Correction (1 October 2026): an earlier version of this page was generated without checking a single venue. It offered price ranges, a student-population figure and shopping advice we could not stand behind, and it named no restaurant, cafe or takeaway. It has been rewritten from scratch: every place below was checked against its own current website or ordering page, and every price was copied from it on 1 October 2026.
Urban Hub Cafe is listed on the ground floor of 115 Victoria Parade, ACU Melbourne’s Fitzroy campus, but its Uber Eats page says “Closed on Uber Eats as of 23 Jan 2026” and we could not find a menu or price list from the cafe itself, so we could not confirm what it serves or charges today. If you want a price you can check before you leave class, four Fitzroy kitchens publish their own: a queso arepa for $8.80 and a hot chicken sandwich for $15.90 on Gertrude Street, a hashbrown, egg and cheese sandwich for $12 on Kerr Street, and a vegan-chicken bao for $9.50 on Brunswick Street.
ACU’s own campus page says it straight: “The cafes, shops and nightlife of Brunswick and Smith Streets are nearby.” That is the patch this list covers, and every pick is in Fitzroy, same as the campus. Prices move and boards change, so treat these as a guide checked on one day, not a promise.
Urban Hub Cafe: what we could confirm
People search for this one by name, so here is everything we could stand behind on 1 October 2026.
- ACU’s own facilities page lists a cafe, vending machines and a water refill station for the Melbourne campus. It does not name the cafe.
- Uber Eats lists Urban Hub Cafe at 115 Victoria Parade, Ground Floor, Fitzroy. The listing shows a menu of focaccias, rotis, salads, breakfast muffins, coffee and a Meal of the Day that comes with a can of drink, but no prices, and it says “Closed on Uber Eats as of 23 Jan 2026”. That line is about delivery through the app, not about whether the counter on campus is serving.
- No menu of its own. We found no website, price board or official page for the cafe that we could read, so it is not one of the picks below. If you are on campus, the ground floor itself is the quickest check.
The quick picks
| If you’re after | Head to | The move | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A feed under a tenner before class | Sonido | Queso arepa | $8.80 |
| A breakfast sandwich | Nico’s | Hashbrown, egg and cheese sandwich | $12 |
| Cheap and meat-free | Vegie Bar | Spiced chicken bao (vegan chicken), takeaway | $9.50 |
| Hot chicken | Belles Hot Chicken | Supreme sandwich | $15.90 |
Sonido — 69 Gertrude St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
An arepa counter whose own site lists weekday hours of 7:30am to 3pm, which matters if you have a 9am. Its pickup menu marks the arepas gluten-free, with a note that they may carry traces of gluten from the kitchen. The queso arepa, with butter and salt, is $8.80; the choclo, a sweet corn arepa with grilled cheese, is also $8.80; and a beef and potato empanada is $6.60. Want it stuffed? The guac and tomato pocket, vegan, is $14.20.
What it is: an arepa is a flat, round corn cake cooked on a griddle until crisp outside and soft inside, eaten plain or split open and filled like a pocket.
Under $15: guac and tomato pocket, $14.20, checked 1 October 2026.
The move: queso arepa, $8.80.
Nico’s — 100 Kerr St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
A sandwich shop that its own ordering site lists as Nicos the Original, on Kerr Street. The hashbrown, egg and cheese sandwich is $12: hash brown, baked egg, American cheese and Nico’s breakfast sauce on toasted shokupan. The Little Chicken, fried chicken with yuzukosho mayo, dill pickle and plenty of white pepper on a demi brioche, is $15. Got a bigger budget? The schnitzel, crumbed chicken thigh with Swiss cheese, koji chimichurri, lettuce and pickles, is $19.50.
What it is: shokupan is the soft, square Japanese milk loaf; yuzukosho is a Japanese paste of yuzu citrus peel, chilli and salt.
The move: hashbrown, egg and cheese sandwich, $12.
Vegie Bar — 380 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
A vegetarian restaurant that dates itself to 1988 and lists itself as open daily from 11:30am (from 11am on weekends). For a student budget, look at the snacks and bao on the takeaway menu of its own ordering site: the spiced chicken bao, fried vegan chicken with chipotle mayo, pickles and crispy chilli crumbs, is $9.50 for one; the Peking duck bao, crispy vegan duck with hoisin and pickled cucumber, is $9; and the vegie spring rolls are $8 for two. Need a proper lunch? The katsu sando, crispy vegan schnitzel with tonkatsu sauce and slaw on white bread, is $16.
