Sunburnt settlers didn't build this city by the sea just so you could stay on land and pavement. If you always did that, you'd miss out on the joy of salt spray, the harbour wind in your hair. Whether setting sail (well, boarding a vessel) from Circular Quay, or hopping the plank at Palm Beach in the north or Cronulla in the south, there are plenty of adventures to be had in Sydney where — bar having your own boat — only a ferry can rightly take you. Pack a picnic with your squad, strap your hikers on and explore the wide reaches of this bush-clad city and beyond. [caption id="attachment_653083" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] CIRCULAR QUAY TO SHARK ISLAND Shark Island is the 1.5-hectare picnic oasis of your dreams that sits in the Sydney Harbour National Park, close to Rose Bay and Point Piper. Directions: Captain Cook Cruises steers the service, which on weekdays leaves from Circular Quay (Wharf Six) and Barangaroo (Wharf Two) five times daily. It takes between 20–25 minutes, although with this sparkling route you'll be wishing it would slow the hell down. Please note that services will resume on January 4, 2020. Cost: $20 return. Book here. What to do when you get there: There's grass, shade and 360-degree views of sexy seaside Sydney. Get that first ferry and bolt for the one 30-person gazebo if you're throwing a shindig (and book your ferry tickets in advance if you're bringing a squad of pals). Despite the name, few sharks swing their fangs by here these days, but you can spot tide pool critters in the grottos and inlets by the shore. There are toilets, water and picnic tables, but no shops — so bring all your kit in a good 'ol fashioned picnic basket. [caption id="attachment_653084" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] CRONULLA TO BUNDEENA Bundeena is a nature-filled waterside suburb with rustic charm that hugs the Royal National Park. The 20-minute route leaves from Cronulla and crosses the Port Hacking River, where you'll go a little nuts with envy over the water-lapping properties. Don't worry though — the nature on the other side will calm you back down. Directions: The ferry departs from Tonkin Wharf in Gunnamutta Bay, a five-minute walk from Cronulla Station. Cost: $6.80 each way. You just pay on-board. Info here. What to do when you get there: Strap on the old hikers and get thee to the Royal National Park. The 26-kilometre Coast Track begins at Jibbon Beach and weaves past small sandy inlets (Little Jibbon Beach is used as a nude beach if you really want to take your trip back to nature), cliffsides and bushland, not to mention a series of rock carvings from the Dharawal people who lived here for thousands of years. Walk as far as your nature-loving heart desires; Wottamolla, Burning Palms, Garie and Wedding Cake Rock are all doable in a day trip if you leave early. Back in Bundeena, grab a coffee and fish and chips on the deck of Passionfruit Cafe, or sink your toes in the sand as you wait for the return ferry to Cronulla. [caption id="attachment_653085" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nick Rains/Destination NSW[/caption] PALM BEACH TO ETTALONG This stunning half-hour journey takes in four waterways — Pittwater, Broken Bay, the Hawkesbury River and Box Head — and makes a brief pit-stop at Wagstaffe. You may even luck out and see some wildlife like seals, turtles or even penguins along the way. Directions: Catch the Fantasea-run ferry from Palm Beach Wharf on Barrenjoey Road. Cost: $12.20 one way. You can book over the phone or just pay on-board. Info here. What to do when you get there: Only 30 minutes from Palmy and you're suddenly in the Central Coast. At Ettalong Beach you can try your hand at fishing, hire a kayak from beachfront Anderson's kayaks, or lazily park your bum on the sand. Bush wanderers can jump on the Great North Walk path into the Brisbane Waters National Park from Patonga to Pearl Beach, ducking uphill to the Warrah Lookout for some spectacular views. Hungry daytrippers can soak up the sights at The Box on the Water, grab some gourmet grub from their kiosk, or head for the Cinema Paradiso complex where Bar Toto does pizza by the slice as well as charcuterie and cheese. [caption id="attachment_653087" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ethan Rohloff/Destination NSW[/caption] CIRCULAR QUAY TO COCKATOO ISLAND Find Cockatoo Island at the junction of the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers. The UNESCO World Heritage Site has a pretty hectic past, as an air raid shelter, convict colony, gaol and even graving dock. Directions: From Circular Quay, the ferry swings past Balmain, Greenwich Point and Woolwich, which is why it takes a half hour despite being close to town. There are also services from Darling Harbour and Barangaroo. Cost: $6.12 each way using your Opal or credit card. What to do when you get there: If you're here for the history, take an audio or guided tour, or veer past the vids in the Dog Leg Tunnel. Exercise fiends will be beside themselves over the harbour views of the basketball court. Hell, there's even giant chess. Cockatoo Island also has the right look for Hollywood, having been the setting of a Wolverine escape scene and a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Angelina Jolie's Unbroken (of which you can see snippets in the screening room). The Harbour Trust also runs glamping, spooky haunted tours and sometimes live music sessions at sunset. [caption id="attachment_653023" align="alignnone" width="1920"] MickeyMoo via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] CHURCH POINT TO SCOTLAND ISLAND In the far northern reaches of Sydney, Scotland Island houses history and spotted gums galore, and is just the ticket for a rustic getaway on the western foreshore of the Pittwater, in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Directions: The ferry sets off from Church Point wharf hourly on the half hour and makes multiple stops on Scotland Island, including Morning Bay, Lovett Bay and Elvina Bay. It takes 20–25 minutes depending on where you hop off. Cost: $9.40 one-way or $15 return. What to do when you get there: Scotland Island was made famous by author Susan Duncan's Salvation Creek, in which she shacks up in Tarrangaua House built for poet Dorothea Mackellar in 1925. Author Di Morrissey also grew up here, and bad-arse femme fatale Tilly Devine had a retreat from her city shenanigans as well. Take a trek up Flagstaff Hill for some epic views of the Pittwater, or settle in for a BBQ at the picnic tables by Tennis Court Wharf. If you fancy doing an overnighter, there's a YHA with a big deck that presents tidy vistas over the island. [caption id="attachment_653088" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] CIRCULAR QUAY TO CREMORNE If time is of the essence but you still want to bask in the sun-kissed beauty that is Sydney, this short jaunt to Cremorne Point is just the trick. Bring your swimmers. Directions: From Circular Quay Wharf Four, this ten-minute trip across the harbour takes you past Kirribilli and Kurraba Point on to Cremorne Point Wharf. After a short walk, you can return from Mosman Bay Wharf, which will take 20 minutes. Cost: $6.12 each way (whether you return from Cremorne Point Wharf or Mosman Bay Wharf). What to do when you get there: Wander into Cremorne Reserve to gush over the sweetest darn lighthouse in Sydney at Robertson Point. Spin back past the ferry wharf and onto Maccallum Pool, a little picket-fence (free!) swimming oasis with million dollaroonie views. The walk between Cremorne Point to Mosman Bay wharves will take around 45 minutes (plus your dip), and takes in some grande ol' houses, pristine views, and the Lex and Ruby Graham Gardens, planted in the 1950s. [caption id="attachment_653090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] CIRCULAR QUAY TO MANLY Despite being a Sydney icon since 1855, few south of the bridge would dispute that the Manly ferry is transport of choice for reaching sunny Manly. Directions: From Circular Quay (Wharf Three), the Manly Ferry turns east past Kirribilli, heads towards the headlands and through Middle and North harbours, and cruises on to Manly Cove in 30 minutes. If you're in a rush, the private Manly Fast Ferry service shaves off around ten minutes (but costs a tad more). Cost: $7.65 each way with your Opal card, or $9.70 on the Manly Fast Ferry. What to do when you get there: We hope you brought your towel and cossies, because you'll be beckoned by the beaches at every turn. Head straight on down the Corso for a spot of shopping and, when you reach the water, chuck a left along the esplanade until you hit Shelly Beach, a sheltered little oasis. Grab a lazy, seaside lunch at The Boathouse beside the sand, take a tipple on the balcony at Manly institution The Steyne, or dine with a daiquiri at Hemingway's. The more adventurous can take the stairs behind Shelly for a hike to Manly Heads or hire a surfboard and taste some salt water or maybe even catch a wave.
Discover what's brewing on the Northern Beaches with BrookieFest 2025. Returning after a triumphant first year, this free three-day festival celebrates Brookvale's transformation into a stellar destination for top-notch breweries, distilleries and art spaces. Over the last decade or so, this former industrial hub has seen its car mechanics and dusty warehouses converted into a brewer's haven. As the local scene has grown, the likes of Four Pines Brewery, Manly Spirits Co. and 7th Day Brewery teamed up to create this family-friendly bash. More than 30 eclectic events take place across February 7-9, showcasing the community's welcoming spirit with headline attractions like dachshund dashes, esky races and skateboarding demos. Plus, the kids will love face painting, pony rides and all manner of rollicking games. All this is set against the backdrop of live music and pop-up market stalls featuring the best local creative talent. Don't forget to scan your interactive digital passport at each venue, as you could earn yourself enough stamps to claim a sweet t-shirt or special gift. Amid BrookieFest 2025, the launch of The Brookie Trail is also on the agenda. Guiding Brookvale's visitors from one exciting brewery or eatery to the next, this culinary path makes it easy to encounter all the sumptuous spots this up-and-coming district has to offer.
It's hard to imagine Sydney without small bars. Today, they're entrenched in the city's nightlife, but barely over a decade ago, a night out revolved around mega clubs and mega pubs. That all changed when NSW's liquor laws were reformed in 2007. Slowly, small bars accommodating no more than 60 people began to pop up, organically concentrating in pockets around Darlinghurst and in the under-utilised industrial spaces dotting the streets behind Town Hall. [caption id="attachment_805685" align="alignnone" width="1920"] SILY[/caption] Many of the pioneers of the Sydney small bar scene started in these backstreets and continue to operate the very venues that kickstarted this era of transformation. As Sydney's nightlife changed, so too did the area where the city's small bar vanguard set up shop. More small bars, independent eateries and hotels were established in the nooks and crannies tucked between York, Clarence and Kent Streets, culminating in the formal establishment of a new nightlife and entertainment district known as YCK Laneways. In partnership with YCK Laneways, we sat down with three trailblazers who've been at the coalface of Sydney's small bar renaissance and still run venues in the area all these years later: Karl Schlothauer, owner of Stitch Bar and Kasippu, VP of YCK Laneways and CEO of House of Pocket; Nick White, owner of Since I Left You (SILY) and President of YCK Laneways; and Mikey Enright, owner of The Duke of Clarence and The Barber Shop and CEO of Barrelhouse Group. Between them, the owners have a combined thirty or so years of experience in the Sydney bar scene. [caption id="attachment_976968" align="alignnone" width="1920"] SILY owner, Nick White[/caption] "There were only pubs, nightclubs and RSLs at the time. They were the three places you could go to have a drink," says White. "You know what you're getting in for when you go to a pub, or any of those places. So, small bars provided an alternative, which was much needed in Sydney." Almost as soon as they emerged, Sydney's small bars have been quiet overachievers, creating options in the liminal space between a night in and a huge night out. Not that the bars have necessarily been quiet by choice. On Fridays and Saturdays especially, the YCK Laneways district is reliably soundtracked by the buzz of people chatting and having a good time, with music escaping from doorways that welcome in and release customers from basements and obscured spaces. But making noise once proved to be one of the precinct's more pressing challenges to overcome. "When [SILY] first opened, we didn't have use of our courtyard," says White. That might come as a surprise to anyone with even a passing familiarity of SILY. The small bar's heritage-listed courtyard is, as White acknowledges, "one of [its] big drawcards." Nowadays, SILY is known in part for its live music program, as well as one-off events that welcome local artists like Milan Ring and Becca Hatch, an offering SILY has cultivated since its inception. "Live music has always been something we've done. We've always been a supporter of the local arts scene and that's taken various forms over the years. We've got a regular Thursday music night, which has always been in place. We've now got a Tuesday jazz night [and] DJs on Friday nights." [caption id="attachment_987818" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Barber Shop and The Duke of Clarence owner, Mikey Enright[/caption] Enright and Schlothauer's venues also all have regular live music nights and both call out music as essential to cultivating memorable spaces. At The Barber Shop, hip hop tunes accompany the bar's spirits, while the Duke of Clarence stays on theme by playing predominantly English tunes by the likes of The Beatles as it serves up one of Sydney's best Sunday roasts. Meanwhile, Stitch is also home to live music one night each week. Each venue's custom music offering reflects the secret sauce that makes small bars such a draw for customers: unique experiences that feel innately human. "I think Sydney's small bars have just made nightlife more approachable and more appealing to a wider range of people," says Schlothauer. [caption id="attachment_991187" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kasippu and Stitch owner, Karl Schlothauer, Image: Tim Pascoe[/caption] The smaller scale of these venues translates to an entirely different experience for customers. It's a feature of small bars that all three owners call out. Independence lets the owners follow their own natural curiosities and interests, as well as experiment with menus and concepts more freely. This autonomy is what creates memorable experiences for patrons too, allowing customers to give direct feedback to owner-operators. "There's a lot more personal interaction between the staff and customers," says White. "A lot of small bars out there are trying to create different experiences for guests to appreciate," agrees Schlothauer. "Behind every small bar is an individual, an independent operator in the small business space." In particular in YCK Laneways, where there are so many bars in a relatively compact area, venues are increasingly focused on doing one or a few things well. "Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, the small bars — because of their size and the passion behind them — [are] becoming a lot more niche in terms of their product offering," says Schlothauer. [caption id="attachment_958206" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Barber Shop[/caption] "They have their own character [and] personality. A lot of them are run by former bartenders, so there's a lot of passion in it as well. I think that's what makes the small bar category more diverse and different," says Enright, a former bartender himself. Enright shares that his venue The Barber Shop, a gin bar with over 700 gins and has been operating in YCK since 2013, was born out of his personal interest in gin at a time when the spirit was still relatively niche and not the mainstay it is today. Not only has the bar stood the test of time, Enright has established his own distillery. The gins it produces are, of course, stocked in The Barber Shop. "I really love the subject of gin, as well as what it tastes like. We wanted to go all in on the gin side of it. Not many places — I think there weren't any — were doing it back then." The concentration of distinctive venues in close proximity to one another has another advantage that adds to the precinct's allure. "You can bounce between [YCK's venues]. You can have a drink here, a bite to eat there, a nightcap there, you can make it a night out. You can make it quite different, so I think that's one of the appealing things for people who visit here," says Enright. [caption id="attachment_981453" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kasippu[/caption] Kasippu, Schlothauer's latest venture, is a day-to-night venue that's part-cocktail bar and part-authentic Sri Lankan eatery, and perfectly embodies what Enright describes. Anyone heading out in YCK could stop by Kasippu at any point in their travels. The venue focuses on plating up authentic curries during the day, before transforming into a cocktail bar come nightfall. And once the night is well underway? There's self-service karaoke, curry kebabs and free Hydralyte slushies. And as much as the food, drink and feel of YCK Laneways' small bars invite people in, White makes the broader point that small bars are safer too. "In thirteen and a half years, we've never had a violent incident. And most small bars would say the same thing. [There have been] none or very, very low incidences of alcohol related violence or anything like that." It's little wonder that, in the face of Sydney's ever-evolving nightlife, small bars are here to stay. Explore the stories, sights and sounds of Sydney's bustling laneway nightlife. Between the lanes of York, Clarence and King Streets you'll find YCK Laneways, offering a plethora of hidden laneway and basement bars and restaurants waiting to be discovered. Check them out here.
