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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Special events This month
World Chocolate Day – 7 July
If you’re going to celebrate World Chocolate Day on 7 July, do it properly. Luke Mangan’s dark chocolate tart at Luke’s Kitchen has followed him through decades of cooking for good reason. Gooey centre, caramelised banana, vanilla bean ice cream, served warm. $30.
Luke’s Kitchen, Kimpton Margot Sydney, 339 Pitt Street. Dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30pm.
Bastille Festival, Circular Quay and The Rocks
Now in its 10th year, the Bastille Festival is the biggest celebration of French culture in the Asia Pacific and this year it spreads further across the waterfront than ever before. Stalls, tastings and special menus run across Circular Quay, The Rocks, the Overseas Passenger Terminal, East Circular Quay, Customs House and Quay Quarter Lanes.
The food and wine is the main draw: a 1.4-kilometre wine-tasting tour around the Harbour, French cheese, gourmet cuisine, chocolate croissants and plenty of reasons to stay longer than planned.
For wine lovers, Vin De France runs guided 20-minute tasting flights across all four days, with a choice of white, red or a top five selection. Masterclasses cover aromas and varietals, wine and cheese pairing, and French-style cocktail making. Bottles from the tastings are available to take home via the Vin De France Cellar in partnership with Liquorland. Book flights and masterclasses in advance via bastillefestival.com.au.
When: Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 July 2026
Where: Circular Quay and The Rocks l Check bastillefestival.com.au for tickets
Winter Set Menus
Winter is the season for eating properly. These four set menus give you a full table, a set price and no reason to hold back.
Arms Length, Potts Point
The New York-inspired wine bar on Kellett Street runs an express two-course set with a glass of house wine. The menu gives you genuine choice at each stage — entrees run from lamb ragu arancini and grilled octopus to yellowfin tuna tartare and stracciatella with persimmon. Mains cover cavatelli with Italian sausage, cacio e pepe, butter-stuffed roast chicken with date jus, and a Coonamble Black Angus sirloin with brandy and peppercorn sauce.
At $49pp with a glass of wine included, it’s one of the better value options in Sydney right now.
When: Monday nights and Friday lunch
Where: 7 Kellett Street, Potts Point l Cost: $49pp
Homer Rogue Taverna, Cronulla
A 13-dish Greek feasting menu built around the family recipes owners Harry and Mario Kapoulas grew up with.
The spread covers olives, spanakopita flatbread, koulouri sesame bread, taramas, tzatziki, dolmades with avgolemono, baked manouri cheese with hot honey and kataifi, organic chicken souvla, stuffed white zucchini with pine nuts and currants, lemon potatoes, cos salad with feta and dill, and baklava to finish. Everything lands in the middle of the table.
When: Lunch and dinner daily
Where: 3/3 Surf Road, Cronulla l Cost: $85pp
Shaffa, Surry Hills
Eight dishes covering the Middle Eastern share table in a sun-drenched Surry Hills atrium. The spread runs from focaccia with masabacha and tomato, eggplant labneh with harissa oil, and beetroot-lentil kibbeh niyah through to palamida crudo with bonito and pistachios, grilled octopus with crispy potatoes and muhammara, Turkish chilli with whipped feta, fire-roasted cabbage and knafeh bite to finish. Add a Black Onyx flank steak for $6pp.
Worth noting for the long lunch crowd: Saturday and Sunday lunch runs from 12pm to 2:30pm with drinks packages available from $37pp.
When: Dinner Tuesday to Sunday, lunch Friday to Sunday; long lunch weeknds 12pm to 2:30pm
Where: 80 Albion Street, Surry Hills l Cost: $89pp, drinks packages from $37pp
Caness, Paddington
Nine plates of Spanish-led tapas with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influence, from an open kitchen on Oxford Street.
The menu covers beef tartare with pimentón-harissa aioli and colatura di alici, kubaneh bread with crushed tomato and schug, salt cod brandade, crisp padrón peppers, jamon croquettes, seared tuna andaluz, kipfler potatoes with smoked pimentón and Wagyu Rump MB5 – Mediterranean Chimichurri Salsa, Peppercorn, and the OG halva basque cheesecake to finish.
