Time Out Food & Drink Awards 2023: Best Cheap Eat Nominees

When a restaurant in Sydney stays open until 2am, it feels a little shameful to head over for a 6pm reservation. But honestly it doesn’t really matter when you go to Jimmy’s Falafel – you’ll most likely lose track of the time anyway. Not to mention which country you’re in and what decade it is. The first thing you’ll notice when you enter is the décor: the giant dining room is a ’70s throwback, complete with a glimmering disco ball, coppertone fittings, and walls plastered with vintage posters from old Middle Eastern movies, concerts and tourist boards.

You won’t be able to find a website for Kood. That’s because the Korean tea café and kitchen doesn’t have one. Or a phone number, for that matter. Instagram? Forget about it. What you will find, though, if you happen to stroll past 414 Elizabeth Street around lunchtime, is a line nearly snaking out the door. When you get up closer you’ll see what everyone is here for: nine duck-egg-blue bowls heaped with traditional Korean dishes (vegetables, noodles, tofu) canteen style – and to the left, heated woks with gleaming, come-hither helpings of chicken, beef and pork. We go with what they call their 'Bento', which comes with two main numbers, three sides, rice and japchae. And it costs just $16.50, which, let’s face it, is less than a glass of wine these days.

Think house-cured and spiced sustainable salmon from New Zealand with juicy tomato, slivers of onion, bursts of salty capers and a generous slathering of herb schmear, encased in a chewy yet crisp-on-the-outside perfect bagel, baked fresh every morning. This is the classic bagel from Lox in a Box, a new joint that opened up in Manly late 2022. And yes, Northern Beaches locals are very happy about it.

The first mistake we make when visiting Malay Chinese’s flash new eatery at Circular Quay is visiting on a Wednesday. You see, the famed har mee noodle soup – the one loved for its incredible prawn-rich flavour – is only available on Tuesdays and Fridays (the chefs start the cooking process at 4am). That’s OK, we will have to come again. Worse things can happen. The second mistake we make is wearing white. But that’s where the bad news ends, because Malay Chinese has knocked it out of the park again with its drool-worthy flavours and prices.

Opened at the start of 2023 by the team behind next door's Butterboy and nearby Rollers Bakehouse, Norma’s Deli is named after owner James Sideris' grandmother. The all-day eatery is found at a sprawling site that sits just below the Corso. Longtime Manly and Northern Beaches locals will know the space well – for years it was usually a discount or less-than-average souvenir shop. So to see the area snapped up by good hands is like a breath of fresh, salty, gorgeous air. Norma is decked out in terrazzo with glass cabinets showing off make-your-tummy-rumble sweet and savoury snacks, well-priced sangas and thick slabs of pizza. 

Slippery, bouncy, spaghetti-like noodles. Caramelised ground pork with pickled mustard greens. Verdant just-blanched bok choy. And a vibrant, fiery and savoury broth spiked with five-spice powder, Sichuan pepper and chilli. We’re currently demolishing a bowl of Dan Dan noodles, a classic Chinese dish originating from the Sichuan province. It’s a heart-warming flavour bomb in a bowl. And the best part? It costs just $5.90. Yeah, we can’t believe it either.