You'll find this cafe inside a restored police cottage overlooking the Nepean River in the Regatta Park Precinct. The family- and dog-friendly spot has a bright and all-around homey decor to make you feel welcome indoors, as well as picnic tables out on the lawn. On Saturday nights and on Sundays at lunch, live tunes from local artists add to the relaxing atmosphere. The all-day brekkie menu has treats like buttermilk scones, a deep dish macadamia pancake, the Man Bun (a full fry-up stuffed into a soft milk bun) and pork belly benedict on offer. Meanwhile, the lunch menu brings a luxe lobster and prawn roll, burgers, nachos, poke bowl and salads. The venue is also open for dinner, Wednesday through Saturday, with an eclectic range of modern classics available — think cheeseburger spring rolls, crispy maple pork ribs and chargrilled octopus. And don't skip the cocktail menu, with signature tipples named after former residents of the cottage. Perhaps you'd like to try the Constable Thorsby (a mango and lime caprioska) or Constable Musgrove (lychee martini).
Sydney is known for its beaches, and while Bondi, Coogee and Manly get all the praise (and, subsequently, the tourists), there is another beachfront spot that has flown mostly under the radar. Just 13 kilometres from the CBD, you'll find Brighton-Le-Sands. The original vision for this strip of sand was to transform it into a seaside resort, similar to Brighton in the UK. That didn't quite happen — but in the past few years, the promenade that runs behind the beach has blossomed into a haven for food lovers, with restaurants, cafes, function centres and more. Step a little further away from the beach and you'll also come across local boutiques and family-run establishments that are sure to greet you as one of their own as you walk through the door. We've teamed up with American Express to highlight some of the local businesses that make this seaside town thrum with life. Better yet, you can shop small at all of these spots with your American Express Card.
The Inner East's accommodation game is already strong, with the likes of The Ace Hotel and Crystalbrook Albion offering characterful guest rooms with plush facilities and top-of-class hospitality. However, a newcomer to the area is ready to loft this standard to even greater heights. The EVE — a luxury boutique stay operated by TFE Hotels at the newly minted Surry Hills Village development — is set to open on February 13, 2025 and the first guests to check in can expect an exclusive package in celebration. The brainchild of SJB's Adam Haddow, 360 Degrees' Daniel Baffsky and Interior Architect George Levissianis, The EVE is designed to reflect the vibrant and dynamic energy of its urban neighbourhood while offering a lush retreat that feels a million miles from the hustle of the city: a stylish intersection of art, hospitality and culinary excellence. This trio of creatives has crafted a series of spaces that pair their beautiful aesthetics with thoughtful functionality, delivering a stay that has all the mod cons you'd expect from a five-star stay as well as a whole lot of personality. [caption id="attachment_982262" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The EVE Hotel lobby[/caption] Visitors enter via an airy art-filled lobby bar, immediately immersing them in a world of vibrant creativity. The vaulted ceilings, curated interiors and bespoke art installations — including several pieces from prominent Surry Hills artist and gallery owner, Louise Olsen — offer a striking introduction to The EVE's design ethos. Next, guests can explore a rooftop garden landscaped by Daniel Baffsky combining native and exotic plants in layered arrangements that meld architecture with nature. The 20-metre rooftop pool, finished with natural stone and imported Sukabumi tiles provides the perfect setting for a lush urban haven with panoramic views over Redfern and Surry Hills. Baffsky's planting extends seamlessly into Wunderlich Lane, Surry Hills Village's hospitality and retail precinct, creating a conscious connection between the hotel and the area's varied dining options. [caption id="attachment_982258" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rooftop garden and pool[/caption] At the heart of The EVE's hospitality offering is Bar Julius, the European-style neighborhood bar created by Liquid & Larder, the team behind celebrated Sydney venues including Bistecca and The Gidley. With an all-day dining concept, Bar Julius seamlessly transitions from morning espressos to evening cocktails, offering a menu that celebrates fresh, bold flavours and new takes on beverage classics. The inviting space, highlighting rich burgundy tones, tactile marble, and a striking ceiling mural captures the charm of a European bistro while staying firmly rooted in Sydney's dynamic culinary culture. To inspire visitors to become a part of The EVE's new beginning, the hotel will be offering a curated package titled The Reveal to welcome its first guests. Highlighting the hotel's celebration of culinary artistry, cultural immersion and luxurious ameneties, guests will be able to indulge in a Bar Julius signature cocktail and bespoke EVE gift to remember their stay. [caption id="attachment_982263" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bar Julius[/caption] "The EVE is about creating spaces that inspire and connect, while paying homage to the rich cultural and natural heritage of Sydney," says Haddow. "Every detail — from handcrafted lighting to the Australian palette — has been designed to reflect this vision." You can find The EVE Hotel Sydney at 8 Baptist St, Redfern starting Feb 13, 2024. For bookings and more information, visit The Eve website.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations, giving you inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we set the compass to regional Victoria and take a trip to Sorrento for a special stay at the newly renovated Hotel Sorrento. [caption id="attachment_899023" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Rising High Media[/caption] WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? Here, in a buzzy pocket of the Mornington Peninsula, Hotel Sorrento has sat for nearly 150 years boasting enviable bay vistas. Now, the historic sandstone building is welcoming a massive expansion including a soon-to-come 30-metre pool and rooftop yoga studio. At the moment, Hotel Sorrento boasts five separate bars, two restaurants, newly refurbished accommodation rooms as well as private dining areas. It's an all-in-one destination escape just over an hour from Melbourne's CBD. THE ROOMS There are plenty of rooms to choose from at Hotel Sorrento, starting from $325 a night. Contemporary and light-filled, rooms are accented with a variety of deep European oak, natural limestone and marble. Heritage Balcony Rooms are the crowning jewel of this hotel, boasting private balconies with exclusive vistas overlooking the bay. [caption id="attachment_899027" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Threefold Social[/caption] FOOD AND DRINK Hotel Sorrento has recently overhauled its food and drink offering, helmed by George Calombaris. "The goal is to create dishes that not only satisfy the palate but tell a story of the region and the community's rich history," George Calombaris says. Shihuishi is the newest addition to the Hotel Sorrento family, nestled in the original, grand Hotel Sorrento ballroom. Head chef Junlin (Jerry) Yi (ex-Red Spice Road) is unafraid to stray from tradition, from prawn crackers paired with crème fraîche; to spanakopita dumplings that marry whipped feta and dill. Deeper into the menu, patrons will discover Australian-Canto cuisine that nods to the Chinese restaurant that stood onsite back in the 1980s. A prawn, lap cheong and onion stir-fry is a crowd-pleaser, along with duck pancakes and black pepper beef, served on a sizzling plate. Other classics run to the likes of steamed barra with soy, ginger and spring onion, or the ever-popular pork and prawn shumai. Otherwise, if you fancy a short but sweet wander, head across the road to the Conti for a slew of venues including a public bar, beer garden, speakeasy and fine diner. Luxe speakeasy Barlow is our pick for a pre-evening tipple. Sorrento institution Stringers has also recently been revamped by The Darling Group (Higher Ground, Kettle Black, Top Paddock), turning the corner store and cafe into an all-day restaurant, pizzeria, bar and providore. THE LOCAL AREA Sorrento is a much-loved spot for both Mornington Peninsula locals and regular holiday blow-ins, due to its accessibility from Melbourne. In warmer months, swimming, snorkeling and water activities at Sorrento Beach is a must-do. If you're looking to sidestep the crowds, Diamond Bay is a popular spot for both families and couples. A range of short, all-weather walking tracks are stunning year-around, including Coppins Track which finishes at the clifftop of Diamond Bay. The cliffside Millionaires Walk is named as a nod to the lavish private residences that line this path, or try the 7km Sorrento Circuit Walk, which hits all of this town's main attractions. THE EXTRAS Hotel Sorrento is looking to install a new 30-metre pool alongside a pool-friendly bar, rooftop yoga studio and gym by the end of 2023. If you're looking for a staycation special, Hotel Sorrento's winter escape package includes overnight accommodation for two, dinner for two at Shuihuishi and a bottle of local Pinot Noir for your room. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. Images: supplied.
Deep in the business district of the CBD, the bankers and traders must feel that all roads lead to China – and not just financially anymore. If they wish to continue down a culinary path after working hours, just around the corner, and down an alleyway, is China Lane, the new sister restaurant of China Doll and China Beach in Manly. Underneath an art installation nest of bird cages in Angel Lane, China Lane is a mix of suits, trendy young things checking out the CBD's newest laneway escape, and daters. If you've seen any of director Wong Kar-wai's movies, you'll get the idea – moody lighting, a modern sense of decor mixed with '50s Hong Kong glamour, and general snappiness. Head chef Ben Haywood has served under Heston Blumenthal at Fat Duck and also was sous chef at China Doll in Woolloomooloo, so don't expect traditional Chinese fare. While there are similarities to Doll's mains, there's many a signature dish here. Japanese sashimi rubs up against Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai on the menu, showing Haywood's dexterity with Pan Asian cuisine. It seems obligatory at every mod-Asian joint to have a twist on the pork bun. At China Lane, it's no different, if a little more deconstructed. Pulled pork, mayo and crisp shallots are piled upon a flattened steamed bao ($16 for two). It's lovely, if surprisingly cold – an open-topped convertible version of the standard. Pig's ears also seem to be making a comeback. Here, they're crisped and carmelised, served with lemongrass ($8), and delicious. Salads are dramatic, and given suitably explosive names like Bang Bang chicken salad ($16), or Chinese bacon with kipfler potato and the ominous sounding "son-in-law" egg ($14), a Thai standard of the deep-fried, hard boiled variety in tamarind sauce. The grilled dory with coconut sambal ($19) is a light treat, and a good compliment to the lamb and chili hot pot ($30) or the pick of the bunch, the soy-braised pork belly ($30). The kitchen and staff show an extreme amount of generosity to customers. Desserts come with an additional offering of sweeteners this evening, such as the chocolate replica of a mahjong piece. The exquisite pistachio and lemongrass parfait ($14) with pandan syrup is an aesthetic treasure, and more impressive than the blood orange and black sticky rice pudding. China Lane is another laneway bonus for the corporate end of the CBD, and means business.
Tucked into the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park lobby, The Gallery Grab & Go might just be your new early morning pitstop or afternoon pick-me-up. Whether you're an office worker on the move or a hotel guest easing into the day, this spot will serve top-notch coffee, just-baked pastries, breakfast staples and even full-sized cakes from the Elizabeth Street entrance. To celebrate the launch, The Gallery Grab & Go has created a special once-off giveaway set to get pastry fans crowding into the lobby. From 8am on Thursday, June 26, the cafe is handing out 500 honey-soaked cronuts for free, undoubtedly making your usually tired work commute a little sweeter. These are no ordinary cronuts, either. Created by Head Pastry Chef and 2024 Associate of the Year Julie Hoang, the sticky goodness soaking its golden, flaky layers is derived from the hotel's very own bee colony. Five stories up on the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park rooftop, over 120,000 bees thrive in sustainably sourced timber hives. The hotel's location is a happy hunting ground for this troupe of pollinators. With a roaming radius of five kilometres, the adjacent expanse of Hyde Park offers abundant pollen and nectar to fuel their work back in the hive. In fact, the hotel's bees produce up to 450 kilograms of honey annually, contributing to the hotel's sustainability goals. In the kitchen, Hoang uses the rooftop harvest to produce a luscious orange blossom honey syrup. After drenching the cronuts, each layer is filled with Chantilly cream and topped with toasted pistachio, making for a lavish morning bite. Now you're invited to experience it for yourself for free, but just for one day only. While a few hundred cronuts are up for grabs, don't expect these decadent treats to last long. Instead, start your day a little earlier than usual by hoofing it to The Gallery Grab & Go in the hotel lobby. Consider ordering a barista-made coffee during your visit and check out what other culinary delights await. The Gallery Grab & Go's 500 cronut giveaway is happening from 8am on Thursday, June 26 at the Elizabeth Street entrance of the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park. Head to the website for more information.
As we come to terms with the irreversible destruction that the horrific bushfires have caused (and continue to cause) across Australia in the past few months, one question keeps cropping up: what now? To help answer that question, the Sydney Opera House's Talks & Ideas program will take on the bushfire crisis with two special panel discussions — both centred around what to do next. Panellists will seek to answer that burning question across two 90-minute sessions on Sunday, February 16. The discussion will revolve around recovery and long-term solutions for our communities, land and wildlife, and examine both ongoing relief action and more permanent action needed for the future. The distinct panels each include community leaders, policy experts, academics and mental health professionals — some of whom were directly affected by the fires. The first session features Lorena Allam, The Guardian's Indigenous affairs editor and a Gamilaraay and Yawalaraay woman. Sitting alongside Allam will be Christine Morgan (CEO of the National Mental Health Commission and National Suicide Prevention Adviser to Scott Morrison), Doctor Larry Vogelnest (Senior Veterinarian at Taronga Zoo) and Elizabeth Mossop (UTS Dean of Design, Architecture and Building). Rounding out the panel is Findabed.com founder Erin Riley — which provides bushfire effected Australians a safe place to stay — and Milkwood permaculture co-founder Nick Bitar. Session two will be moderated by editor of The Guardian Lenore Taylor and include CEO of Firesticks and Bundjalung man Oliver Costello, an Indigenous-led network focused on cultural burning and First Nations land management practices. Plus, John Connor (CEO of the Carbon Market Institute and former CEO of the Australian Climate Institute), David Bowman (University of Tasmania Professor of Pyrogeography) and Danielle Celermajer (UTS Professor of Sociology and Social Policy) are all on the docket, too. Both sessions are absolutely free to attend, too — though registration is a must over here. For those still looking to give to the cause, donation buckets for bushfire relief will available at the door on the day. Image: Leticia Almeida.
