Budget Dining on the Gold Coast: Cheap Eats, Nerang Street and the Local Scene

Beneath the Gold Coast's reputation for resort dining and tourist-priced beachfront restaurants lies a solid budget dining scene concentrated in the local suburbs and multicultural precincts that regular residents rely on for everyday eating. Surfers Paradise has budget food options in the food courts of the major shopping centres including Pacific Fair at Broadbeach and the Chevron Renaissance complex, which are more competitive than the Esplanade restaurant strip. Nerang and Carrara in the western suburbs are the Gold Coast's most culturally diverse residential areas and have Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and South Asian restaurants at working-resident prices substantially lower than the beachside suburbs. Southport's Scarborough Street and the Chinatown on Nerang Street have some of the city's best value Asian food. Labrador has a multicultural residential community with affordable local restaurants. Robina Town Centre and Pacific Fair have food courts that serve the south Gold Coast at standard centre prices. The Pimpama and Upper Coomera growth corridor in the north has a growing number of budget-friendly restaurant options serving the fast-growing residential population. The Gold Coast's food trucks congregating at regular locations in Varsity Lakes, Robina and Hope Island are a source of quality food at accessible prices outside the tourist precincts.