Alcove is quite a new cafe/deli in Brisbane, it has a great location in Wilston - I love finding little treasures like this that are out in the 'burbs and negate the need to go all the way into one of the busier inner city areas to get a decent breaky and coffee.

As I said before, great location, deli is small but packed with delicious looking produce and they have ample outside seating. The breakfast menu is pretty diverse, though being the sweet tooth I am, I would like another sweet option aside from the banana bread! It's cheap too, my prosciutto, cheese and herb mushroom panini was $9. Didn't have a coffee but my boyfriend says his was really nice. Was more than happy with their brewed chai too. The wait staff were a little all over the place but the man behind the counter was friendly and chatty (I think he was the owner). If I wasn't a uni student and could afford to eat the way I wish I could, I would come hear to indulge in the amazing deli goods here, the mueslis looked incredible. If you live anywhere on the northern side of Brisbane, this place is 110% worth a visit.

Approximate cost: $10

Lucky Coq is famous for it's $4 pizzas and they meet all expectations generally - they do what other places should, churn out loads of pizzas topped with fresh and yummy ingredients for next to nothing. My calamari one was divine. Downstairs was super busy as upstairs was closed for an unknown reason which made finding somewhere to sit a bit of a lucky dip but after we found a place we really loved the pizza and the infused vodka. Yummy!

Approximate cost: $4

Indochine is fantastic - when a restaurant is packed for lunch on a Tuesday you know it's probably doing something right. I got a great Vietnamese hit which was a relief because I've been to some shockers this year. My pho was the standard $10 and aromatic and fresh, and the same can be said of my rice paper rolls. My boyfriend and our friend got the pad thai and honey chicken respectively, which aren't as tradtionally Vietnamese but were still yummy nonetheless.

The best bit was our waiter, who was incredibly funny, attentive and lovely. I would go back just to have him look after us again!

Approximate cost: $10

Having never rented a car before I didn't really know what to expect but our experience with Rent a Bomb was pretty positive on the whole. We had a slight issue when my boyfriend couldn't use his temporary license (we're from QLD and he'd just changed his license over and they mail it out to you instead of making it on the spot) so we had to go get a stat dec from the police. Afterwards, the guy was really accommodating and explained he was just covering himself. You can't rent a car here if you're not 23 which is what stopped us from just using my license. We got the most basic deal there was, which is a used car for $40 for 24 hours. - great value. Car was oldish but ran just fine. There is a $300 collateral but you get that back if you return the car in proper condition. Recommend these guys if you're looking for a cheap rental.

Approximate cost: $40

Richmond Club has recently been renovated and now has a great beer garden and extensive seating available upstairs. We at upstairs and were informed of a half hour wait on meals before we ordered which we appreciated (it was a busy Thursday evening) - it has a great atmosphere with reasonably priced pub food that's a little fancier. My gnocchi was delicious and remnisicent of char kway teow, really smoky and yum. Service wasn't too bad however we had issue with them gradually turning up the music until we were literally yelling across the table to each other. We had to ask them several times to turn it down (this is early, like 8 o'clock - there was a DJ playing but no one was dancing and there were plenty of people still eating).

I'm not put off and I'd probably come back here, it's in such a great location close to Richmond Station.

Approximate cost: $22

I read about this place in Frankie magazine and it seemed pretty interesting with it's amusing name. I'm pretty into gourmet sausages so I was very keen to give it a try and see if they actually made decent hot dogs or it was all a gimmick.

We first tried to head there on a Wednesday, and they were closed despite the sign saying open from 12 and it was indeed after 12. Though, to their credit when I tweeted at them about it they responded saying they had unexpectedly been held up. Went back on Saturday around 2.30 and they were open - it's a very basic set up inside, and a bit bizarre to be honest. I was a little disappointed to discover that they do a more traditional American hot dog rather than gourmet sausages such as kranskys but nonetheless it is incredibly cheap (they have 3 different options, a 3, 6 and 12 inch I think and the 12 inch is $7 and the 6 inch a mere $4.50) and they are GOOD hot dogs. You have options to add pickles, sauerkraut etc and the buns were incredibly fresh. If I was still living in Melbourne, this place would be hit up frequently I'd say.

Approximate cost: $7

St Edmonds was our choice for lunch the other day and it's a lovely looking cafe with a sweet little courtyard in a great location just off Greville St, about 5 min walk from Chapel St. Our food was all delicious but it's kind of at the higher end of the cafe food spectrum in terms of price - there's probably a lot of places who do similar meals for a better price, I'd say. Especially since our coffee, although tasty were pretty much lukewarm. But that kind of thing is unlucky rather than a reflection of how they make their coffee. Probably wouldn't rush back but the food is great and the service perfectly adequate (I think I would describe the whole vibe as a slightly pretentious - but then again I seem to find myself at places like that very frequently).

Approximate cost: $18

Residential Kitchen is in a great location right on Lygon St (further north though, in quite a residential area). We got breakfast there but I get the feeling their focus is more on being a tapas bar. Breaky was yummy, however my eggs were overcooked (minor complaint) and they serve Campos coffee which for some reason I don't really like (that said, Campos is quality stuff so it speaks more of my personal preference rather than the coffee). It's a lovely big restaurant which I love, it's nice not being cramped into a noisy, tiny area. It was very quiet the morning we headed there so would be interesting to check it out on a night, see what it's like. Guy who ran the place seemed really nice and happy to split the bill, which I like.

Approximate cost: $16

Wide Open Road is located in hipster central but it has a lot of things to love about it, it's big and spacious, with good coffee and cheap food. The menu isn't extensive but they do basics well - I got the smushed peas with pecorino and lemon. I got a mountain of peas on the tastiest bread I've had in a while and it was complemented perfectly by the lemon and chunks of goat's cheese. Delicious. Service was pretty good too, not super attentive but they were lovely. More than happy to split the bill too which is always a bonus.

Approximate cost: $13

This place pretty much does the exact same thing Shanghai Dumplings does - super cheap dumplings, BYO with next to no corkage etc but in my opinion it's much nicer. The staff are uninterested (sometimes to the point of being rude) but it honestly doesn't bother me when I can get 15 dumplings for $8.50 or whatever it is. We had a 20 min wait on Friday night but like I said, I think it's worth it for such a cheap and yummy feed. I think if I came back I'd try for a week night - if you've been disappointed with Shanghai Dumplings going down hill, try this instead. Same but better

Approximate cost: $8