All the Best Things to Eat and Drink at Vivid Sydney
Our guide to where to eat and drink at Vivid Sydney is designed to help you find the best dining options if you are heading to the city to see the Vivid lights. Along with the official Vivid food events, there are a number of Vivid-exclusive bar and dining offers that are more accessible. We have shared our top picks below.
Vivid Sydney runs from 22 May to 13 June 2026
We all know things get very busy on weekends during Vivid Sydney, so for the best chance of getting a table:
- Consider Friday or Sunday for weekend dining. Saturdays are consistently the busiest dining day — an alternate weekend night gives you more options.
- Book at 5pm or 8pm for better availability. The 6pm and 7pm sittings fill fastest.
- If you are not planning to watch the State of Origin, these nights are some of the best for dining out — restaurants are noticeably quieter while football fans are elsewhere.
We are updating this page as 2026 details come in — bookmark it and check back regularly through April and May.
This page contains affiliate links. You can find our full disclosure policy here.
Vivid Food 2026
The food programme this year has a strong NSW regional focus. The headline event is A Shared Table with Yotam Ottolenghi, part of a new Regional Dinner Series that pairs visiting and local chefs to highlight NSW produce and producers.
Other pairings in the series include:
- Ben Devlin with Lennox Hastie at Firedoor
- Mindy Woods with Danielle Alvarez at the Sydney Opera House,
- Christine Manfield with Sander Nooij at Yellow
Vivid Fire Kitchen has moved to Barangaroo Reserve in 2026 and is free to attend nightly. The lineup includes Mark Best, Luke Mangan, Sharon Salloum, Annita Potter, Julie Goodwin and Adriano Zumbo, with more names to be announced.
Pop-up dining events are also running at Parliament House, The Mint and other city venues, alongside special menus at Shell House, Infinity, Aster Bar, The International and others.
Vivid Dining at the Opera House
Culture in Motion: Mindy Woods & Danielle Alvarez
Bundjalung woman and chef Mindy Woods pairs with Danielle Alvarez, the Sydney Opera House’s culinary director of events, for a multi-sensory feast celebrating Byron Bay as part of the Regional Dinner Series.
The evening combines Indigenous ingredients, NSW artisan producers, curated wines, immersive Indigenous art and live music blending Indigenous sound, jazz, blues and strings.
When: 22nd & 23rd May 2026 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Where: Yallamundi Rooms, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point
Price: From $275 per person l Book
Saltbush and Starlight
Chef Mark Olive of the hatted restaurant Midden leads this three-course dinner celebrating native ingredients and culture, paired with NSW wines, craft beers or non-alcoholic options.
Your ticket includes a meet and greet on arrival and a one-hour Sydney Opera House tour before dinner.
When: Fridays and Saturdays throughout Vivid — 23, 24, 30, 31 May, 6, 7, 13 June
Where: Sydney Opera House (Entry Foyer Lounge)
Price: $290 (vegetarian menu available) Book direct
Vivid Dining Menus
Altitude Restaurant – Vivid Sydney Five-Course Menu
On Level 36 of Shangri-La Sydney, Altitude sits directly above The Rocks with floor-to-ceiling harbour views. During Vivid, you can watch the Opera House sails and the full foreshore light show from the table — no walking required.
Executive Sous Chef Michele Menegazzi and Head Pastry Chef Kumiko Endo have put together a five-course menu built around seasonal ingredients. Expect Cajun tuna tataki, tempura Yamba prawn, a choice of honey glazed duck or Pedro Ximénez blue reef coral trout, and a grape Baba au Rhum with crème fraîche gelato to finish. Menu is subject to change.
Where: Level 36, Shangri-La Sydney, 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks
When: Nightly during Vivid Sydney, 5.30pm – 9.30pm
Price: $195 per person | Optional wine pairing $85 – $315 per person
The Dining Room by James Viles – Vivid Dining Menu
Park Hyatt Sydney sits at the water’s edge in The Rocks with one of the closest unobstructed views of the Opera House sails. Chef de Cuisine Dan Parkes has put together a three-course seasonal menu built around winter produce.
