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Food tours in Brisbane: what to eat and which tour to book
Brisbane eats outdoors for most of the year. The subtropical climate means weekend breakfasts on verandas, Saturday-morning farmers' markets, and evening food-truck markets by the river. The local produce is the point: Moreton Bay bugs (a flat, sweet slipper lobster), mud crab, prawns and reef fish from the Queensland coast, mangoes, pineapples and macadamias from farms a short drive away. On top of that sit Australian café culture and one of the country's largest Asian communities, centred on Sunnybank in the south, where you can eat Taiwanese, Cantonese, Malaysian and Korean food at suburban food-court prices.
Use this page to know what to order, which markets run on which day and roughly what it costs in Australian dollars. The tours shown are real GetYourGuide listings, with prices as seen when we checked; confirm the price and meeting point on the booking page before you pay.
What to eat in Brisbane
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moreton Bay bugs | A flat slipper lobster named after the bay east of Brisbane. Sweet, firm tail meat, usually grilled with garlic butter or served cold on a seafood platter. | Seafood restaurants along the river and at the bayside suburbs (Manly, Redcliffe), and at fishmongers' cooked-seafood counters to take away. | roughly AUD 45–75 (about €25–42) for a main in a restaurant; less per kilo at a fishmonger |
| Queensland prawns and mud crab prawns / mud crab | Cooked king or banana prawns peeled by hand with lemon and bread, and mud crab, often served whole with chilli or pepper sauce in Asian restaurants. | Fishmongers and seafood co-ops at the bayside suburbs, seafood restaurants, and Chinese and Malaysian restaurants in Sunnybank and Fortitude Valley. | roughly AUD 30–45 per kilo for cooked prawns at a fishmonger; mud crab is priced by weight and often AUD 100+ for a whole crab |
| Fish and chips | Battered or grilled local fish (often barramundi, snapper or flathead) with chips, eaten by the water. | Takeaway shops in bayside suburbs such as Manly, Sandgate and Redcliffe, and by the river. | roughly AUD 15–28 (about €8.50–16) |
| Brunch and a flat white brunch | Smashed avocado on sourdough, eggs any style, corn fritters, banana bread and a flat white. Brisbane's café scene is serious and weekend brunch is a social occasion. | Cafés in New Farm, West End, Paddington, Teneriffe and the city's laneways. | roughly AUD 20–32 (about €11–18) for a dish; coffee AUD 5–6.50 |
| Meat pie pie | A hand-sized pastry pie filled with minced beef and gravy (or steak, chicken, curry), often with tomato sauce. Eaten at bakeries and football games. | Bakeries across the city and suburbs; service-station and stadium pies are the low end. | about AUD 6–10 (€3.50–5.50) |
| Lamington | Squares of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in desiccated coconut, sometimes filled with jam or cream. Queensland claims it, named after a 19th-century governor. | Bakeries and cafés; also at markets and fundraising stalls. | about AUD 4–8 (€2.20–4.50) |
| Tropical fruit and macadamias mangoes, pineapples, macadamias | Queensland grows much of Australia's tropical fruit. Mango season runs roughly November to February; macadamias are native to south-east Queensland. | Farmers' markets on Saturday mornings and fruit shops; roadside stalls in the hinterland. | mangoes roughly AUD 2–5 each in season |
| Taiwanese and Asian food-court dishes beef noodle soup, dumplings, bubble tea | Taiwanese beef noodle soup, xiaolongbao, Hong Kong-style roast meats, Malaysian laksa and Korean fried chicken at suburban prices. | Sunnybank and Sunnybank Hills (Market Square, Sunny Park and the surrounding plazas), and Chinatown in Fortitude Valley. | roughly AUD 15–25 (about €8.50–14) a dish |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Eat Street Northshore, Hamilton
Night food market built from shipping containers on the river at Hamilton, with dozens of food stalls, bars and live music. Lively and family-friendly; a small entry fee is charged.
Jan Powers Farmers Markets, Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm
The best-known farmers' market in the city, held next to the arts centre in New Farm Park on the river, with produce, seafood, cheese, bakery stalls and breakfast food.
West End and Davies Park Market
Inner-south suburb with cafés, Greek and Vietnamese restaurants, bars and the Saturday-morning Davies Park Market by the river, which mixes produce with cooked food from many cuisines.
Fortitude Valley and Chinatown
Brisbane's nightlife district, with the Chinatown mall, Asian restaurants and late-night places, plus the James Street dining strip nearby.
Sunnybank
About 16 km south of the city centre and known as Brisbane's 'Little Asia', with plazas full of Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, Malaysian and other Asian restaurants and grocers.
Bayside suburbs: Manly, Sandgate and Redcliffe
Suburbs on Moreton Bay with fish-and-chip shops, seafood co-ops and casual waterfront restaurants. The local place for fresh prawns and bugs.
