City centre

Café the Hague , Myer Centre, Level A (next to cinema complex). Dutch-style coffee house, way above the fast-food joints opposite. Try the poffertjes - sweet pancakes - and a gourmet coffee for breakfast.

e'cco , 100 Boundary St (tel 07/3831 8344). Boasts an impressive awards list that includes Australia's "Restaurant of the Year" for 1997 - so you'll have to book, sometimes days ahead. Surprisingly good value, with local favourite "steamed mussels" $15, and most mains around $22. Open for lunch Tues-Fri, dinner Tues-Sat.

Govindas , Elizabeth St. Hare Krishna-run vegetarian food bar, with a $7.50 all-you-can-eat menu. Open for lunch Mon-Sat 11.30am-2.30pm, dinner Fri 5.30-7.30pm; there's a $4 banquet every Sunday (5-7pm), but you'll have to sit through a lot of chanting before you actually get to eat.

Jameson's , 475 Adelaide St (tel 07/3831 7633). Ostensibly a wine bar, Jameson's reputation rivals that of e'cco . Billed as "Modern Australian", the menu features dishes such as woodside goat's cheese, snail and parsley soufflé, and breast of wood pigeon, all complemented by wine from what is reputed to be Brisbane's most satisfying and extensive cellar. It's one of the only places open late in the city (till 3am) on the weekend and has nightly entertainment (from jazz to hip-hop). Restaurant bookings essential; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat.

Pane e Vino , cnr Charlotte and Albert streets. Smart Italian café-restaurant with pavement tables, catering mainly to nearby office executives. Pastas from $12, main courses (lots of fish, chicken and lamb) around $21.

Stuffed Duck , 153 Elizabeth St, opposite McDonald's . Strange restaurant-bar, worth a visit just to read the menu - the "Wobbly Duck that goes moo" is a steak, "sea ducks" are oysters, and "Duck in orange sauce" is just that. There's a happy hour Friday and Saturday nights 9.30-10.30pm, followed by DJ ambience, and a Wednesday Wine Appreciation Night from 6pm. Lunchtime specials all around $10; evening mains $15-22.

Sushi Station , 142 Elizabeth St, next to McDonald's . One in a chain of Japanese sushi bars where the selection of dishes parades around the tables on the back of a model train, featuring low-priced soups, rice, fish, seaweed and green-tea ice cream.

Topolino's , 124 Leichhardt St. Cavernous budget Italian restaurant with huge pizzas, small but surprisingly filling pasta favourites and very average salads. Pasta dishes under $11; pizzas $7-19 depending on size and topping.

Victory Hotel , 127 Edward St. Nice beer garden with braziers taking the chill off in winter. The bistro meals are popular with the local business folk.

Petrie Terrace

Casablanca , 52 Petrie Terrace. Inexpensive brasserie and café serving the young and pretentious. Tapas is served at the bar for around $10, and the food is excellent and mouthwateringly spicy, with genuine leanings towards North African cuisine. Taped Brazilian music or live bands provide atmosphere and there's an "open" jam (mostly jazz/funk) on Monday nights.

Paddo Tavern , 186 Given Terrace. Respectable pub lunches served every day for only $1.95, leaving you with enough money for a beer or two.

Bobby Austin's , 360 Brunswick St (tel 07/3252 2511). "Modern Australian" fare such as kangaroo tenderloin served on a courgette cake alongside more conventional lamb shanks braised with thyme and garlic. Main courses around the $20 mark; open Tues-Fri 5.30pm-late, Sat & Sun 3pm-late.

California , 376 Brunswick St. Perfectly preserved 1950s diner, with original coffee cups, Formica-covered tables and hulking jukebox. Only two (men) have managed the California 's legendary "truckie's breakfast" of five eggs, steak, liver, bacon, sausage and tomato: otherwise, a regular cooked breakfast is $9. Daily 7am -2pm.

Cosmopolitan Coffee , 322 Brunswick Street Mall. Relaxed place, something of an institution with Brisbane's café society - and better than the surrounding competition.

