Sizzler Returns To Australia, Reviving A Pre-2000s Buffet Icon At Sydney Airport

Imagine this.

It’s the mid nineties. Sizzler is in its prime—endless salad bars, complimentary cheese toast, mountains of sizzling steak, and a buffet line that felt like the VIP lounge of the fast-food world. For a generation of Aussie kids, it was practically a rite-of-passage: all-you-can-eat ribs, prawn cocktails, and enough soft-serve ice-cream and jelly to make a dentist weep.

Looking back, there was definitely something undeniably satisfying about Sizzler’s formula. Families could grab a table without worrying about breaking the bank and kids were semi-allowed to run riot between courses (in a civilized buffet way) with a cloud of cheese bread in sticky hands. The world felt simple.

Then the pandemic hit.

Sizzler Australia closed all of its restaurants, leaving behind only the memory of a very particular kind of suburban experience. The real “all-you-can-eat” ethos had been banished. For those who grew up with a fondness for the slightly kitschy but genuinely comforting buffet model, it was a cultural gap not easily (and never again) filled.

So, what if we told you that Sizzler is, in fact, making a return to Sydney?

Turns out, Minor Hotels is set to resurrect Sizzler at the new NH Collection Hotel at Sydney Airport later this year. What’s more is, plans are reportedly afoot to roll the brand out across Australia—mostly in hotels (likely other NH Collection properties), though standalone sites are far from off the buffet table.

In our humble opinion, Sizzler’s return arrives at an interesting cultural moment. In the same year, we're also set for a Jollibee to open in Campbelltown's west, the Filipino fast-food chain, marking another nostalgic-yet-global move for the city. Let's just say, we're welcoming both with open arms (and bellies)

We’ll keep you posted.

Image credit: RegionalQueenslander