Go on, get feasting in one of Sydney's newest tunnels. Nigella Lawson wants you to. Either part of the Vivid Sydney Dinners series setup — the unique location or the famous chef curating the menu — is reason enough to head along. Combine the two and you have one of the key events of Vivid 2025. The setting: Martin Place's Muru Giligu pedestrian tunnel. The spread: whatever takes Lawson's fancy. And to make a great event, or three, even better, a light and sound experience will work its magic on the tunnel while you dine. "Visitors cram themselves into Sydney in summer, but for me the magical time is in winter, during Vivid Sydney," said Lawson about her collaboration with the Harbour City's annual midyear arts, lights, ideas and food festival. "And having loved it for years, it is the hugest thrill to be part of the Vivid Food program this year. I'll be curating an exclusive menu for the three Vivid Sydney Dinners, and it is simply a dream come true. I mean, you know me: there can never be too many fairy lights! See you there!" As announced in 2024, Vivid 2025 runs from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14, celebrating its 15th year with all things dreams its theme. A bucket list-type meal overseen by Lawson? Well that's a dream inclusion. So are Tangerine Dream and Anohni and the Johnsons on the music lineup, an immersive Stranger Things experience at Luna Park, and the fact that the entire Vivid Light Walk is free. In fact, more than 75 percent of the entire just-dropped program won't cost you a cent to enjoy. On the Vivid Light Walk, that includes installations and 3D projections spanning across new backdrops, such as the Museum of Sydney, The Bond in Barangaroo and Challis House in Martin Place. At those locations and beyond — at the Argyle Cut in The Rocks and the CTA Building in Martin Place, too, to name just a couple of other spots — this lit-up reason for scenic stroll will feature swings, seesaws, animation activated via voice, a tennis match made out of light and 150 pieces a week designed by patrons. Still on the broader Vivid Light strand, Sydney Opera House's sails will boast work by the late David McDiarmid, Vincent Namatjira will take over the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia's facade and House of Romance, hailing from fashion label Romance Was Born, has a date with Customs House. Alongside German electronic-music icons Tangerine Dream at City Recital Hall and Anohni and the Johnsons at the Opera House, the Vivid Music bill includes Sigur Rós performing with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Portishead's Beth Gibbons , Japanese Breakfast, Marlon Williams, Soccer Mommy, RONA, Ravyn Lenae and Pete & Bas. On the lineup as well: Heartbreak High star Ayesha Madon, Prince's former bass player MonoNeon, V-pop via Mỹ Anh and Chi Xê, Winston Surfshirt, Grammy-winner Dobet Gnahoré, Mall Grab, Ngaiire, Skegss and more. The Upside Down has come to Sydney before, but Stranger Things: The Experience will make its first trip — and add a must-attend event to the Vivid Ideas portion of the program. Get ready to visit 1986, and Hawkins, of course, in what promises to be an immersive and interactive stint of Stranger Things-loving fun. Locations from the show are part of the event, as is a supernatural mystery. Vivid Ideas is also bringing TIME Magazine Creative Director DW Pine this way to deliver the keynote 'Where Do Ideas Come From?', tasking scientist Professor Matthew Walker with diving into why we sleep, amassing First Nations storytellers at Barangaroo Reserve each week and getting Sydney's Legs on the Wall performing new theatre work Endling. And, it's why Haus of Horror screenings of Poltergeist and Edward Scissorhands are on offer, too. At Vivid Food, Vivid Fire Kitchen will be back at The Goods Line; Vivid Chef Series will enlist Jean-Philippe Blondet, James Lowe and Brent Savage teaming up with Sydney eateries; Maryanne Street is becoming the festival's Spice Lounge; and Golden Age Cinema, Hollywood Hotel and The Soda Factory will feature in food and gig trails in the Hollywood Quarter in Surry Hills. The Carriageworks Night Market returns, and so does eating on the Sydney Harbour Bridge's southeast pylon thanks to Luke Mangan. This year's Vivid is focused on five zones, spanning Circular Quay and The Rocks, Barangaroo, Martin Place and CBD, Darling Harbour, and The Goods Line and the inner city, with each hosting Light, Music, Ideas and Food events. "Dreaming is as old as time and as universal as life itself. Dreams can be prophetic, life changing and inspirational, as well as trivial, hilarious or terrifying. These interactions are evident in every aspect of Vivid Sydney's program this year," said Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini, announcing the lineup. "Captivating light installations and 3D projections for everyone, thought-provoking and enlightening experiences, awe-inspiring performances from the world's best musicians, along with cutting-edge culinary collaborations and dinners in unexpected places: it can all be found at Vivid Sydney. In 2025, the festival celebrates creativity, innovation and connection in one of the best cities in the world." [caption id="attachment_994734" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Pollack[/caption] [caption id="attachment_994726" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jacquie Manning[/caption] Vivid Sydney 2025 runs from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14 across Sydney. Head to the festival website for further information.
Queensland-born cult burger joint Betty's Burgers has launched its second Sydney outpost in Castle Hill. Since opening the Shake Shack-style burger shop back in 2014, founder David Hales has turned his humble Noosa business into an Australian-wide favourite — having opened up shop in Melbourne, Brisbane and its first Sydney store in the ICC in 2017. Compared with the Darling Harbour shack, which is a small 46 seater (20 indoor and 26 outdoor), the Castle Towers joint has a considerably larger capacity, seating 85. You can expect the same menu of the Angus beef classic, southern fried chicken, pork belly and crispy fried mushroom burgers, along with Betty's signature 'concretes'. For the uninitiated, these are frozen custard shakes with your choice of mix-ins, including peanut butter brittle, hot fudge doughnut and lemon raspberry cheesecake. The opening of Betty's Burgers is part of the Castle Towers' new food and entertainment precinct. It's home 14 recently opened bars and eateries, including a collaboration between Holey Moley and Strike Bowling, a 350-seat outpost of The Bavarian, Malaysian hawker-style eatery PappaRich, Korean fried chicken and beer joint Gami and Sydney's second over-the-top Nutella-filled Tella Balls Dessert Bar.
While there may be some new additions to the Rocks, one establishment has remained a welcome hub to visitors and locals alike. Since 1915, the Mercantile has been spreading its Irish hospitality to anyone who wanders in. In fact, it's been voted Australia's best Irish pub not once, but twice. Year-round you can enjoy live music, weekday happy hour with $5 drinks and comfort food, like a classic steak and Guinness pie ($25) — right near the Sydney Harbour. During nicer weather, take a seat outside and indulge in some drinks and one of the hearty meals on offer — the Merc burger ($19) or asparagus and eggplant parma ($20) to name a couple — as you bask in the waterside view. You can even make a pitstop at the Rocks Market on weekends. Go in for a meal or a drink with friends and stay for the unbridled cosiness that fills the Mercantile. Images: Trent van der Jagt.
Nothing gets you out of a winter funk like a weekend away, and the crisp mountain air of Leura is particularly up to the task. This picturesque town, just two hours west of Sydney on the train, puts you at the doorstep of all the outdoor adventures of the Blue Mountains while nailing the kind of cosy indoor culture that wraps you in a big warm hug at the end of the day. Set up home base at the very scenic Fairmont Resort and Spa Blue Mountains, and spend your days trekking along ancient trails and your nights indulging in hearty meals, local wines and fireside chat. Here's our guide to a winter short stay in the area. EAT AND DRINK After the journey in, your first stop in Leura should be for a little sustenance. Fortunately, the cafe culture here is another part of what makes this town a winter dream. Among the best cafes in the region, the hidden Lily's Pad Cafe has just-baked breads and cakes — including gluten-free options aplenty — along with homemade toppings like chutneys, jams and curds. The courtyard is covered, heated and, best of all, dog-friendly. On Leura's main street, the leafy Red Door Cafe is a standout for healthy eating, with organic coffees and freshly squeezed juices. For eats, we're all about the zucchini and feta fritters, served with cumin yoghurt and mesclun salad, as well as the smoked rainbow trout with rocket and lentil salad, all topped with a poached egg. View-seekers should head to Solitary, set in a 100-year-old cottage overlooking the valley. Its fireplace makes this an ideal sanctuary after a winter's hike through the nearby Leura Cascades. For fireside dining in the evening, look no further than the appropriately named Embers restaurant at the Fairmont Resort and Spa. Enjoy views over the Jamison Valley along with the soundtrack of crackling flames and the flavours of a classic beef brisket given a contemporary twist. Back in town, unassuming North Indian restaurant Tamarin offers some serious eats in the most unlikely of places, just across from the station. The samosas trump most in Australia, as does its samosa chaat — a smashed and dressed version. For a dinner to remember, book yourself a table at the award-winning Leura Garage. Set in a repurposed mechanic's workshop (hence the name), the environmentally conscious restaurant focuses on locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. We suggest going with the surprisingly affordable tasting menu, which includes plenty of winter warmers, like 12-hour braised lamb shoulder and truffle mashed potatoes. Accompanying drops come from NSW wine regions like Orange and Mudgee. Your wine journey doesn't have to stop at dinner. Meander down the street to bar and bistro Bon Ton for after-dinner drinks. For winter, sip a martini in the protected comfort of the enclosed terrace. For a nightcap, stop in at the Sublime Lounge, another fire-warmed space within the Fairmont Resort and Spa. Their signature cocktail is the Berry Sublime, designed to evoke the nearby orchards with its mix of strawberry, tequila, lime, mint and an unexpected dash of white balsamic. DO If this isn't your first rodeo in the Blue Mountains, chances are you've already frequented the landmarks of Three Sisters and Wentworth Falls. And that's fine, because the region has much more to offer, with a seemingly endless number of bushwalks, lookouts, caves and valleys to explore. For a different mountain view, check out Evans Lookout, 20 minutes' drive away in Blackheath, then continue on the steep clifftop walk to Govetts Leap. If you'd rather a more leisurely stroll (and one walking distance from town), Leura Cascades is a serene canopy walk through tall eucalyptus trees. Take a short trek along the rapids on Leura Falls Creek down to Bridal Veil Falls and Leura Falls. Several walks can be accessed from here, including the Fern Bower Circuit, Echo Point and Leura Forest. Feeling like a serious adventure? Then book yourself into an abseiling and canyoning day trip. A few businesses in nearby Katoomba run tours, including the Australian School of Mountaineering and the Blue Mountains Adventure Company. They'll have you abseiling waterfalls and trekking through ancient crevices and canyons. For a more leisurely level of activity, stroll the boutiques along Leura Mall and do a spot of shopping at the likes of Quidditas General Store. If you visit during the first Sunday of the month, you can also hit Leura's flea market for everything from jewellery, clothes and homewares to local eats. For a full dose of the quirky and quaint history Leura is known for, drop by the Leuralla Toy & Railway Museum, Bygone Beautys' Teapot Museum or the National Trust property Everglades Gardens. In what might be the high tea capital of Australia, the latter two are good spots to partake. Once night falls, take a short drive over to Blackheath to catch an indie film at Mount Vic Flicks. The renovated 1930s movie theatre makes for a relaxing night out and offers house-baked treats. STAY While Leura offers an array of accommodation options, the Fairmont Resort and Spa Blue Mountains is an enduring classic. The hotel's boutique rooms and suites are individually decorated for that personalised touch, while its public spaces offer sweeping views across the Jamison Valley. It's close to the Leura Cascades, Inspiration and Sublime Points, and Empress, Gordon and Wentworth Falls, so you're well situated for many of the region's best hikes and treks. Taking time to relax within the vast gardens and grounds should also be on the itinerary. The resort houses a golf club, four luxury restaurants and a lounge. The new Ubika Day Spa opens on August 13, so now's your chance to be one of the first to lie across their massage tables and be pampered with local organic iKOU products. Don't miss the resort's signature high tea, where your miniature cakes and sandos come with a pretty spectacular view. A perfect preformed weekender comes in the shape of the MGallery Memorable Moment package, which includes one night accommodation, a full buffet breakfast and a wilderness experience for two. At the heart of the getaway is a four-hour bushwalk led by a tour guide dedicated to reconnecting you with nature — an experience exclusive to the Fairmont Resort and Spa. Go to the AccorHotels website to book your stay in Leura, and to discover more of regional NSW, check out Visit NSW.
There's more to the Canterbury-Bankstown region than just footy fanatics and stellar charcoal chicken. Keep your eyes peeled as you stroll down Burwood Road and you may notice Belmore Continental Bakery. As one of Belmore's many bakeries, this humble joint has remained a hidden gem. Its inviting open-plan shopfront allows you to walk right in and discover a plethora of pastries, shelves stacked with freshly baked bread loaves and the bakery's very own treasure chest: its banh mi stand. Not only is the local staple home to flaky pastries and golden-crusted pies — baked daily from 2am onwards — but it also boasts some of Sydney's best banh mi. Our recommendation: opt for the chicken roll with the lot, including the creamy mayonnaise and the flavourful paté. And be sure to ask for a generous topping of fresh chilli for the perfect, punch-packing bite. There are plenty of rolls to choose from, though, with the bakery's selection including pork, chicken, salad, meatballs, barbecue pork and tuna. Other store highlights include its array of meat pies spanning with classic flavours spanning from mushroom to curry — as well as its sausage rolls, custard tarts, cream- and jam-filled buns and danishes. They're all worthy of a trip to the west. To top it off, Belmore Continental Bakery's friendly staff provide top-notch service with a smile. If you become a regular visitor, you'll be aptly remembered along with your order. Head over to our Instagram for a more in-depth look at Belmore Continental Bakery.
If you're looking to visit a Hong Kong dai pai dong without leaving Sydney (and we recommend you do), look no further than Chan Kun Kee in Rhodes. The vibrant casual diner is the first international outpost for a Hong Kong team that's been serving up flavour-packed eats for over 40 years. Sydney's Chan Kun Kee opened in 2023 and the local iteration brings all the charm of its original institution to the Inner West. You'll find a variety of specialty small plates on offer ranging from stir-fries and fried noodles to loaded seafood dishes and hot pot. The must-try menu item is the claypot fish-flavoured eggplant — the best in Australia according to the team. But the menu is expansive with plenty to discover. There's spicy shredded chicken with crab roe, pork belly in a Sichuan broth, deep-fried oysters with wasabi sauce, stir-fried XO squid and a tom yum soup loaded with clams. The lunch menu — available 11am–2pm Tuesday–Sunday — refines your options, opting for more personal serving sizes. For $18, take your pick of the mains, including wasabi pork chops, stir-fried clams and a curry beef brisket, all of which are served with rice and a drink. Pair your meal with a $7 Tsingtao or Asahi, a herbal tea, or one of the housemade beverages, including the barley, lemon, yuzu and honey combination. Great Cantonese food at extremely affordable prices? What's not to love.
Daniel San has long been known for its mid-week feasts, but if you've been dropping by for unlimited dumplings on a Wednesday, we have news. Bottomless dim sum is off the menu — and all-you-can-eat wings is now on it. Yep, prepare to gorge on as many pieces of poultry as you can handle. From 4pm each Wednesday, the buckets of wings will keep coming, all for $19 per person. Even better — there are four flavours to choose from, so you can get your smokey barbecue on, opt for the ol' favourite that is buffalo, tuck into some teriyaki or add some spice with kimchi. Or, of course, you can go for all of the above. Each bucket also comes with hot chipsu — aka Daniel San's crunchy slivers of potato with yang-nyum sauce and kewpie mayo — which means that you'll technically be getting some vegetables as well. Bookings are recommended by contacting the venue, so gather the gang and make a date with plenty of chook.
Banchō Bar, from the team behind Surry Hills' much-loved yakitori bar Tokyo Bird, brings an acclaimed cocktail roster to Haymarket with its 100-seat laneway space. It reminds Sydney that the small bar scene isn't limited to the Inner West or CBD, but rather extends to Haymarket and beyond. That's done with Suntory spirit-based cocktails, an array of whiskies and pan-Asian bar snacks. Cocktails are at the forefront of Banchō's menu and feature Asian ingredients sourced from Chinatown's nearby grocers and markets. The list is extensive — split into five categories with 12 cocktails in all — and specifically takes influence from China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. Seasonal cocktails include the Dragon's Tears (Koyomi Shochu, jasmine tea, finger lime and apple) and the fiery Smoked Whaler (Hennessy VS Cognac, Woodford Reserve Rye, sweet vermouth, honey water, bitters and applewood smoke). One of the most complex house specialties is likely the Okinawa Vice, which mixes Herradura Plata Tequila, coconut rum, pineapple, aged port, lime, sencha tea, strawberry and kaffir lime foam before clarifying the lot with milk. Beyond the main variety of cocktails is a real love for highballs, with a build your own approach taking centre stage. Simply choose one of six sodas and one of three whiskies, or saké, chochu or cognac, and you're off to the races. Like at Tokyo Bird, a long list of whiskies is on offer, expanding from Japanese to Scotch, Taiwanese and Australian varieties, along with independent distillers. One very special drop on the list is Suntory's extremely rare Hibiki 30 Year Old. For repeat offenders, the bar also offers over 30 bottle lockers for storage in-between visits. A menu of bar snacks accompanies the drinks, like pork crackling or soft shell crab bao and potato croquettes with mixed veg and tonkatsu mayo. For cocktail-induced nibbling, there's also the requisite edamame, pork crackling and rice crackers. Images: Jeremy Plaisance.
