Copyright Business Insider
I love sampling local cuisine when I travel, so dining at Costco food courts overseas can be a blast. This store's menu offered pleasant surprises like Aussie steak pies, chicken sandwiches, barbecue-meat pizza, and mango boba smoothies. Though the offerings felt quite different from ones in the US, there were some familiar items, such as double-chocolate-chunk cookies and hot dogs. Interestingly, the Australian hot dog is all-pork, unlike the all-beef offered in North American Costco locations. Costco's famous soda-and-hot-dog combo that's usually $1.50 back home was an even better deal for me here since the price of 1.99 Australian dollars converted to about $1.29. The barbecue-meat pizza was incredible, with three meats (bacon, ham, and ground beef) piled high on top of barbecue sauce — a local favorite I've not seen in Costco locations in the US. The only American offering that might even come close to this would be Costco's combination pizza, which has toppings like sausage, onions, and pepperoni. However, the chain removed it from US food-court menus in 2020 and now only dishes up cheese or pepperoni pizza. When I browse the wine and spirits at Costco locations that sell alcohol, I look for the local offerings and regional specialties. For example, I've found that Costco warehouses in Hawaii sell locally produced rum and beer, and stores in wine-producing states offer a robust selection of local wines. Australia has many fantastic wineries and famous viticultural regions, such as the Barossa Valley. However, I was stunned to see only a handful of Australian wines for sale, including some from larger producers like Penfolds. The bulk of the selection seemed to consist of offerings from the US or South America. A large section of the store was filled with a variety of grills and accessories, plus dioramas of backyard setups that resembled Ikea displays. I knew that barbecue sessions were a cornerstone of Australian culture, but I was surprised to see so much real estate dedicated to grilling. Locations in the US typically only sell a few models of grills at a time— I don't think I've ever seen so many at once in a Costco. Like the United States, Costco in Australia offers high-quality steaks and seafood, including locally raised beef that seems perfect for grilling. Because many Costco locations offer a few regional products and specialties, I was hoping to find some domestic exotic meats for sale, such as wallaby, kangaroo, or crocodile — all items I've seen on local restaurant menus in Australia. Unfortunately, I didn't see any of these offerings during my visit. Although the meat section seemed fairly straightforward, I found some local specialties in other areas of the store. For example, I found a locally produced botanical goat-milk soap in the toiletry aisle and several kangaroo treats for dogs to enjoy. The snack aisle also contained some offerings I'd never seen back in the US, like jerky made with Australian beef and flavored with Chinese five-spice. The produce section felt pretty typical, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that much of the fruit was grown locally in Australia — and marked as such. In the deli area, the Aussie take on the freshly-packed Caesar salad startled me, with large strips of bacon and sliced hard-boiled eggs piled on top. Turns out, these are fairly common toppings on Caesars in the region. Back home, Kirkland Signature sells a version of the salad I'm more used to — one that's simply adorned with Parmesan cheese, croutons, and lemon wedges. In the US, a traditional Caesar salad typically includes raw egg in the dressing, not as a hard-boiled topper. Throughout my trip, I found lots of products I've seen at Costco locations in the US, like the signature rotisserie chicken, Kirkland Signature steak strips, and more. Some of them looked a little different from what I'm used to back home. For example, what I thought were jumbo boxes of Kellogg's Rice Krispies were actually Kellogg's Rice Bubbles. Apparently, that's what the cereal is known as in places like Australia and New Zealand. Ultimately, shopping at Costco Down Under was a fine experience, but the store lacked some of the local items I was really hoping to buy. Next time in Australia, I'd consider coming back for a slice of barbecue pizza — but I probably won't make it past the food court. Instead, I'd seek out other Australian stores and specialty shops to find souvenirs and other local treats.
