What's happening in Sydney
The best things to do this week
These local plant providers are bringing their carefully curated garden of greenery to the markets
Sport for Jove takes on the white whale with this production of Herman Melville's classic
[Sponsored] Sydney’s top cabaret performers are coming to the Ensemble Theatre for a series of intimate evenings
This locally loved South Coogee café is celebrating their food-iversary with live music and all-day giveaways
Head to Marrickville's Factory Theatre for cheap comedy this September
Come celebrate all things Japanese, pink, and kawaii in the heart of the CBD this August
[Sponsored] This three-day festival will furnish you with new interior design ideas while you enjoy those famous IKEA meatballs
Debate the future of renewable energy vs fossil fuels at Sydney Town Hall
Latest news stories
Competitions and announcements
How does a trip to Argentina grab you?
Celebrate 20 years of great food and talented chefs at these six amazing dining events
Try the best wines in Australia at this exclusive event
The best of Sydney
Sydney is obsessed with high tea, and with good reason – we know how to bake a good scone.
While away an afternoon or simply catch a break at lunch time.
Sydney packs a punch when it comes to spectacular views and thrilling activities.
Whether it's a reward after tackling one of Sydney's beautiful walks or a caffienated catch up or a hangover fixer.
Time Out took the challenge of visiting all the escape rooms in the city.
It’s worth investing a little time into who and where you should get inked before making the decision to permanently commit.
Coastal walks, bush walks, historical walks and inner city ambles: there are many routes to choose from.
This is the definitive, ranked list of where to eat in Sydney right now.
There are a few hotels whose hospitality is just as popular with locals as with those visiting town.
Point your compass in the direction of one of these nearby towns, regions and bush walks.
It may be one of the most simplest lunches but when you find a good sandwich, it’s worth shouting from the rooftop.
Whether it’s the brekky pho or racks of vintage threads that gets you out of bed in the morning.
Sydney's love for a breakfast knows no bounds – we champion our favourite brunch for days.
Sometimes there's nothing better than the sun on your back and a cool drink to keep things chill.
It's not easy being a night owl in Sydney. The trick is knowing where to look.
Load up the picnic basket and take a road trip to find these cascading falls around Sydney.
We thought we’d share some of our favourite public art works in Sydney.
Fluffy pork buns. Silky, thin tofu skin. Beef tendon. The sweetest prawn dumplings.
Neighbourhood guides
As the Inner West undergoes more and more plastic surgeries, Ashfield holds onto the charming remnants of its ageing looks.
Soon to be one of the most populated areas in Sydney, Parramatta's food and drink scene is on the rise
Side with Amex restaurant finder – dining with a complimentary side dish
These ones offer a little something extra, be rewarded with a complimentary side dish
If you live north of the bridge, here are a list of venues to get a free side at.
What is ‘Side with Amex’?‘Side with Amex’ is an instant rewards program by Time Out in partnership with American Express for American Express Card Members. How does ‘Side with Amex’ work?Participating American Express Venues will offer their customer a free side dish with the purchase of a main meal, when paid for using an American Express Card. How do I find out about participating venues?Participating venues will be included on each city’s Time Out website. This list will be updated constantly so keep checking back to find more participating venues in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. When does Side With Amex end?Side With Amex is a 2017/18 initiative split into two phases:• Phase 1: 01 November 2017- 31 August 2018 Is there any limit to the offer?Each venue has committed to supplying the first 200 customers, paying with an American Express Card, with a free side dish per bill. A customer may only redeem one free side with each payment, when purchasing a main meal. How do I take advantage of ‘Side with Amex’?Whether you're an American Express Card Member, or an American Express accepting Merchant, you can read more about 'Side with Amex' below.
Sign me up!
You might also like...
