While Christmas Day involves presents, friends and family, and banging Mariah tunes, at Urban List we reckon the most important part of Christmas Day is the food.
These are our picks for the best spots for Christmas Day lunch in Sydney/Eora in 2023.
Sofitel Sydney Wentworth
The Wentworth Ballroom, 61-101 Phillip Street, Sydney CBD
Say joyeux Noël at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth’s grand Christmas Day luncheon in their ballroom with a lavish seafood and carvery buffet, artisan charcuterie, a tartare station and traditional Christmas dishes, and a three-hour drinks package.
There’ll be live entertainment including an appearance from Santa and, of course, a massive spread of festive desserts and French patisserie crafted by the Sofitel’s pastry team. Adult tickets are priced at $249 and children under 17 at $99—browse the menu and book here.
Gowings
QT Sydney, 1/49 Market Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Gowings | Supplied
Chef Sean Connolly has crafted a festive feasting-style Christmas Day lunch for $260pp, with the likes of oysters, prawns, golden porchetta, barramundi, and chocolate and cherry tiramisu set to grace your table.
If you're feeling the Christmas spirit, a 1.5-kilo bistecca Fiorentina and one-kilo local lobster with lemon butter can also be added on for extra indulgence. See the full menu and book your table here.
Charlotte
139 Blues Point Road, McMahons Point
Luxurious new French bistro Charlotte is celebrating Christmas with a $295pp festive menu with its signature Japanese influence, offering snacks like foie gras-filled churros, nori tacos with seafood tartare, spanner crab, tarragon, pastis and rouillé sauce, and tempura vegetables topped with salmon roe and creme fraiche.
From there, entrees and mains are a choice from premium plates like beef tartare with black truffle and smoked oyster emulsion or roasted Murray cod in champagne beurre blanc, caviar and salmon roe, and a festive and traditional bûche de Noël will be the finishing touch. Bookings are available here between 12pm and 2.30pm.
Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
161 Elizabeth Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park | Instagram
Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park is putting on an insane festive spread and three-hour beer and wine package on Christmas Day, complete with a visit from Santa Claus himself to thrill the kids while you down another mini pavlova.
There’ll be a sashimi bar including Moreton Bay bugs, oysters and prawns, a carving station with roasted turkey and smoked ham, loads of fresh salads and roasted veggie sides, and indulgent picks like lobster mac n’ cheese and grilled scallops. Come dessert, scoff basically everything you could imagine including panettone, a chocolate fountain station, classic Christmas puddings, and Basque cheesecake.
The Christmas Day buffet will run 12.30pm–3.30pm and is priced at $399 for adults, $199 for children up to 12, and free for children under three—see the full menu and book here.
Osteria Coogee
31 Alfreda Street, Coogee
Flock to Osteria Coogee for a decadent feast by the sea this Christmas Day. The $220pp summery Italian menu will tick off prosciutto and melon, burrata, prawns with spiced mayo, scampi pasta, porchetta, and a Black Forest tiramisu for dessert. Bookings are available here between 12pm and 3pm on 25 December.
Dixson & Sons
Porter House Hotel, 203 Castlereagh Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Dixson & Sons | Anna Kucera
Gather your festive crew for a four-course Christmas Day lunch. After a glass of sparkling on arrival, you'll enjoy a shared seafood platter (with oysters, poached prawns, spanner crab salad, scallop ceviche, tuna crudo and Moreton bay bug) then individual entrees, mains (with shared sides) and desserts.
Highlights include roast turkey with pine nut stuffing, roasted apricots, crushed butternut pumpkin and sage jus, beef Wellington, John Dory with stuffed zucchini flowers and summer squash, and steamed fig pudding with salted caramel ice cream. The four-course menu is $230pp (with teenager and childrens pricing), and beverage packages can be added on for $130pp—book here.
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Woodcut
Crown Sydney, Level 1/1 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo
Image credit: Woodcut | Instagram
Celebrate Christmas Day over a flame-licked feast of Australian produce at Woodcut, where a four-course $390pp menu will serve up caviar tarts, a seafood tower piled with oysters, prawns and Moreton Bay bugs, wood-fired Rangers Valley beef, and more for bookings between 12pm and 2.30pm, with both a a $130pp set menu or usual a la carte childrens menu available to under-12s.