When one bar closes, hopefully another one opens — and, thankfully, that's proving the case at the former Hazy Rose site on Sydney's iconic Stanley Street. Adding a dash of film noir moodiness to Darlinghurst, The Long Goodbye is the kind of joint even Humphrey Bogart would approve of. Think old-school charm to match the Raymond Chandler novel and subsequent movie it's named after, plus classic cocktails, and live jazz and blues on Thursdays. Old-fashioned service and taking inspiration from old flicks might be in order here, but not everything harks back to years gone by. In a thoroughly modern move, bar manager and owner Flynn McLennan, of Zeta Bar, has brought along an in-house chemist to develop his range of house-made liqueurs. The mixologist has used an ultrasonic machine to create a host of unique flavours, including a duck fat washed apricot brandy, strawberry balsamic shrub and chilli bitters. And to help bring home the DIY feel, you'll find their beverage list hand-typed on a vintage typewriter. Thanks to elaborate homages to the post-World War II era, the new hangout will make you feel like you're in classic noirs from the '40s (when Chandler's big hit The Big Sleep reached screens) through to the '70s (when Robert Altman's movie adaptation of The Long Goodbye made it to cinemas) in no time, lending cocktail-lovers a dark, brooding atmosphere. Candelabras, antique artworks, leather chesterfield lounges and ornate chairs help The Long Goodbye look the part, with McLennan and co-owner Dennis Jen finding the bar's furniture and glassware from local markets and Newtown's Chris On King vintage shop.
Melburnians, you're a mere three hours away from a weekend filled with epicurean adventure in the Victorian High Country. Grab your car keys, because you're going on a road trip out of the dense city and into the wide-open spaces of north-east Victoria — which at this time of year, is tinted a vivid gold as the leaves change colour with the onset of a proper, country autumn. SATURDAY MORNING: BEECHWORTH Your exploration of the High Country starts in the historic town of Beechworth. Grab a country-style breakfast from Beechworth Bakery to set you up for the day, then pick up some of the area's most famous produce from The Honey Shop. After that, it's time to explore the mineral-rich hills around Beechworth, which are home to more than two-dozen vineyards. One-hundred-and-fifty years of wine-growing history in the region have birthed diverse styles, grape varieties and wineries. Visit young guns Vignerons Schmölzer and Brown and Sentio Wines, whose winemakers have worked at prestigious producers both domestically and abroad before striking out on their own to create some of the most exciting drops in the region. Then there's the iconic producers Castagna, who specialise in biodynamically grown fruit, and Sorrenberg, whose iconic Gamay sells out in record speeds every year (their Chardonnay is also worth picking up). Most of the wineries and cellar doors in Beechworth are by appointment only, so book a tour through Beechworth Barrel Tours, who will liaise with your chosen wineries and create a custom itinerary for your morning adventure in wine country. Autumn is a great time to visit, as it is post-vintage when the winery is a little quieter, giving guests the opportunity to taste the wines that are currently fermenting in oak and out of tank. AFTERNOON: BEECHWORTH TO RUTHERGLEN The short half-hour drive between Beechworth and Rutherglen is the perfect opportunity to check out some of the local haunts of the winemakers in the region. Tessa Brown (from Vigneron Schmölzer and Brown) is a fan of Provenance in Beechworth. Built in 1856 (during the height of the gold rush era) this two-hatted restaurant creates contemporary food from quality regional produce with a focus on seasonal awareness. If you want to drive straight through to Rutherglen, your first stop needs to be All Saints Winery and Terrace Restaurant to have one of the best-value meals from a one-hatted restaurant (three courses with matching wines from their estate for only $110 per person). For those wanting something a little more relaxed (and to take advantage of those last warm rays of autumn sunshine), stop in at Campbells Wines. Pick up an iconic Rutherglen fortified wine, along with a locally sourced vineyard platter (featuring cheeses, antipasto and terrines) to feast on at one of the great picnic spots on the banks of Lake Moodemere. For late-afternoon tipples, check out local winemaker Simon Killeen's (from Simao and Co) favourite wine bar, Thousand Pound, for the best wines the region has to offer (plus some classics from further afield). RUTHERGLEN But where to rest your head after a full day of vinous activities? Rutherglen offers you the best of both worlds. Grapevine Glamping at Cofield Estate allows you to stay in the midst of a real working winery and vineyard while enjoying all the comforts of home. The king-size-bed canvas bell tent (complete with split system heating and cooling) comes with wine and the option to cook your own meal in the fully equipped camp kitchen or order up a vineyard platter to feast on while you enjoy the fire pit just outside your tent. For those who like their accommodation with a side of luxury and history, Mount Ophir boasts 360-degree views of Rutherglen, including the Murray River Basin and the Victorian Alps to the east from its incredible 'tower room'. Here you stay over three floors in a French provincial-styled tower, with a spiral staircase that leads to the private sitting room on the second floor and a luxurious bedroom suite and marble bathroom on the top floor. SUNDAY MORNING: MILAWA Here is your chance to work off all the food from Saturday's gluttony. Cycle through the autumnal foliage and pass cellar doors and farms on the Milawa Gourmet Ride (the morning hours of autumn are the perfect time of year to cycle around, as it's not too hot). Hire a bike in town or borrow one from Brown Brothers Winery and stop in at their fantastic cellar door for a morning coffee and a couple of bottles of their Patricia sparkling wine to go. Grab yourself a map and take the leisurely 10-kilometre ride through the region, stopping in to see as many cellar doors, farm gates and gourmet food stores as you like before ending up at self-confessed cycling addict Sam Miranda's joint, the Sam Miranda Winery at Oxley. AFTERNOON: KING VALLEY AND PROSECCO ROAD Complete your journey along the King Valley's 'Prosecco Road' after Brown Brothers and Sam Miranda in the morning with an afternoon visit to Pizzini Wines. The Pizzini family are passionate about family, friends, food and wine. Their vineyards are a mosaic of Italian varietals (like Prosecco, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese), all of which can be enjoyed in their cellar door. You can even try your hand at making some traditional Italian dishes to accompany the wine at Katrina Pizzini's A Tavola cooking school. Then head to Chrismont for inspiring architecture, more Prosecco and an Italian long lunch on the terrace. EVENING: KING VALLEY Stay the night on the homestead where Australia's prosecco vines were first planted (and your last stop on the Prosecco Road), Dal Zotto Cellar Door and Accommodation. Immerse yourself in all things Prosecco by taking part in their 'pick your own Prosecco' adventures. During autumn is when you can witness the drying of the Prosecco grapes to be made into Otto Dal Zotto's 'natural' Prosecco (or 'Col Fondo' style, as they call it). Taste your way through their five different styles of Prosecco at the cellar door before picking your favourite to take back to your accommodation for a nightcap with house-made antipasto and charcuterie. Autumn scenery and produce won't last — to plan your full itinerary in the High Country and explore more of regional Victoria this season, visit the Wander Victoria website.
If you're scouting for a tranquil spot to enjoy a relaxing coffee, Jezve Coffee in Lyne Park is the perfect escape. Embracing Rose Bay's vibrant waterside culture, the cafe showcases exquisite harbour views, surrounded by the serenity of Lyne Park and the bay. [caption id="attachment_779895" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yaya Stempler[/caption] Having opened in 2016, the cafe is the place to come for an authentic Turkish coffee experience — a tradition that dates back to the 15th century. Grab your coffee or a fresh juice to go and take a walk along the water, or settle in at one of the outdoor tables for a lazy breakfast. Here, typical cafe favourites are given a Turkish twist, so you can enjoy smashed avo topped with sumac, dukkah and pomegranate dressing or poached eggs with garlic yoghurt, baby spinach, sujuk and chilli butter. Images: Yaya Stempler
If a comet was hurtling towards earth on a collision course that'd wipe out all life as we currently know it, you'd think that humanity would react — and fast. But in the trailer for Netflix's new disaster comedy Don't Look Up, only two people really care: astronomy professor Dr Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and his grad student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men: Dark Phoenix). To everyone else, the impending end of the world isn't really something to worry about. The President (Meryl Streep, The Prom) and her son and Chief of Staff (Jonah Hill, The Beach Bum) barely seem to mind, the media definitely doesn't, and neither does the general public. Instead, Kate goes viral for screaming about the apocalypse as she and Randall embark on a media tour to try to convince the planet that being obliterated — in less than six months, and by a Mount Everest-sized comet that's orbiting our solar system — really is kind of a big deal. Forget Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck endeavouring to save the world from an asteroid, because that's so 1998. The former "king of the world" and Katniss Everdeen teaming up to stop a comet from eradicating earth is the firmly 2021 version. And, after first being announced at the beginning of the year — as part of Netflix's lengthy list of new flicks heading its way before 2022 hits — and then dropping a teaser trailer back in September, Don't Look Up now has a full trailer so you can catch a glimpse of how that'll all play out. The film thankfully isn't a sequel to the aforementioned Armageddon. Instead, it's the latest movie from The Big Short and Vice director Adam McKay — and it's set to hit both cinemas and the streaming platform in December. As well as its two high-profile leads, Don't Look Up also stars basically every other actor you can think of, including Timothée Chalamet (Little Women), Cate Blanchett (Where'd You Go, Bernadette), Mark Rylance (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Tyler Perry (Those Who Wish Me Dead), Ron Perlman (Monster Hunter), Himesh Patel (Tenet), Melanie Lynskey (Mrs America), Kid Cudi (Bill & Ted Face the Music) and Ariana Grande. The film will hit Netflix just in time for your Christmas break, dropping on Friday, December 24. It'll also screen in some cinemas from Thursday, December 9, if you'd like to see it on the big screen. And if you're wondering how Don't Look Up will fare tonally, McKay looks like he's in The Big Short and Succession mode, rather than harking back to his Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers days. That said, Blanchett does play a TV host, so maybe the filmmaker will have audiences thinking about Anchorman as well. Check out the full trailer for Don't Look Up below: Don't Look Up will be release in select Australian cinemas on Thursday, December 9, and will be available to stream via Netflix on Friday, December 24. Images: Nico Tavernise/Netflix.
"I find that it takes a while for people to return to themselves after the film." For anyone who's seen The Stranger, writer/director Thomas M Wright's observations might sound like an understatement. For those who haven't yet watched the actor-turned-filmmaker's second feature behind the lens, after 2018's Adam Cullen biopic Acute Misfortune, it may come across the same way. In Australia in particular, the fact that the Joel Edgerton- (Thirteen Lives) and Sean Harris (Spencer)-starring crime-thriller is based on the 2003 abduction and murder of Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe has garnered attention. The Stranger takes its cues from that monstrous real-life case, adapting Kate Kyriacou's non-fiction book The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe's Killer; however, it doesn't recreate the crime. It also doesn't depict the victim, or refer to him by name. Everyone has been fictionalised, and there's no violence in the film. Instead, it tracks the enormous police effort to capture a culprit using a criminal gang as a ruse, in what's known as the 'Mr Big' technique. Edgerton plays the incognito cop tasked with befriending the suspect, while Harris is relentlessly perturbing in the latter part. It was Edgerton, also The Stranger's producer, who optioned Kyriacou's text, saw Acute Misfortune and proposed the feature to Wright. The director was initially reluctant, but sticking to the above stipulations was the only way that he could approach the picture, and was willing to. "Those decisions about a complete unwillingness to represent any violence, to represent the victim, to represent those that cared for them — and to centre the film on a fictionalised version of a police operation like the one used in that particular case — those aren't thin acknowledgements," Wright explains. "They're deeply layered considerations that've been placed at the centre of the entire film." In every second, The Stranger feels as carefully and meticulously constructed as Wright's framework suggests — and, by design, dictates. It also feels not just tense but tough, as it should given the story it's interrogating. Debuting at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, the feature received a seven-minute standing ovation. Now, it plays Aussie cinemas from October 6 before reaching audiences globally via Netflix on October 19. "It's an undeniably different experience," Wright notes of watching The Stranger at home versus on the big screen. "It's an intensely discomforting and very powerful film to invite into your home. For the two hours that the film lasts, I think it will take people into a completely different mindset, into a different psychological realm," he continues, while chatting us through making a movie that's both unshakeably potent and personal. ON WORKING OUT THE BEST APPROACH TO A HORRIFIC REAL-LIFE CASE "Kate Kyriacou's book The Sting, which Joel had optioned, is a non-fiction work of investigative journalism about that specific case. It goes into personal details about the victim, those affected, the other suspects — and I felt that I had no right to represent the victim, that any attempt to represent them would only diminish them and all of their infinite possibilities, and that I couldn't presume to know anything about what that family and those who cared for him went through. So early on, the initial terms for me were: there'll be no representation of the victim of any sort, there'll be no representation of the people who cared for them, there'll be no violence whatsoever in this film. There's an unconscionable way of making this film. There's a morally unforgivable way of making this film. It would not be difficult to create tension in a film about the physical vulnerability of a child, and I wasn't interested to use that space, which is sacred to those real people, for the ease of making a film. So I began to think about these strangers, and that stranger of the title could refer to the perpetrator and that archetypal fear of the stranger in our society — but actually we are a society of strangers. It could also refer to the victim, to their family. Or, to that central figure and all those undercover operatives in the film whose real names we never learn. Or, to all those nameless people, the detectives and searchers at the end of the film who provide resolution for those strangers for them, that family and the victims who've they've never met. It clearly became to me this idea of connection as a society, and of empathy, as the gravity that is going to bind film together. At the time that I was writing it, I live in the inner north in Melbourne, it's where I grew up, it's where my family lives, and there were a whole series of murders of women by strangers, by people they've never met. And it shook the entire foundation of the society — and every state and territory has their own version of these cases that totally shift our perception of safety and of the social contract. They make it feel like a lie or something weak, and it had such an effect on the community down there. It was an outpouring of empathy. And these are just the cases also that have created headlines and achieved large police commitments, and where there has been public recognition. There are so many people out there, and so many crimes that take place, where there is none of that. We still have a woman a week dying of incidences of domestic violence in Australia, and many of those victims go unacknowledged. Of course, I'm not setting out to make a public service announcement in this film, but there are individuals who have to be the first person there, and who give years of their lives, and their mental and physical health, to trying to resolve those incidences of violence." ON FINDING PERSONAL REASONS TO MAKE THE FILM "When we began work on the film, I told everybody that I worked with that I wanted them to find their own reason for making this film — and I wanted them to find a personal reason to make this film. I do think it was a very personal film for all of us who worked on it. Joel said the other day that it was the quietest set he has ever worked on. It was a very tense set because of the seriousness of the material that we're dealing with, and the moral responsibility we felt, and the focus it required of us. For me, it absorbed every waking and dreaming moment of my life for three years, and I felt a tremendous moral responsibility to get it right and make something that we could all stand behind — and that didn't let any of my collaborators down. I'm not talking about the Academy Award-winning producers. I'm talking about the sound recordist and production designer and assistant editors, and everyone with whom you make a film. And also because of the presence my son in the film, because I wrote it for my son to portray Joel's son in the film. In the process of filming, Joel found out that he was going to be a father. That made it intensely personal and emotional for him also, and I watched it change him and shift his entire being. Both Joel and Sean were transformed by the process of making this film. Sean's wife actually saw the film after we'd finished and said that there was nothing of him left in that character, that he was completely absent. She didn't recognise him, and I think she found that really overwhelming and very powerful. I can attest to that as the person that was there beside them the entire time — this was a tense, difficult film to make that just took those central cast, and I include here Jada Alberts in particular, into a place where they really weren't their selves anymore." ON MAKING THE FILM PERSONAL FOR AUDIENCES "Cinema has always been a collective experience, and when films really work, we're simultaneously aware that they're a shared experience but they're also deeply personal. This film, for people who respond to it — obviously not for everybody — gets itself into a very personal place. I think it does that by making itself physical and physically felt. That's why breath was such a key part of the film to me. I wanted to begin with something that made an audience active, even in the most subtle, underlying way, because every part of the film asks that the audience be active in that physical, subjective experience of what Mark [Joel Edgerton's character] is going through. You're trying to tune people to the frequency of the film, to the psyche of the people working on this kind of case. There's a hyper-alertness. It's a film partly about trauma more generally — a film about the fact that those of us who reach adulthood, we come into the world and at some point in time we become aware of the darkness and the unknowable things within it. We have to find a way to be able to reconcile that and continue to move forward and find meaning, because the thing about violence is that it threatens to strip things of their meaning. It renders things meaningless. So you're dealing with a hyper-alert psychology. It's certainly something that we were actively trying to encourage in the audience. When you set out to make a film, you are trying to show people something they haven't seen before, to get them to feel something they haven't seen before — and, to relate to the film in a different way while understanding it's part of an impossibly deep lineage of stories, and these kinds of modalities of storytelling that are well-established now in cinema." ON AUSTRALIA'S OBSESSION WITH CRIME STORIES — AND STANDING OUT "Even though the film is part of a strong lineage of Australian crime cinema, I just think it sits outside a lot of that work in its intentions. A lot of these kind of films are more realist depictions of people, and head toward a kind of final emphatic act of violence, which often takes place off-screen. That's certainly the case in Snowtown. It's the case in Nitram. It's the case in a film like The Boys. Even though the reason for The Stranger is violence, it's not its subject… It begins in the aftermath of that violence. It's an attempt to make meaning and to reconcile the after-effects of violence on individuals and by extension on society. I think there's a reason that that this genre and these ideas are so prevalent in Australian thinking. It's certainly not limited to Australian film. When you look at our most prominent authors — Richard Flanagan, Chloe Hooper, Helen Garner, Tim Winton, Patrick White — this is a subject that has been grappled with. And in our visual art, and in our music. We return to it over and over again. I think that has to do with an unreconciled relationship to violence in this country, a landscape that has been marked by violence, and that we know that. We can intuit it, but for the main, we don't have a way to unpack that — and it remains there, unresolved." The Stranger releases in Australian cinemas on October 6, then streams via Netflix from October 19. Read our full review.