Vegan cheese. It’s one of the many oxymoronic snack stars on the menu at Alibi, the new, wholly veggie bar and restaurant in Woolloomooloo. You’ll find it inside the Ovolo Hotel – and it’s a brave move for a boutique hotel to make its food and beverage offering nut-and-plant-based (or perhaps an indication of how far we’ve come). Whether you’re totally animal-free, lactose intolerant, gluten sensitive or just down to try something different, this platter is creative and moreish. In place of the usual fromage slices you’ll find a trio of cashew-based cheeses – a cheddar, blue and truffle. While each has a similar pastelike texture that doesn’t quite mimic its oozy dairy counterpart, the truffle number is a standout, with earthy notes shining through. These cheeses – as well as the ‘cream’ and ‘ricotta’– are made in-house at Alibi. The menu was devised by Californian chef Matthew Kenney, who has been on the meat-free bandwagon for well over 15 years and has his own vegan culinary institute, alongside restaurants in New York, LA, London and Miami. What’s on the plate isn’t just trend-driven, but thoughtful, fun and interesting. A cold cacio e pepe uses not spaghetti but chewy kelp noodles coated in a creamy, peppery almond sauce; while handheld tacos use smoky pulled mushrooms, a bright, herb-fuelled salsa and a pepita-blended cream to nail the handheld Mexican staple. The steamed bun is the only thing that doesn’t quite hit the mark – it’s stodgier than the usually light and
After six months of refurbishments and renovations Glebe's Toxteth Hotel is pouring beers and dishing swish new meals. Sienna’s Bistro menu has gotten a total redux, so that along with counter classics, there's a new host of plant-based options. Try a Glebe Island Hot Bowl, with lemon myrtle roasted cauliflower, sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and Korean chilli sauce; or if you're after meat order up low and slow cooked spice-rubbed beef brisket. As always, the pub's weekly specials menu will be back, dishing out pub favourites for a steal. All meals can be enjoyed in the outdoor courtyard. On Sundays there will be a banquet style roast lunch or dinner to enjoy for $35pp called 'Host a Roast', and every Saturday join 'Sienna's Brunch Club', at $60pp with a drink on arrival or $70pp for bottomless – both can be booked from Sat Aug 25. The Toxteth have also changed up the drinks menu to include cocktail carafes (perfect for sharing in the sunny courtyard), plenty of beers (including local craft favourites) and mocktails (ideal for drivers and non-drinkers alike). You can also head there for live music, themed trivia, craft brew specials and musical bingo all throughout the week. Find out more about the new look Toxteth today.
You’d have to call it one of Sydney’s top party bars. Always a popular student hang, the Marlborough Hotel has become, since the lockouts skewed the crowds away from the east of town, an absolute lightning rod for Sydney nightlife. Maybe it’s the fact they’re open till 4am six nights a week, or the large beer garden. Perhaps it’s the live music or the DJ nights downstairs in their Tokyo Sing Sing room, or the classic rock upstairs at Miss Peaches. Whatever the reason, the Marly is the epicentre of one of the most vibrant parts of Sydney. Observing it all with wide, admiring eyes is staff newcomer Tara O’Connell. How long have you been at the Marlborough, Tara?I have been an assistant manager at the Marly for just over two months, and before that a loyal post-work frequenter. What do you love about Newtown?Newtown has always been a place in which I’ve felt not just safe, but wholly welcome. The sense of community that binds the neighbourhood is as blindingly obvious as the rainbow flags plastered throughout business fronts on King Street in shows of love and support. The venues dotted throughout Newtown work together in a fashion I doubt you’d find anywhere else. The overall connectedness is what really gets me. Who is the most memorable customer you have ever encountered and why?I remember this young uni student who was a dead ringer for David Wenham. I said to him: “How many times a day do you get told you look like David Wenham?” The guy had no idea who I was talking abo
Going to see The Book of Mormon? Then why not make your evening complete with a fabulous meal at Momofuku Seiobo, Balla or Black Bar & Grill? The Star’s premium restaurants are offering special menus designed for theatre-goers who need to get into the Lyric Theatre in time for curtain up. It’s a great, memorable meal for people in a hurry. Be sure to book ahead online. The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Photograph: Supplied Momofuku Seiobo The first restaurant to be opened outside of New York City by global food icon David Chang, Momofuku Seiobo is a showcase for the skills of chef Paul Carmichael, who draws upon his Caribbean heritage and the bounty of Australian ingredients. Momofuku is normally a full-tasting-menu-only proposition at $185 (worth every cent) that takes two hours to get through. But for theatre patrons the Pre-Theatre Menu, offered Tuesday to Saturday, is a four-course affair for $115 per head, seating at 6pm and getting you out by 7.30pm. Indeed, the Pre-Theatre Menu is a great way to experience one of the city’s best restaurants at a lower price point. Photograph: Supplied Black Bar & Grill One of the top steakhouses in town, Black Bar & Grill is where chef Dany Karam smokes premium cuts over cherry wood before grilling them over ironbark coals. The pre-theatre menu offers a selection from the contemporary Australian grill menu and comes with an option of a two- ($70) or a three-course meal ($80). Starters include oyster
If you live north of the bridge and feel like getting a little extra something with your meal, you've come to the right place. Pay with your American Express® Card at these leading restaurants, and you'll be rewarded with a complimentary side for your first main meal ordered. Want to know more? Check out our Side with Amex FAQ. For more great offerings, return to the American Express casual dining guide.
Now in its 20th year of fine dining and food events, Good Food Month presented by Citi gives Sydney’s food fans and would-be chefs an opportunity to experience specialised dishes from the city’s most renowned chefs and providores as well as industry leaders from across the globe. From October 4-21, diners will flock to Hyde Park for diverse culinary experiences within the transformed pop-up restaurant and foodie haven, Hyde Park Palms. There’s a huge roster of events, so we thought we’d help you out with a menu of six fantastic feasts that won’t leave you in a state of food FOMO. Time Out loves innovative and inclusive eating, so make your first port of call our official Good Food Month partner event, Vegan Italiano. The Night Noodle Markets are also a regular favourite throughout the month, and if you’re still agonising over the menu, here’s our guide to all the program highlights.
