20 Ways to Extend Your Summer in Sydney

Enjoy a bespoke cocktail at Sydney’s latest pop-up bar, where it’s Happy Hour all night long. The new outdoor appendage of The Governor’s Table in the CBD will serve premium bevs at markdown prices, making it the perfect place to unwind after a busy week at work. Open Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm to 8pm, The Governor’s Shout! is located on the corners of Bridge Street and Phillip Street, right outside The Governor’s Table, opposite the commemorative metal bust of Governor Arthur Phillip. And really, what better way to celebrate Sydney’s colonial founding father than with cheap beverages right beside the Museum of Sydney?

Open 7am to 4pm Monday through Friday, the restaurant will focus on rustic, wholesome foods, with diners picking one of two proteins and selecting veggies or salads to go with it. Dishes announced so far include white wine juniper braised lamb shoulder with cumin yogurt, lemon pepper leaf and thyme roast chicken, and cocoa salt-crusted slow roast beef. Sides? So far we’ve seen balsamic roast beets and roast carrots with almonds and fetta.

While Sydney’s beaches are some of the best in the country, we sometimes forget we also have a collection of outdoor pools unlike anywhere else in the world. You’ll especially appreciate them as winter draws near, bringing with it that ho-hum sight: the indoor pool.

In movies set in the Caribbean, there’s invariably that one effortlessly cool scene in a smoky bar where the characters sip spiced rum, listen to samba and are all slightly sweaty. Harpoon Harry is that scene. Nothing extends summer like a trip to the Caribbean, even if that trip is purely gustatory and barbecue-based.

It’s never not summer if you’re throwing a barbecue. And it doesn’t have to involve making your own bunting and painstakingly pouring pomegranate jelly shots into hollowed-out strawberries. God (who looks like Bill Hunter if you’re Australian) can see you when you do that, and he doesn’t approve.

Chefs know their late night supper spots, finishing work well after you’ve digested your dins and are happily tucked in. Friesen’s taken inspiration from his favourite late night Sydney eateries. He’s designed a bite-sized menu of Asian-style fried chicken, Hong Kong noodles and snacky nibbles for his MIM pop-up.

What’s new this year is an Australian-inspired menu, a charcuterie room, a raw seafood bar and an optimised seating plan, so more people than ever can enjoy this heritage-listed landmark and panoramic harbourside views. Equip yourself with a refreshing pomegranate and mint Sydney Sling ($18) and head outside to the sun-drenched deck where you and 699 other people can now find a seat. With new rows of timber-slatted benches and sea-facing table and chairs lining the promenade, it’s a much-welcome addition for anyone who has spent their evenings searching for a spare stool.

Moonlight Cinema is not only the last inner-city outdoor cinema to keep trucking into the dying days of summer, it also lowers prices for the occasion. If you sign up for free Cinema Buzz membership, tickets go down to just $10. It’s the perfect way to unwind after a hard day and usher in those balmy late-summer (or early-autumn) nights. There’s also the option of ‘Gold Grass’ tickets, which gets you a bean-bed in the front rows and designated waitstaff.

Resist the stale indoor gym in these final throws of summer. Sydney has plenty of amazingly located fitness stations to help you work up a sweat, as well as a tan. And happy bonus? They’re all absolutely free.

Taronga Zoo’s frankly kickass summer concert program is continuing well into March. Conor Oberst, Rufus Wainwright, and Dan Sultan are all still to come, with that top notch Sydney Harbour as backdrop. And Ken Done’s designing the marketing collateral, because ‘straya.

Nothing has more sizzle, more sparkle, more ‘Sydney in summer’ plastered all over it than the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. The march up Oxford and Flinders Streets in Darlinghurst commemorates the 1978 demonstration of a few hundred people standing up against discrimination and has become a celebration that draws tens of thousands onto the street. Get up to Oxford Street early on in the afternoon to take in the visual extravaganza of costumes, floats and fabulous fun.

Time to scope out an enormous bib and the hardiest pair of gloves you can lay your hands on. On March 12, House of Crabs are bringing back their decadent, annual seafood orgy by the name of ‘Endless Bags’. And yes, it means exactly what you think it does. You get to eat as much blue swimmer crab, prawns and mussels as you, your stomach and your shell-cracking knuckles can handle.

