Canberra

Burmese Curry House

Sydney building, alinga st, behind the civic bus interchange. delicious burmese curries with rice for just $7! popular with locals, open for lunch and dinner but closes around 8pm.

Zambreros

(http://www.zambrero.com/) 29 lonsdale st braddon, cnr east row & aligna st civic, also in woden & belconnen. absolutely delicious local favourite, serving fresh burritos & tacos with great sauces and salsas. the civic store is open late night on thursday - saturday nights, perfect drunken snack!

Cornucopia Bakery

40 mort street, braddon, ph 6249 1494. wide range of traditional bakery products, meat pies and sandwiches, prepared on the premises. however, for a bakery it is fairly expensive

Griffith Vietnamese Restaurant

Griffith shops. cheap, no frills place with little/no dã©cor and ordinary 'australianised' vietnamese food.

Hansel & Gretel

42 townsend st. philip. great european style shop and cafe. canberra's best coffee is roasted and sold on the premises. also great selection of nuts, chocolates, and easter and christmas treats. the cafe serves healthy light lunches and a selection of cakes and biscuits.

Dumpling Inn

1/1 lawry place, jamison group centre, macquarie. excellent chinese food with yum cha lunch on saturday and sunday. very popular with locals and booking might be required. ph + 61 2 6253 2268.

The Front Gallery and Cafe

Lyneham shops, wattle street, lyneham. enjoy a coffee and explore an art exhibition. comfy couches. 8am – 10pm tues - sat & 8am – 6pm sun - mon.

Pide House

2 lawry place, jamison group centre, macquarie near belconnen t/c and woden plaza, corinna street, woden. tel +61 2 6251-3325 jamison and +61 2 6260-3016 woden, (http://www.turkishpidehou...). nice, inexpensive turkish food in a proper restaurant not a takeaway outlet. the woden location is open all day one of the very few in canberra.

Piyaros

Lonsdale st, braddon close to the city, ph +61 6248 8802, (http://www.piyarosthaicui...). great quality, cheap, thai food. 11:30am-2:30pm lunch mon-fri, 5-10pm dinner 7 days. take away available.

Civic Asian Noodle House

Sydney building, 34 northbourne avenue, ph 02 6247 5145. good laksa at reasonable prices $15. relaxed atmosphere.

Kenny's

19 woolley street dickson. chinese style restaurant for fast dine in, byo & take away tel: +61 2 6248 9899. 1130am to 11pm 7 days.

Belluci's Restaurant

Cape st cnr woolley st, dickson. tel +61 2 6257-7788. popular italian restaurant.

Thirst Winebar and Eatery

20 west row, civic, +61 2 6257 0700. tasty thai food in modern styled restaurant. two-for-one mains on monday and tuesday make this a top option! otherwise expect to pay around $25.

Ginseng

15 flinders way, manuka. tel +61 2 6260 8346 or +61 2 6260 8347. try either the traditional or vegetarian singapore noodle and the laksa. book in advance and ask for a table on the second floor, you will get the best view of the manuka tree tops!!

Italo-Australian Club

Franlin st, forrest. you can obtain a temporary 28 day membership for $1 upon entry. you can get a hearty italian pasta dish for around $15, with drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic reasonably priced.

Four Rivers Sichuan Chinese Restaurant

Unit 66, the coventry apartments, 12 challis street, dickson, +61 2 6162-0666. - very tasty, authentic sichuan cuisine. yum-cha lunches.

Bruno's Truffels

Unit 2, 106 mawson place, mawson. tel +61 2 6286-6377. nice cafe and shop for locally made chocolates and pastries.

Meccabah

105-108 flinders way, manuka. tel +61 2 6260 6700.. moroccan/turkish inspired. very popular restaurant with fantastic decor and food. this restaurant may be busy any night of the week, with most thursdays to saturdays booked out in advance. make sure to visit the funky adjoining cocktail bar with a great view of manuka, as well as the wine and cheese providore on the other side of the terrace for great coffee and gourmet food and cheeses. owned by melbourne entrepreneur damien trytell and menu by melbourne cooking hot shot cath claringbold, the food and fun here does not dissappoint.

