciutto, dips, pies and grab a coffee and enjoy the sunshine at their outside table.

It's healthy and the kids have given it the thumbs up - not easy!! For a busy mum its also quick, cheap and healthy.

True Japanese cuisine without the fuss or financial requirements of a traditional restaurant. Ichi Ban is the iconic ‘hole in the wall’ Japa-diner with the taste and chatter of the real Japan! On a budget, on a diet or on an adventure, Ichi Ban is number 1!

Authenticity and cost are usually tied in together. Katsubi has redefined this connection and made great Japanese cuisine affordable and convenient anytime! Easy win.

Takeaway of the year and staple of the Mt Wellington community, Big J’s is the epitome of ‘easy win’! Great for the family feast or the solo treat, the quality and taste are never compromised regardless of your budget.

The classic tastes of the South at a super affordable price. Vegan, vege or carnivore tastes catered to without the fuss. A mainstay in Auckland, Satya is a great cheap win for foodies!

One of the classic Dominion Road eateries, Spicy House has the heat when you eat! Try the Sichuan cuisine on a shoe-string budget. If you like it HOT, then there’s nothing but Hot Pork for you!

Cheap, good sized meals, loads of variety!

Sushi is so fresh and delicious! Lots of different noodle soup options too.

Lovely, authentic Vietnamese dishes! most dishes come with the special and well known Vietnamese sauce too.

My favorite Malaysian restaurant and I have been to every one in auckland - this is the best! Truly authentic.

Yummiest Chinese food!! Cheap and large portions too!

Dominion Road houses quite a few really good dumpling houses. New Flavour is up there with the best of them. With great prices and a host of delicious choices you won’t leave hungry. Items I’d recommend from the menu are the pork and chive dumplings, the cucumber salad and chicken noodles (pictured). The New Flavour experience is best enjoyed with mates as the dishes are perfect for sharing.

I’m a sucker for a good steamed dumpling. When dipped in soy and chilli the slippery, meat filled parcels of flavour are a treat to the pallete. Genera only I’m a stickler for dumplings on Dominion Rd but we stumbled across No. 1 Dumpling at lunch time and decided to give it a hoon. I ordered a plate of ten pork, prawn and chive dumplings which set me back $7.50 and they were right up my alley. The texture and flavours were spot on and the service was great.

If you’re in the zone for dumplings then it’s common knowledge Dominion Rd is the place to head. Barilla is my favourite of the dumpling houses on the road (although the rest are great). The bright lime green interiors and menus in plastic folders scream no frills but the food is cheap, cheerfull and delicious. I recommend delving into the eggplant, the crispy beans, the fried squid and whichever dumplings grab your fancy! Top night out.

Hansan has a good vibe about it, it feels like eating at an upmarket eatery but without the price tag. I had the noodle soup with fried pork. What arrived was a massive bowl of pho’ish soup and what looked like a large pork schnitzel. Although the soup needed a lot of seasoning (spoons full of chilli) both were tasty and for $12 you can’t go wrong. Both of my comrades opted for the chicken noodle salad, they both gave glowing reports. I’d recommend this place to anyone wanting a nice meal but who doesn’t want to bust the bank.

For some reason Yum Cha seems to be a Sunday lunch activity. As it was a Sunday afternoon we got amongst. We ordered a pile of dumplings, a couple of noodle dishes, some buns and a red bean pancake. The food arrived promptly and was promptly eaten. Everyone rolled away from the table satisfied and plans were made to do it again the following week!

We’d heard a lot about Mercury Plaza and their sushi - namely that it is insane value and extremely delicious! Curious, we headed there on a Sunday night and it is hands down the best food court experience I’ve had. Not fancy at all but you can buy a beer from the mini market and enjoy the delicious and cheap sashimi till your heart’s content.

My friends and I love going to Canton Cafe. The food is amazing, the price is super cheap and you can BYO! What more could you want?

So economical, so delicious. My pick of the bunch is Malaysian laksa or roti canai. The depth of flavour is utterly unbelievable!

We love New Flavour! The dumplings are amazing, the eggplant and kumara are a must order - and free green tea! Perfect place for a massive group hang which will never set you back more than $15 per person. Beware the dumpling burps however!

Tucked inside this big red barn type warehouse is in fact a world of Asian delights, also some delights a little toooo authentic for my sensibilities (quivers at the thought of chicken kneecaps and bone marrow yegh)!! Amongst them, delicious and amazingly cheap steam buns. They are $1 each! I recommend the tofu buns. Dip them in plenty of soy sauce!

If I want a whole load of healthy nutrients, lots of tasty food and I don’t have much money to spend on it, this is my number one place to go! The $6 lunch is the best, you get a little bit of everything, including dessert!!

Lots of options, all of them tasty and cheap, my favourites being the Thai and the Japanese place. The Japanese one does a good bento box and a really yummy Tofu Don Buri too! Pretty much everything is under $10!

Great if you have a large group, as they can serve a lot of people at once, seriously!! They have lovely big communal round tables and do amazing cheap Chinese food! Win!

  Don’t be misled by the pokey grey interior of this inner city dumpling spot, there is a good reason anything this shabby-looking has managed to maintain a place in one of the CBD’s highest value real estate streets! This little gem does exactly what it says it does and it does it well! Dumplings dumplings dumplings.   So cheap! So tasty!   Great vege options. I recommend dipping them in soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil, but these dumplings are actually totally tasty even if you have nothing to dip them in. Yums!