Lunch for $20 and Under? Seven New Sydney Spots Will Sort You Out

A filling lunch for $20? Tell him he’s dreaming. Or hit one of these new Sydney openings – for classic steak sandwiches, smashburgers, rice bowls or coconutty Thai pancakes.

Carlisle Castle Hotel, Newtown

The Bat & Ball team is now overseeing a second Sydney pub – and after the incredible success of the daily specials in Redfern, they’ll continue in Newtown. At lunchtime, that means a line-up of pub classics for a clean 20. A crumbed prawn or classic beef burger and fries? $20. A steak sub dressed with chimichurri? $20. A rump steak with fries, gravy and dressed leaves? $20. From Wednesday to Friday, midday till 3pm. Read more. 

Riceface, CBD

Chat Thai’s Palisa Anderson knows good rice – and there’s a “triple-A grade” grain, only harvested in the most recent season, underpinning the menu at her just-opened food court counter. Riceface is a pick’n’mix situation, with a core menu of four rices and five proteins –and everything is made in the on-site kitchen, often with veggies sourced from Anderson’s own Boon Luck Farm. The most expensive bowl is $18. Opt for butterfly pea-blue rice topped with stewed tofu and greens, maybe, or golden turmeric rice topped with grilled chicken, revved up by the chilli-kick of nam jim jaew. Add a $2 cup of slow-cooked chicken broth – for the flavour and your gut health. Read more.

Coco Krok, markets around Sydney

This market stall is the spot for one of Thailand’s most popular street foods: khanom krok. These crisp-on-the-outside, custardy-on-the-inside bites are made from rice flour, sugar, salt and coconut milk – straddling sweet and savoury. The original is coconutty, with 10 bucks getting you nine little pieces hot from the cast-iron pan. Or you can top yours with corn, spring onion, grated pumpkin or grated taro, or get a dozen for $15 to try them all. Coco Krok regularly pops up at the Parramatta Farmers Market on Wednesdays, but check Instagram for upcoming appearances. Read more.

Bronte Road Fish, Bondi

Only six months after opening on its namesake stretch in Waverley, the team behind this fish’n’chipper went for round two – closer to the beach. Your lunch? The $19 tuna smash burger. Bluefin tuna – half ground, half chopped – is mashed with barbequed onions then shaped into patties. They’re smashed onto the hot plate, flipped, topped with cheese, then sizzled till the edges are crisp. They hit a fluffy bun with lettuce, pickles, American cheese and a slightly spicy tomato relish. If you’re hellbent on sticking to your budget and chippies are a non-negotiable, grab the teriyaki tofu serve with a side of the spuds for $20 instead. Read more.

Little River, Surry Hills

Ex-Tetsuya’s chef (and 40 Res captain) Josh Raine is behind this new bakery, which opened with topsy-turvy cinnamon buns and Big Bird loaves two weeks ago. The lunchtime winner is the $15 made-to-order jamon baguette, where a just-baked baguette is loaded with nothing but house-made mustard butter and local jamon made at Petersham’s Spanish Portuguese Butchery. Meat-free? Go for the $15 devilled egg sanga on slices of the signature seeded Big Bird loaf. Read more.

Bantry Bay, Seaforth

Missed (or missing) Euro summer? Sydney’s warmer weather is already here, along with Grace Triglone (ex-Caravin) and her Euro-style alimentari. The all-day spot has a stocked deli fridge and fresh loaves of bread for you to make your own lunch at home. Dine in for the Sex on Bread, a $19 sanga stuffed with ribbons of grilled zucchini, pecorino, salami and rocket, dressed up with whipped ricotta and chilli aioli; or keep it zingy with a tomato, blood orange and mozzarella salad. The simple $10 daily panini with a $10 glass of wine is always a good idea – so very Euro, and available till 2pm. Read more.

Sandwhich, St Peters

This new inner west spot – from two ex-Neptune’s Grotto chefs – has been hot out the gate, with a tight list of sangas on an Indonesian bent. The $18.90 mushroom katsu “sandwhich” is saucy, pickle-y and cheesy, everything squished onto a potato bun. You can opt for the confited mushies in the $18.90 Caesar salad, too, or go for poached chicken. Scrounge around for loose change, though, you’ll want to add the dippable onsen egg swimming in fiery sambal for $4.50. Read more. 

Looking for more? Here are eight more options from earlier in the year – including a rice bowl from a Niland alum, a homely chicken pie with a minty house-made soda, salad dotted with hash brown crispies, and an outstanding charcoaled fish sandwich.