Best Sydney Winter Restaurants, Bars and Events 2026
Sydney’s food and bar scene doesn’t hibernate in winter. June through August brings a strong round of new openings with Italian-American grandeur arriving in the CBD, a pasta bar in Potts Point built on 40 years of recipes, and a beachside Italian at Brighton-Le-Sands worth the trip south. Regional day trips are well catered for too, with a new focaccia cafe in Leura and a Hunter Valley restaurant opening its doors to the public for the first time.
We’ll keep updating this guide as more openings and events are confirmed through June and July.
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New Restaurants and Bars
Pasta Shop – Potts Point
Paola Toppi, the chef behind Sydney institution Machiavelli and Bar M, has opened a 35-seat pasta bar on the corner of Bayswater Road and Ward Avenue, and the pitch is straightforward: the same recipes, better prices, no white tablecloths. The room is casual with walnut timber tables, terracotta directors’ chairs, lemon trees in the courtyard.
There are 11 pastas on the menu, all under $30, including the 40-year-old spaghetti Machiavelli, fusilli crab, spicy rigatoni alla vodka, gnocchi gorgonzola and a classic lasagne. House-made focaccia, polpette con sugo, salads and classic desserts round it out. The drinks list covers a monthly rotating Italian wine selection, Maybe Sammy negronis and margaritas ready to pour, Sardinian beer and Italian soft drinks. BYO is also available.
When: Lunch Thursday to Sunday 11:30am to 3pm; dinner Wednesday to Sunday 5pm to 9pm
Where: 37 Bayswater Road, Potts Point
Cost: All pastas under $30 l No reservations required.
Benetti’s – Brighton-Le-Sands
The Brighton Hotel’s new Italian restaurant sits along The Grand Parade, with a format built around sharing and staying longer than planned. The kitchen is led by Puglia-born head chef Mariocristian Carella, with fresh pasta made daily on an imported Italian pasta machine and pizzas cooked in a wood-fired Marana Forni oven.
Pasta highlights include chitarra allo scoglio with mussels, clams, prawns and calamari, and spaghetti with king prawns, garlic, chilli and heirloom cherry tomatoes. Pizzas run from classics through to The Benetti with tomato, mozzarella, nduja, hot honey, gorgonzola and basil. Larger plates cover veal Milanese, snapper acqua pazza and an Italian seafood stew. Tiramisu is served tableside.
For a quicker visit, a dedicated takeaway window faces The Grand Parade, useful if you’re coming off the beach.
When: Monday to Sunday, 12pm to midnight
Where: 2 Princess Street, Brighton-Le-Sands
Jude’s – Potts Point
A new basement bar under Penny’s Hotel on Bayswater Road opened this week, 30 seats, no bookings, Thursday to Saturday only.
The cocktail list was put together by Matthew Cridge, who spent time building the wine program at Bibo Wine Bar in Double Bay. The Hey Jude is the signature is a Belvedere vodka, lychee, lemon and chilli, somewhere between a lychee martini and a spicy margarita.
Food is snack-style, truffle fries, baked camembert with sourdough and hot honey, charcuterie, cheese plates, battered artichoke hearts with nduja aioli. Crème brûlée for $10 if you want something sweet.
When: Thursday to Saturday from 5pm, walk-ins only
Where: Basement, Penny’s Hotel, 15 Bayswater Road, Potts Point
The Oriana, Circular Quay
The Overseas Passenger Terminal has a new multi-level venue taking over the former Squires Landing space, named after the 1960s SS Oriana ocean liner.
- Ground level: open-air beer garden with a large LED screen for live sport
- Level 1: the pub, with DJs and a late-night martini menu after 9pm
- Level 2: the restaurant, focusing on NSW coastal produce, lobster tagliatelle, bluefin tuna crudo, Murray River cod
Good for a casual waterfront feed at the pub level, Sydney Rock oysters with house hot sauce, tiger prawn rolls, salt and pepper squid, burgers and schnitzels. Views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House from most spots in the building.
Where: Northern end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay West
Tam Jiak, Sydney Fish Market
Chef Junda Khoo’s latest venue sits inside Sydney Fish Market and does something the precinct doesn’t usually do, it brings land and sea together on the same menu. The name translates from Hokkien as gluttony, which tells you everything about the approach.
