Overview
The Australian Open has changed a lot over the years, becoming far more than just a tennis competition. Nowadays, it's giving full festival energy — with Kesha, Armand Van Helden, Kaytranada and Benson Boone set to perform at the 2025 Australian Open.
This iteration's food lineup is also no joke, with some of Melbourne's best chefs serving up their famed eats to punters. You'll find fine-dining fare in the VIP areas and a huge range of traders in the Garden Square, Western Courts, AO Ballpark and Grand Slam Oval. Check out the full list of food vendors here.
Entrecote
Garden Square
Melbourne's famed French restaurant and steak spot Entrecote is setting up shop in Garden Square for the 2025 Australian Open, pumping out mitraillette baguettes and classic cheeseburgers with fries.
These guys will be setting up shop next to the iconic A1 Bakery stall, which will be baking a selection of its Lebanese pastries. You'll also find Italian sandwiches (including epic meatball subs) and sweets at Piccolo Panini Bar and Maltese-inspired pastizzi and Mediterranean salads from Julia Busuttil Nishimura. This is the first time any of these folks have cooked up dishes for the Australian Open.
Tennessee Wingboys
Western Courts
Those watching matches out on the Western Courts will find fresh Vietnamese salads at the Good Days food stall and Nashville-style fried chicken courtesy of the Tennessee Wingboys. You've got one healthy and one not-so-healthy option depending on your mood.
The Filipino Project
Grand Slam Oval
You've then got the Grand Slam Oval where you'll find the peak festival vibes. It's also home to some of our favourite Melbourne dishes. D.O.C is firing up the pizza ovens, El Jannah will serve its famed Lebanese chicken all day long, Easey's will be pumping out deliciously greasy burgers, CDMX will have all your taco needs, and Stalactites will have you sorted for souvlakis. These eats are ace, whether you're watching a day or night game.
Here, you'll also find barbecue chicken skewers, empanadas and green papaya salad from The Filipino Project, salads from Fishbowl, and Asian canteen-style dishes from Silk Spoon.
All Things Equal
AO Ballpark
Pop around to the Ballpark to find two more food spots. First off there's the social enterprise cafe All Things Equal, which is staffed by an all-abilities workforce who are some of the friendliest waitstaff in Melbourne.
And they'll be joined by Wonder Pies, which'll be serving — you guessed it — hot pies.
Rockpool
AO Reserve Premium Experiences
Lastly, you have the more luxe dining experiences inside the AO Reserve. Here, you'll find food from Bridgette Hafner (Tedesca Osteria), Shimpei Raikuni (Brisbane's Sushi Room), Alejandro Saravia (Morena, Farmer's Daughters and Victoria by Farmer's Daughters), Martin Benn and Vicki Wild (ex-Sepia), Blake Shailes (Grandmaster Records), and the Rockpool crew. Some of Melbourne's best restaurants are represented here.
To round it all out, Nick and Nora's will also be shaking up damn good cocktails throughout the Australian Open.
The Australian Open is running from Sunday, January 12, 2025–Sunday, January 26, 2025 at Melbourne Park. For more details, check out the AO website.
Top image: Piccolo Panini Bar