In great news for your wanderlust, flight sales aren't rare. Still, a round of discounted flights that starts at $26 isn't an everyday occurrence. The reason for the super-cheap fares: Jetstar is hosting its latest member-only sale. If you're a Club Jetstar member — already or if you now sign up — you've got two days to nab a bargain. Pack your suitcases for getaways to the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Tasmania, Byron Bay and more, with flights to and from all of the above from some Australian cities coming in at the $26 price. That cost will get you from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast, Melbourne to the Gold Coast, Brisbane to Hobart, Melbourne to Launceston, Melbourne to Ballina/Byron Bay, Melbourne to Adelaide and Sydney to Brisbane, or vice versa, all one-way and without checked baggage. [caption id="attachment_976496" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Darren Tierney[/caption] Other fares include Sydney to Hervey Bay from $39, Brisbane to the Whitsunday Coast from $49 and Melbourne to Uluru from $79. Or, there's flights from Perth to Adelaide from $119, Sydney to Margaret River from $129 and Darwin to Sydney from $149. The sale kicks off at 9am AEDT on Monday, October 21, running through until 11.59pm AEST on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 — or until sold out, if snapped up earlier. Accordingly, if you're keen for a holiday at reduced prices, you'll want to get in quick. In total, 26,000 discounted flights are on offer. Travel periods vary, with late-July–early-September 2025 among them. Again, you'll pay extra for checked baggage if you need it, or you'll want to travel super light. Club Jetstar membership costs $65 a year, which you can join online while making a flight booking, and also gives you 20-percent off checked bags and seat selection. [caption id="attachment_928567" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism Tasmania, Luke Tscharke[/caption] The Club Jetstar member-only sale runs from 9am AEDT on Monday, October 21–11.59pm AEST on Tuesday, October 22, 2024 — or until sold out, if snapped up earlier. Top image: Jesse Shaw Photography. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Looking for an excuse to start making holiday plans? A massive flight sale with one million discounted fares on offer will do the trick. For a week, Qantas is slinging cheap tickets across its domestic network, spanning 60-plus routes — and prices start at under $150 one-way on more than 30 of them. Getaway dates vary, but winter is the ideal time to make a booking for one inescapable reason: when we're all spending more time rugged up indoors to escape the chillier weather, who isn't dreaming of their next break away from their own four walls? The sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, June 30, 2024, but the usual caveat applies: you'll want to get in quickly to nab a bargain (and, as always, if fares sell out earlier, you'll miss out). Whether you're a Sydneysider thinking about a Gold Coast jaunt, a Melburnian keen to finally hit or return to Tasmania or a Brisbanite eager to make a date with The Whitsundays, you have options. Indeed, you can get from Sydney to the Gold Coast for $109, Brisbane to the Whitsunday Coast from $129 and Melbourne to Hobart from $149. Other routes and fares include Adelaide to Melbourne from $139, Launceston to the Gold Coast from $199, Sydney to Cairns for the same price, and Sydney to Perth for $339. Business class flights are on sale as well, if your budget can stretch that far. Trips to and from Ballina, Newcastle, Mildura, Albury, Coffs Harbour, Kangaroo Island, Townsville, Tamworth, Rockhampton, Port Macquarie, Alice Springs, Uluru and Darwin are also on the sale list. Inclusions-wise, the sale covers fares with checked baggage, complimentary food and beverages, wifi and seat selection. Qantas' one million seat sale runs until 11.59pm AEST on Sunday, June 30, 2024, or until sold out. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Burger lovers of Sydney, rejoice — yet another (yes, another) place selling your favourite food is posed to join the culinary lineup. If you've ever been on holiday in Queensland and grabbed a burg on the Gold or Sunshine Coasts, then you might be familiar with our newest resident from up north: Betty's Burgers. After announcing they'd be opening new stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane last year, their shiny new burger joint is now open underneath the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, their first in Sydney. This new store will have 20 seats indoors and 26 outside. So what's Betty's all about? Well they do a range of burgs that have been pretty well received up north. You can except their classic, crispy chicken, pork belly and mushroom signature burgers to make their way to Sydney, as well as their insane Shake Shack-esque frozen custard concoctions. These are called 'concretes', and you can choose to get things like peanut brittle, pecan pudding, doughnuts and lemon cheesecake mixed through them. The concept sounds similar to burger joint Royal Stacks, which also does burgers and frozen custard desserts, although it must be noted that Betty's was first opened in Noosa by David Hales in 2014 (before Royal Stacks opened up shop in Melbourne). He has since opened more stores across the country — three on the Gold Coast, one in Toowoomba and one in Melbourne.
After seven long years (plus a few additional nail-biting weeks of last-minute delays), the much-anticipated City and Southwest extension of the Sydney Metro has finally opened to the public. The new driverless train system is a cutting-edge wonder, connecting Sydenham with Chatswood in just 22 minutes. At peak hours, trains arrive at each station on this 15.5-kilometre stretch every four minutes. But beyond its game-changing speed, the new Metro line is remarkable for the sheer creativity on display at each station. Every stop has a unique design inspired by its location, both honouring the area's past and heralding a brighter future in a more connected city. Since every station has its own singular identity, we visited all eight and ranked them on the calibre of their design, the convenience offered by their amenities and the ways in which they are revitalising their respective corners of Sydney. Some wow with architectural feats, others deliver exciting culinary adventures and a few are redefining the neighbourhoods they now serve. Here's our definitive ranking of the City and Southwest Line Metro stations. Recommended reads: The Best Beaches in Sydney The Best Ocean Pools in Sydney The Best Walks in and Around Sydney The Best Bike Rides in Sydney 8: SYDENHAM The southern end of the line is one of two overground stations on this portion of the Metro (the other being the already-operational Chatswood, north of the harbour). As such, no new station was constructed for Sydenham. Instead, major upgrades were made to the existing infrastructure, adding two new platforms and a new overpass to allow passengers to alight to other overground services. Unlike other stops on the line, the lack of major architectural works has robbed Sydenham of the creative flexes seen at its sister stations. The only hospitality offering to speak of is a single kiosk selling sandwiches, coffee and sweet treats by the main entrance, as well as a handful of vending machines — fine for a local in need of a quick caffeine fix or sugar hit on the morning commute, but certainly not worthy of a journey from elsewhere in the city. 7: CROWS NEST Of the newly constructed stations, Crows Nest has one of the least ambitious designs with a subtly industrial vibe featuring exposed brickwork and rusted perforated panelling. Both the station's exits feature eye-catching artworks by ceramicist Esther Stewart, inspired by the historic facades of heritage-listed buildings in the area, interpreted as vibrant tile collages. While there are currently a handful of local cafes in the vicinity of the station, a major development around the Metro station, Hume Place, is nearing the end of construction and is due to open at the end of spring, 2024. This will include a retail and hospitality precinct as well as affordable housing, so expect to hear about some exciting Crows Nest openings in the coming months. 6: GADIGAL The first thing that strikes you as you disembark at Gadigal is the organic quality of the architecture. The pale stone walls ripple like water, while exposed wooden seating runs the full length of the platform like a freshly felled tree, floating in this vertical lake. Fluidity is carried through in even subtler details, like the gently scooping brass inlays in the cream terrazzo tiles that help guide passengers as they board, and the subtle arch of the earthy bronze ceilings that run the length of the rabbit warren-esque tunnels between platforms. As you ascend the escalators, a vast mosaic artwork — The Underneath, by Callum Morton — dominates the view. Unlike the placid monochrome of the rest of the station, this shock of cartoonish colour offers a visual jolt, preparing travellers for the breakneck pace of the CBD that awaits them. While there is no hospitality offering at this station, its handy location on the edge of Hyde Park and its accomplished design make it a gem in its own right. [caption id="attachment_970829" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maxim Boon[/caption] 5: CENTRAL Plenty of changes have already been made to Australia's busiest train terminal in recent memory, most notably the opening of the vast, 140-metre-long North-South Concourse beneath the existing overland platforms and the impressive new entrance offering easier access to the station from the L3 light rail platforms last May. The new Metro platforms, located beneath the North-South Concourse, have the same sculpted sandstone chevron motif that can be found throughout the newer areas of Central, seamlessly blending these additions to the existing infrastructure. The great depth of the Metro line at this point in the city makes for a dramatic descent on the escalators, which plunge a vertigo-inducing 25-metres. Three new hospitality areas, accessible from the North-South Concourse, are yet to be opened, but travellers can already take advantage of the dining options on the Grand Concourse and along Eddy Avenue. 4: WATERLOO Art plays a pivotal role in the Waterloo terminal's success, making it unquestionably one of the most beautiful stations not just on the new Metro line but anywhere in Australia. A triptych of works created by Nicole Monks, championing the local Wallangang culture — past, present and future — connects the main station concourse to its pavilion-like entrance. The most striking work is a towering portrait of a young Aboriginal dancer painted with traditional ochre, captured in perforated aluminium. A sculptural work titled Community Footprints runs up the wall next to the escalators, featuring hundreds of gold and silver foot prints marking out a dance of graceful, flowing forms. By the main entrance, a lenticular sculpture titled Handwriting by Elders, offers the words "Gadigal" and "Nura", meaning country. In addition to these moving pieces, there are also exhibits of post-colonial artefacts found during the site's excavation, revealing yet another layer of historical depth to this small inner-city suburb. The dining riches of South Everleigh and Surry Hills are just a short distance from Waterloo Station, but a soon-to-be-completed dining and retail precinct just behind the station will put this area on the map as a new culinary powerhouse in the city's Inner South. [caption id="attachment_970486" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maxim Boon[/caption] 3: MARTIN PLACE To wander the so-called Metro "superhub" of Martin Place is to experience something of what it must have been like for ancient travellers to first behold the Great Pyramids of Giza. Ok, that's perhaps overselling it, but this cavernous complex beneath the centre of the city is truly an engineering feat of epic proportions. Buried 25 meters beneath the CBD's streets, the awe-worthy multi-level atrium features 3000 square meters of retail and hospitality space. None of this flush of new venues has opened yet, but once they do, expect to see this station rising to the top of these rankings. In the meantime, passengers can enjoy some of the Metro's most impressive public artworks, including Muru Giligu — a series of dreamy light and music installations brightening one of the station's exitways. 2: BARANGAROO Many of the new stations on the City and Southwest Line are establishing precincts, but few will be able to compete with the sheer natural splendour of the tranquil waterfront gardens at Barangaroo. The station itself is no slouch either. The walls are clad with the same roughly hewn sandstone that makes up the majority of the coastal outcrops around Sydney harbour, adorned with bronze sculptures of leafy wreaths, underlining the connection to the natural world. Outside, not only do the new green spaces finally connect the hospitality hotspots around Crown Towers and Cockle Bay with Barangaroo Reserve, but travellers can also discover a monument to a unique piece of Sydney history — the well-preserved 200-year-old remains of a vessel that was unearthed in November 2018 during the station's construction. It's believed to be the oldest colonial-era Australian-built craft to ever be fully excavated, recorded and raised. [caption id="attachment_970482" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Trent van der Jagt[/caption] 1: VICTORIA CROSS While this station may not have the immediate visual impact of some of its sister stations, its slick, futuristic design still packs a wallop. Victoria Cross is the first station on the line to have a fully functioning hospitality precinct up and running, offering an exciting glimpse of what Sydneysiders can look forward to as more of these dining destinations come online. From casual bites at Marrickville Porkroll to sit-down feeds at Mary's Burgers, there's plenty to satisfy travellers without ever leaving the station's footprint. Plus, with superb venues like the new Walker Street Precinct, RAFI and Bar Lettera just a stone's throw away, Victoria Cross is further cementing North Sydney as one of the most ascendant culinary hotspots in Sydney right now.