Do you love cuisine that uses Australian native ingredients? On Wednesday September 5, Endeavour Tap Rooms, the premium brew and smokehouse in the Rocks, are opening up their rooms to the Great Australian Graze, an exciting celebration of native flavours, and Time Out readers have the chance to experience it for free before the general public does. At the event you’ll roam through four rooms, each with a different food and drink sample inspired by Australian native ingredients. The journey will be a complete sensory experience, like being in the Northern Australian bush harvesting wattle seed, or in the tropical woodlands of east Arnhem Land picking Kakadu plums from the tree. After discovering all the rooms, guests will journey to the Endeavour Brew Bar and Courtyard where there will be live music and more food and drinks available for purchase. Time Out’s exclusive sneak peek of the Great Australian Graze takes place at an early 5.30-6.30pm preview prior to the ticketed event sessions. Your experience will include a free ticket to the sneak peek session including all four food and drink samples, a complimentary gift bag to take home as well as a complimentary drink in the Brew Bar. To win, simply sign up to Time Out’s newsletter before August 31. Already a subscriber? Sign up again for your chance to win – and we won’t send you multiple newsletters, because your inbox is full enough already. The Great Australian Graze is just one of many events being held in the Roc
It’s fair to say the venerable Kings Cross Hotel has witnessed some changes in its time. This six-storey edifice sits opposite the famous Coke sign welcoming visitors to Sydney’s traditional red-light district, and while the lights of the Cross may have dimmed since the lockouts, the KX powers on. From the subterranean Dive Bar to the prized real estate of the Rooftop, the KX is a meeting spot for the diverse communities of Potts Point and Darlinghurst as well as a venue that knows how to party. We asked assistant manager Ben Le Messurier exactly what makes it tick. Ben, how long have you worked here?Just over one year. Before KX I was at Darlo Bar just down the road, so I’ve been in the area a while. I love bigger venues; it was kind of daunting at first when you look at the six levels we have, but it’s a well oiled machine. What do you love about your job?I love working in a field that is so eclectic. There’s never a normal day at work and our mix of customers is so vast that I am able to meet such colourful personalities daily. Do you have any favourite regulars?The most memorable would be two of our locals, Trish and Wayne. They know the staff by name and they have great stories about the history of not only about our venue but many others throughout their years living in Kings Cross. They are true locals. They both moved to the area back when it was vibrant, and they’ve told us that what we’re doing at the venue is getting back to the roots of what Kings Cross used t
Some of Sydney’s best bar talent is behind new rooftop bar Old Mate’s Place in the CBD. Dre Walters (ex Lobo Plantation and Kittyhawk), Gabrielle Walters and Dan Noble (Ramblin' Rascal Tavern) have joined forces to open the Clarence Street bar with an open-air rooftop. This is the next big thing on the Sydney small bar scene, and we’re offering you the chance to be among the first to try it out at an exclusive Time Out Sneak Peek on Thursday August 23. On the night you can expect Red Stripe Beer, bespoke cocktails, Philly cheese steaks and vegetarian Philly cheese steaks – all for free. We have 40 double passes to give away, so your chances are pretty good. To win one, simply sign up for Time Out’s weekly newsletter before Monday 20 August. If you already get the newsletter, you can still enter – just fill out you deets again (and you won’t get multiple newsletters because, technology). ENTER HERE
After a successful debut last year, Antidote returns with an impressive program featuring concert hall talks, workshops and panel sessions. At the top of the bill are international guests Chelsea Manning, investigative reporter Ronan Farrow and New York Times bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates. The festival’s speakers can be linked by four themes: truth and lies, technology and design, culture and identity and storytelling and connections. There’ll be discussions about the impact of architecture on peace with Syrian architect Marwa Al-Sabouni; talks about race, gender, democracy and the African diaspora with Sisonke Msimang; and important chats about universal design with disability advocate Liz Jackson, founder of the Disabled List. For the first time, Antidote will include ‘how to’ sessions on conscious consumption, sustainable living, community activism and combating social isolation. You can learn how to fillet a fish with Saint Peter’s Josh Niland, how to be an activist with Sally Rugg or how to make your own eco products with Kirsty Mootz. The festival will also be a chance to solve your embarrassing problems with agony aunts Benjamin Law and his mum Jenny Phang, plus Maeve Marsden will bring the legendary storytelling night Queerstories to the Opera House for the first time.Read our interview with Antidote Festival director Dr Edwina Throsby about this year’s line-up.