Head Chef Loong Oon, former head chef at Mr. Wong, runs the kitchen alongside him in a relaxed 110-seat timber-lined room with an outdoor terrace.
Worth ordering: The mud crab with your choice of sauce, and the black duck glazed in squid ink with Yunnan rose jam. The Tom Yum Bomb from his MasterChef Australia appearance is also on the menu. Kids eat free on Sundays.
Where: Shop E1A, 1 Bridge Road, Glebe
When: Sunday to Thursday 11am-9:30pm; Friday to Saturday 11am-10pm
Meadow, Cronulla
The team behind Bobbys has opened a bar, bistro and music room in the old Papa J’s site on Cronulla Street. The menu is European-leaning pub food done properly: think beef tartare, octopus, a solid cheeseburger and a sirloin with frites. Aperitivo hour runs 4pm to 6pm daily.
The wine list is serious for a suburban venue, 120 to 150 bottles skewing Australian and biodynamic, with 15 by the glass. Music goes from vinyl in the afternoon to live jazz on weekends and DJ sets at night.
When: Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm; Friday to Sunday 12pm to late
Where: Shop 7, 2-6 Cronulla Street, Cronulla
Cost: Small plates from $7, most mains under $40.
The Gopher, Manly
A basement bar beneath The Corso opened in May, built around an early 1900s Irish atmosphere with reclaimed lighting, aged finishes and vintage fixtures. It’s moody and low-lit, which is either exactly what you want after a day at Manly Beach or a genuine surprise.
Food is Irish pub classics in share format: pulled beef Yorkshire pudding pies, black pudding scotch eggs, slow-cooked roast lamb shoulder and Irish spice bags. Drinks cover Guinness, Kilkenny, a rotating UK beer of the month and cocktails including a butter-washed martini and a pineapple and habanero margarita. Live music most evenings.
When: Tuesday to Sunday, 4pm – Late
Where: 40 The Corso, Manly
Vito’s – Sydney CBD (Opening August 2026)
The team behind Morrison’s Oyster Bar and Grill and Whalebridge are opening their most ambitious venue yet in August, inside the heritage-listed Burns Philp Building at 11 Bridge Street.
The room is the drawcard, 170 seats across a central dining floor with raised alcoves, grand booths, 21-foot heritage ceilings, original wrought iron columns, polished marble bars and burgundy leather banquettes.
The kitchen is led by Michael Fox, former Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year and previously chef de cuisine at Carbone Hong Kong. The menu draws from Italian-American cooking, orecchiette with crab and green garlic butter, prawn and scallop agnolotti, scampi crudo and Black Onyx porterhouse steaks over a custom grill.
When: Opening August 2026 l midday until late, seven days.
Where: 11 Bridge Street, Sydney CBD
Aenza – Darlinghurst (Opening Late Winter 2026)
The team behind Amuro, the saké-led counter experience in Darlinghurst, are opening a second venue in the Oxford and Foley development. Where Amuro is intimate and quiet, Aenza is built for a more social format with 50 seats, and an open kitchen.
The menu takes Japanese flavours through an Australian lens. A sashimi plate of premium Australian and Japanese seafood with house-made sauces, karaage, potato salad and a section of wok-cooked dishes. The wine list is the point of difference; 80 bottles bringing European wines alongside Japanese cuisine, with 25 available by the glass. Rotating sake by the glass, Japanese whisky, gin, shochu and seasonal fruit liqueurs alongside.
When: Opening late winter 2026, dinner Wednesday to Monday
Where: Oxford and Foley development, Darlinghurst
Limited Events: Book Now
These are the time-sensitive experiences for winter 2026. Some are already open, others sell out fast, we’ve listed them in date order so you can plan ahead.
Good Food and Wine Show – ICC Sydney
Three days at the ICC covering food, wine, cooking demonstrations and ticketed masterclasses. The show floor has producers, limited-edition products and tastings across all three days. Live demonstrations in the Good Food Kitchen feature Miguel Maestre, Kirsten Tibballs and Brendan Pang across the weekend.
Premium options include the Singapore Airlines VIP Lounge which offers priority entry, five beverages, a curated lunch by chef Andrew Ballard and front-row kitchen seats and a 45-minute RIEDEL wine glass masterclass hosted by Candice Butka, which includes a take-home set of four Veloce glasses valued at $280 and show entry on Saturday.
