Affordable Fine-dining Australia: Restaurant Deals Under $100

A fancy meal doesn’t have to come at a premium. Here’s how to experience the country’s best restaurants without breaking the bank.

Book the eight-course tasting menu at Wildflower in Perth (Boorloo) and you’ll experience one of Australia’s great progressive meals. Crafted to follow the six seasons of the Indigenous Noongar calendar and featuring ingredients unique to Western Australia, such as Abrolhos scallops and Geraldton wax, it’s exactly what you want from special-occasion dining – with the time commitment and price tag to match.

But at lunchtime on Wednesday through Friday, there’s a low-key way to try this upscale restaurant inside the reimagined 19th-century State Buildings. The Flow menu offers two courses for $69. “You can do it in an hour or 90 minutes,” says executive chef Kim Brennan, “but it still celebrates what we do at Wildflower, which is all about beautiful WA produce.”

In France, the prix fixe (fixed price) meal has long been a perfectly acceptable and chic way of dining out. Originally conceived in the 19th century, when restaurants were the domain of the elite, it was a way for chefs to condense a menu. The idea spread throughout Europe and to the United States, where it was seen as an accessible alternative to ordering à la carte. Today, set menus operate both as cost-effective offerings and a way to sample the food at a place you’re curious about.

For the House Made Hospitality group, the team behind Sydney CBD (Warrane) eateries Lana and Martinez, value is a key consideration. “We want people to be able to try a new product or venue without having to take out a mortgage,” says director Scott Brown. Currently, the group’s popular city pasta spot Grana hosts Pasta Club every Sunday, where you can order a three-course pasta feast with salad, dessert and matched alcoholic drinks for under $100.

Elsewhere, restaurants that have bars are often able to appeal to a broader clientele. At one of Sydney’s most exclusive fine-diners, Oncore by Clare Smyth, the peerless seven-course tasting menu is well worth saving up for. But you can grab a seat at the bar and try Smyth’s silken chicken liver parfait or legendary Core apple dessert in snack form, for a fraction of the price. While a big-budget, special-occasion meal will never get old, this egalitarian approach to dining makes more room at the table for everyone.

More ways to try the best (for less)

TAS

Omotenashi

Snagging one of the 10 seats at this Hobart kaiseki spot inside a Lexus dealership guarantees a core food memory but it also costs $300 per head. Alternatively, you can visit the website and order one of chef Lachlan Colwill’s Thursday sashimi boxes to take away – feeding up to four people for $200. Don’t skip pastry chef Sophie Pope’s plump and pillowy mochi to follow.

NSW

Maybe Sammy

The theatrical bartenders and bubble cocktails are the signatures everyone knows at this high-gloss bar in The Rocks, Sydney. Pop by on a Saturday and you’ll find a little something extra on the pass: the team shucks oysters from the time of opening until they run out, for just $2 a pop. Weekend cocktails never looked so good.

Alfie’s

In Sydney’s CBD, The Gidley offers a fine-dining steakhouse experience with prime cuts, classic cocktails and a generous wine list. But for a quick and casual option, try sibling establishment Alfie’s, where just one type of steak – sirloin – is available for less than $40. Add a side or two, throw in a Ciccone & Sons gelato and be done in time for your 2pm meeting.

Colombo Social

Sri Lankan joint Colombo Social, a social enterprise in Enmore, has introduced a fun way to get a taste of the main menu: all-you-can-eat kottu roti feasts on Tuesdays. Down as much as you like of the cut and fried roti mixed with egg, meat and veggies, along with a Young Henry’s beer and dessert, for $50 and two hours of your time.

VIC

Flower Drum

One of the country’s greatest Cantonese eateries, Flower Drum in Melbourne is known for its precision cooking and service. Traditionally, the food is designed to share but the team has come up with a concise two-course $60 lunchtime menu. You might begin with quail sang choi bao followed by crisp-skin chicken with spicy salt. Or skip the entrée and replace it with a dessert such as baked chestnut sago crumble.

Freyja

Nordic-Australian restaurant Freyja, in the centre of Melbourne, gives diners a choice of how to enjoy the menu. À la carte is one way, the multi-course tasting menu another, but the easiest and most approachable option is the three-course lunch for $69. A starter could be beef tongue with turnip and quandong, followed by chicken with mixed berries and a dark chocolate cremeux with rhubarb to finish.

SA

Fino Vino

This bubbly little wine bar on Adelaide’s Flinders Street is already a short-and-sweet version of its special-occasion parent, Fino Seppeltsfield in the Barossa. But there are still ways to enjoy more value. The $55 all-day express menu includes three shared dishes – zucchini with banana peppers, yoghurt and chermoula, perhaps, or lamb shoulder with tahini – plus a glass of wine. There’s also a happy hour between 4pm and 6pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

QLD

Libertine

In Brisbane’s CBD, Libertine entices diners in the door with weekend long-lunch specials and pre-event set menus. The Wednesday Night Folie banquet includes a ridiculously generous amount of French-Vietnamese fare for $49. There are seven courses in all, from papaya salad and twice-cooked pork belly to barbecued duck crêpes (plus options for vegetarians and vegans).