Sydney Eat Street: Best places to eat during Vivid Sydney 2022
All good things must come to an end and with lights out next week, now’s the time to take in the sights, sounds … and flavours of the Vivid festival.
Eat Street
Don't miss out on the headlines from Eat Street. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The thrilling flavours, sights, sounds and ideas of Sydney’s unique Vivid festival are back, bigger than ever, with cocktails and special food offerings.
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 and Twitter. #SydneyEatStreet
Opera Bar
After you’ve had a walk around and got amongst it with the interactive activations, it’s time to sit back and really take it in.
Rather than go somewhere inside and away from the action, stay harbourside and hit up a local favourite, Opera Bar.
Situated just along the seawall’s edge, you are perfectly positioned for a sweeping view of the vibrant lights, as well as the projections on “the Sail”.
Keep the colour-theme going with Opera Bar’s Vivid specials: Lychee Calling, a sapphire blue cocktail made with lychee liqueur, citrus, and Bombay Sapphire (naturally); and head chef Fernando Sanchez’s oh-so fun Rainbow Blondie – double cream and jewel-toned candied popcorn atop a white chocolate brownie.
“After two very long years it’s great to have Vivid back. The city is coming back to life, and it feels like VIVID is a huge celebration of that,” Fernando says.
“Plus, it’s a great opportunity to have some fun with the menu.”
– Sydney Opera House Lower Concourse Level Sydney; Operabar.com.au
Din Tai Fung
Any time is a good time for Din Tai Fung’s famous xiao long bao (soup dumplings) but with RAINBAO dumplings added to the menu throughout Vivid, it becomes a magical time.
Made fresh to order (as is Din Tai Fung’s practice), each bamboo steamer basket comes with five different rainbow-coloured dumplings – red (the super-hot and spicy Sichuan mala), orange (black truffle), purple (chicken), green (vegetable), and the all-new crabmeat xiao long bao gets the golden hues for the win. Available at all Sydney locations through June 18, 2022.
Untied
The dynamic display of colours paired with the emotive sounds indicative of Vivid make for a truly magnificent sensory experience, so it seems perfectly appropriate that Untied, a rooftop bar above Barangaroo, has created a cocktail that encapsulates the festival’s sensory experience.
Starting with little neon orbs flavoured with orange, melon lychee peach and berry, these are then topped with sparkling wine, producing a playful fizz that explodes with colour and tickles the nose. (Spritz bombs, $13).
The dynamic display of colours paired with the emotive sounds indicative of VIVID make for
a truly magnificent sensory experience, so it seems perfectly appropriate that Untied, a
rooftop bar above Barangaroo, has created a cocktail that encapsulates the festival’s
sensory experience.
– Level 4, 400 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo; untiedsydney.com.au
Zephyr Bar
Perched high atop the Hyatt Regency overlooking the action around Darling Harbour, this chic open-air bar is privy to a cascade of lights most every night, but come Vivid, when the colours go up, that’s when Zephyr really glows, including the cocktails: Glow Your Mind ($23) and Just Glow With It ($24).
Mohit Kumar, the venue’s manager is particularly excited about this year’s Vivid Festival.
“For the first time, the Vivid walk extends through to Darling Harbour with the precinct activating all through the harbour,” Mohit says.
“To celebrate Vivid in 2022, we’ve created two ‘glow’ cocktails, inspired by the festival of light, music, and ideas for guests to sip while immersed in Vivid-esque lighting.
“The gin and mango based Just Glow With It cocktail is served in a light bulb, a true representation of both ideas (light bulb moment) and light.”
– Hyatt Regency, Level 12, 161 Sussex St; zephyrbarsydney.com
Spice Temple
The menu at this regional Chinese restaurant is feast of flavours and exotic hues, and throughout Vivid, Spice Temple is really letting those colours shine with dazzling dishes and themed drinks.
There are two set menus, each timed perfectly to pre-empt your light-filled sojourn: Vivid set menu ($89pp) featuring, cucumber with ginger, garlic and mint cabbage and radish, white cut chicken, fried pork chop, Hangzhou-stye flathead and more before finishing with bright orange mandarin marshmallows; and the Vivid bar menu ($59) featuring smaller bites, including the crystal vegetable dumplings.
