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The cost of living is one of the most commonly discussed topics every day, whether that’s you just chatting with mates, or pundits on the news. And the high cost of living’s effect on the hospitality industry is also regularly covered. So we thought we’d take a look at how much Sydneysiders are paying for typical dishes at the moment – we analysed 150 pub and club menus across Sydney, looking at the average prices of the most commonly served meals (Time Out’s Price of a Parmi 2026 project).
How much should you actually expect to pay for these pub staples? And how do Sydney prices compare to those of Melbourne pubs? While some of the results won't come as a surprise, others might make you wince.
At the budget-friendly end of the scale, a bowl of chips/fries comes in at an average of $11.07. Not exactly a meal, though. Chicken wings – which also often sit in the starters section of menus – come for an average $18.57.
Pasta tends to be the most affordable main meal at Sydney pubs – spaghetti or penne bolognese will set you back an average of $20.47. That's closely followed by a cheese burger, which is usually served with chips and, on average, comes in at $21.58 in Sydney. You’ll pay a fair bit more for these two meal items on average if you’re in Melbourne.
Next – the salt and pepper calamari (AKA squid), which is a surprisingly common pub menu item – also often on the starters’ list – that averages $21.86.
For those who like to carb load, you can get your mitts on a Margherita pizza (the most popular pizza on pub menus) for an average of $22.56. Of course, the cost of pizza tends to rise as the number of toppings do.
A Caesar salad will set you back an average of $22.75 in Sydney – meaning making friends with salad won't necessarily save you much money.
Moving up to the $25ish mark of the menu, you’ll tend to find English pub staple fish and chips, averaging $24.36. If you don’t think that’s good value, consider that it tends to come for a significantly higher price in Melbourne (where the same dish costs an average of $30.59).
A chicken schnitzel will cost you $25.44 here in Sydney, while a chicken Parmigiana pushes that average up a fair bit to $28.56. Steak takes the title of most expensive common pub meal on our list, at $30.24 average for a rump steak (obviously the price climbs from there with the quality of the beef cut).
Surprisingly, our analysis showed Melbourne diners are generally paying more for a classic pub meal than their Sydney counterparts, with 12 of the 14 dishes analysed costing more on average in the Victorian capital. Melburnians do take their gastro pubs pretty seriously.
Across all 15 meals, the average meal price in Melbourne is approximately $25, compared with $22.48 in Sydney – Sydney is actually 11 per cent cheaper in this sense. The biggest price gap is for rump steak, which costs more than $7 extra in Melbourne – an average of $37.32 in Melbs, compared with $30.24 in Sydney.
In summary, if you're looking to get the most bang for your buck in Sydney, perhaps order the spag bol, the cheese burger or the Margherita pizza. But if you're heading to the pub for a steak dinner, you might want to get familiar with our guide to Sydney’s best steaks for $25 or under.
Here are the average prices of 14 classic meals across Sydney – from cheapest to most expensive:
- Bowl of chips/fries: $11.07
- Chicken wings: $18.57
- Spaghetti/penne Bolognese: $20.47
- Cheese burger: $21.58
- Salt & pepper calamari: $21.86
- Margherita pizza: $22.56
- Caesar salad: $22.75
- Nachos: $24.31
- Fish & chips: $24.36
- Chicken schnitzel: $25.44
- Bangers & mash: $25.69
- Steak sandwich: $26.83
- Chicken Parmigiana: $28.56
- Rump steak: $30.24
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