5-star feasts in Darwin that won’t blow the budget

From sunset markets to food trucks, Darwin has a dazzling array of cheap and cheerful dining options.

With its tropical climate and blazing sunsets, outdoor dining is a way of life in the Northern Territory’s capital city, Darwin. The best news is that an amazing feast can be found even on a low budget. Here’s where to find the city’s best-value eats.

Everyone talks about the Mindil Beach Sunset Market for a reason: twice a week during the dry season (late April to late October) you can come to one place to graze your way around the world. On Thursday and Sunday evenings, it seems like most of Darwin heads to Mindil Beach with their coolers in tow to try food from Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Portugal and more. Sample sizzling satay sticks, a spicy laksa or even a crocodile fillet as the sun sets over Darwin Harbour.

Darwin does tropical outdoor dining so well, and the Nightcliff foreshore is one of the city's best for dinner accompanied by sunset. All along the waterfront, food trucks and pop-up restaurants are parked along the foreshore. At five different locations between the Nightcliff Jetty and Nightcliff Pool to the Rapid Creek Fishing Platform, the pop-up restaurants serve everything from souvlaki, woodfired pizza and risottoto freshly fried fish and chips. Times and dates change with the seasons, so make sure you check out this Street Food schedule before you head down.

Meraki Greek Taverna is located off Austin Lane in the city, and specialises in mezethes (small plates). Order traditional Greek dips and pita bread chased with lamb chops, char-grilled squid and quail. Darwin has a notable Greek community and the restaurant, with its convivial atmosphere and delicious Mediterranean-inspired menu is popular with both locals and visitors.

One of the city’s most exciting precincts is the Darwin Waterfront, where swimming is available year-round in the Darwin Waterfront Wave Lagoon and Darwin Waterfront Recreation Lagoon. The waterfront area has landscaped gardens surrounded by restaurants, bars and cafes, such as Chow. At lunch, the Vietnamese restaurant serves four types of banh mi (feel free to add fries or a baby laksa) as well as bun cha (grilled marinated pork with rice vermicelli) and huge steaming bowls of beef, chicken or vegetable pho.

Feel like a succulent piece of local fish? Frying Nemo, a fish and chippery overlooking Tipperary Waters Marina just outside the city centre, specialises in wild-caught NT seafood such as barramundi, jewfish, king threadfin, rock cod and blacktip shark. As well as serving out-there burgers such as crocodile or buffalo, this quality Top End fish and chippery has picked up awards for the Northern Territory's Best Fish and Chips.