VIP and masterclass tickets sell out fast.
When: Friday 19 to Sunday 21 June 2026
Where: ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour
Cost: from $49.95
Rick Stein at Coogee Beach – Eight-Week Dinner Series
Eight weeks of three-course dinners, each built around a different destination from Rick Stein’s travels and decades of cooking by the sea. The menu changes every week, is drawn from Rick’s own recipes and signed off by him. Twenty seats a night, three courses, $69pp.
Choose from:
- 6-28 May: A Mediterranean Table: salmon with dill and Pernod; grilled fish à la Carlina; banoffee pie.
- 2-4 June: Saffron, Mussels, Meringue: cream of celeriac, mussel and saffron soup; grilled fish with succotash; coffee, almond and hazelnut meringue.
- 9-11 June: The Week Rick Goes Inland: piri piri sardines on toasted sourdough; chicken supreme with tarragon; panna cotta with pistachio praline.
- 16-18 June: A Touch of Harissa: salmon rillettes; fish stew with harissa, spring onions and potatoes; apple puff pastry tart.
- 23-25 June: South to Pondicherry: mussels marinière; Pondicherry fish curry; rice pudding crème brûlée.
- 30 June-2 July: North to Reykjavik: Icelandic fish soup; fish fillet with potato and saffron broth; profiteroles with dark chocolate sauce.
- 7-9 July: A Croatian Finish: cuttlefish risotto; roasted fish with fennel and olive stew; hazelnut pavlova with white chocolate and dark berry sauce.
When: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 19 May to 9 July 2026
Where: Rick Stein at Coogee Beach, Coogee
Cost: $69pp
Chiswick Lasagne Series – Woollahra
Every Sunday evening from 14 June to 19 July, Chiswick runs a six-week lasagne series with a different guest chef each week. Matt Moran opens the series on 14 June with a braised beef cheek lasagne, and the lineup from there covers pumpkin, truffle and fior di latte from David Coumont (North Bondi Fish), wonton lasagne with chilli crisp (Moran again), crab and prawn lasagne from Hamish Ingham, Wagyu beef and pine mushroom from Tom Gorringe (Aria), and wood-fired duck ragu with stracciatella to close from Chiswick’s own Quan Nguyen.
The $55pp set menu includes the lasagne of the week, garlic and herb focaccia, a seasonal salad and tiramisu. Two wines are available alongside, a vino rosso and vino bianco both by the glass, carafe or bottle.
Each menu of offered for one night only. Bookings recommended.
When: Every Sunday from 14 June to 19 July 2026, evenings
Where: Chiswick, Woollahra
Cost: $55pp
North Bondi Fish – Disco Yum Cha
Every Saturday and Sunday through winter, North Bondi Fish runs a share-style yum cha lunch with ocean views, disco DJs and $15 Aperol Spritz all day.
The menu blends Asian-inspired flavours with fresh seafood think soy cured ocean trout, fish and prawn siu mai, prawn toast with sweet chilli, tuna sang choi bao with XO. Choose from two set menu options at $65pp or $89pp, with optional bottomless drinks packages available.
When: Saturdays and Sundays, 6 June to 1 August, from 12pm
Where: North Bondi Fish, North Bondi
Cost: $65pp or $89pp; bottomless wine/beer/prosecco add-on $30pp, cocktails $60pp
Paddo Nights Inn – Paddo Inn, Paddington
After selling out Tarot & Tannin three times in 2025, Paddo Inn has turned its experiential evenings into a monthly Monday night series. Each $60pp event pairs three wines and Italian bites from il Baretto with an expert-led experience.
Tarot & Tannin returns on 1 June with reader Ginny Shearer, an introduction to tarot alongside three wines and canapés. These sell out. Book early.
When: 1 June 2026, 7pm
Where: Paddo Inn, 338 Oxford Street, Paddington l Cost: $60pp
Dal Mare alla Città – Gowings, QT Sydney
Gowings executive chef James Kidman hosts a one-night-only Italian dinner in June, with Danny Russo (SALA Dining) and Richard Ptacnik (Otto Ristorante) joining him in the kitchen.
