$50 and under

Happy Boy, Fortitude Valley: Hailed as one of Brisbane’s best banquets based on value and variety, Happy Boy’s Chef’s Banquet – valued at $50 per person – is hard to beat. Expect a procession of the restaurant’s greatest hits, from wok-seared black-pepper beef to dry-fried green beans with pork. 

El Planta, South Brisbane: This venue’s plant-based take on Mexican cuisine is so good you wouldn’t even know it’s entirely vegan. What’s more, El Planta’s banquet – available for $45 per person, or $50 if you include dessert – punches well above its price point. Expect snacks like chilaquiles and fried potatoes with chimichurri verde, as well as a number of top-tier tacos.

King Tea, Paddington: From a sheer economical standpoint, King Tea’s banquets are great value. Groups can pop in before 6:00 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday for the seven-course Early Bird Banquet ($30 per person) or opt for the King’s Banquet ($49 per person), which dishes up Chinese classics like sweet-and-sour chicken, salt-and-pepper prawns and the crowd-pleasing mushroom pancake. 

Warisan, Fortitude Valley: If you’re looking for a dose of traditional Indonesian cuisine with some tasty modern twists, Warisan’s Rantangan banquet ($49 per person, $45 per per for the vegan option) serves a suite of salivation-inducing morsels in a tiffin box. Expect the likes of otak-otak (steamed and grilled fish cake in banana leaf with sambal peanut), crispy fried soft-shell crab tossed in chilli padang sauce with corn ribs and smoked-duck curry with boiled egg, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf.

Mexicali, Bulimba: This colourful rooftop eatery is a great space to enjoy a few margaritas and a killer banquet of Mexican-inspired delights. The Mexicali Banquet ($44 per person) features corn chips and guac, street-style corn, chicken drummettes, chilli-salt squid, four-cheese quesadillas and your choice of classic taco.

Libertine, Petrie Terrace: A long-running staple of the inner-city dining scene, Libertine is adored for its deft blend of French and Vietnamese culinary influences. The restaurant’s Central Banquet ($49 per person) is filled with value. Nosh on spicy chicken potstickers, pork-and-ginger egg rolls, crispy reef squid, caramelised-pork san choi bao, and grain-fed beef brisket with Vietnamese garlic noodles.

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Goros, Fortitude Valley: Solotel Group’s lively izakaya and bar has a great set-menu option for when you need to feed a crowd. For $49 per person, devour prawn crackers dusted with togarashi, wakame and cucumber salad, kingfish carpaccio, pork gyoza with teriyaki and balsamic dressing, fried chicken with fries and chilli mayo, steamed rice, and salad.

Phat Boy, Brisbane City: This Thai-inspired restaurant at Brisbane Quarter is a great spot for some banquet dining in the inner city. Phat Boy offers two set menus to choose from – including the $35 Feed Me menu with spring rolls, satay skewers and crispy chicken green curry, and the $45 Thai Feast, which ups the ante with the addition of curry puffs, chicken pad Thai and slow-cooked beef rib and sweet potato massaman curry.

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$60 and under

Dark Shepherd, Brisbane City: Nestled on The Terrace at The Star Brisbane, Dark Shepherd gives dinners a comprehensive tour of its Mediterranean-inspired menu via The Big Chop Banquet. The feast features starters like puffy pillow bread, tzatziki, pastitsio bites, calamari and lamb ribs and woodfired scallops, before wowing with its centrepiece – a whopping lamb tomahawk cutlet.

Mrs. Brown’s Bar & Kitchen, Newstead: Few nosh spots nail bar food quite like Mrs. Brown’s. The lively Newstead spot is constantly abuzz with locals sipping and snacking, with a solid percentage likely indulging in the Mrs B’s Classics banquet ($55 per person). The spread includes a number of the bar’s signatures, including chicken and cheese spring rolls, lamb paratha pancakes, Korean fried cauliflower, rotisserie chicken, rotisserie pork and salads. 

Ramona Trattoria, Coorparoo: This cherished suburban eatery is one of Brisbane’s best spots for Italian cuisine. If you can’t make a choice between Ramona’s excellent dishes, opt for the set menu ($60 per person) – you’ll get everything from burrata and cacio e pepe suppli, a chef’s choice of pizza, bottoni con friggione alla bolognese, and tonarelli cacio e pepe.

Ming Ming’s Kitchen, Wilston: An underrated gem located in the heart of Wilston Village, Ming Ming’s Kitchen offers a selection of banquets to cater to most hunger levels. The signature Ming Ming’s Goodies banquet ($55 per person) includes steamed wontons, seafood spring rolls, slow-cooked pork belly, salmon teriyaki and Vietnamese doughnuts. There’s also a snack-heavy set menu going for $45 per person boasting prawn toast, lemongrass-beef rice-paper rolls, pork spring rolls, steamed buns, fried chicken and tempura cauliflower.

Luckies Kitchen, Bulimba: A favourite among Bulimba locals, this neon-lit eatery’s take on East Asian cuisine is perfectly encapsulated in its signature Luckies Banquet. Enjoy dishes like kingfish sashimi, Sichuan calamari, sweet-and-sour pork and Japanese-style duck curry – all for $54 per person.

