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.

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Special events

Champagne Club, Solotel Venues

Through August, Matt Moran’s Solotel group is running a month-long pairing of a glass of Moët and Chandon Brut Impérial with a lobster club sandwich and housemade crisps for $40.

The sandwich was developed by Aria executive chef Tom Gorringe: lobster and LP’s mortadella on shokupan bread with pickled green tomato, lettuce and spicy mayonnaise.

Available at Aria, Chiswick, North Bondi Fish and Chophouse in Sydney, plus Riverbar and Kitchen in Brisbane.

When: Saturday 1 to Monday 31 August 2026
Where: Aria, Chiswick, North Bondi Fish and Chophouse, Sydney
Cost: $40 per serve

Homer Rogue Taverna: 1st Birthday Long Table

A set menu of Greek taverna dishes served family-style at a long table. You’ll get olives, koulouri bread, melitzanosalata, tzatziki, rooster stifado, dolmades, fried squid, arakas (braised osso buco with peas), cabbage salad, and walnut cake with vanilla ice cream.

Ouzo on arrival and performances by the Sydney Greek Dancing School.

When: 6pm, Sunday 9 August
Where: Homer Rogue Taverna, Cronulla
Cost: $85pp

OTTO Sydney: A Homecoming by Fire

Chef Remy Davis returns to OTTO Sydney to cook alongside Head Chef Richard Ptacnik, where Davis started his career 11 years ago. Together they’ve created a five-course shared menu built from the kitchens and producers that shaped their careers.

You’ll get crudo with blood orange and tomato water, Jerusalem artichoke risotto with Manchego, bone-in rib-eye with deep-fried Kipfler potatoes and snake beans, and crème caramel with Pedro Ximénez. Cocktail on arrival plus two hours of free-flowing wine, beer and soft drinks included.

When: 6pm, Thursday 13 August
Where: OTTO Sydney, Woolloomooloo
Cost: $160pp

Suntory House at Sakura House

A two-month takeover of the basement izakaya. The menu features bespoke cocktails and izakaya-style share plates built around Suntory spirits. Highlights include the Sakura Sour (Haku Vodka, yuzu, lemon, bubbles) and the Matcha Point (Roku Gin, matcha, passionfruit, white chocolate).

Food ranges from cold items like Sydney Rock oysters and wagyu beef tataki to izakaya plates like prawn toast and chicken karaage. There’s a vending machine stocked with branded merch and konbini snacks. Walk-ins only.

When: 31 July to 3 October, Mon-Sat 5pm-late
Where: Sakura House basement, 82-88 Elizabeth St, Sydney
Cost: Drinks $22-$40, Food $8-$26

Chophouse Sydney: Teusner Wine Dinner

Three-course menu hosted by winemaker Kym Teusner and paired entirely with Teusner’s Barossa reds. Dishes include Yellowfin tuna crudo, grilled Fremantle octopus, O’Connor MBS3+ Gippsland steak with seasonal sides, and cheese to finish.

Held in the restaurant’s private dining room.

When: Dinner, 20 August
Where: Chophouse Sydney, CBD
Cost: $155pp

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

Truffle Season

InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach: Season of Truffle Dinner

Freshly harvested black Périgord truffles from the Snowy Monaro are the centrepiece of a three-course menu pairing them with Skull Island tiger prawns and Riverina beef short rib.

You’ll arrive with a truffle-infused brandy cocktail and hear from grower Barbara Hill between courses about how truffles are grown on her NSW Southern Tablelands farm.

When: Dinner, 15 August
Where: InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach, Coogee
Cost: $120pp (wine pairing $95pp extra)

Winter Truffle Menu, Sydney Common

One-hatted Sydney Common runs a four-course truffle dinner across July and August, built around Australian truffle and seasonal produce.

The menu opens with a truffle tartlet with shiitake cream and confit egg yolk, followed by Abrolhos scallop with cauliflower and truffle velouté. Main course options are 2GR Purebred Wagyu blade with truffle jus, parsnips and wild mushrooms, or burnt cauliflower with black walnut ketchup and truffle butter. Dessert is a hazelnut and chocolate dacquoise with coffee kombucha caramel and truffle ice cream. Freshly shaved truffle can be added to any dish on request throughout the meal.

When: Every Friday and Saturday evening throughout July and August, 5:30pm to 9pm
Where: Sydney Common, Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
Cost: $95pp

Limited Events: Book Now

Luke’s Kitchen: Luke’s Cut Steak Night

Build your own steak experience from the butcher’s block. Choose your cut (Scotch or flat iron), how you want it cooked (rare or medium), and your sauce (garlic butter or red wine jus) and side (truffle fries or greens).

Add a glass of red wine for $10.

When: Every Tuesday from 5pm
Where: Luke’s Kitchen
Cost: $45pp

Luke’s Kitchen: Dessert Trolley

A marble-topped trolley rolls out with a pavlova centrepiece, sliced and finished tableside. Choose from cream, custard and curd paired with rotating seasonal fruits and garnishes.

When: Dinner, Tuesday to Saturday from 5pm
Where: Luke’s Kitchen
Cost: $25pp

Zushi Barangaroo: Omakase Wednesdays

Executive Chef Jeon works at the Chef’s Counter or your table, preparing a 20-course omakase one course at a time.

You’ll get freshly shucked Sydney Rock oysters, abalone tempura, Wagyu with foie gras and leek, and lobster miso soup, among others. Spots are limited to 10 per seating, so book ahead.

When: Every Wednesday from 6:30pm
Where: Zushi Barangaroo
Cost: $225pp (beverage pairing $75pp extra)

Luke’s Kitchen: Chef’s Table

Hosted by Luke Mangan himself at the open kitchen, the Chef’s Table features a custom tasting menu that blends dishes from the current menu with celebrated favourites from his archive.

Between two and 12 guests per sitting, held monthly on the first Friday.

When: First Friday of each month, by booking
Where: Luke’s Kitchen
Cost: $150pp

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.

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

Bistro Guillaume at Baker Bleu, Double Bay

For four nights only, Guillaume Brahimi brings his most requested bistro classics back to Sydney for the first time in six years, taking over Double Bay’s Baker Bleu by night. Just nine tables per sitting, two sittings per night.

The four-course menu covers onion soup and cheese soufflé as entree options, roast chicken with tarragon jus or steak au poivre for main, with sides of Paris mash, frites and green salad. Desserts include profiteroles, passion fruit soufflé and lemon tart. Bread, snacks and petit fours included. Wine available by the glass or bottle from a list of Brahimi’s personal favourites.

When: Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 August 2026, sittings at 5:45pm and 8pm
Where: Baker Bleu, 2 Guilfoyle Avenue, Double Bay
Cost: $190pp, Bookings by phone only from 2 July – 0458 400 327

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

Regional Events

Curry Night at The Barn, Saddles Mount White

Baker and pastry chef Aniruddha Bhosekar of Flour in Caringbah South takes over The Barn at Saddles Mount White for one night, cooking the Indian home food he grew up with in Thane, near Mumbai.

The $80pp shared menu covers masala pappadums with pickle and mint yoghurt, dal makhni, palak paneer or murgh tikka masala with garlic naan, and carrot halwa with saffron ice cream to finish. Ani is best known for his bread work at Fabbrica and Three Blue Ducks, and that attention to fermentation and technique carries through to the naan and the layered flavours throughout.

The Barn’s timber interior and bushland setting does a lot of the heavy lifting for atmosphere. Worth the drive north of Sydney.

When: Thursday 13 August 2026
Where: The Barn at Saddles Mount White, Mount White NSW
Cost: $80pp

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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: