Vivid Sydney’s 2026 food program is treating the city like one giant dining room—from long tables in heritage arcades and fine‑dining mash‑ups to free fire‑pit feasts on the harbour.
The annual event returns with a clear brief: celebrate New South Wales on a plate, and tell the stories behind the ingredients, the regions and the people cooking them.
Vivid Food 2026: Flavour, Flame & Place
This year, Vivid Food leans harder than ever into provenance, pairing world‑leading chefs with producers, winemakers and growers from across the state. At the heart of the program is a new Regional Dinner Series, which sends NSW’s regional stars into some of Sydney’s most talked‑about dining rooms for one‑off menus built around where they’re from.
Around that, the program threads through the Sydney Opera House, Parliament House, The Mint, Strand Arcade, Barangaroo Reserve and Surry Hills, with events that range from high‑glam tasting menus to free‑to‑enter street parties.
Whether you’re booking a once‑in‑a‑year splurge or chasing something casual and free, every event hangs on the same idea: NSW is championing its food culture, and Vivid will put it firmly in the spotlight.
Regional Dinner Series
Culture in Motion: Mindy Woods & Danielle Alvarez
- Venue: Yallamundi Room, Sydney Opera House
- Dates: 22nd & 23rd May
- Price: $275 pp
Byron Bay comes to the harbour in this multi‑sensory feast led by Bundjalung woman and Karkalla chef‑owner Mindy Woods, alongside Sydney Opera House culinary director of events and paddock‑to‑plate advocate Danielle Alvarez.
Mainly, the event will feature Indigenous ingredients and NSW artisan producers on the plate, paired with curated wines and layered with immersive Indigenous art and live music that weaves together First Nations sounds, jazz, blues and strings. It’s designed as a night where you taste Bryon as well hearing and witnessing it.
Hunter Valley with Frank Fawkner & Alessandro Pavoni
- Venue: A’Mare
- Date: 24th May (lunch)
- Price: $175 pp
The Hunter Valley’s vineyards and farms get the white‑tablecloth treatment at A’Mare. Frank Fawkner, chef‑owner of EXP. and holder of the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide’s 2025 Regional Restaurant of the Year title, steps into Alessandro Pavoni’s two‑hatted dining room for a one‑off lunch.
Together, they combine precise, produce‑led Italian cooking with native ingredients, fermentation and a minimal‑waste mindset, all served with skyward views across Sydney Harbour.
A Shared Table With Yotam Ottolenghi
- Venue: TBC (Sydney CBD)
- Dates: 29th May (dinner) & 30th May (lunch)
- Price: $340 pp
Yotam Ottolenghi headlines Vivid Food’s Regional Dinner Series with an intimate lunch and dinner in the CBD. The London‑based chef and bestselling author builds a menu that draws directly from NSW growers, winemakers and makers, recreating his signature world of colour, abundance and freshness in the middle of the city.
Billed as a rare chance to step into his universe without leaving town, the event puts regional identity and provenance at the centre of every dish.
Tweed Coast with Ben Devlin & Lennox Hastie
- Venue: Firedoor
- Dates: 25th & 26th May
- Price: $295 pp
Northern Rivers produce meets inner‑city flames when Ben Devlin joins Lennox Hastie at Firedoor. Devlin, who grew up in the region and trained at international heavyweights including Noma in Copenhagen, brings a deep focus on coastal ingredients, sustainable seafood and modern wood‑fired cooking.
At Firedoor, his Tweed sensibility is paired with Hastie’s legendary control of live flame for a menu that lets smoke, embers and char tell the story of the coast.
Tweed Coast with Christine Manfield & Sander Nooij
- Venue: Yellow Restaurant
- Dates: 1st & 2nd June
- Price: $175 pp
Plant‑forward dining gets a Tweed Coast spin at two‑hatted Yellow. Culinary trailblazer Christine Manfield, who has increasingly turned her attention to regional Australia since 2020 and co‑curated the award‑winning Savour the Tweed festival, teams up with Yellow’s Dutch‑born head chef and co‑owner Sander Nooij.
The result is an all‑botanical, region‑focused menu that pairs Manfield’s visionary, globally tuned palate with Nooij’s ongoing evolution of Yellow’s pioneering plant‑based cuisine.
Southern Highlands with Stephen Santucci & Scott McComas‑Williams
- Venue: Palazzo Salato
- Dates: 1st & 2nd June
- Price: $120 pp
The Southern Highlands’ cool‑climate bounty heads downtown for a two‑night takeover at Palazzo Salato. Moonacres Kitchen chef Stephen Santucci arrives armed with the region’s finest organic produce, teaming up with Love Tilly Group culinary director Scott McComas‑Williams.
