Australian Capital Territory

In addition to the restaurants listed here, Canberra’s many clubs also serve very inexpensive meals in a typical Aussie atmosphere. Cafés are plentiful around the centre, with a particular concentration on Bunda Street, near the cinemas. On the ground level of the City Market shopping mall, on the corner of Bunda Street and Ainslie Avenue, there’s an excellent food court, as well as a large supermarket, both open daily. Most local buses go from the City Bus Interchange to the suburbs.

• Ali Baba, corner of Petrie Plaza and Bunda St. A simple Lebanese takeaway with outside tables. Daily to 10pm, very late Fri & Sat.
• ANU Union, Union Crescent, Acton. The students’ union has a restaurant, a café and a super-cheap bistro specializing in Asian food. BYO. Mon–Fri lunch and dinner.
• The Café, Barrine Drive, west of the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, next to Mr Spokes Bike Hire. In a lovely spot by the lake. Open daily from 9am.
• Café Essen, Garema Arcade. A groovy, gourmet coffee house with unusual, good value brunches and live music on Sundays. Open daily from 7.30am.
• Caffe della Piazza, 19 Garema Place. A lively, people-watching place spilling out into the square, with sidewalk tables. Great Italian coffee, focaccia, pizza and pasta. Licensed.
• Glebe Park, 15 Coranderk St, at the southern end of Bunda St. A choice of inexpensive food stalls – Lebanese, Indian and more – a café and a pub under one roof. Daily 10.30am–8.30 or 9pm.
• Gus’ Café, Bunda St, next to Center Cinema. Canberra’s best café serves inexpensive light meals, and fresh soups with lots of choice for vegetarians. Tables outside under vines and a huge tree; magazines and newspapers to read. Popular with students and an arty crowd. Open daily 7.30am–11pm.
• Mother’s Café, Bunda St. Gourmet burgers and yummy baked goods. Open daily.
• Pancake Parlor, corner of East Row and Alinga St. Open 24hr Fri–Sun, which is its main attraction. Mon–Wed 7am–late.
• Waffles Patisserie and Bakery, 102 Alinga St, near the Jolimont Centre. Quality cakes and breads and healthy slices make good breakfast fare. Mon–Fri from 7.30am, Sat from 8am. Closed Sun.

Restaurants

• Anarkali Pakistani Restaurant, corner of London Circuit and Akuna St (tel 02/6247 6135). An excellent, affordable curry house. Licensed. Closed Sat & Sun lunch.
• Australian Pizza Kitchen & Brewery, Lower Ground Floor, corner of London Circuit and East Row. Gourmet pizzas plus Canberra’s only “boutique brewery”, where beer is brewed on the premises. Pleasant courtyard.
• The Chairman and Yip, 108 Bunda St (tel 02/6248 7109). A stylish, good-humoured Chinese restaurant, its walls adorned with Mao paraphernalia; a “workers lunch” costs $12.50.
• Delicateating, O’Connor Shopping Centre, Macpherson St. Trendy, delicatessen-style place tending towards Italian cuisine, and conveniently located near the youth hostel. Mellow yellow walls and tables outside. BYO. Mon–Fri 10am–10pm, Sat & Sun 9am–10pm.
• Fringe Benefits Brasserie, 54 Marcus Clarke St (tel 02/6247 4042). Stylish restaurant with an extensive wine cellar. Licensed. Closed Sun.
• Gundaroo Pub Restaurant, Cork St, Gundaroo. Features “typical Outback Aussie atmosphere” with dishes such as kangaroo-tail soup, roast and three veg, or damper and billy tea.
• Karuna House, 32 Archibald St, Lyneham. Oriental-style vegetarian restaurant at the Sakyamuni Buddhist Centre; $10 buffet dinner Tues–Sun, or $7 lunch at weekends.
• Little Saigon, corner of Alinga St and Northbourne Ave (tel 02/6230 5003). Large, busy, cheap and tasty Vietnamese restaurant. Advisable to book on weekends. Open daily 9am–3pm & 5–10.30pm.
• Mama’s Café and Bar, 7 Garema Place. Decent, usually crowded, Italian restaurant with outside tables. Daily 10am–late.
• Montezuma’s Mexican, FAI House, 197 London Circuit. Loud and popular, with live entertainment Fri–Sun. Licensed. Closed Mon.
• The Oak Room, Hyatt Hotel, 1 Commonwealth Ave, Yarralumla (tel 02/6270 1234). Expense-account territory: suitably refined old-school dining. Blokes need a tie at dinner. Licensed. Closed Sun & Mon.
• Ottoman Cuisine, first floor, Shop 8, Franklin St, Manuka (tel 02/6239 6754). An excellent Turkish restaurant that’s a little more expensive than the Sydney equivalent, but worth it. Particularly delicious seafood. Licensed & BYO. Closed Sun.
• Red Sea Restaurant, 128 Bunda St (tel 02/6257 6633). African restaurant serving Eritrean and Moroccan cuisine – stews, couscous and the like. A club here gets kicking after 9pm, sometimes with live African music. Licensed and BYO. Tues–Fri lunch, Tues–Sun dinner.
• Three Mothers Thai, Petrie Plaza off Garema Place (tel 02/6249 8900). A modern, trendy brasserie-style Thai, very reasonably priced and with speedy service. BYO. Daily 10.30am–10pm.