Sydney Eat Street: Celebrate with friends and family in style at these top Christmas venues

Christmas is just around the corner so it’s time to get the silly season sorted with some terrific tasty treats and delicious culinary experiences.

Christmas is just around the corner so it’s time to get the silly season sorted with some terrific tasty treats and delicious culinary experiences. Ho, ho, ho!

Take a tour of Sydney’s best eateries with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram or Twitter. #SydneyEatStreet

IZY. AKI

Starting as a pop-up izakaya, Darren Templeman brought Izy. Aki to Daintree Sydney, with creative cocktails and sharing dishes such as Black Opal Wagyu beef tarte, hibachi-grilled pork belly, and breaded tiger prawns.

Izy Aki is an ideal destination for end of year gatherings.

It seems that Sydney-siders couldn’t get enough of the omakase dining experience (a term that loosely translates to “leave it up to the chef”), so he opted to give Izy. Aki a permanent home.”

The emphasis on the group experience, not to mention the courtyard’s location nestled

amidst the lush greenery of the historic Sailors’ Home, makes Izy. Aki an ideal destination for end-of-year gatherings – all the fun, with none of the fuss.
106 GEORGE ST, THE ROCKS; IZYAKI.COM.AU

COOKING SCHOOL

Christmas is a time for family, fun and reflection, and for Jean Luc Tan, all three are central to VIVE Cooking School, which he says is “a tribute to my hard-working and nurturing mother and father.”

VIVE cooking school is going to teach you how to cook and have fun.

He tells how, growing up, his parents were insistent about having a family dinner.

The food was important, but it was the ritual he cherishes.

It’s the inspiration that led him to establish a school that would not only teach how to prepare dishes such as Beef Bourguignon or pork belly, mash and apple pie but also enjoy the process and laugh along the way.

18/61-71 MENTMORE AVE, ROSEBERY

WOOLLAHRA HOTEL

The holiday season is a time for traditions and those traditions have to start somewhere, including the Woollahra Village Christmas Fair upstairs at the hotel on November 30.

Woollahra Hotel will host its first Christmas Fair.

This year is the first and has been created to showcase Woollahra’s local businesses including Simon Jonson, Victor Churchill, The Bay Tree, Dogs in Town, Woollahra Bookshop, MoncurCellars, Summers Florist, Bistro Moncur, Mitchell Maker Jewellery, Store Trésor, Ratatak Ceramics, Crazy Sock Thursdays, Bixby and Co. Jewellery, and Wrappsody gift wrapping.

116 QUEEN STREET, WOOLLAHRA; WOOLLAHRAHOTEL.COM.AU

PRIMI ITALIAN

There is something right about celebrating the festive season at a restaurant with its wine list – including the bottles – mounted on the wall.

“Throughout the holiday season, the festive spirit is high, and so is our generosity,” said owner Goran Milo.

Gather the crew and head in for Primi’s two-course group menu: bountiful entrees, pasta dishes, and traditional pizzas. The dishes represent Italy’s diverse culinary regions, emphasising seasonal and locally sourced Australian ingredients.

Mud crabs at Primi Italian. Picture: Jenifer Jagielski.

“Sharing food is part of Italian culture, so it makes sense that we have abundant sharing plates of a variety of familiar and classic Italian fare (antipasto, pasta, arancini and more),” Goran added.

A highlight of the menu is the award- winning blue swimmer crab ravioli with sautéed baby spinach and Pernod Beurre Blanc sauce. This creation saw Primi Italian crowned the winner of ClubNSW’s Perfect Plate.

168 CLARENCE ST, SYDNEY; PRIMIITALIAN.COM.AU

ROCKPOOL

Rockpool is a Sydney institution and a go-to for ritzier occasions, including end-of-year celebrations.

Rockpool for some of Sydney’s finest food.

It has a great mix of formal dining and no-bookings-required bar food.

The wood-fired grill is the star of the show, with steaks – rib eye, sirloin, Denver, and chuck – cooked to preference.

But fair warning, the cost per cut isn’t for the faint of heart.

66 HUNTER ST, SYDNEY; ROCKPOOLBARANDGRILL.COM.AU