Adelaide might be best known for its upscale restaurants, wineries and big-ticket arts festivals, but you don’t have to look too far to find a budget-friendly meal or activity. In fact, for students the city is packed with fun and approachable options. From Chinatown dumplings and kaya buns to free art and happy hours, here are some of the best spots to eat, drink and play that won’t break the bank.
Eat
Follow the lunchtime line-up to Sit Lo on Bank Street, or its Uni SA City West store, for crunchy banh mi, pillowy steamed bao and warming pho. Or head next door to Mandoo, where you’ll find owner Ki Dong Ra hand-pinching and twisting the day’s order of plump Korean dumplings. Order the specialty kimchi dumplings, which come steamed only, or opt for one of the colourful bibimbap bowls. For some of the best dumplings in Chinatown, Star Dumplings shines bright. The tiny eatery outside the Adelaide Central Market serves up steamed and fried dumplings, plus hand-pulled Xinjiang-style fried noodles.
Nearby, Nana Hot Bake is a long-time pit stop for cash-strapped students. The no-frills pan-Asian bakery serves sweet and savoury golden buns filled with the likes of barbeque pork, lemony chilli tuna, coconut custard (kaya), and red bean. But don’t sleep on the buttery, flaky curry puff, a one-handed snack best enjoyed while you peruse the aisles of produce at the bustling Central Market.
It’s not hard to find Cantonese food in Adelaide, but rice rolls – aka cheung fun, a specialty of Guangzhou province – have been a little harder to come by. Until Stonemill Rice Roll opened between Chinatown and Light Square. The low-key breakfast spot serves the silky Guangzhou-style rolls filled with beef, pork, braised duck, soy chicken, or prawn, plus thicker, chewier Chaoshan/Teochew variations. There’s also congee, noodle soups and youtiao (Chinese doughnuts). To drink? Fresh soy milk and house-made smoked plum juice.
For a real Adelaide experience, grab a group and split a late-night AB. The eastern states call it a halal snack pack but the contents are the same: layers of hot chips piled with kebab meat, then topped with garlic, chilli and barbeque sauce. There are a few places doing them, but the Blue and White Cafe in North Adelaide was one of the first.
Drink
Here’s a not-so-little secret. The Crown & Anchor Hotel (widely known as the Cranker) in the city’s east end pours $3 schooners on Wednesday nights. Head to the beloved old corner pub midweek between 8pm and 10pm for tap beers on a budget. Then head upstairs to Midnight Spaghetti for $15 bowls of pasta, plus drink specials till midnight (the kitchen closes at 11pm).
If you want to keep the party going, hit the heaving dance floor at rock’n’roll dive bar Cry Baby, or meet under the disco ball at Wax Bar for $5 beers on Wednesdays, $10 cocktails on Thursdays, and two-for-$15 Margs on Sundays.
You don’t have to look far to drink great coffee in Adelaide, but increasingly you can find fun layered (often two-tone) specialty drinks at cafes like Seven Grounds, Mascavado and Yuna (hello, peanut-butter cheese foam). Then there’s Chanowa – Australia’s first outpost for the “luxury” Japanese matcha brand – which serves lattes, frappes and soft serves made with high-grade matcha from Uji, in southern Kyoto Prefecture, and premium roasted hojicha.
Do
North Terrace is gallery alley. Do a (free) art crawl along the strip, starting with Ace Gallery and Samstag, a short walk from each other, and ending at the Art Gallery of South Australia. It’s got one of the best permanent art collections in the country, and there’s free entry to the current exhibition Reimagining the Renaissance (alongside the ticketed Radical Textiles), plus a free guided tour daily.
After all that gallery hopping, take a breather in the Adelaide Botanic Garden (don’t miss the stunning hand-blown glass sculptures by contemporary artist Dale Chihuly, on display until April 29). Or explore the tranquil Japanese Himeji Garden on South Terrace.
Take a train to Port Adelaide, one of Adelaide’s most historic areas, to eye the towering street art and murals plastered over sky-high buildings. Then grab tacos made with soft corn tortillas from La Popular Taqueria before heading home.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Scape. Looking for a place to call home while studying? With three locations in the CBD, Scape offers more than just accommodation. The all-inclusive living experience includes spacious communal areas that create a sense of community, alongside a calendar of exciting activities and events. Stay close to Adelaide's best food, drinks, and activities – all while living in a space that’s built for comfort and convenience.