Bring your family, your mates and your dogs — along with your sandy feet — to the newly reopened harbourside sports club Mosman Rowers. Now managed by Bird & Bear Group (The Sandy Bear, The Flying Bear & Foys), the century-old clubhouse boasts a brand new fit-out and an elevated pub offering across three levels. First up is Archie Bear cafe, a 100 seater slinging coffees, breakfast and long lunches, plus dinner on the weekends. Designed by Studio Etic (Barangaroo House), it has floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook an expansive outdoor deck and the bay views beyond. Inside, there are polished timber floors, brass and gold finishes and a fireplace for the cooler months ahead. Brekkie includes classic bacon and egg rolls alongside green breakfast bowls and maple granola with stewed rhubarb and mint. Meanwhile, the lunch and dinner menus focus on share plates like Sydney rock oysters, baby squid with lemon and aioli and antipasti plates — think prosciutto, burrata, olives and flatbread. There's also a selection of salads and sandwiches, such as the soba noodle salad with poached chicken and soy-lime dressing, and the wagyu pastrami reuben with raclette, sweet and spicy pickles, coleslaw and smoky sauce. One level up is The Rowers Bar, which offers its own bar snacks and mains, as well as another 100 seats. For bar bites, there are wagyu sliders and rice paper rolls with daikon and water chestnuts. Larger dishes include the zucchini pasta with lemon, chilli and basil and grilled barramundi with butter bean puree and bean salad. Compared with the bright digs downstairs, the heritage interior upstairs boasts low-lighting, warm timber tones and nautical vibes. Expect more brass trimming here, too, alongside terrazzo table tops, navy leather banquettes and a marble bar with 11 beers on tap. The wider drinks list will be up for grabs in both venues, including R!ot Wine Co. rosé on tap, seasonal cocktails — try the spicy margarita or melon fizz — and an extensive local and global wine list. Plus Pimm's, spritzes and white sangria jugs for sharing. There'll be heaps of weekly specials on too, including $6 beers and house wines during weekday happy hour, $12 spritzes from 3–6pm on Saturdays and $20 beer buckets and cocktail jugs on Sundays. While the venue will remain a registered club — with a private members space on the top level — non-members can access the lower two levels by signing up (free of charge) as a temporary member. The waterside digs will remain a community hub for activities such as rowing, paddling and kayaking, with a reinvigorated member events calendar in the works. Archie Bear is open Monday through Wednesday from 7.30am–3.30pm and Thursday through Sunday from 7.30am until late. Opening hours for The Rowers Bar is open Monday through Friday from 4pm until late and Saturday through Sunday from noon until late.
Invented in the second century by the Romans, mulled wine — which is red vino, heated and infused with spices — didn't take long to become popular across the Roman Empire. These days, recipes vary from country to country. Germans add sugar, lemon, cloves, vanilla and cinnamon; the Bulgarians prefer honey and peppercorns; the Japanese make their own traditional sake version; and Australians often substitute red wine for cider. However you make it, there's no better winter bevvie. With that in mind, bars, pubs and restaurants all over Sydney are serving up piping hot glasses of the stuff to help you through these chilly months. FIREFLY BAR, NEUTRAL BAY In summer, we had bottomless frosé and sorbet cocktails. Now, it's winter, and the last thing we feel like doing is chugging endless alcoholic ice slushies. Thankfully, the team at Neutral Bay bar Firefly knows this, and is serving up bottomless mulled wine — five nights a week, all winter long. You'll be able to warm your belly with 90 minutes of unlimited hot and spicy wine between Sunday and Thursday, for just $28 per person. This year's mulled wine recipe has been taken to the next level with the addition of fresh vanilla pods and a dash of pisco. It's available from when the doors open — so head in anytime after 5pm during the week and from midday on Sunday. The mulled wine is on the menu the rest of the week, too, just not available bottomless. THE FERNERY, MOSMAN To celebrate winter, this greenery-filled rooftop space has launched the Spice Bar, a pop-up dedicated to all things warm. It, of course, includes a mulled wine ($12), which is a blend of wintery reds and spiced with cinnamon, star anise, vanilla and clove, then topped off with Sailor Jerry rum and fresh orange juice. The Spice Bar also serves up the Mary's Revenge ($12) — a controversial hot take on a bloody mary — with the addition of Sichuan peppercorn and house-made tomato soup. It's definitely one for the adventurous type. THE DOSS HOUSE, THE ROCKS Opened in early 2018 in a heritage-listed building, this old-school whiskey bar offers over 150 drops. During winter, one of them is being heated, infused with honey and lemon and served up as a classic hot toddy. Meanwhile, the mulled wine is a steaming blend of red wine, fresh orange, star anise and cloves. And the bar is also slinging irish coffees for the cooler days ahead, with each hot drink priced at $12. You'll be imbibing your drink of choice on a luxurious velvet banquette, surrounded by brass fittings, antique mirrors and low lighting — or outside, in the courtyard, which has been treated with blankets and heaters for the winter months. THE GOLDEN GULLY, LEICHHARDT Leichhardt's resident small bar is prepping for winter with a menu of hearty vego eats and drinks — namely its signature mulled wine. This one is made with heaps of fresh, seasonal fruit, including mandarin, lime and lemon juice and rind. The team has also added native pepperberry to the usual mulled spice mix, and it's available at just $9 a pop. As well as the wine, punters can nab a $15 beer and vegan pie deal every Wednesday, or choose from the bar's other vego winter dishes. Think jerusalem artichoke with smoked portobello mushrooms and porcini jus, or braised leeks with pepper-smoked carrots, cashew cheese and caper dust. TANDEM BAR, NEWTOWN Newtown's resident Scandinavian bar Tandem is doing its mulled wine a little differently by serving traditional gløgg, a Nordic version of the hot drink. The traditional recipe includes a cabernet sauvignon or cabernet merlot base, mulled with cinnamon, cloves, star anise and nutmeg, then combined with orange juice and zest, lemon zest and ginger. The drink is set at $9, or an especially tasty $6 during the Tuesday–Friday happy hour from 5–7pm. Or stop by during trivia on Tuesdays, when free mulled wines are part of the giveaway. GOROS, SURRY HILLS Late-night karaoke favourite Goros is staying true to its roots and turning out traditional Japanese mulled sake for the chilly months ahead. It's a blend of delicate flavours including pear, ginger, vanilla and hints of cinnamon, all of which will leave a warm feeling in your belly for just $12 a glass. Apart from the sake, there are also alcoholic bubble teas up for grabs. The food menu reflects the change in season as well, including authentic Japanese seafood hot pots called nabe and baked sweet potatoes with yuzu butter for sides. It's all part of the Goros Winter Festival, which will run through August 31 and includes regular Saturday parties, DJ lineups and those late-night eats you know and love. ARCADIA LIQUORS, REDFERN This Redfern stalwart is inviting Sydneysiders in from the cold with its golden lighting, covered outdoor beer garden and mulled wine. Arcadia Liquors is serving up $10 glasses of its Gunther's Gluhwein every day throughout winter. Cabernet merlot is steeped with all of your usual mulling spices (cinnamon, cardamon pods, cloves and star anise), then mixed with a few secret ingredients from the owner's family recipe. The beer list will also focus on dark drops for winter, and the simple food menu offers antipasto plates ($25) and four rotating toasties. At the moment, the latter includes a classic ham and cheese with relish ($6); a chicken schnitty topped with swiss and sriracha ($12); and a vego one stuffed with haloumi, roasted peppers, olives, spinach and cheddar ($12). THE BOTANIST, KIRRIBILLI Kirribilli's The Botanist is offering its own take on a winter warmer with a spiced cider. It's made with alcoholic apple cider and juniper berries, along with the classic mulled spices of cinnamon, star anise, black pepper and orange peel. The drink is available all winter long, alongside a menu of ricotta gnocchi with spicy 'nduja butter and pine nuts ($24) and a lamb ragout with buffalo ricotta and herbed bread crumbs ($30). A list of wintertime cocktails, Australian wines and beers are on offer, too. PARSONS BAR, POTTS POINT After successfully luring Potts Point drinkers away from Netflix last year, Parsons Bar's mulled cider is back on the menu. Brewed with fresh orange, cinnamon and cloves, this heart-warming drop can be ordered as it comes (or you can add your favourite spirit). And this year, the bar is also offering mulled wine every Friday and Saturday, too. If you're peckish, choose a dish from the winter menu — it includes beef cheek ragout fettuccine and woodfired lamb shoulder. Pop by on a Tuesday to score free sides with any main. DUKE OF ENMORE, ENMORE The Duke of Enmore is heating up for winter, too, starting with its extremely reasonably priced mulled wine for $8. Its spice mix includes ginger, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon and star anise, plus orange and sugar to top it off. For hearty eats, there's a lamb shank smothered in gravy and served with mash, a porchetta with white bean puree, as well as fried chicken ribs and a special chicken burger, too. Plus natural wines, plenty of heaters and a blazing fireplace to rug up next to. Top Image: Doss House
Add Marco Pierre White to the list of acclaimed British culinary figures, such as regular visitors Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, who are fond of trips Down Under. Back in 2023, the famed chef and White Heat author brought his first-ever live theatre show to Australia. On that visit, he also made a date with HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast for a four-course dinner. The latter experience clearly left an imprint, because that's where White is heading again in 2025 — this time for an exclusive three-day stint. HOTA has announced that White is hitting the venue, and the kitchen, for a three-day culinary residency in June 2025. There's multiple parts to this visit, whether you're keen to eat or learn — or both. The luxe meal at HOTA's restaurant Palette is back, but that's just part of the program. On Thursday, June 5, White will get chatting at an in-conversation event hosted by HOTA's Executive Chef Dayan Hartill-Law. Certain to receive a mention: that he was first British chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, earning that achievement when he was just 33, making him the youngest chef to do so. Then there's his 1990 cookbook White Heat, which played up his "bad boy" image — and the fact that he's been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" as well. Also likely to fuel the chat: that White has popped up on everything from Hell's Kitchen to MasterChef, including in Australia — and that he's trained fellow well-known food figures such as Mario Batali, Heston Blumenthal, Gordon Ramsay and Curtis Stone. Or, there's his beginnings in the culinary world, after he arrived in London with just "£7.36, a box of books and a bag of clothes", as White describes, before his tutelage under Albert and Michael Roux at renowned French fine-diner Le Gavroche. At HOTA, White is also taking part in a masterclass that's part-discussion, part-demonstration — so you'll dig into his life story, plus get his tips and tricks. If you're keen to sit down for a meal, the return of the Palette x Marco Pierre White dinner involves a chat, too, plus a five-course spread. On the menu: dishes that showcase southeast Queensland produce alongside White's culinary philosophy. Or, if you're feeling flush, you can head along to the intimate White Heat dining experience, serving up five courses of dishes that scored White his three Michelin stars — and only 30 people can attend. Another five-course dinner will cap off the residency, featuring not only White but also Hartill-Law and fellow Gold Coasters Tim Stewart, Koki Anekawa and Melanie Day. Each is putting together a course, while HOTA's beverage team is picking the drinks. The setting: the venue's outdoor stage lawn. "I'm thrilled to be returning to HOTA for this exclusive Australian residency. There's something truly special about the Gold Coast — the energy, the people, the passion for food. Palette is a restaurant that understands the artistry of cuisine and experience. These events are about more than just cooking, they're about sharing stories, experiences, and creating unforgettable moments together," said White about his return Down Under. "Having Marco back in the kitchen with us is an honour. His knowledge, his storytelling and the way he approaches food is truly inspiring. This time around, we've taken it even further — from fire-fuelled outdoor events to the most intimate of dinners — and I can't wait for guests to experience the incredible lineup of flavours, talent and creativity we've curated together," added Hartill-Law. [caption id="attachment_812565" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Palette[/caption] HOTA, Home of the Arts' 2025 Marco Pierre White pop-ups are taking place across Thursday, June 5–Saturday, June 7, 2025. For more information and tickets, hit up the HOTA website. Top image: Derek Dsouza.
Your home bar game is about to level up a few notches, regardless of wherever your own mixology skills are at. Maybe Sammy —aka the Sydney bar that took out 11th spot in last year's World's 50 Best Bars list — has just dropped a new line of premium signature bottled cocktails that'll basically turn your living room into a world-class drinking destination. Two years in the making, and created by Maybe Sammy's crack team of shakers and stirrers, each of the three new releases comes pre-batched, ready to chill and pour. There's the tequila-based eucalyptus gimlet jazzed up with grapefruit bitters and mango, and a chic take on the negroni that's infused with jasmine. Or, opt for the floral notes — and pepper and cedar, too — of the chamomile martini. Each comes with tailored serving instructions so you can enjoy the drink exactly as the experts intended, whether that's in a frozen martini glass garnished with a lemon twist, or tumbled into a rocks glass with a wedge of orange. The Maybe Sammy crew has taken care of all the hard work for you, experimenting with various plant infusions and testing and fine-tuning its way to some premium top-shelf cocktails. Which, as anyone with a kitchen cupboard full of random, almost-full spirits and liqueurs can agree, is a very handy thing. The new cocktails are all available as 100-millilitre solo serves, as well as by the 500-millilitre bottle. You can also snap up a gift pack featuring small serves of all three drinks. Maybe Sammy's new eucalyptus gimlet, jasmine negroni and chamomile martini cocktails are each available by the single-serve 100-millilitre bottle ($18) or the 500-millilitre share bottle ($69). Head over to the bar's website to order, with home delivery available Australia-wide.
Phoenix Central Park is Sydney's most stunning secret. Hidden in Chippendale, the arts and music listening space only opens to the public for select performances. Spaces at these public shows are almost always allocated via a ballot, so it takes a little luck to get inside. The intricate space is the vision of philanthropist Judith Neilson AM, founder of the White Rabbit Gallery. The angular walls are reminiscent of New York's Guggenheim, while the central music space is a multi-level amphitheatre. When the artist arrives, the muted beige walls are often illuminated by colourful lighting displays, transforming the venue. If you haven't been lucky enough to find a way in, you can watch Phoenix's series of online performances, Halo. Featuring local favourites like A.Girl, Shady Nasty, Jitwam and Annie Hamilton, the stripped-back live shows illustrate the beauty of the space as well as the musicianship on offer. The venue is set to host three upcoming performances as part of Sydney Festival, all of which are open to the public via a ticket ballot. Top images: Jordan Munns and Gavin Green
In time to come, we may well look back on the 21st century as the 'Age of the Bicycle'. We've run music festivals on pedal power, attempted to crowdfund the world's first flying bicycle, designed fashion for two-wheeling commuters, built cycle super highways and proposed the construction of sky-high bike paths. Nearly every week, it seems, someone, somewhere finds a way to extend the scope, relevance and fun factor of the humble bicycle. Now, a maverick composer by the name of Johnny Random has demonstrated its capacity as a musical instrument. Actually, not just an instrument, but an entire orchestra. He's written and recorded a song titled 'Bespoken' in which every single sound is generated via bicycle parts. As difficult as it is to believe when you hear it, no traditional instruments, synthesisers, samplers or drum machines are used. Instead, the spokes are tuned to various pitches, then plucked, picked and bowed to create melody, with other components employed percussively. "I remember my first time riding a bicycle," Johnny Random says. "It felt like freedom. I associate the sounds of a bike with this feeling. As a composer, I wanted to capture this through music, specifically by using the sounds of bikes and their components ... Through music, I want to change the way that people perceive their surroundings and I hope that this will inspire others to look at every day objects with more curiosity and wonder". Via PSFK.