Fat Boys , 321 Brunswick Street Mall. The place for an early-morning "heart-starter" after a night out in the Valley, with very good, cheap coffee. Most people opt for the $5 cooked breakfast while reading a newspaper, or just rest their hangover on a streetfront table. At other times, try a gourmet pizza, or the soup-with-sourdough will warm you up for only $5.50. Mon-Wed 6am-midnight, Thurs-Sun 24hr.

Hunan , Duncan St (halfway up Chinatown Mall, on the left). Stick to the "chef's suggestions" on the menu and you'll enjoy Brisbane's most authentic Chinese cuisine - though be warned, Hunanese cooking can use copious amounts of chilli and garlic. Try steamed beef in lotus leaf, fish in bamboo, or Mao's sliced pork - apparently a favourite dish of the late Chairman. Big portions; mains $12-17.

King of Kings , 169 Wickham St. A busy place, popular with the local Chinese community and fast becoming a Valley institution thanks to its fine late morning yum cha selection. Come prepared to queue at weekend lunchtimes. Open every day for lunch and dinner.

Tibetan Kitchen , 454 Brunswick St. It's hard to resist any place that advertises "traditional Tibetan, Sherpa, Nepalese foods", but the food here, including the Valley's best samosas ($4.90 for four), is tasty and cheap, and served in a very attractive setting. Mains $10-14. Open daily for dinner only.

The Vietnamese Restaurant , 194 Wickham St. With an interior every bit as plain and unassuming as the name over the door, this is no-frills, genuine Vietnamese cuisine. Mains around $9; open daily for lunch and dinner.

Bagelo's , cnr Boundary and Vulture streets. Basically a fast-food joint and café, which does interesting things with every type of bagel from spinach-feta to cinnamon-raisin (all baked on-site and very fresh), plus sandwich combos. Open daily.

Café Nouveau , 185 Boundary St. Friendly, with Mediterranean-style salads, pasta and seafood for $14-16, and a pleasant courtyard in the back; excellent cakes, too. Open daily 7.30am-late.

Caffé Tempo , 181 Boundary St (tel 07/3846 3161). Not sophisticated cuisine, but great Italian-style home cooking, with fresh salads and fine seafood pasta. Most expensive dish is $14.50, and they stay open until the last customer leaves.

Chantan , Boundary St, nr junction with Vulture. Greek BYO with basic furnishings but excellent food - the meze are a good standby, as is lamb kleftiko and eggplant risotto. "Early Bird" menu between 5 and 7pm with various specials under $6, otherwise mains are $15 -20.

Chez Laila , on the Boardwalk, Southbank Parklands. Airy, open-plan restaurant and bar with fine river views and Lebanese cuisine. Upmarket falafel, kebabs and kibbi, along with side dishes of stuffed vine leaves, hummus, and baba ghanouj (grilled aubergine and tahini puree). Mains around $15.

King Ahiram , 88 Vulture St. A long-running Lebanese takeaway and restaurant; not worth crossing town for, but good for kebabs and sticky Mediterranean desserts if you're in the area.

New Asia , 153 Boundary St (tel 07/3846 3569). Forget flashier Vietnamese restaurants in the neighbourhood: this is the best - prawns grilled on sugar cane, deep-fried quail, rice-noodle dishes - all for less than $8 a dish.

Oblio's Café , cnr Melbourne and Boundary streets. Popular newcomer to the West End's restaurants, sporting minimalist decor and Mediterranean colours inside, but open front gives feeling of pavement dining. Food is Mediterranean/eclectic - tapas, antipasta, risottos, polenta and Moroccan lamb alongside Asian noodles and spiced quail. Mains around $20.

Three Monkeys Coffee Shop , 58 Mollison St. Decorated with a funky assortment of African oddments; serves average coffee, awesome cakes, and effortlessly achieves the sort of bohemian atmosphere most coffee shops merely aspire to. Greek-influenced menu with plenty of vegetarian/lentil options, and nothing over $10. Open daily 9.30am-midnight.

Wok On Inn , 94 Boundary St. All kinds of fresh, tasty soups, and noodles in combination with vegies, chicken, beef or prawns; $8-12 for anything on the menu. Open 7 days.