Australian Open 2025: what you’ll be eating at tennis tournament

A new Nashville-inspired restaurant from one of Melbourne’s hottest chefs and a Vietnamese favourite will have mouths watering at Melbourne Park next year.

Nam Nguyen, owner of Brunswick Vietnamese restaurant Good Days, and Charlie Carrington, chef and owner of new eatery Tennessee Wingboys, showcase the dishes they’ll be serving at the Australian Open. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Globetrotting chef Charlie Carrington is set to hard launch his newest venture, Tennessee Wingboys, at the 2025 Australian Open.

The man behind Melbourne institution Atlas Dining said as “a massive tennis fan”, he was pumped to introduce the masses to his “ode to Nashville’s bustling hot chicken scene” at Melbourne Park during the three-week event.

The tournament will begin on January 6 with the second iteration of AO Opening Week, presented by the Herald Sun, featuring Australian Open qualification and exhibition matches with top-ranked players. The main draw will then start the following Sunday, on January 12.

Carrington said he fell in love with Nashville hot chicken while travelling the US, and decided to bring the “unique style of cooking” to a Melbourne market that was missing out.

He “soft launched” Tennessee Wingboys in Prahran three months ago, and was now preparing to bring boldly flavoured chicken tenders, burgers and hand-cut chips to the tennis.

“It’s my fifth year at the Australian Open, we’ve done something different each year,” he said.

“I love being part of it. It has the most amazing atmosphere and, from a chef’s perspective, it’s a serious challenge, the logistics that go into it.”

Carrington’s Cuban sandwich shop, Little Havana, was court-side at the 2024 AO and sold a whopping seven tonnes of fries.

Brunswick Vietnamese favourite Good Days will make its Melbourne Park debut in 2025.

Carrington says serving the huge crowds who attend the Australian Open is “a serious challenge”. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Diego Fedele

Owner Nam Nguyen said he was excited to introduce big crowds to the noodle salads that had made his eatery a “staple of Sydney Rd”, adding he would be serving two varieties: grilled lemongrass chicken and vegan-friendly vegetable spring roll.

“A lot of people north-side know who we are, but we’d love to broaden that,” he said.

Nguyen said the small restaurant – with 25 seats inside and eight outside – had gained popularity since opening in 2016 due to its commitment to “preparing every ingredient in house”, sourcing ethical ingredients and catering to vegans and vegetarians as well as meat eaters.

Wonder Pies and All Things Equal, a social enterprise cafe from Balaclava, will also be serving tennis fans from Kids Tennis Day on January 11.

All other food outlets in Garden Square, including Courtside Bar, and Grand Slam Oval will be open for the entire three weeks.

Australian Open tickets are on sale from October 10. Visit ausopen.com

Originally published as Australian Open 2025: what you’ll be eating at tennis tournament