The four-course shared menu moves between coastal and city Italian with handmade pasta, chargrilled steak over open flame, seafood crudo and shellfish. Campari cocktails on arrival, paired wines throughout, and a Braulio amaro trolley to close. These are chefs who have worked alongside each other for more than 20 years, and the format is built around that familiarity rather than formality.
When: Wednesday 24 June 2026
Where: Gowings, QT Sydney, 49 Market Street, Sydney CBD
Cost: $170pp, inclusive of four courses and paired wines
Borrodell Black Tie and Gumboot Truffle Hunt & Dinner – Orange
Now in its 19th year, this Orange estate event has built a following for good reason. Guests arrive in black tie, swap their shoes for decorated gumboots, and head into Australia’s oldest mainland truffle oak plantings with trained dogs to unearth Black Périgord truffles. What comes out of the ground goes straight into the kitchen.
This year’s guest chef is Mitch Orr, formerly of Kiln at Ace Hotel Sydney and ACME, who will build a multi-course truffle menu around the day’s harvest, matched with Borrodell museum wines, some cellared back to 2005. The evening includes live music, homemade mulled cider on arrival and a charity auction. Prizes for best decorated gumboots are taken seriously.
When: Saturday 11 July 2026
Where: Borrodell Estate, Orange NSW
Monthly Series
High Cheese – Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
Will Studd, one of the world’s better-known cheese experts, has collaborated with Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park on a Friday afternoon cheese experience launching 5 June. It’s built like a high tea but cheese leads throughout.
The menu covers whipped galotyri crostini, fried halloumi, a signature cheese course of Roquefort, Brillat Savarin and Manchego, Basque cheesecake and baked camembert scones. Wine pairing available for an additional $20 for two.
When: Every Friday from 5 June, 11am to 4pm
Where: The Gallery, Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
Cost: $75pp, optional wine pairing $20 for two
Gin & Jazz – The Apollo, Potts Point
The Apollo’s popular Sunday long lunch series continues through winter, running the last Sunday of every month through September. It’s one of Sydney’s better long lunch formats, four hours of Greek feasting, live jazz and Four Pillars cocktails without feeling rushed.
The $95pp Gin & Jazz menu includes a Four Pillars welcome cocktail alongside the restaurant’s Greek feasting menu, or dine à la carte if you’d prefer. Live jazz from Arthur Washington & Band and Soundcliff Jazz Trio runs from midday through to 4pm.
When: Last Sunday of the month through September 2026, 12pm to 4pm
Where: The Apollo, 44 Macleay Street, Potts Point
Cost: $95pp Gin & Jazz menu; à la carte also available
Tilda – Fire & Wine
One-hatted Tilda’s Saturday evening series continues through winter, built around its woodfire grill and a 1,000-bottle wine list.
The menu is seasonal, woodfire oysters with finger lime and wasabi, Kinross Station lamb rack with miso-charred eggplant, with wines selected by in-house sommelier Paul Sadler. Minimum two guests.
When: Every Saturday from 5pm
Where: Tilda, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, 61-101 Phillip Street, Sydney CBD
Cost: $99pp, optional wine pairings available
Winter Menus
Gin Lane – Kensington Street, Chippendale
The long-running Kensington Street cocktail bar has opened a new upstairs dining room, and British-born chef Nelly Robinson has put together a menu that leans hard into pub classics. Fish finger sandwiches, scotch eggs, pork pies with HP sauce, crumpets with smoked honey butter and a 16-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder Sunday roast with all the trimmings.
Downstairs, owner and mixologist Grant Collins has built a martini list to match, a Salt and Vinegar Martini designed to pair with the fish and chips, a Wagyu Beef and Mustard Washed Bloody Mary Martini, and a Lamb Roast Martinez pitched as the aperitif before heading up for the roast.
When: Mon. to Wed. 5pm to 10:45pm; Thur 4:30pm to midnight; Fri. 12pm to 11pm & 4:30pm to midnight; Sat. 2:30pm to midnight; Sun. 2pm to 9:30pm; Mon. 5pm to 10pm
Where: 16A Kensington Street, Chippendale Cost: Bar and restaurant prices
Icebergs Dining Room – Bondi
Icebergs has launched Classico, a three-course winter menu built around choice and some of the kitchen’s long-standing dishes. It moves through antipasti, secondi and dolce include gamberetti, persimmon carpaccio and tuna tartare to start, then Koshihikari risotto, spatchcock or Ligurian braised seafood, finishing with tiramisu.
