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Student eats · November 2026
Studying abroad in Sydney
Every meal here costs A$20 or less.
About $13 US. Typical prices, checked November 2, 2026.Sydney is pricey, but students eat well in Haymarket, Chinatown, Marrickville and Newtown: roti, banh mi, hawker plates and the pie cart that's been open since 1945.
A day of eating for A$34
- Breakfast, A$9: Bourke Street Bakery, a pork and fennel sausage roll
- Lunch, A$8: Marrickville Pork Roll, a pork banh mi
- Dinner, A$17: Mamak, roti canai with curry, or a murtabak
Breakfast, lunch and dinner: A$34, about $22.
Eat for A$20 or less
1
A$9Breakfast
Bourke Street Bakery
Get: A pork and fennel sausage roll
The bakery that taught Sydney to care about sausage rolls. Eat it on the step outside.
2A photo like it
A$8Lunch
Marrickville Pork Roll
Get: A pork banh mi
A tiny shop with one of Sydney's best banh mi, for under ten dollars.
3A photo like it
A$17Late
Mamak
Get: Roti canai with curry, or a murtabak
Malaysian roti flipped in the window, open late, with a line out the door.
4A photo like it
A$17Dinner
Spice Alley
Get: A plate from any of the Asian hawker stalls
A laneway of hawker stalls near Sydney Uni and UTS with lanterns and outdoor tables.
5A photo like it
A$12Snack
Harry's Cafe de Wheels
Get: A Tiger pie (pie with mash, peas and gravy)
A pie cart since 1945, by the navy docks. A Sydney rite of passage, late at night.
The market
Wednesday to Sunday
Paddy's Markets
Haymarket
Get: Cheap fruit and vegetables, plus food courts nearby
Go Sunday afternoon for the cheapest boxes of fruit and veg before closing.
The supermarket to find
Woolworths, Coles and Aldi
- Hot roast chicken for about A$13, dinner for two
- Tim Tams and Vegemite to try
- Aldi's specials for the weekly shop
Aldi is the cheapest. Woolworths and Coles mark down bakery and meat in the evening.
How students save in Sydney
- University food courts (Sydney Uni, UNSW, UTS) have cheap lunches, and Haymarket food courts are cheaper still.
- Look for lunch specials around A$12 to A$15 in Chinatown.
- Tap water is free everywhere, and tipping isn't expected.
More for Sydney
Studying somewhere else?
Run a study-abroad program in Sydney?
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Prices are typical, checked November 2, 2026, and move; places with branches all over (chains) are named so you can use any of them. "A photo like it" is the same kind of food, not from that place. Chef Amazing is not paid by any place on this page.
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