New Asia Chinese Restaurant

Unit 75, the coventry apartments, 2 cape street, dickson, +61 2 6262-8860. - offer authentic shanghai, sichuan, cantonese, and some malaysian cuisines. some of the signature dishes include: crispy fragrant duck, yu xiang pork and egg plant hot pot, shantung lamb and shantung chicken. the food is fresh and the service is friendly. very popular with chinese oversea students and local communities. open 7 days a week except saturday and sunday lunches. fully licenced. byo for bottled wines only. setting capacity: 34 people.

Rama's

Shop 6, pearce shopping centre, hodgson crescent, pearce. tel +61 2 6286 1964 or +61 2 6286 9437. fijian/indian, best and hottest - no joke curries in town. can be very noisy.

Great breakfast, good lunch and brilliant dinner. Traditional and experimental Italian cuisine, with a fine list of local and imported liquor. Very friendly and warm atmosphere, with professional staff.

Dickson shops:

This is the canberra equivalent of chinatown. lots of great asian food and a few pubs/clubs to have a beer at. this shopping centre is located a 10 minute bus ride north of civic, just off northbourne avenue, and has a fantastic eat street, with everything from thai to turkish to vietnamese at reasonable prices. turk oz has a delicious spinach and feta pide. dickson noodle house makes a terrific laksa and is quite cheap. au lac is an excellent vegetarian vietnamese place with delicious soy-based versions of everything.

Sammy's Kitchen

Bunda st canberra centre north quarter. serving a menu inspired mainly by malaysian but also cantonese flavoures. another restaurant with cool and sometimes almost yuppy feel.

CREAM

Cnr bunda and genge sts civic canberra centre north quarter +61 2 6162 1448. cool, hip and extremely funky! lunch and dinner served as well as coffee and a wonderful array of cakes and sweets.

Silo Bakery and Cafe

36 giles st, kingston. tel +61 2 6260-6060, (http://www.silobakery.com.au/). good breakfast, however almost always very crowded - expect 'attitude' instead of service. they also have a dedicated cheese room.

Cafe D'Lish

Shop 3, duff place, deakin. tel +61 2 6281-3533. fax +61 2 6281-3450. swiss owner, nice pastries made on premises.

Sukothai

27 bentham street, yarralumla. tel +61 2 6281 1092. inexpensive non-authentic thai food. eat in and takeaway.

Koko Black

Bunda st canberra centre north quarter. warm and tasty chocolate shop with a second to none chocolate selection as well as a innovative and interesting hot chocolate and drink menu. nice, welcoming decor.

Tu Do

7 sargood st, o'connor. tel +61 2 6248 6030. cheap and tasty vietnamese, very popular with the local vietnamese community. good bar nearby too.

Aubergine Restaurant

18 barker st, griffith. tel +61 2 6260-8666. food is very good, but beware the cancellations policy when changing a booking - you could be charged for the meals your party did not eat.

Courgette Restaurant

54 marcus clarke st, acton. tel +61 2 6247-4042. sister restaurant to aubergine restaurant, fine dining.

Ottoman Cuisine Restaurant

Cnr broughton & blackall st barton. tel +61 2 6273-6111. consistently awarded best turkish in australia, great atmosphere.

Rubicon

6a barker st, griffith. tel 6295 9919. consistently excellent food, extensive winelist and byo bring your own are accepted. great atmosphere, romantic rear indoor courtyard.

East/West fusion of great repute.

The Ginger Room

Located in old parliament house, the ginger room offers fine dining, in either a two course, or three course meal option. food offerings can be inconsistent in quality but if it is good, it's really good.

The Promenade Cafe

At the hyatt hotel, commonwealth ave, offers daily buffet dinners in its restaurant from 6pm and high teas from 3 to 5pm.