Available Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner, advance bookings only. The existing two and three course menus remain, but Classico is the format for those who want a complete, guided experience from the dining room.
When: Tuesday to Sunday, lunch and dinner
Where: Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, 1 Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach
Cost: $90pp, advance bookings only
Rivareno Gelato – Barangaroo
Rivareno’s winter menu is back until the end of August, adding warmth to what is otherwise a cold-weather gelato visit.
Freshly made crepes paired with gelato are the centrepiece, alongside rich chocolate brownies, brioche filled with gelato, affogato and Rivareno’s Italian hot chocolate.
When: Available now until end of August
Where: Rivareno Gelato, Barangaroo
Cost: Crepes $13, hot chocolate shot $5, Hot chocolate regular $7.50, hot chocolate
Affogato $11
Dopa Donburi – Winter Menu
Dopa’s winter menu adds fragrant sencha teas, Peach Sencha and Lemon Strawberry Sencha, served hot or cold, alongside a Winter Apple dessert gyoza.
The Chef Special menu, launched in late April, continues with two premium teishoku sets: the Wagyu & Foie Gras Teishoku (Australian Wagyu 9+ with foie gras and braised onion) and the Nagoya Unagi Teishoku (grilled freshwater eel with teriyaki glaze, soft egg and dashi stock).
When: Available now
Where: Dopa Donburi, multiple Sydney locations including Darling Square and 180 George Street
Worth Knowing About
IFTAR – Merrylands
After a successful Ramadan nights series, IFTAR has made after-dark dining permanent. The long-table share format works for groups and families.
The spread covers burning cheese for tearing, sambousek cigars with spiced sumac lamb and pomegranate molasses, lamb shish, chickpea fatteh and woodfired bread. The mansaf rice, slow-braised lamb shoulder over fragrant spiced rice with toasted almonds and garlic cucumber yoghurt, is worth ordering for the table.
When: Daytime Monday to Sunday 9am to 2pm; evenings Monday to Sunday 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Where: IFTAR, Main Lane, Merrylands
Regional New Openings
Little Sista – Leura, Blue Mountains
The family behind Cafe Leura has opened a focaccia-first cafe on Megalong Street, and it’s worth factoring into your next Blue Mountains day trip or winter weekend.
Focaccias are made daily and built to be substantial. The Everything She Wants stacks prosciutto, mortadella, sopressa, ham, mozzarella, pesto, sundried tomatoes and rocket. The Grecko goes with slow-cooked lamb, tzatziki, semi-dried tomato, feta and peppers. Gluten free options are available. Sweet treats arrive in cans, tiramisu and stone fruit cheesecake, alongside iced lattes, matchas and fresh juice.
The space seats 16 inside and 8 outside, with a vinyl collection on the walls and a Rega Planar 6 spinning from open to close.
When: Monday to Sunday, 8am to 4pm
Where: 4/130-138 Megalong Street, Leura NSW l About 90 minutes from Sydney CBD.
Fusion Restaurant, Elysia Wellness Retreat Hunter Valley
Previously available only to retreat guests, Elysia’s Fusion Restaurant has opened its doors to the public from 18 May. The setting suits a long lunch with sweeping Hunter Valley views, a menu endorsed by the retreat’s on-site naturopath, and local wines poured alongside.
The menu is built around seasonal wholefood cooking with herbs from the estate garden. Entrees include calamari and shell pasta salad with parsley and citrus, and a zucchini and sweet potato loaf with pumpkin polenta wedge and romesco. Mains run to kataifi-wrapped lamb puttanesca with lemon yoghurt, and baked Russet potato gnocchi with sugo finto mascarpone gratinée. Desserts include matcha mint slice and avocado and dark chocolate mousse with red berry compote. Several dishes are gluten free or dairy free. Adults only.
Through May and June, order an entree and dessert and receive a complimentary dessert.
When: Lunch daily, 12pm to 3pm
Where: 165 Thompsons Road, Pokolbin NSW l About two hours from Sydney CBD. Bookings via elysiaretreat.com.au/restaurant.
Plan Your Winter
Quick links to help you plan:
- Dining deals and specials
- Happy hours across Sydney
- Christmas in July
- Sydney events calendar for June, July and August