Food tours in Brisbane compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane: Whale Watching Cruise with Lunch | 5 - 8 hours | from €114 per person | — | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Brisbane: Sirromet Winery Tour with Tasting & 2-Course Lunch | 3.5 hours | from €55 per person | max 4 | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Brisbane: Boutique Winery Tour with Gourmet Lunch | 8 hours | from €327 per person | max 6 | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
| Brisbane: Guided E-Bike Tour with Food Tastings | 4 hours | from €114 per person | max 8 | First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide. | Check dates |
Brisbane: Whale Watching Cruise with Lunch
On GetYourGuide · run by Brisbane Whale Watching
- Length
- 5 - 8 hours
- Price
- from €114 per person
- Rating
- 4.7 ★ from 564 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
Brisbane: Sirromet Winery Tour with Tasting & 2-Course Lunch
On GetYourGuide · run by Sirromet Wines
- Length
- 3.5 hours
- Price
- from €55 per person
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ from 82 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 4
- Included
- Winery tour Wine tasting 2-course lunch Transportation
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- 850 Mount Cotton Rd, Mount Cotton QLD 4165, Australia
Brisbane: Boutique Winery Tour with Gourmet Lunch
On GetYourGuide · run by Pineapple Tours AU
- Length
- 8 hours
- Price
- from €327 per person
- Rating
- 4.7 ★ from 45 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 6
- Included
- Transportation Guided wine tastings 2-course lunch Local driver guide Cheese tasting (optional) Fudge tasting (optional)
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
Brisbane: Guided E-Bike Tour with Food Tastings
On GetYourGuide · run by Local Sauce Tours
- Length
- 4 hours
- Price
- from €114 per person
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ from 3 reviews (on 3 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 8
- Suits
- First-timers who want a broad tasting of the classics with a local guide.
- Starts
- 87C Roma St, Brisbane City QLD 4000, Australia
Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through them TonyPlan earns a small commission — the price you pay is exactly the same.
Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Brisbane's 'street food' happens at markets rather than on the street: Eat Street Northshore at night, and Saturday farmers' markets in the morning. Food trucks also appear at festivals and events. Expect city prices, not Asian street prices.
Sit-down meals
Sit-down dining ranges from cafés (breakfast and lunch, often closing mid-afternoon) to riverside restaurants at Howard Smith Wharves, Eagle Street and South Bank. Dinner starts earlier than in Europe, around 18:00–19:30. Many restaurants are BYO (bring your own wine) with a corkage fee.
Cooking classes
Cooking classes in Brisbane are run by cooking schools and some markets and cover everything from seafood and Australian barbecue to Asian cuisines. Bush-food (native ingredient) experiences are sometimes available; check who runs them and whether First Nations hosts are involved.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | AUD 50–75, about €28–42 (bakery breakfast, food-court lunch, market or takeaway dinner) |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | AUD 100–150, about €55–85 (café brunch, casual lunch, restaurant dinner with a drink) |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | AUD 250+, about €140+ (riverside seafood or a tasting menu with wine) |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Easy. Almost every café and restaurant has clearly marked vegetarian and vegan options, and West End in particular has many plant-based places.
Halal: Halal food is widely available: Middle Eastern, Turkish, Malaysian, Indonesian and Indian restaurants, halal butchers in southern suburbs such as Kuraby and Sunnybank, and halal-certified options at some chains. Ask, as certification is not universal.
Gluten-free: Very good. Australian restaurants and cafés routinely mark gluten-free (GF) dishes and often offer GF bread. Coeliac awareness is high, though fryers are often shared for battered fish and chips.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Weekend and public-holiday surcharges (often 10–15%) and card-payment surcharges added to the bill. These are legal if displayed; check the sign at the door or menu, and pay by a method without a surcharge if possible.
- Seafood listed at 'market price' on menus, which can be much higher than expected. Ask the price before ordering, especially for mud crab and lobster.
- Bottled-water upsells: being asked 'still or sparkling?' and charged for bottled water when tap water is free. Ask for tap water; it is safe, and licensed venues in Queensland must provide free drinking water.
Top tours & activities in Brisbane
Rent a car in Brisbane
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
Do I need to tip in Brisbane?
Tipping is not expected in Australia because staff are paid a minimum wage. In restaurants, rounding up or leaving about 10% for good service is appreciated, especially for groups. In cafés, pubs and at food markets, nobody expects a tip. Card machines may prompt for a tip; you can choose no tip.
When are Brisbane's food markets on?
Most markets are weekly: the farmers' markets at the Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm and at Davies Park in West End are on Saturday mornings, and Eat Street Northshore runs on weekend evenings. Days and hours change with seasons and events, so check the market's own website before going.
What is a Moreton Bay bug?
It is a slipper lobster, a flat crustacean with no big claws, named after Moreton Bay, east of Brisbane. The tail meat is sweet and firm, similar to lobster. Restaurants serve it grilled with garlic butter, in pasta or on seafood platters; fishmongers sell them cooked to take away. It is not an insect.
Is Brisbane expensive for food?
It is cheaper than Sydney but not cheap by European standards. A café breakfast with coffee is roughly AUD 25–35, a casual dinner about AUD 30–50 per person, and seafood or fine dining much more. Asian food courts in Sunnybank and the city are the best value, along with takeaway fish and chips.
Can I bring my own wine to restaurants?
Some restaurants are BYO (bring your own), meaning you can bring wine and pay a small corkage fee per bottle or per person. Licensed venues may not allow it. Ask when you book. Wine and beer are sold in bottle shops (liquor stores), not supermarkets, in Queensland.
What time do restaurants close?
Cafés usually open early, around 6:30–7:00, and close by mid-afternoon. Dinner restaurants typically serve from about 17:30 to 21:00 or 21:30, later in Fortitude Valley and at Eat Street. Kitchens can close early on Sunday and Monday nights, and some restaurants close entirely on Mondays.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.