These menus are available throughout Vivid, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 5pm-6.30pm with a minimum of two diners.
— 10 Bligh St, Sydney; spicetemple.com.au
Bombay Sapphire’s House of Bombay
It’s been a long wait, but Darling Quarter and Tumbalong Park are finally getting the full Vivid treatment.
There’s a number of standout installations, a huge performance stage, unique food stalls and the expansive House of Bombay pop-up bar. While this bar may be temporary, with the ability to host 500 people, it’s by no means tiny.
There are a number of different Bombay Sapphire cocktails to be had, including the Vivid Spritz, and Sunset Spiced Negroni. You needn’t go hungry either as they’ve set up a QR code on each table in which to order food from the surrounding “Street food” stalls.
Best part is, it’s brought to you, so need to leave that G &T behind to pick-up the butter chicken jaffles from Pocket Rocketz or dim sum and fried dumplings from Delight Asian Cuisine.
Nor should you set down that cinnamon and spice Hot Gin Toddy when you can have crème brulee and mochi ice cream from Torch Me Crème Brulee or Nutella crepes from French Kiss Creperie delivered instead. Cocktail prices vary, but they do have Happy Hour from 5pm-6pm. Open from 5pm-11pm each night through June 18. Children welcome when accompanied by an adult.
– 1-25 Harbour St, Darling Quarter
Gelatissimo
Bathers or blankets, no matter the weather, it’s always time for gelato, even better when it’s one of Gelatissimo’s limited-edition flavours, like the one they’ve created especially for
Sydney’s favourite festival of lights: VIVID Strawberry Bang, a colourful concoction made of strawberry bubblegum gelato, rippled with strawberry swirls, and topped with rainbow sprinkles. Make it a full explosion of colour and enjoy it in one of their crispy chocolate dipped cones along with your favourite toppings. Available in store, or Gelatissimo pop-up carts through June 18, 2022.
The Streets of Barangaroo
The streets are aglow along Wulugul Walk and plenty of places are celebrating with Vivid-inspired specials ranging from cocktails to waffle cones.
Lotus
Fans of this casual fine-dining restaurant will be seeing red throughout VIVID as Lotus has given their signature Singapore crab xiao long bao soup dumplings a ruby-hued glow.
In keeping with the lucky colour, they’ve also created the Starry Night cocktail, Vodka infused with butterfly pea, hints of lychee and strawberry. Available through June 18 (or sold out), the dumplings run $18 for four, while the cocktails are $23 each.
— Lotus Barangaroo Shop 8/9 Wulugul Walk, Barangaroo; Chi by Lotus, Shop 2, 100 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo; lotusdininggroup.com
Love.fish
Starting with a small seafood restaurant in Rozelle, Michael Milkovic and Michelle Grand-Milkovic received glowing marks from locals not just for their laudable menu but also as champions of Sydney seafood, sustainable fishing practices, and community engagement.
While the move to Barangaroo was a big step, they’ve maintained the same ethos so it’s not surprising that they’ve embraced the vibrant spirit of Vivid and created two limited-release offerings – the Flaming Rosemary Spiced Rum Old Fashioned cocktail and a Davidson Plum and Pistachio Bomb with Cinnamon Fire Ball dessert.
— 7/23 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo; lovefish.com.au
Barangaroo House
No need to rug up for this instillation, as Sydney-based designer Vincent Buret has his work of art inside House Bar at Barangaroo House.
A large light hanging from ceiling surrounded by an LED net with triangular mirrors floating on both sides, this installation is of course best observed with one of House Bar’s Vivid-inspired Bombay Sapphire cocktails in hand.
— 35 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo; barangaroohouse.com.au
Cointreau Kombi
If margaritas are your thing, check out the Cointreau VW Kombi parked outside Terrace on The Domain where you’ll find three different versions of the classic Mexican cocktail: the Original Margarita, the Vivid Bright Margarita, and the Spicy Margarita ($18ea).
