Cheap Food in Invercargill
Travelling on a budget? While we always recommend saving money on food by making your own meals for travelling around New Zealand, when you start smelling the cuisine of a city like Invercargill it can be too much to resist! Nevertheless, we can still help you save some cents with this list of some of the best cheap eats in Invercargill! There’s something to suit every mood, taste and state of hunger!
While you’re here, you might also be interested in 11 Free or Cheap Things to do in Invercargill and 5 Best Backpacker Hostels in Invercargill.
5 Foodie Experiences in Invercargill
Make your meal in Invercargill more of an “experience”! Here are some suggestions for excellent foodie activities.
- Make your own chocolate at Seriously Good Chocolate (147 Spey Street)
- Try Bluff Oysters when in season Barnes Wild Bluff Oysters (corner of Spey & Bond Streets)
- Do a cheese tasting at Blue River Dairy (111 Nith Street)
- Treat yourself at the American-style diner cafe, the Grille Cafe, after exploring Bill Richardson Transport World (491 Tay Street)
- Sample a Southland Cheese Roll (any cafe in Invercargill).
Want to know what else to try in New Zealand? See 15 Foods You Have to Try in New Zealand.
© NZPocketGuide.comCheap Food in Invercargill – $10 and Under
Cheap Sandwiches, Subs and Wraps
Invercargill has its fair share of Subway takeaways (11 Dee Street, 2 Martin Street and 38 Windsor Street). Pick up a “Sub of the Day” for around NZ$5! Or pick up some more lunchtime feeds at PitaPit (47 Tay Street) with plenty of lunch wraps on the menu for under NZ$10. We also recommend a NZ$5 Pita Pocket from Mevalana Kebabs (61 Tay Street) or one of their express lunch meals for around NZ$14.
Cheap Hot Food for Lunch
For something totally Kiwi, try the Fat Bastard Pies (158 Tay Street) with an awesome selection of savoury pies for around NZ$5 each! If you’re not too fussy, Night ‘n Day (351 Tay Street) do irresistibly cheap nachos, wedges, hot dogs and other cheap “grab and go” food.
Between 12-2pm, pick up a curry, rice and soft drink for NZ$10 at Curry Guru Malabar Kitchen (356 Yay Street).
Cheap Sweet Treats
For sweet treats, head to the self-serve frozen yoghurt store, Kiwi-Yo (45 Tay Street). You can either make your own desserts with a frozen yoghurt/sorbet base, combine with toppings and then weight to pay, or order a waffle or crepe dessert for under NZ$10. Alternatively, there are some good coffee and cake combos at the Global Byte Cafe (150 Dee Street) for around NZ$7. Find out more ways to save money when travelling with How to Save Money on Accommodation When Travelling New Zealand.
© NZPocketGuide.comCheap Food in Invercargill – $11-$20
Cheap Breakfast and Lunch
Lunch at the Industry Cafe (33 Arena Avenue) is always good value with most of their lunch menu for under NZ$20, including fritters, poutine, omelettes, burgers, Southland fried chicken and more.
For cheap and hearty meals for lunch, try Cobb & Co (corner of Avenal & Dee Streets) with ribs, prawn salad, BLT, fish & chips and more – all for under NZ$20! Or if you prefer a hearty breakfast, the Tuatara Backpackers & Cafe (30-32 Dee Street) serves up filling creamy mushroom ciabattas, savoury mince, corn fritter stacks and more for NZ$20 and just under.
Cheap Restaurants for Dinner
The Speight’s Ale House (38 Dee Street) serves hearty surf and turf meals along with New Zealand beers. There’s plenty on the menu for under NZ$20 including seafood, chicken, pork, lamb and beef dishes.
Risottos and pasta dishes are under NZ$20 at Waxy’s Irish Pub (90 Dee Street). A little out of town is the Waikiwi Tavern (corner of Gimblett Street & North Road) serving up real pub grub, like lambs fry and bacon, bangers and mash, and sausage, eggs and chips for under NZ$18. For gourmet burgers, head to Emberz at Ascot (Ascot Park Hotel, Corner of Tay Street & Racecourse Road) where the restaurant has “from farm to fork” mantra.
Cheap Asain Food
For cheap Indian food, try Bombay Palace (68 Forth Street) on Wednesday nights where all curry dishes are NZ$14. Otherwise, their takeaway menu is extremely affordable with most curries are for around NZ$15.
[CLOSED] Thai Dee (9 Dee Street) is open for lunch and dinner serving up super affordable salads, noodles, fried rice and more for NZ$10-$18, but there’s hardly anything on the menu for over NZ$14! The restaurant is also BYO.
Find more food deals around the country with our 10 Super Cheap Backpacker Food Deals in New Zealand.
Sources:
The information in this guide has been compiled from our extensive research, travel and experiences across New Zealand and the South Pacific, accumulated over more than a decade of numerous visits to each destination. Additional sources for this guide include the following:
- Tourism New Zealand (General travel advice - Updated [2024])
- Adventure Mark (Health and Safety Audit - Updated [2024])
- Work Safe NZ (Adventure Activities Guidelines - Updated [2024])
- Department of Conservation (Tracks, hikes, campsites and more - Updated [2024])
- AdventureSmart (Know before you go - Update [2024])
- NZ Māori Tourism (Official Māori Tourism platform - Updated [2024])
- Tourism Export Council New Zealand (Tourism trade association - Updated [2024])
- TIA (Independent tourism association - Updated [2024])
- Tiaki Promise (Care for people place and culture - Updated [2024])
- Council websites and freedom camping maps (Local travel advice region by region - Updated [2024])
Our editorial standards: At NZ Pocket Guide, we uphold strict editorial standards to ensure accurate and quality content.