Rich & Rare, West End: This West End steakhouse doesn’t mess about when it comes to delivering value. Rich & Rare’s Power Banquet – available for lunch and early dinner – packs in nine courses for just $54 a head. The mammoth feast features seared scallops with caramalised cauliflower puree and jamon crumb, barramundi with tobiko, miso butter and pickled kohlrabi, and a succulent sirloin steak with mushroom sauce. 

Chalong, Chapel Hill: This suburban gem is giving diners a taste of Thai-style cuisine with its A Day in Bangkok set menu. For $59 per person, enjoy pork betel leaf, spring rolls, crispy chicken baos, massaman beef-cheek curry, cashew nut chicken, Asian greens and a sorbet of the day, to finish.

Massimo, Brisbane City: This Italian-inspired riverside restaurant is great for long lunches and sunset dinners with friends, and the Pronto Banquet (available every day of the week from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm) is the perfect choice for both. For $54 per person, enjoy focaccia with whipped ricotta dip, cacio e pepe croquettes, flash-fried calamari, slow-cooked lamb ragu and loin of the eye fillet.

IPPIN Japanese Dining, West End: Sitting pretty above The Common at West Village, IPPIN isn’t just an aesthetically pleasing nosh spot, but also a well-priced one. The restaurant’s Tsuki banquet ($58 per person) includes fresh sashimi, crunchy king prawns, grilled scallops with kombu, popcorn salmon roll, twice-cooked pork belly and a mystery dessert.

The Green, Fortitude Valley: If smoky Lebanese flavours are your thing, The Gathering banquet at The Green is a great pick. For $60 per person, enjoy house-made Lebanese bread with hummus, fattoush salad, spicy batata harra with harissa paste and succulent charcoal hawaij chicken with toum and fermented cabbage.

Clarence, Woolloongabba: One of Brisbane’s best restaurants plates up a killer lunch offering that is a must-try meal. The three-course menu features shared starters like Saison saucisson sec and blue-eye trevalla crudo, and a choice between orzo risotto with Jervis Bay mussels, pepperoni and vodka sauce, and confit duck leg with beetroot, cumquat and almond cream.

Snack Man, Fortitude Valley: Love dumplings? Then you’ll adore Snack Man’s punchy banquet offering, which features a chef’s selection of dishes – including har gao, xiao long bao and an assortment of eats for just $59 per person.

Yamas Greek + Drink, West End: For a feast worthy of the gods, head to Yamas at West Village and order the $55 Zeus Banquet. The substantial spread is filled with Greek eats, from pita bread and tzatziki, lamb ribs, calamari, mixed souvla, salad and lemon potatoes.

$70 and under

Ruby, My Dear, Newstead: Not only is Ruby, My Dear a vibey space for cocktails and cool tunes, but the kitchen’s izakaya-inspired offering is top notch. The Gochiso banquet ($69 per person) is brimming with bang-on bites, from mis-cured salmon aburi and vegetable dumplings coated in chilli crunch, to duck tsukune, coal chicken and charred cabbage lathered in miso mayo.

Stanley, Brisbane City: For some contemporary Cantonese cuisine, look no further than Stanley. This Howard Smith Wharves restaurant packs its classic banquet ($65 per person) with  top-selling dishes like spicy Sichuan dumplings, salt-and-pepper squid, sweet ‘n’ sour chicken, and stir-fried green beans and pork.

Sasso Italiano, Woolloongabba: Bold interiors and bolder flavours are on the cards at Sasso Italiano. The restaurant’s Feed Me menu ($63) features a hit list of Italian-inspired gems, including porcini-mushroom-filled arancini, burrata with bagna cauda and crispy capers, your choice of pizza, rigatoni alla vodka and, for a sweet finish, a mini cannoli filled with whipped ricotta and fig jam.

Yoko, Brisbane City: Pull up a seat at contemporary Japanese restaurant Yoko at Howard Smith Wharves and order the Izakaya. For $65 a head you’ll receive everything from miso-glazed eggplant and tempura soft-shell crab hand rolls, to Nikkei ceviche with aji amarillo and charcoal chicken with garlic mustard. Be sure to save room for dessert – the miso caramel soft-serve is a highlight.

Greca, Brisbane City: Got a Mount Olympus-sized hunger? Sate it with Greca’s Full Greek banquet. Valued at $65 per person, this appetite buster boasts taramasalata with grilled pita bread, fried calamari, steaming hunks of oven-baked lamb shoulder and golden crispy roast potatoes.  

Mademoiselle, Hamilton: For some French-inspired fare, head to Mademoiselle at Portside Wharf and select the five-course banquet ($69 per person). Kick back and enjoy the likes of carrot romesco deviled eggs with herb crisp and carrot leaf oil, mussels au beurre d’escargot, pressed Sovereign lamb shoulder with potato pave, and catch of the day with Meunière sauce.

Hello Please, South Brisbane: A Fish Lane favourite, Hello Please’s punchy take on Asian flavours makes it a can’t-miss choice for dinner. The banquet, available for $65 per person, features the likes of fried chicken with chilli vinegar, barramundi red curry with wok-fried beans, raw yellowfin tuna with gochujang and steamed gai lan.

Cartel del Taco, New Farm and Hawthorne: Weighing in at seven courses for $65 a head, Cartel del Taco’s set menu scores top marks when it comes to value. The spread kicks off with chargrilled elotes with mayo and tajin and chicken in chipotle adobo tostada, before building momentum with a procession of deep-fried fish tacos, signature al pastor tacos and slow-cooked beef birria tacos.