Woodcut will also serve dinner on Christmas Day as per usual between 5.30pm and 8.30pm, with a few festive specials. See menus and book your table here.
Ripples Chowder Bay
Building 7 C, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman
Image credit: Ripples Chowder Bay | Supplied
Newly relaunched waterside stunner Ripples is celebrating Christmas Day lunch with a three-course choice menu, going for $275pp. The festive menu options include kingfish crudo, crispy pork belly with cauliflower purée, minted peas and honey jus, and chocolate fondant with plum and vanilla ice cream. A childrens menu is available for $95—book your table and see the full menu here.
Noi
108 Audley Street, Petersham
Noi is a chic favourite of the Inner West, and you can bet that they will also be hosting an unmissable Christmas lunch come 25 December. For $189pp, Christmas Day guests will dine on a four-course set menu filled with a confit Maremma duck taco, caviar-topped ravioli, roasted blue eye cod and a pandoro crème brûlée for dessert, with wine matches available too. Book your table here.
A’mare
Crown Sydney, Level 1/1 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo
Image credit: a'Mare | Instagram
Leave the cooking to Alessandro Pavoni and his team at swanky Italian restaurant a’Mare this Christmas Day, where a four-course set menu going for $390pp includes Western Australian marron, mud crab spaghetti, and Wagyu tri-tip with Barolo-infused jus.
A childrens menu is available for $130pp, and a’Mare is also doing Christmas dinner from 5.45pm, with a la carte available in the evening with a minimum spend. See the Christmas Day set and a la carte menus and book your table here.
OTTO Ristorante
6 Cowper Wharf Roadway, Woolloomooloo
Image credit: Otto | Instagram
Woolloomooloo treasure OTTO Ristorante is serving up a waterside Christmas Day lunch in 2023, imbuing the festive Italian spirit for which it's loved. The four-course choice menu is $495pp and begins with a glass of Charles Heidsieck on arrival, with the option to add on a four-hour classic or signature beverage package for $95 or $145 respectively, and a $120pp childrens menu.
See a sample Christmas Day menu and book your table here.
Sailmaker
Hyatt Regency Sydney, 161 Sussex Street, Sydney CBD
Get friends and family together over this festive Christmas Day buffet where you can down as much seafood (including oysters, Moreton Bay bugs and tiger prawns), honey glazed ham and turkey you can handle for $289pp, including a two-hour beverage package.
The dessert spread at Sailmaker's Christmas lunch will include 14 picks like plum pudding, pavlova, mince pies, stollen and crumble, and under-12's seats are $120pp. Sailmaker's Christmas Day lunch runs between 12pm and 2.30pm, and they're also doing Christmas dinner from 6pm for $199pp. See full menus and book your table here.
Chiosco By Ormeggio
D'Albora Marina, Spit Road, Mosman
Image credit: Chiosco by Ormeggio | Instagram
Alessandro Pavoni's a'Mare is also on this list—and it's because he just gets family-style dining. For the ultimate Christmas Day lunch in the north, you can't go past Chiosco. The Christmas lunch menu is designed to be shared and costs $275pp, and starts with burrata, yellowfin tuna crudo and herb scallop gratin before moving onto mixed seafood pasta, roasted duck, and a panettone trifle for dessert. A childrens menu is $90pp, and two-hour seatings can be booked here.
Botswana Butchery
25 Martin Place, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Botswana Butchery | Arianna Leggiero
The $190pp menu covers four courses of delicious and festive fare, with add-ons including a one-kilo T-bone, lamb shoulder, or whole southern rock lobster and, while all four dessert options sound amazing, we can’t go past the chocolate and chestnut Buche De Noel with gianduja and chestnut ganache.
Matched wines can be added for $99, and a separate menu of kid-friendly picks is on offer for $75pp. See full menus and book a table here.
The Fenwick
2-8 Weston Street, Balmain East
If there’s any venue in Sydney that captures the picturesque image of a Sydney Christmas, it’s The Fenwick, with smacking views of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour.
This year, The Fenwick is hosting a Christmas lunch featuring a three-course choice menu, with snacks to start like oysters topped with caviar and potato, corn and manchego croquettes before options including veal carpaccio, Cone Bay barramundi with blistered cherry tomato, macerated fennel and charred broccolini, and a decadent Valhrona chocolate dessert. Seatings cost $275pp for adults and $95 for children, and bookings are available here.