What it is: a bao is a soft, steamed wheat bun folded around a filling, sized for a few bites.
The move: spiced chicken bao, $9.50, from the takeaway menu.
Belles Hot Chicken — 150 Gertrude St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Broadsheet records the first Belles Hot Chicken opening on Gertrude Street in 2014, and the chain’s own Fitzroy page lists the shop at 150 Gertrude Street, opening at 11:30am every day. The menu that page links to offers five spice levels, Southern being the first. The Supreme sandwich, Southern tenders with pickles and lettuce in a milk bun, is $15.90, and a basket of crinkle fries is $9 if you are splitting.
What it is: Nashville hot chicken is fried chicken brushed with a fiery, cayenne-heavy spiced oil, a style from Tennessee.
The move: Supreme sandwich, $15.90.
Quick answers
Is Urban Hub Cafe at ACU Melbourne open?
We could not confirm it. Uber Eats lists Urban Hub Cafe at 115 Victoria Parade, Ground Floor, Fitzroy, and has shown “Closed on Uber Eats as of 23 Jan 2026”, which covers delivery, not the campus counter. ACU’s own facilities page lists a cafe for the Melbourne campus without naming it, and we found no menu or price list from the cafe itself.
Where can I get a cheap lunch near ACU Melbourne in Fitzroy?
Four Fitzroy spots publish their own prices: Sonido at 69 Gertrude Street (queso arepa $8.80), Nico’s at 100 Kerr Street (hashbrown, egg and cheese sandwich $12), Vegie Bar at 380 Brunswick Street (spiced chicken bao $9.50 on its takeaway menu) and Belles Hot Chicken at 150 Gertrude Street (Supreme sandwich $15.90). Prices copied from each venue’s own site on 1 October 2026.
What can I eat for under $10 near ACU Fitzroy?
Sonido’s beef and potato empanada ($6.60) and queso arepa ($8.80), and, on Vegie Bar’s takeaway menu, the spring rolls ($8 for two), the Peking duck bao ($9) and the spiced chicken bao ($9.50). Belles Hot Chicken lists a basket of crinkle fries at $9.
Where can I get breakfast before an early class near ACU Fitzroy?
Sonido’s own site lists weekday hours of 7:30am to 3pm, with arepas from $8.80. Nico’s also sells breakfast sandwiches, from $12 for the hashbrown, egg and cheese on toasted shokupan, though we could not confirm its opening time.
Are there vegan or gluten-free cheap eats near ACU Melbourne?
Vegie Bar on Brunswick Street is vegetarian, and its takeaway bao, filled with vegan chicken or vegan duck, are $9.50 and $9. Sonido marks its arepas gluten-free on its ordering page, with a note that they may contain traces of gluten from the kitchen, and its guac and tomato pocket is vegan at $14.20.
How we checked
On 1 October 2026 we read each venue’s own website and its own online ordering menu, and copied every item and price exactly as published. Sonido’s prices come from its pickup menu for 69 Gertrude Street. Nico’s and Vegie Bar’s come from the product feeds behind their own ordering sites, filtered to the Kerr Street shop and to Vegie Bar’s takeaway counter, so the prices belong to the Fitzroy locations. Belles’ come from the menu its Fitzroy page links to. We confirmed each address at a second, independent source: Broadsheet, the Australian Good Food Guide or Uber Eats. For Urban Hub Cafe we read ACU’s own campus and facilities pages and the cafe’s Uber Eats listing. Ordering-page prices can differ from counter prices, specials come and go, and we used no delivery-app prices. The photos are illustrative, from Unsplash: they show the kind of dish, not the venue’s own food.
Seen something out of date, or know Urban Hub’s current hours? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- ACU Melbourne campus: campus page and food, drink and recreation facilities
- Urban Hub Cafe: Uber Eats listing
- Sonido: sonido.com.au and its pickup menu; address also at Broadsheet
- Nico’s: its ordering site; address also at Uber Eats
- Vegie Bar: vegiebar.com.au and its takeaway ordering site; address also at Broadsheet and AGFG
- Belles Hot Chicken: Fitzroy page and menu; address and history at Broadsheet