The allure of a Mediterranean beach holiday might seem tempting, but you'll find a bounty of worthy vacation spots located right here in your own backyard. And if sun, sand and surf are on the agenda, there are plenty of idyllic island escapes up and down the coast of Queensland, just waiting to be explored. Indulge in a tropical getaway to Hamilton Island, or embrace the beachside life with a few days spent lounging in The Whitsundays. We've done the hard work for you and pulled together a list of the most idyllic island accommodations you can book in Queensland. Pick a favourite, pack your sunscreen and get ready to feel the sand between your toes. Recommended reads: The Best Hotels in Brisbane The Best Glamping Sites in Queensland The Best Dog-Friendly Accommodations in Queensland The Best Islands in Australia to Visit Any Time of the Year Central Airlie Holiday Home, Airlie Beach This Airlie Beach gem has room for the whole gang, but it's the divine deck and pool overlooking the Whitsunday Islands that'll steal your heart. From $545 a night, sleeps 10. Luxury Private Retreat Villa, Urangan Your own tropical haven, just minutes from the beaches of Hervey Bay. This breezy villa boasts contemporary styling, gorgeous outdoor living and a private pool. From $235 a night, sleeps six. Yacht Club 33, Hamilton Island This newly built island escape is a study in luxury living, complete with high-end features, pool access and sweeping ocean views throughout. From $1715 a night, sleeps nine. The Little Bush Hut, Nelly Bay On a secluded patch of island paradise, this stylishly restored hut is couples' holiday perfection. Fall in love with the private setting and the covered outdoor tub. From $310 a night, sleeps two. Headland House, Picnic Bay This architectural stunner boasts a covetable location on Magnetic Island, with luxurious spaces indoors and out, and epic ocean vistas to match. From $1752 a night, sleeps ten. Point Blue, Hamilton Island With its sleek interiors, picture-perfect views and abundance of outdoor living, this island home is the answer to all types of tropical holiday cravings. From $2164 a night, sleeps eight Point Lookout Townhouse, Point Lookout This stylish townhouse comes complete with panoramic water views, a gorgeous indoor-outdoor set-up and access to the complex's infinity pool. From $580 a night, sleeps seven. Complete Straddie Beach Retreat, Point Lookout Blissful island days await at this vibrant villa, perched just metres from the beach. Enjoy the romantic loft bedroom, sun-drenched deck and shared pool. From $219 a night, sleeps three Ascension, Point Lookout Luxe out in this sprawling holiday mansion, set overlooking the waters off Point Lookout. There's a huge deck, spa room and telescope for whale-watching. From $1000 a night, sleeps 12. Elementa House 1, Airlie Beach Unwind in style with a stay at this Whitsundays stunner, complete with private garden, shared infinity pool and master tub with breathtaking views. From $637 a night, sleeps six. La Boheme Studio, Jubliee Pocket Experience your own little slice of Whitsundays magic at this contemporary coastal cottage, flitting between porch hammock and incredible magnesium pool. From $155 a night, sleeps two. Shorelines 23, Hamilton Island You'll feel on top of the world at this soaring Hamilton Island apartment, featuring panoramic ocean views and a stunning shared pool located just metres away. From $495 a night, sleeps six. Hamptons House on the Hill, Airlie Beach Boasting incredible vistas across the Whitsundays, a private pool and lots of luxury features, this award-winning Hamptons-style home is total bliss. From $375 a night, sleeps four. The Moreton Mansion, Tangalooma This generous three-level abode makes for a lavish group getaway, overlooking the waters of Moreton Bay. Plus, enjoy full access to the nearby resort facilities. From $1050 a night, sleeps 16+. Bedarra Island Villa, Bedarra Island A glam island paradise surrounded by leafy palms and lapping blue ocean. This designer villa boasts a stunning deck and delightfully secluded beachside setting. From $1258 a night, sleeps eight. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy. Images: Courtesy of Airbnb
Every December, the Geminids meteor shower lights up our skies. Considered to be the most spectacular meteor shower of the year, it's caused by a stream of debris, left by an asteroid dubbed the 3200 Phaethon, burning up in Earth's atmosphere. The 2021 shower kicked off on Saturday, December 4, but it really is just getting started. While the Geminids runs through until Monday, December 20 this year, it's expected to be at its peak in Australia overnight between Tuesday, December 14–Wednesday, December 15. Christmas lights aren't the only spectacle worth peering at this month, clearly. If you fancy a stint of stargazing, you'll want to look up on Tuesday, December 14 from around 9pm in Brisbane, 10pm in Perth, 11pm in Sydney, 11.30pm in Adelaide and 12am in Melbourne. The best time to catch an eyeful will be after midnight, when the moon has set and its light will not interfere, but before sunrise. Australia is also expected to get a great vantage on the on the evening of Monday, December 13, if you'd like to double your viewing. Some years, you can catch as many as 150 meteors every 60 minutes, so this definitely isn't just any old meteor shower. [caption id="attachment_699423" align="alignnone" width="1920"] NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Jeff Dai.[/caption] For your best chances, it's worth getting as far away from bright lights as possible. This could be a good excuse to head out of the city to a clear-skied camping spot — and pray for no clouds. To see the meteors, you'll need to give your eyes around 15–30 minutes to adapt to the dark (so try to avoid checking your phone) and look to the northeast. The shower's name comes from the constellation from which they appear to come, Gemini. So that's what you'll be looking for in the sky. To locate Gemini, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also has a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Geminids. The Geminids meteor shower runs from Saturday, December 4–Monday, December 20, and will be at its peak during the night on Tuesday, December 14–Wednesday, December 15. For further details, head to Time and Date. Top image: A composite of 163 photos taken over 90 minutes during the Geminids by Jeff Smallwood for Flickr.
While your newsfeeds have been inundated with restaurant closures, travel bans, and many event cancellations, there has been some uplifting news, too. One of them is Cream Town: an online art shop showcasing works by Australian artists financially impacted by COVID-19. The initiative was sparked by the need to support local creatives in a time where a lot of exhibitions, freelance gigs and general work have dried up. So, if you're in the market for some new art, you can now invest for a good cause. Started by photographer Isaebella Doherty, Cream Town has already sold roughly $4000 worth of prints since launching last week on Thursday, March 19. The project has a very egalitarian ethos, with any out-of-work artist — emerging or well-known — able to put their works up for sale. "We're all in the same situation at the moment," Doherty told Concrete Playground. You won't find the usual art-world elitism here. What you will find is a diverse selection of eye-catching prints, from photography to collage and illustration. Each work is priced at $100, which is a whole let less than what you'd usually spend to adorn your walls. And, seeing as you're spending so much time at home currently, you may as well do a little redecoration and buy yourself one (or a few). If you can't splash that cash right now (or want to contribute more), you can make a donation, which will be evenly distributed between all artists. Works are currently being printed by Melbourne studio Hound & Bone, have a limited run of ten and can be shipped around Australia for a flat postage fee of $12.95. [caption id="attachment_766131" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'Maree Downs' by Madi Whyte[/caption] Even though Cream Town came to fruition in these uncertain times, it hopes to continue supporting the arts community — even when the world is back to normal. Head to Cream Town to check it out and buy yourself a piece of $100 art. If you're an artist and would like to get involved, you can express interest via Instagram or the website. Top mages: Brodie Clark, 'Shlurp'; Ella Fitzgerald, 'Gaia'; Quince Frances. 'Riparian ecosystems'; Dani Marano, 'Roman Holiday'; Isaebella Doherty, 'Pretty Things #2'.
Whether you love spicy food for the taste or the thrill, Betty's Burgers is ready to reveal a limited-time offering that sits at the extreme end of the spectrum. Topped with hot sauce made from Carolina Reapers — one of the world's hottest chillis, estimated to pack 200 times more punch than your average jalapeno — the experience is so extreme, customers must first sign a waiver to bite into The Madman. But with ego-boosting food challenges no new thing, Betty's Burgers are serving up this range without the bravado. That means your order, all 1.6 million Scoville, can also come with a glass of milk and refreshing cucumbers, so you can quickly extinguish your taste buds if the heat becomes too much. "The Scoville rating speaks for itself. The waiver speaks for itself. But this isn't about proving you're the toughest person in the room. If you need milk, grab it. If you want to tap out, tap out. It's about bringing your mates and making it fun," says Betty's Burgers Head of Culinary, Jonathan Alston. Yet this hot new range is balanced by The Hot Shot, which delivers a more manageable heat. Dialling back the insane spice, this stacked burger is a more flavour-forward option that still offers a solid burn. While Betty's rates The Madman at maximum heat, featuring crispy chicken breast layered with fiery gochujang sauce and a Carolina Reaper chilli infusion, The Hot Shot skips the most fiery ingredients for a more pleasant experience, depending on your spice tolerance, of course. While people have been eating chillis since around 7000BC, extreme food challenges are a more recent invention. But new research shows that over a quarter of people now avoid food experiences designed to make people prove something. With its cooling sides, The Madman is made for fun, not a test of toughness. "Australians still crave bold flavour — they just don't want gatekeeping," says Alston. "People want to opt in, not be dared." Available at Betty's Burgers locations nationwide from Thursday, March 12–Wednesday, April 22, the Burners' range is made for experiencing with all your pals, spice-lovers or not. Just head along and sign the waiver, and trust that the built-in culinary safety net will offer up some much-needed protection from one of the world's hottest chillis. The Burners' range is available at Betty's Burgers locations nationwide from Thursday, March 12–Wednesday, April 22. Head to the website for more information. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.
Back in 2018, Australia scored the kind of festival we were always bound to, and to love: The Drop, a music fest that sets up its song-filled stages beside the country's iconic surfing spots. And if that still sounds like your idea of quite the big — and sandy — day out, you'd best get ready to surf the festival wave again, with the event returning in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, The Drop will stage a two-date run in New South Wales, hitting up Bondi Beach and Coffs Harbour in October. This marks the first time that the fest has made its way to Bondi, so expect it to be huge. On the bill at both 2022 shows: Tones and I, Matt Corby and Dune Rats, as well as Cub Sport, Gretta Ray, Shag Rock, TOWNS and Hallie. They'll head to Sydney's most famous beach on Saturday, October 15, then back it up the following week, on Saturday, October 22, at Park Beach Reserve in Coffs Harbour. [caption id="attachment_753215" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Walk Wild Studio[/caption] Fans in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, where The Drop has played before, will need to wait until next year to get their sun, surf, sand and song fix. The 2023 lineup hasn't been revealed, but dates have announced. Whether the event will do what it usually does and follow the Aussie leg of the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour hasn't been confirmed yet either, but fingers crossed. Stops are locked in for Coolangatta, Torquay and Busselton, though, plus a return to NSW thanks to the Newcastle show. And pairing music not only with sandy settings, but with surfing contests, has always been a big part of The Drop. If you have tickets to previous The Drop fest that didn't go ahead due to the pandemic, you now have a few options — to either roll them over to the new festivals in each location (where they're returning), switch to Bondi or Coffs Harbour instead, or obtain a refund. [caption id="attachment_753214" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] THE DROP FESTIVAL 2022 DATES Saturday, October 15 — Bondi Beach, Bondi, New South Wales Saturday, October 22 — Park Beach Reserve, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales THE DROP FESTIVAL 2022 LINEUP Tones And I Matt Corby Dune Rats Cub Sport Gretta Ray Shag Rock TOWNS Hallie THE DROP FESTIVAL 2023 DATES Saturday, January 21_Sunday, January 22 — Queen Elizabeth Park, Coolangatta, Queensland Tuesday, March 28 — Empire Park, Newcastle, New South Wales Saturday, April 8 — Torquay Common, Torquay, Victoria Saturday, April 15 — TBC, Busselton, Western Australia Saturday, May 13 — Queen Elizabeth Park, Coolangatta, Queensland The Drop will return for two 2022 festivals in New South Wales in October. Ticket pre-sales start at 9am on Tuesday, August 9, with general sales from 9am on Wednesday, August 10. For more information, visit the festival's website. The Drop's 2023 lineup will be announced closer to its 2023 dates — we'll update you when details come to hand. Images: Ian Laidlaw / Miranda Stokkel.
Back in 1940, when Alfred Hitchcock brought gothic mystery novel Rebecca to the screen, he nabbed an Oscar for Best Picture for his troubles. While the story has popped up in both film and TV form over the eight decades since, it's now returning with another exciting British filmmaker at the helm: Ben Wheatley, the director behind High-Rise and Free Fire. Wheatley's work is always cause for excitement, and has been since his 2009 debut Down Terrace. Also on his resume: 2011's particularly sinister Kill List, 2012 dark comedy Sightseers, 2013's trippy A Field in England and 2018's Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. But, starring Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas — and looking rather luxe, as the just-released first trailer shows — Rebecca might just be his biggest project yet. In his version of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 tale, Wheatley steps into a new marriage between widower Maxim de Winter (Hammer) and his fresh-faced bride (James). Once they've tied the knot, the couple endeavour to settle into the de Winter family's coastal estate, Manderley; however, the resident housekeeper Mrs Danvers (Scott Thomas) is hardly welcoming, and the memory of Maxim's first wife Rebecca lingers noticeably. When Rebecca hits Netflix on October 21, viewers can expect a gothic mystery filled with psychological thrills, as well as plenty of gorgeous sets, costumes and imagery in general — befitting the classic tale. Case-wise, Rebecca also features The Handmaid's Tale's Ann Dowd, and reunites Wheatley with High-Rise's Keeley Hawes and Free Fire and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead's Sam Riley. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFVhB54UqvQ Rebecca hits Netflix on Wednesday, October 21. Top image: Kerry Brown/Netflix.
Anyone who has spent time in London will know of Brick Lane. Located in east London, the cobblestone stretch of road is home to vintage stores, street art and the best subcontinental food you'll find in the city. So when Kiran Bains and Alistair French were developing their new Sydney venue, which would offer a contemporary twist on traditional Indian flavours, they knew where to look for inspiration. The finished product is their Darlinghurst eatery, which emulates the trendy London area in both name and vibe. The decor shies away from the stuffy curry houses of yore; exposed brick runs the length of the narrow venue and splashes of graffiti and pendant lighting give the space a trendy feel to match the modern menu. The kitchen presents traditional Indian flavours in unconventional ways and takes cues from culinary neighbours. Take, for example, tandoori chicken burger spring-rolls, bhaji baos and the naan-mi — Brick Lane's take on a banh-mi featuring pork belly and spiced pate wrapped in roti. Chai and chocolate mousse with fried roti and watermelon granita are among your sweeter choices. And just like its London cousin, you're able to snag a good food-and-drink deal here, too. We've sung the praises of the epic $55 banquet in the past. By parting with a pineapple (and a little), you will enjoy an eight-course feed with bottomless wine and beer. The deal proved so popular that the restaurant has decided to launch an even cheaper Friday and Saturday lunch version. For $20, you get two loaded roti tacos plus a glass of wine or beer. What a way to welcome the weekend.
For better or worse, you always know what you're getting at McDonald's. Whether you're stopping off on a road trip for something quick and easy or hitting the dodgy end of a long night with nothing but tequila in your belly, Maccas delivers the same mysteriously flat, delicious mess. But now, Aussie McDonald's stores are stepping it up a notch. With the introduction of table service and customisable burgers with new, quality ingredients, Maccas is getting a little bit gourmet. Sydney's Castle Hill store is the first in Australia to trial the idea, with this new service starting this week. Customers can order their burgers via digital kiosk and choose from 19 ingredients including fancy brioche buns, grilled mushrooms, tortilla chips and nine different sauces. The burgers are then served directly to your table on fashionable wooden boards and newspaper with the hallmark shoestring fries in a wire basket. Without that familiar red and yellow packaging, the meals look a whole lot like what you might find at popular burger joints like Grill'd — a move which is anything but accidental. As strange as it may seem, burgers are all the rage now. No longer relegated to shameful hungover binges, big brioche buns and quality meats are front and centre on Australia's foodie scene, and McDonald's are getting in on the action. "All of our innovations have been led by Australians," said McDonald's CEO Andrew Gregory. "What we're really doing here is just what our customers have asked us to do." But it's a move which doesn't come cheap. It's reported that this remodelling strategy will set the fast food titan back a whopping $1 billion. Though Castle Hill is currently the only Australian store offering the new menu and service, McDonald's plan to introduce it elsewhere soon. If all goes to plan, it will be in place nationwide within 12 months. As The Courier Mail so tactfully put it, look out: "Maccas is going hipster". Via news.com.au and Daily Mail.