The Winery [Sold Out]
285A Crown Street, Surry Hills
Image credit: The Winery | Supplied
Urban wine bar and restaurant The Winery is known for hosting a good time, and Christmas Day is set to be no exception, with a three-course feasting menu and two-hour drinks package on offer for $189pp.
The share-style Christmas lunch menu features Aussie Christmas dishes like oysters, prawns and honey-glazed ham, plus crispy skin salmon and a fruit-topped pavlova to finish, and there's a kids menu for $39pp. Christmas lunch bookings are available in the breezy space for two-hour seatings at 11am or 2pm here.
Promenade Bondi Beach [Sold Out]
Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach
Image credit: Promenade Bondi Beach | Leigh Griffiths
Nothing says Sydney Christmas like spending the day with a beach breeze, so Promenade is offering a shared set menu of 10 dishes for $220pp, with chilled king prawns and Moreton Bay bugs with Marie Rose sauce, charcoal oven-roasted Wagyu with sambal gravy, cherry-glazed ham with honey mustard and tarragon, and peach meringue trifle with amaretto custard.
A $100pp kids menu is also available, and Promenade's beachfront bar will be open from 10am. Book for Christmas Day lunch at 11.30am or 2.30pm here.
The Gantry [Sold Out]
11 Hickson Road, Dawes Point
Relax over a three-hour, four-course lunch with chef snacks and matching wines this Christmas Day at The Gantry. Following a glass of champagne on arrival, Christmas lunch will serve up their signature modern Australian cuisine for $499pp, with water views topping it all off. See menu details and book here.
Kingsleys [Sold Out]
10/6 Cowper Wharf Roadway, Woolloomooloo
Take in harbour and city views from the Finger Wharf over a four-course Christmas Day menu with a glass off sparkling, a Bellini, or beer on arrival. Kingsleys' Christmas lunch menu includes chilled and hot seafood entrees, a choice of mains including beef tenderloin, turkey ballotine or rock lobster Thermidor, followed by dessert for $229pp. Two-hour seatings are available here from 12pm.
Loulou Bistro [Sold Out]
61 Lavender Street, Lavender Bay
Add some French flair to Christmas Day dining in Sydney at Loulou Bistro, where festive lunch looks like a three-course lunch designed to be shared with your loved ones. The lighter take on French classics is perfect for an Aussie summer day, with some bougie add-ons available to the $195pp menu (and a $50pp childrens menu available too). Bookings are available between 11.30am and 2.45 pm here.
Little Pearl [Sold Out]
8 / 13 S Steyne, Manly
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Image credit: Little Pearl | Instagram
If ten courses of epic hawker-style food and a fresh sea breeze are your idea of an ideal Christmas lunch, Little Pearl has you covered with ocean views to boot. They're doing a 10-course set menu and 2.5-hour beverage package for $199pp, with the menu ticking off kingfish sashimi, Moreton Bay bugs, beef cheek curry, whole fish, and a pav to finish.
A kids menu is $45pp, and there's an up-sized teen-friendly option for $90pp. 2.5-hour seatings from 12pm can be booked here.
Fratelli Fresh [Sold Out]
211 Bent Street, Moore Park and 54 West Esplanade, Manly
Casual Italian eatery Fratelli Fresh is bringing laid-back Italian feasting to Christmas Day, with a share-style Christmas lunch menu available between 11am and 4pm for just $95pp, or $19pp for kids. Following a shared antipasti and seafood spread, mains include braised lamb shoulder and Christmas ham with sides, and an Italian-inspired Christmas trifle for dessert. The Darling Harbour venue is already fully booked, so nab your table at Entertainment Quarter or Manly here ASAP.
St Siandra [Sold Out]
75 Lower Parriwi Road, Mosman
Image credit: St Siandra | Supplied
Sparkling water views will frame your Christmas feast at Mediterranean marvel St Siandra, where the Christmas Day lunch will feature prawn cocktails, succulent porchetta with smoked honey, whole BBQ snapper, and burnt apricot gingerbread trifle for $250pp. Vegetarian and kids menus are available, and there'll be champagne specials for the occasion too. Christmas lunch bookings are available from 11.45am here.
Now keep the festive season fun rolling with
Main image credit: Gowings at QT Sydney | Supplied
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