Nine New Spots To Grab Lunch for Less Than $20

Lunch is often the hardest meal to plan. Luckily, a slew of new openings have us covered. There are two new sandwich shops from top chefs; a Collingwood taqueria with $9 tacos; a Korean burger shop from Baguette Studios, where you can get a killer fried chicken burger with a house-made potato bun for $18; and more.

Seoul Tiger, CBD

Seoul Tiger, a new burger shop from the Baguette Studios team, is home to some of the best burgers in Melbourne. The team maps Korean flavours onto American exports: burgers, corndogs and shakes.

Burgers, all served on house-made potato buns, make up the core offering. There’s a $13 beef bulgogi-inspired cheeseburger; an $18 KFC (Korean fried chicken) burger coated in a special sauce inspired by classic Korean sweet-spicy fried chicken; and a $16 veggie burger inspired by yachae twigim (thinly sliced, battered and fried vegetables) served with house-made Korean pickled onions. 

Fannys Sannys,  Prahran

Former Grill Americano executive chef Douglas Keyte opened his sandwich shop Fanny Sannys on Commercial Road in Prahran at the very end of 2025. 

The seven-item menu is split between rolls, sandwiches and jaffles. Bread is sourced from two local bakers: sourdough loaves, rolls and panini come from Blanc Bakery in Berwick, and soft shokupan loaves from Manna Bakery in Oakleigh. Among the standouts is a crispy porchetta roll with gem lettuce, dijonnaise and salsa verde, and a poached veal panini layered with celeriac remoulade and horseradish.

Sandwiches, rolls and jaffles are all $17 with the exception of the $21 Krispy Green, a fried John Dory sandwich finished with a vivid green goddess sauce – a recipe Keyte originally developed for a restaurant dish that he reworked for bread.

Santito, Collingwood

At Santito, a taqueria housed in the former Hotel Jesus site on Smith Street, the tortillas are made by hand using the traditional Mexican process of nixtamalisation, where corn is soaked in an alkaline solution to enhance texture and nutrition. The kitchen team then grinds it using a Molinito brand volcanic-stone grinder, and the resulting masa is pressed into tortillas before each one is grilled to order.

Those tortillas are then used to make tacos inspired by Mexico City. Tacos are $9 each, and range from al pastor (the spit-roasted pork dish introduced to Mexico by Lebanese migrants) to suadero (confit beef brisket) and longaniza (chorizo-style house-made pork sausage). They already come dressed, but a trio of house-made salsas – salsa verde, salsa roja and a habanero salsa – are on hand to finish. It’s open for lunch on Saturdays, and dinner every day but Monday.

Apa’s Canteen, CBD

Bhutanese cafe Apa’s Canteen is a welcome new addition to the CBD’s myriad lunch offerings. At the small Little Collins Street shop, you’ll find $16 ema datshi, a fragrant cheese-and-chilli stew and the national dish of Bhutan. 

There’s also a selection of buckwheat dumplings and Bhutanese-style momos priced between $16 and $17 a serve. Owner Sonam Thinley says the momos are less spicy and saucy than their Nepalese counterparts, but come with fiery ezay, a condiment made with dried green chillies, on the side.

Florian To Go, Carlton North

In February, the Florian team opened a new takeaway shop right next to the original cafe. At Florian To Go, you’ll find a changing selection of sandwiches such as ham baguettes served on Iris the Bakery bread, or hot sopressa (pork salami) sandwiches on Austro Bakery focaccia for $16. Plus, there’s a changing menu of takeaway salads, which might include a cabbage, cucumber and dill number with buttermilk dressing for $14. 

Shoten, Elsternwick and Doncaster

Hinoki Pantry on Smith Street has long been one of the most revered Japanese food hubs in Melbourne. In July, the team opened Shoten (Japanese for “shop”) in Doncaster. It’s a new brand, but a similar concept delivering the same mix of Japanese pantry goods and pristine sushi that made Hinoki a city favourite. At the end of 2025, Shoten expanded, opening a branch in Elsternwick. 

Shoten is more focused on quality than speed when it comes to takeaway sushi, opting for the same premium approach that its north-side counterpart does so well. There are pre-made takeaway packs including a $17.50 nigiri tray and makizushi (handrolls) made to order and priced from $11.50.

Tatik’s Delights, Southbank

Husband-and-wife-run Armenian bakery Tatik’s Delights has become well known for its medovik, or honey cake. But you’ll also find a number of savoury snacks that make an excellent lunch. 

Khachapuri, often associated with Georgia but also widely eaten in Armenia, is a standout. Each boat-shaped flatbread is $16.90. It’s filled with melted cheese and an egg yolk (meant to be stirred through before eating) before it’s baked to order in about 15 minutes. For something quicker, there are grab-and-go snacks such as $6.90 piroshki, puffy fried hand pies filled with potato or minced beef. 

Matsuyama, South Yarra

Formerly a pop-up, Prahran Market Japanese restaurant Matsuyama is one of four new venues that have opened in the former Mr Hoddle site. There’s yakitori featuring chicken skin, wings, heart, liver, gizzards and thighs, priced from $5.50 to $6.50 per piece. Plus, skewers of 9+ Wagyu, and others with zucchini and king oyster mushrooms, priced between $4 and $9.90. There’s also a teriyaki chicken sando made with whole thigh fillet for $16.90, and a pork katsu one layered with egg and pickled daikon for $18.90.

Aunty’s Dumplings, Carlton

All dumplings are made the day they’re sold at Aunty’s Dumplings, a family-run shop in Carlton. The menu includes eight mainstay and some seasonal dumplings, as well as smaller dishes such as cabbage and carrot pickles for $3.80, and $6.80 Dongbei jelly, tofu topped with a savoury jelly that has pieces of century egg and pork set into it. The dumplings come in serves of eight to 16 pieces, with 16 cabbage and pork dumplings available for $17.80 boiled or $19.80 pan-fried. 

Additional reporting by Pauline de Leon, Sebastian Pasinetti, Quincy Malesovas, Haymun Win, Komal Nash.