Humans have made a pastime of staring up at the night sky for as long as history can tell us. Unfortunately, the amount of excess light that our big cities leak into the sky makes for pretty poor stargazing conditions on an average night in the inner city. With that in mind, we've scoped out the spots all around Australia where it's still possible to use one's telescope for its intended purpose. Stargazing, that is — not trying to peek at what your neighbours keep behind their curtains. So, find the closest stargazing spot (or book a flight ASAP) and take part in this time-honoured tradition. Sydney Observatory, NSW In terms of physical proximity to the night sky, Sydney Observatory is a pretty good starting point. One of the highest accessible points overlooking Sydney Harbour, its building houses three telescopes — including the oldest working telescope in Australia, which was acquired for the 1874 transit of Venus. The other two are a 42-centimetre computer-controlled lens and, for those of you who prefer gazing at the star closest to us, a telescope that lets you look at the sun. You can get a glimpse through the onsite telescopes on a ticketed guided tour. Otherwise, the Observatory is free to visit and open Wednesday–Saturday from 12–6pm. This is definitely the first step for every would-be Galileo. [caption id="attachment_730726" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Marc Aragnou via ASNSW[/caption] Wiruna, Blue Mountains, NSW Wiruna is the Astronomical Society of NSW's best-kept secret — if you go to its website, you'll see what we mean. Located on the outskirts of Wollemi National Park in the Blue Mountains, Wiruna is basically 107 acres of astronomy Christmas. Starry season's greetings, sky-lovers. The ASNSW holds a number of stargazing sessions on weekends throughout the year, and encourages amateurs and old hands alike to come and use the incredible array of equipment they've got stashed up there. The easiest way to get involved is to become a member of the ASNSW — it's a process that requires payments and applications — but allows you to visit this site and others with the group or on your own once you're accredited. [caption id="attachment_730730" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] Warrumbungle National Park, Coonabarabran, NSW Warrumbungle National Park is a proper hike (read: a five or six hour drive from Sydney), but it's also a proper dark sky site. The National Parks and Wildlife Service has dedicated funds to limiting light pollution in and around the park and, with these measures in place, Warrumbungle joins the likes of Death Valley National Park in the US and Galloway Forest Park in Scotland as an official dark sky park — that is, one of the top places on the planet to revel in galactic goings-on. Warrumbungle does have its own observatory, but scientists and astronomers have the run of the place after sundown. Amateur astronomy in Warrumbungle is best performed the old-fashioned way, with the humble eyeball (and optional pince-nez). [caption id="attachment_730745" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Graham Hosking via the City of Greater Bendigo[/caption] Leon Mow Dark Sky Site, Heathcote, VIC Located just 1.5 hours drive north of Melbourne, the town of Heathcote boasts some incredibly beautiful skies — and heaps of bush walks, reserves and national parks from which to see it at night. If you take your astronomy very seriously, you can head to Heathcote's Leon Mow Dark Sky Site. The country estate is available for use by Astronomical Society of Victoria members at any time, and they're even welcomed to camp out overnight. Membership will set you back $80 a year or, for non-members, the site is open to the public for free during annual events and meet-ups (just check the website for details). You can BYO telescope or binoculars, or just gaze up — there's plenty of beauty to be seen by the naked eye. [caption id="attachment_730556" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Visit Victoria[/caption] Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, VIC The breathtaking views to be had on any trip along the Great Ocean Road are hard to beat. But we bet you haven't considered taking this trip after dark. Turns out that the routes along these many rock formations offer a stunning view at night, too. This is especially true at the road's all-star site, the Twelve Apostles. On a clear night, the stargazing is truly awe-inspiring. It won't be the view of these golden cliffs and crumbling pillars that you're used to seeing in photos, but it offers something else altogether — and that a lot of people haven't seen. Look up, listen to the lapping waves and enjoy the rare peace and quiet here. Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, Mt Coot-Tha, QLD Named after the soldier and astronomer who gave Brisbane its name, the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium has been a favourite school tour spot since 1978. If you're a Queenslander, you've definitely been — and it's definitely worth another visit, even if you're well out of class. But unlike school, staring into space here is not only acceptable, it's mandatory. The Cosmic Skydome is the main attraction, under which you'll lean back and send your eyes skywards as informative films tell of black holes, the dark universe, moons and cosmic collisions. Once you've toured the stars, return to earth with a walk through the surrounding Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. [caption id="attachment_730557" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] The Jump-Up Dark Sky Sanctuary, Winton, Queensland The sleepy town of Winton in northwest Queensland is perhaps the number-one stargazing destination in all of Australia — as of April 2019, the town received Australia's first of seven international certifications for a Dark Sky Sanctuary. There are only 22 certified sites worldwide, so it's a particularly impressive win for Aussie shores. The sanctuary is set within the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum at its Jump-Up facility, which is free and open all year round. Here, you can view the spirals of the Milky Way and Orion Arm, as well as the collapse of nebulae and the birth of new stars. Bring along a telescope, binoculars and a picnic — you'll want to stick around for a while. [caption id="attachment_730555" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] Charleville Cosmos Centre, Charleville, QLD The tiny town of Charleville — situated a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Brisbane — is home to one of the few observatories where you can stargaze both day and night. When the sun is up, you can attend a range of astronomy tours at the Cosmos Centre, including the sun viewing, which uses a special telescope to let you gaze directly at the surface of our planet's closest star. At night, experiences range from $45 for an Aboriginal night sky story session, up to $130 for personal astronomy tours. Check out clusters, planets, nebulae and, on a good night, the Milky Way. Inside the centre, there are heaps of tours and events going on each day, plus some seriously impressive equipment to boot.
To say that Secret Garden Festival is improving with age is a deadset understatement. Next month marks the flamboyant forest party's tenth turn around the sun and it's celebrating with a music program and lineup of fun as good as any it's dished up before. Taking over its usual lush green home of NSW's Brownlow Hill Farm on February 23 and 24, the grassroots festival promises a weekend of dress-ups, dance floor antics and forest adventures to remember. Those lucky enough to snaffle one of this year's tickets (which are sold out, sorry) will find themselves in utter aural heaven, the bill sprinkled with exciting acts like Queensland dance-punk duo DZ Deathrays, powerhouse Melbourne artist Ecca Vandal, acclaimed indie rockers Holy Holy and soul-pop four-piece The Harpoons. Even more music goodness will be served up by hard-hitting hip hop artist Miss Blanks, Sydney singer-songwriter Alex The Astronaut, and Triple J's Unearthed Artist of The Year, Stella Donnelly. Of course, the live tunes and the 14 dance floors are just one part of this jam-packed weekend. Also helping Secret Garden ring in its first decade will be the Annual Feast, hosted by The Great Fatsby, appearances aplenty from the Camp Queen drag queens, the debut of the Shout Something Nice Bar, a kissing booth and a seated theatre flowing with a whole lotta Champagne. Last year a couple got married among the madness, so who knows what will happen this time round. As always, a festival-wide fancy dress theme will help kick everything off in style on opening night. This year, in homage to Secret Garden's tenth birthday, it's a throwback to your year ten formal — don your wildest old-school party duds and relive those teenage wonder years, with a little help from 11-piece Blink 182 cover band, Bris 182.
The World's Best 50 Hotels has named The Calile in Brisbane the top place to stay in the whole of Australia and Oceania not once but twice. Nigella Lawson has sung its praises recently. It's been one of the River City's finest homes away from home ever since first opening in 2018. Holidaymakers flock to the Fortitude Valley spot, including Brisbanites for staycations and out-of-towners for resort-style getaways. Soon, you'll have a second The Calile to stay at further north. As initially announced back in 2022, the group behind The Calile has plans for a new site on the Sunshine Coast. Now, that proposal has just been given final approval. The destination for The Calile's expansion beyond James Street: Noosa, where the brand's sub-tropical look and feel will fit in perfectly. Calile Malouf Investments CMI), the group behind The Calile, has announced that Noosa Shire Council approved the final plans for The Calile Noosa on Thursday, October 17, 2024 after a two-year process. Work can now begin in early 2025, with construction expected to take three years. The next must-stay Noosa hotel will sit on a 2.4-hectare site at 3–7 Serenity Close in Noosa Heads, and feature 153 rooms, 29 suites and four villas. Yes, it's going to be a sprawling venue, which'll apply within the broader location and in the rooms themselves. That's one of the key points of focus for CMI's plans, alongside soaking in that sub-tropical vibe — complete with gardens, which have helped make The Calile in Fortitude Valley what it is. [caption id="attachment_909119" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Calile James St[/caption] "We worked collaboratively with the Noosa Council and fine-tuned the scheme to ensure we addressed the planning scheme and community expectations," said The Calile co-owner and CMI Director Michael Malouf. "Resort sites are often at risk of being ceded to multinational hotel companies who impose incongruous designs and standards upon the local community. By contrast, The Calile is a homegrown Southeast Queensland brand with an implicit understanding of the local culture, climate, community, demographic and attributes," he continued. [caption id="attachment_694714" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Calile James St, Sean Fennessy.[/caption] Accordingly, your future trips to Noosa should see you roaming around a coastal resort surrounded by lush bushland, taking a dip in several pools — one stretching 50 metres, the other in a garden — and chasing your bliss in the site's wellness facilities. When you recline to your rooms, you'll be relaxing in sizeable surroundings, with 45 square metres the standard hotel-room space. Guests will also be making the most of The Calile's second hotel to be designed by architects Richard and Spence, as Brisbane's is. Mark a 2028 visit in your diary now. Plus, sustainability will be a focus, with carbon-neutral operations the target. [caption id="attachment_973398" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Calile James St, Cieran Murphy.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_856487" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Calile James St, Sean Fennessy.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_973394" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Calile James St, Cieran Murphy.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_694716" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Calile James St, Sean Fennessy.[/caption] The Calile Noosa is set to open by 2028 at 3–7 Serenity Close, Noosa Heads. In the interim, find Brisbane's The Calile Hotel at 48 James Street, Fortitude Valley.
Take a trip down memory lane with Richard and Stephanie nova Milne (aka Ms&Mr) and you find the lane soon becomes a labyrinth where parallel worlds collide, time is non-linear and anything is possible. Case in point: their new exhibition There There Anxious Future, where the past, the present and the time ahead are all smooshied up in the prettiest smoothie you've ever seen at. Continuing the duo's ongoing exploration of 'retroactive collaboration', Ms&Mr have used elements of their personal archives to give their former selves entirely new contexts and experiences. The highlight is Frame Drag where we see Richard as an 11-year-old stroking a grown-up Stephanie with tender knowingness, as if the past is consoling the future. As always, the effect of layering the poor quality home movie footage with new animation and HD technology is one of disorientation; it appears as neither vintage nor modern but of a different dimension entirely. There is nostalgia here, but it is also an optimistic liberation of memories from the past into living narratives. Acknowledging that time is ongoing and providing a wormhole into the future, another video work, 2024, Preparation for space-time dilation and Her, presents a 'preparation' for the arrival of Stephanie who will join Richard on the screen in 2024. Thankfully in the meantime we will be seeing a lot more from Ms&Mr, as they are about to feature in a group show at MOP Gallery as well as make appearances later in the year at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and The Physics Room in NZ, not to mention presenting a new work for the Campbelltown Arts Centre Illume series in January. Living simultaneously in multiple time zones mean you can be so prolific.
Since it opened in late 2021, Odd Culture's ferment-forward wine bar and diner on King Street has been a cornerstone of Newtown's hospitality scene. Then came Spon, in mid-2023 — a hybrid bar and bottle shop specialising in craft brews, boutique drops and pours by the glass. In February this year, the Odd Culture team — who also operate beloved Sydney pubs The Old Fitz and The Duke of Enmore — added kooky late-night cocktail den Pleasure Club to their Newtown empire. Now, a fourth venture has been added, transforming the mezzanine of the King Street flagship into an elevated bistro — and it's not just another cookie-cutter steak frites joint. Bistro Grenier is a refined spot for an intimate soirée, where diners can experience classic French fare at its best. To realise this new venue, Odd Culture has tapped the skills of Executive Chef James MacDonald — formerly of Sydney's Restaurant Hubert and London's pioneering nose-to-tail eatery St John. MacDonald has developed a menu that celebrates traditional recipes while adding modern flourishes, leaning on heartier, rustic dishes showcasing low-waste butchering. For example, the côtelette de porc features a juicy Berkshire pork chop served alongside braised boneless trotters, dressed with prunes and served with a side of sugar loaf cabbage, while the house-made boudin noir uses yet more of the beast, pairing smoked pork jowl and pigs blood with caramelised apples and a lightly whipped pomme puree. Other dishes offer more playful riffs on tricolore favourites, like the pudding chômeur — a self-saucing maple syrup dessert finished with buttermilk ice cream inspired by Head Chef Jesse Warkentin's Canadian heritage. Vino-philes have plenty to get excited about. A list of French drops including vintage gems and rare allocation bottles from Odd Culture's extensive cellar are available exclusively in the bistro. There's also be a range of Gallic digestives and apéritifs behind the bar, including ricard pastis, picon bière aperitif, vin jaune and chartreuse. The fitout of what was formerly an underutilised loft storage space channels a luxurious yet bohemian vibe, with deep burgundy peaked ceilings and walls, dark timber panelling, and a moody lighting design summons the sultry spirit of Parisian salon. Meanwhile, fans of the King Street OG have nothing to fear. The existing downstairs wine bar remains the pillar of Newtown's drinking scene Sydneysiders know and love. Images: Philip Huyhn
From almond croissants and lamingtons to flaky escargot, there's no shortage of irresistible baked goods that satisfy a sweet tooth. Yet the latest creations from Maxibon only add to the options, with the launch of a bakery-inspired range pairing ice cream with the familiar treats you'll find in bakeries around the country. First up is the Maxibon Vanilla Slice, featuring a custard slab sandwiched between two golden Maxibon biccies on one end and dipped in icing with flaky wafers on the other. Then, the nostalgic Maxibon Hedgehog Slice sees a decadent chocolate slab with salty cookie crumbs dipped and sandwiched to perfection. To celebrate such an occasion, Maxibon is going above and beyond with the launch of the world's first freezer bakery. Giving away 10,000 of these frozen delights for free, the Maxi-Bakery is open for three days only at June's Shoppe in the CBD. Available at select times, get down from Monday, February 24 to Wednesday, February 26 while stocks last.
Now in its 65th year, the annual Tesselaar Tulip Festival features over a million tulips planted across 25 acres of farmland. This huge collection of tulips is the perfect excuse to wander through endless fields of flowers to celebrate the start of spring. There's heaps of stuff happening at the tulip farm throughout the month, which sits on the cusp of the Dandenong Ranges and the Yarra Valley (east of Melbourne). For the food fans, we would highly recommend pencilling the Food, Wine & Jazz Weekend (September 27–29) into your eating plans. Boasting locally brewed beer, wine and a tasty snacks from the area — including warm, buttery fire-baked scones, mini dutch pancakes and loaded baked potatoes among the tulips. If you're still not convinced, entry includes complimentary wine and beer tasting. Similarly, the Dutch Weekend (September 20–22) will showcase the best that the Netherlands have to offer – other than tulips — with music, markets, unique crafts (wooden tulip-making, anyone?) and Dutch food available inside the festival. Or, head by on the Irish Weekend (October 11–13), where Irish pipers and dancing will perform (and plenty of Guinness and Kilkenny-drinking will take place) around the site's floral rainbow The Tesselaar Tulip Festival runs from Saturday, September 14 through to Sunday, October 13. Tickets are available at the farm, but you can buy them online in advance to skip the queue.