Rug up and throw down a blanket as it’s also a great place to view the Vivid-lit Sydney skyline.
Aria
Aria’s bewitching view of one of the world’s most astounding light shows is pretty sweet. Every table at this iconic Sydney restaurant is already blessed with a sweeping view of Sydney Harbour, but during Vivid, there’s an added luxury of a front-row seat to the captivating projections and lighting displays surrounding Circular Quay and beyond. That alone is worth a visit.
But this year, Aria has fully embraced the creativity and innovation that defines Vivid through a collaboration with floral artist Claire Mueller and her Acid.Flwrs.
They’re mesmerising, they’re also the inspiration for Aria’s Vivid Sydney cocktail menu as well as a limited-edition chocolate truffle offering from executive chef Tom Gorringe.
“The offering is very simple it’s some handmade chocolates and petit fours that will be served on a custom-made Perspex tray at the end of the meal throughout Vivid,” Tom says.
“The petit fours will be inspired by the bright colourful lights of vivid and by our collaboration with Acid.Flwrs. The chocolates will have a similar aesthetic to Acid.Flwrs and will feature fun and ever-changing flavours (e.g., banana miso caramel, Passion fruit and makrut lime, Yuzu and white chocolate. The yuzu is from this beautiful orchard down in Victoria.
“We’re actually going to be using it on the new menu. So, this is sort of a pre-winter preview. Then there’s the roasted chestnut praline truffle. It has a kind of wintry vibe. Like cold winters in Canada with the smell of roasting chestnuts. It’s like a little warm bag of chestnuts from the street vendors.”
Tom honed his chocolate-making skills in Canada.
“We did make a lot of kinds of chocolates and handmade stuff at the restaurant in Canada,” he adds.
“The pastry chef there … he had these insane his dessert pairings and flavour combinations and decorations. This all reminds me of him so when the idea of making fun and unique truffles for Vivid, I was like ‘I can do that’.”
And what was the inspiration for the colourful shells?
“I wanted the chocolates to kind of look like the acid flowers …. with the kind of crazy colour palettes and cool splashes of colour,” Tom says.
“I just feel like that works really well for Vivid as well. All the bright lights and seeing the Opera House lit up from the dining room is super beautiful.
“The chocolate truffles add to that an edible experience, … just a nice little way to finish off your meal, have something sweet and beautifully decorated where you can enjoy looking at the lights … and the Claire’s Acid.Flwrs.”
Available through to June 18, 2022.
— 1 Macquarie St, Sydney; ariasydney.com.au
Silvester’s
The first ingredient in Silvester’s Vivid celebration is light.
“The creative process for the menu was very fun and different from what we normally do as we started with an idea and colours and built the dishes around that rather than the ingredients,” Michelin Star-experienced chef Raphael Szurke says.
“The concept of the menu is monochromatic and once we picked the main colours: orange, green, red, yellow, purple, blue, we tried to find the more natural and relevant colour/ingredient matching with keeping in mind a logical progression in flavours through the menu.
“This menu reflects Silvester’s story, as the focus always remains the sourcing of ingredients. Native Australian spices and fruits are being used and only fresh and seasonal components added to the dishes.
“This creative menu takes the customer trough a journey of discovery of taste and textures in a fun way. The exciting part of the evening is the whole experience of dining outdoor in the laneway with fun drinks, beautiful set up and a menu concept that will wow the guests.
“We have never done do much effort in term of food design and colour before and we hope the clients will enjoy it.”
Sydney Harbour Marriott, where Silvester’s is located, will also have its own Vivid Laneway Exhibit and Studio — colours, ideas, magic, art, music, all inspired by travel. Quite appropriate considering it’s a hotel.
It’s also where Raphael is teaming up Three Bottle Man, the adjacent wine bar and cafe to transform part of Bulletin Place laneway, where’ they’ll host this exclusive event.
On arrival, guests will receive a Vivid cocktail on arrival followed by a monochromatic food experience bringing colours to light on your plate.
“The menu starts with a hot/cold soup (orange), a smoked carrot and coconut velouté served with passion fruit, mandarin, and yuzu sorbet,” Raphael explains.