A challenger to Messina and N2 comes from the Greeks and their watermelon feta gelato. New kid on the block Pagoto Gelato & Waffle House serving up a range of Greek-style ice-creams on Marrickville’s Victoria Road. All the ice-creams are made on-site, with the flavours thought up by Katerina herself using traditional ingredients and sweets. Try a fragrant and bright pink Greek delight; Greek yoghurt with honey, walnuts and cinnamon (a typical after-dinner sweet in Greece); and a range of traditional honey and walnut pastries, including baklava, kataifi and diples.

A classic Aperol Spritz is just the tip of the Iceberg at new spritz bar This Must Be the Place. On our visit we decided on the Gloss, a fruity and fabulous concoction of strawberry, Ketel One Citroen, watermelon Riesling and rosewater, and the exceedingly well-balanced Belafonte of fino sherry, Tanqueray No. 10, lemon, wild basil and Prosecco (all spritzes $14). Effervescing on arrival and utterly refreshing, both were delicious, and it quickly became clear each ingredient had been well considered, delivering bursts of flavour that go superbly with balmy summer evenings. In fact, we had two Belafontes.

Summer goes on forever at the Greens. What was once a daggy bowlo has been transformed into a lush garden bar with million-dollar Sydney skyline views. Inside The Greens, floor-to-ceiling glass doors allow sunlight to stream into a plant-filled brasserie which is fitted out with curved booths and long communal tables. If it’s a sunny day, head outside to the rustic garden, where you’ll find a plenitude of daybeds and picnic settings adjacent to the lawns.

Treat yourself to the ultimate blissed out morning of Rooftop Yoga at the Glenmore Hotel. Returning to the iconic rooftop in collaboration with lululemon athletica, the free vinyasa flow classes take place with an early morning view of Sydney Harbour in the background, as well as a live soundtrack by DJ Fellows who’ll be spinning some chilled summer tunes to loosen your muscles. On top of this, the classes comes with a light breakfast and refreshments, all complimentary as part of lululemon’s #sunriseyoga series. Classes run from 7-8am (not exactly sunrise, we know) Wednesday, 25 February and Friday, 13 March.

Like socialising, gallery-hopping is better at night. Three must-do precinct parties will be be activated over the course of the month: East Sydney (March 12), Paddington/Woollahra (March 26) and Chippendale/Redfern (March 19). Gallery doors will be wide open, ready for your keen insights and witty comments. If you’re new to the whole art party scene, these DIY tours are the perfect induction. Grab a group of friends and head off on a local adventure before settling into the precinct’s ArtBar for some sweet tunes and performances.

Popping up for the summer (and seemingly longer) at Manly Wharf Hotel, Burger Liquor Lobster could scarcely be more waterfront. The affordable prices don’t mean there’s any skimping on the ingredients front. The lobster is of the salt and pepper variety, accompanied with lemon aioli, chives, red onion and lettuce, while the crab is crispy soft shell, spiced up with chilli Singapore sauce and cooled down by Asian slaw.

Even when your boss keeps you chained to the desk till sundown, the day needn’t be filed as a write-off. Sydney isn’t only good for clandestine beaches, idiosyncratic water holes and splashing about under falls, it has night swimming on tap, too. Here are five spots where you can take a dip after dark, with enough light to see, while protected from nocturnal sea life. Take people with you and keep your judgement handy.

You’ll quickly forget any farewells to the sunnier months at the Coogee Foreshore Festival, a seaside celebration transforming Coogee Pavilion‘s ground floor into a burgeoning marketplace. It’s just one tasty, beachy adventure amongst five weeks of March into Merivale. The new Coogee Foreshore Festival arrives on Sunday, March 15, running 11am to 4pm at one of our favourite openings from 2014. The $45-a-head festival will see Merivale pop-ups such as Papi Chulo, Mr Wong, El Loco and sushi e all taking their spot along the promenade, while roaming entertainment, a Deus surfboard-shaping stand and face painting bubbles inside.