When: Dinner Tuesday to Sunday, lunch Friday to Sunday
Where: 348 Oxford Street, Paddington l Cost: $95pp
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.
Bull and Bear at Glass Brasserie, Sydney CBD
Chef Bernard Fiemeyer of Bull and Bear at Waldorf Astoria Orlando — rated one of the top 100 restaurants in the United States by OpenTable — takes over Glass Brasserie for just over a week in late July. It’s the first time Bull and Bear has appeared outside the United States.
Fiemeyer joins Glass’s own chef de cuisine Natalie Murphy for a menu that brings signature dishes from both venues together. Bull and Bear highlights include a famous baked potato, tableside Caesar salad, steak frites and a lemon dessert with a devoted following.
The full residency banquet menu is $129pp, or individual Bull and Bear dishes can be added to the regular Glass à la carte menu.
When: 23 July to 1 August 2026, lunch Monday to Friday from 12pm, dinner daily from 5:30pm
Where: Glass Brasserie, Level 2, Hilton Sydney, 488 George Street, Sydney CBD
Cost: $129pp set menu or à la carte
The Singapore Table, The Fullerton Hotel Sydney
Senior Sous Chef Christopher Chia from The Fullerton Hotel Singapore joins the kitchen at The Place for three weeks, bringing a hawker-inspired menu covering some of Singapore’s most recognised dishes. Hainanese chicken rice, char kway teow, peppery bak kut teh, Singapore laksa and chilli crab lala among them.
It’s a lunch buffet format, Monday to Saturday, at a price that makes it an easy midweek option in the Martin Place precinct.
When: Friday 17 July to Saturday 8 August 2026, lunch Monday to Saturday
Where: The Place, The Fullerton Hotel Sydney, 1 Martin Place, Sydney CBD
Cost: $69.95pp
Winter Wine Dinner with Gartelmann Wines
PARKROYAL Parramatta partners with Hunter Valley winery Gartelmann Wines for a one-night five-course dinner with matched wines and a Gartelmann Wine Ambassador guiding each pairing through the evening.
The menu runs from Hiramasa kingfish with burnt mandarin, fennel and finger lime paired with the 2025 Del’s Picpoul, through chicken ballotine with the 2024 Lisa Reserve Chardonnay and a 12-hour slow-cooked beef short rib matched with the 2024 Georg Petit Verdot, finishing with a pear, mascarpone and berry tart alongside the 2024 Gracie’s Ambrosia. Live music throughout.
When: Saturday 18 July 2026, 6pm to 9pm
Where: PARKROYAL Parramatta, 30 Phillip Street, Parramatta l Cost: $169pp
The Glendronach Presents: An Ode to The Highlands
An immersive whisky trail marking The Glendronach’s 200th anniversary, with food pairings developed by Ace Hotel Sydney’s Culinary Director Isobel Whelan-Little.
The experience moves through four spaces — a welcome cocktail, a foraged dram set to a Highland soundscape, a smoked and charred food pairing, and a final scent-led tasting in the dark.
Tickets include a welcome cocktail, the full sensory trail, three premium single malts and the food pairings, with additional tastings, cocktails and bar snacks available to purchase at Highlands House. This is a Sydney exclusive for one weekend only before it travels to Melbourne.
When: Friday 24 July 5-10pm, Saturday 25 July 1-10pm, Sunday 26 July 1-6pm
Where: Ace Hotel Sydney
Cost: $45 plus booking fee. Book at theglendronach_odetothehighlands.eventbrite.com.au
Tour de France Wine Lunch, The Dry Dock, Balmain
A five-course French lunch paired with eight wines from World Wine Estates, hosted by James Johnston at The Dry Dock’s Dining Room.
The afternoon works through France’s major wine regions with the stories behind each producer and pour woven in alongside. Chef Ben Sitton has built a seasonal menu around classic French cuisine designed to work with the wine rather than alongside it.
Places are strictly limited. Book early.
When: Tuesday 21 July 2026, 12pm to 4:30pm
Where: The Dry Dock, Balmain Cost: $260pp
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.
With just two weeks to go choose from:
- 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, 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
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 2pm & 4:30pm to midnight; Sat. 2:30pm to midnight; Sun. 2pm to 9:30pm
Where: 16A Kensington Street, Chippendale
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
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
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