“It will wake up the mouth to start the meal. This is followed by a choice of appetisers: Vannella Burrata (green) with baby gem gel, local greens and verbena oil or Yellow Fin tuna poke (red), with watermelon radish and beets.
“For the mains the customer there’s either the Sustainable Western Australia Octopus (purple), gently braised then charred and served with purple cabbage or the free range Spatchcock marinated with saffron and koi (yellow), roasted and served with corn and yellow squash.
“To finish, our pastry team has prepared a fluffy cloud cake (blue) filled with passion fruit cream and white chocolate, served atop a bed of delicate Persian fairy floss.
“A perfect way to experience all the sites, sounds, colours and now, flavours of Vivid.”
(Three-course dinner with paired wines, wines for $129+ booking fee from Thursday to Sunday evenings throughout Vivid).
— Sydney Harbour Marriott, 1 Bulletin Pl, Sydney; silvesters.com.au
Devon
Chef Zacharay Tan (ex-Bistro Guillaume), has always had a rather unconventional approach to food, starting off with in 2013 with a Surry Hills cafe that eschewed the typical big brekkie for dishes that feature more Japanese and Filipino influences. Same with the sweets.
That approach has carry-over to the Barangaroo and North Sydney locations.
“Devon has always had its fleeting flirtations with soft serves and sundaes. This was an opportunity to bring back the soft serve after Covid which rendered our soft serve machine obsolete,” he says.
Thankfully, the fan favourite is back and this time it’s purple.
“For Vivid, we’re using a Filipino-inspired ube soft serve, and pretty much a Halo Halo-esque ingredients. We decided to go with coconut, Pandan and sago. Ube chips lends a crisp texture to the dish as does the waffle cone.”
Afterwards, check out the lights n Barangaroo in your own Purple Haze.
— 19/200 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo; devoncafe.com.au
Dopa Donburi & Milk Bar
Dopa by Devon co-owner Zacharay Tan says his plan for Vivid was simple: “The brief was to create a dish that was pretty, colourful, and also great to carry with one hand while walking.
“Let’s be honest, Vivid is a spectacle to behold but it’s also about being outdoors and walking around to see all the lights.
“We created an ice cream sandwich for this particular reason. Combining forces with our macaron and cookie champions, Mak Mak Macarons. We decided to go with a chocolate flavoured cookie with multiple colours and shapes to highlight the artistic nature of this event.
“We paired it with our Murasaki imo (Japanese sweet purple potato ice cream) and the 100s and 1000s just seals the effect we intended.”
Dopa, and its menu of Japanese dishes inspired by the streets of Tokyo, is worth a visit any day, but during VIVID, there’s the added incentive of Darling Square’s very own Vivid lights, sounds and interactive events.
— 2 Little Hay St, Haymarket; dopa.com.au
Ume Burger
Ume Burger owner and chef Kerby Craig is determined to pile on the colour Vivid.
Through to June 18, Ume’s famous Asian and classic style-burgers will be sandwiched in between two vibrant red buns.
They’ll be available at both the Darling Square and Barangaroo venues, as will the Lucky 7 grab-and-go options which include potato croquettes, mini-Japanese fried chicken, and potato gems with umami seasoning – all for just $7).
“We missed the energy and life that Vivid brought to Sydney – a burst of bright colours, happiness and energy when it’s cold and drab outside,” Kerby says.
“It brought Sydneysiders and tourists in to explore our city and now, once again, we’ll feel that energy in the streets. We can’t wait to dish up a burst of fabulous Ume Flavours and lift spirits after two years of missing out.”
— 1 Little Pier St, Darling Exchange, Haymarket; Wulugul Walk, Barangaroo; umeburger.com
Winter warmers to celebrate the season
Everyone is happy to see the sun peeking through the clouds, but winter’s not all bad. Bid farewell to the colder days with one last hurrah of warming fare.
Sniffing out Sydney’s best truffle desserts
Save the best for last. As truffle season comes to a close, be sure to indulge in some sweet treats featuring the annual earthy gem.