While The Rocks is best known for its storied history, there are actually a lot of unexpected things to uncover in the area, particularly this August. Take a short walk from the CBD or a scenic ferry ride across Sydney Harbour and you’ll find everything from inexpensive lunch options with a view and iconic Sydney dishes to cocktail masterclasses and buzzy restaurant openings.

We’ve put together a guide of some of the best deals available as part of Forage The Rocks this August, so you can discover something new in the historic precinct. Give back to non-profits while picnicking under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, try a new omakase pop-up, or enjoy an afternoon of bespoke cocktails by a personal bartender.

The sun might set but the deals keep going. Thanks to the Cocktail Trail, you can break bread without breaking the bank. For $25, you can get a cocktail and canapé at 12 different restaurants and pubs in the area.

Some of the standout steals include dumplings at The Argyle, a mini tuna sashimi taco at Saké, toasties at The Doss House, truffle duck spring rolls at Bar Lulu and pumpkin arancini at The Keel.

Image: Anna Kucera

If you’ve tried every loaded sandwich and green bowl in the CBD, head to one of the ten venues offering weekday specials at The Rocks — starting with The Glenmore Hotel. You probably know this pub as one of the best spots to enjoy views of Sydney Harbour with a drink in hand, but its midweek deals also make it worth a visit. From 4–6pm, the kitchen is slinging $10 burgers on Tuesdays, $1 wings and $5 beers on Wednesdays, and $2 oysters with $7 prosecco on Thursdays.

But this is just scratching the surface of meal deals in the area. Don’t miss $2 Taco Tuesdays and ten-cent Wing Wednesdays at El Camino, or two-for-one gallettes on Wednesdays at Creperie Suzette. $30 will also get you unlimited antipasto at Mode Kitchen & Bar.

For something more upscale, spice up the mid-week slump with a long lunch featuring some of Sydney’s most recognisable dishes. Saké is synonymous with excellent sushi, but their dessert is also one of the city’s unmissable menu items. Tapping into Sydneysiders’ love of egg-shaped desserts — à la Quay’s Snow Egg — the enchanting Dragon Egg at Saké has established itself as a firm fan favourite.

Pre-dessert, you can enjoy the warmer winter with a tomahawk steak by the water at 6HEAD, or garlic butter udon with tempura prawns along George Street at Sergeant Lok. For the culinarily adventurous, Pony Dining is also serving up kangaroo skewers with native pepperberry and raspberry.

On the last two weekends of August, The Rocks Markets will be partnering with FoodLab and OzHarvest to take the hassle out of hosting a picture-perfect picnic. For $25, you can buy a picnic basket to fill with goodies from The Rocks Markets, with proceeds from the sale going to the non-profits.

There are close to 20 vendors to choose from — enjoy woodfired pizza rossa with garlic, oregano and olives for $8 from That’s Amore Street Pizza, traditional Turkish doughnuts with a variety of toppings from Lokma-nia for $7, two glasses of prosecco from Bubble Bambino for $20, or four spring rolls from Vietbanhmese for $5. Complimentary picnic blankets and cushions will also be provided at Tar-ra (Dawes Point Park), so all you’ll need to do is secure the best view of the harbour.

The Doss House and Frank Mac’s, with chef Colin Fassnidge and seafood stalwart John Susman, are putting on their first Guinness & Oyster Festival this year, which will take place on Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27.

The event will see Kendall Lane taken over by oyster shucking competitions, pop-up bars, tasting sessions, dance performances and live music. Entry is free, but you’ll need to buy tickets to the tasting events via The Doss House website.

Image: Steven Woodburn

Once you’ve sampled some of the boozy concoctions on offer, you can have a go at flexing your own mixology skills with masterclasses at some of Sydney’s leading bars. Frank Mac’s is known for their expansive gin selection — they boast one of the biggest botanical collections in Sydney — so there’s no better place to learn about the origin of different gins while grazing on an antipasto board.

At Château Tanunda, you can taste rare wines from some of the world’s oldest vineyards, while Bar Lulu is offering three different experiences, including a cocktail-making workshop and an unforgettable afternoon of custom cocktails made by your own private bartender.

Image: Anna Kucera

With its cobbled laneways and old-world charm, The Rocks is the perfect backdrop for hospitality powerhouse group Swillhouse’s latest European-inspired venture, Le Foote. The multi-level wine bar and restaurant has quickly become one of the most popular new restaurants of 2023.

Stop by the heritage-listed building for their take on classic cocktails and bar snacks, as well as seafood and steak options in their formal dining area. Go from the cheese pie with native berries and the duck sausage to the Jack’s Creek Black Angus striploin, before finishing it off with a classic rum baba or banana parfait.

Image: Kristoffer Paulsen

With a career that includes stints as executive chef at O Bar and Dining and head chef at Botswana Butchery, Darren Templeman is no stranger to fine dining. Now, he’s launching Izy.Aki: a pop-up at Daintree Sydney that draws inspiration from Darren’s travels through Japan.

The restaurant will serve yakitori omakase for $160 per person and showcase native Australian ingredients, some of which are grown on the premises. Some past dishes include cacio e pepe yakisoba, wagyu beef tartare with yuzu miso, and tuna sashimi with shellfish jelly and nashi pear. To top it all off, Daintree is donating a whopping 50% of profits to the restoration of the Daintree rainforest in Queensland.

No visit to The Rocks is complete without a heady night at The Argyle. The Sydney institution has become known for its themed events and DJs, as well as its pumping R&B section.

Lines can stretch around the block after 10pm, but if you arrive early you can take advantage of their August happy hour, where drinks are 49% off between 5–7pm.

Find out more about all the ways you can Forage the Rocks at the website.