Entrées include raw tuna with beetroot, buttermilk and dill, and chicken and duck press with tarragon and black garlic. Mains run from O’Connor striploin with broccoli and Szechuan peppers to calamari rigatoni with green sauce and preserved lemon, plus a BBQ leek option with confit onion, spinach and seaweed.
Desserts include Bright Lights (matcha, yuzu cheesecake and passionfruit) and Afterglow (chocolate, pear and hazelnut).
Signature cocktails include Beyond The Glow — Papa Salt Coastal Gin with yuzu and lemon myrtle — and the non-alcoholic Golden Glow with honey, citrus and native botanicals.
For a more relaxed option, The Living Room serves à la carte including squid ink spaghetti with prawn, lemon and tarragon ($52), ‘nduja rigatoni with stracciatella ($42) and truffle mac and cheese ($56).
When: 23 May – 13 June 2026, 5.00pm – 9.00pm
Where: Park Hyatt Sydney, 7 Hickson Road, The Rocks
Price: $120 per person (three courses) | Cocktails from $20 Book: direct
Vivid Food events
Dream Feast – Vivid Food 2026
Held at The Mint in the CBD, Dream Feast is a multi-course communal dinner that pairs food and drinks with animated projections and a live-mixed trip-hop soundtrack. The menu draws on the Caroline Simpson Library Collection — a historical archive of Australian design and domestic life — exploring how eating and gathering rituals have shifted over time.
New York-based ARLO Communal have designed the experience in partnership with Museums of History NSW. DJ and curator Munasib provides a newly commissioned live soundtrack throughout the evening.
When: Tuesday 2 – Friday 5 June 2026, 6.00pm – 8.45pm
Where: The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney
Price: $250 per person | $200 for Museums of History NSW members
Creative Cocktails & Vivid Bar Events
Zephyr Sky Bar & Jackalberry – Hyatt Regency Sydney
Zephyr Sky Bar on Level 12 has panoramic views over Darling Harbour and three limited-edition glow-in-the-dark cocktails for Vivid: Electric Orchard (Ketel One, pomme verte, bergamot, tom yum, citrus), Pink Smoke Verde (Don Julio Blanco, mezcal, rhubarb, lime) and Cloud Garden Spritz (Tanqueray, Green Chartreuse, kiwi, citrus and lemonade). Time your visit for 7.30pm or 9.30pm to catch the Darling Harbour drone shows running 24 May to 10 June.
For a quieter option, Jackalberry Bar and the Lobby Lounge serve two further cocktails on illuminated coasters: Melon Lumiere (Tanqueray, melon liqueur, orange juice) and Blushing Lights (Ketel One, Aperol, pomegranate, hibiscus, lime and prosecco).
Staying the night? The Savour Sip Stay package includes breakfast for two, a complimentary cocktail per person at Jackalberry and late checkout.
When: 22 May – 13 June 2026
Where: Zephyr Sky Bar, Level 12 | Jackalberry Bar & Lobby Lounge, Ground Floor | 161 Sussex Street, Sydney
Vivid Fire Kitchen
Vivid Fire Kitchen – Stargazer Lawn, Barangaroo Reserve
Vivid Fire Kitchen has a new home in 2026 at Barangaroo Reserve, and entry is free. Every night of the festival, chefs cook over live fire on the harbourside lawn with tastings and a signature dish available to purchase at the nightly Fire Pit sessions. A new Food for Thought stage runs talks with chefs, authors, food creators and hospitality figures alongside the cooking. NSW wine tastings and live music run each night.
The full chef lineup had not been announced at time of publication — check vividsydney.com/programs/vivid-fire-kitchen for updates.
When: 22 May – 13 June 2026, 6.00pm – 11.00pm Price: Free entry
Where: Stargazer Lawn, Barangaroo Reserve
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