Together, they craft an innovative, Italian‑leaning menu that stays fiercely loyal to locally sourced ingredients and puts seasonal vegetables, grains and small producers front and centre.
Hunter Valley with Troy Rhoades‑Brown & Nicholas Hill
- Venue: Porcine
- Date: 3rd June
- Price: $140 pp
Muse Restaurant chef Troy Rhoades‑Brown brings the Hunter Valley into the cosy confines of Porcine Bistro, joining co‑owner and chef Nik Hill for an exclusive 40‑seat dinner.
The night celebrates Hunter growers, winemakers and producers, with the region’s best appearing across a set menu that leans into both chefs’ precision, passion and creativity. With such a small room, it’s one for diners who like to be close to the kitchen and the tales behind each course.
Riverina with Luke Piccolo & Giovanni Pilu
- Venue: Flaminia Restaurant
- Dates: 7th & 8th June
- Price: $200 pp
The Riverina meets the Mediterranean at Circular Quay. Limone Dining chef‑owner Luke Piccolo brings produce direct from his family’s Piccolo Family Farm to Flaminia, where he collaborates with celebrated restaurateur and chef Giovanni Pilu.
Over two nights, they serve a set menu that honours Riverina ingredients while nodding to Pilu’s Sardinian roots, with carefully matched beverage pairings drawn from estate wines and spirits produced on the farm. Each dinner is capped at just 50 guests, dialling up the intimacy and attention to detail.
More Dining Events At Vivid 2026
Saltbush & Starlight
- Talent: Mark Olive
- Venue: Sydney Opera House tour + dinner at TIDE
- Dates: 22nd, 28th, 29th May & 4th, 5th, 6th, 13th June
- Price: $280
Saltbush & Starlight invites guests to see the Sydney Opera House in a different light—literally and figuratively. The evening begins with an exclusive guided tour before moving into one of the building’s hidden spaces for a three‑course dinner from acclaimed First Nations chef Mark Olive (The Black Olive).
Native ingredients anchor the menu, supported by NSW wines, craft beers and non‑alcoholic options, while projections overhead echo Olive’s dishes and stories, turning the room into a living canvas.
Our Shared Future
- Venue: Refettorio OzHarvest Sydney
- Dates: 22nd, 27th, 28th May and 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th June
- Price: $120
At Refettorio OzHarvest Sydney, fine dining and food rescue share the same table. Across seven nights, hospitality students collaborate with some of NSW’s most exciting chefs—including Junda Khoo, Racha Abou Al‑Shamat, Remy Davis, Lauren Eldridge, Jean Paul El Tom, Khanh Nguyen and Jade Gilmour—to create unique four‑course menus using up to 95 per cent beautiful, fresh rescued produce.
The series shines a light on food waste, social change and the creativity that comes from cooking within strict, sustainability‑driven boundaries.
Aster: The Golden Age
- Venue: Aster, InterContinental Sydney
- Dates: 22nd May to 13th June
- Price: $199
High above Circular Quay, Aster Bar leans into 1920s Hollywood glamour for the duration of Vivid Sydney. Each night, Aster: The Golden Age offers a three‑course experience that starts with Champagne and canapés, moves into a main course matched with a signature Aster cocktail or premium NSW wine and finishes with a mini cocktail and table‑side caviar trolley. With Sydney Harbour lit up in synchronised light shows below, it’s one of the program’s most decadent seats.
Wet, Cold + Delicious—The Tuna Dinner
- Talent: Joel Bickford, John Sussman AO, Narito Ishii, Jarrod Walsh
- Venue: Shell House
- Date: 26th May
- Price: $295
Bluefin tuna gets its own festival‑length close‑up at Shell House, condensed into a single evening. Culinary director Joel Bickford and head chef Jarrod Walsh serve a five‑course menu centred on sustainably sourced bluefin—showcasing the prized fish both raw and cooked in refined, seasonal dishes.
Meanwhile, seafood industry leader John Sussman AO and sushi specialist Narito Ishii add theatre and insight with live breakdowns, deep dives into cuts and a Tsukiji fish market-style auction, with portions packed to take home alongside Shell House’s own soy.
An Evening At NSW Parliament
- Talent: Clarence Slockee, Blak Douglas
- Venue: NSW Parliament House
- Date: 28th May
- Price: $195
For one night only, Australia’s oldest Parliament becomes a dining venue that threads together politics, produce and First Nations culture. Guests arrive to canapés and Peterson House sparkling rosé before exploring an exhibition of First Nations art curated by Archibald Prize‑winner Blak Douglas on the Reconciliation Wall.
A three-course dinner follows, showcasing NSW regional produce and native ingredients grown in Parliament’s own rooftop garden, paired with wines from Hunter Valley icon Tyrrell’s. Later in the evening, Gardening Australia presenter and Jiwah director Clarence Slockee rounds out the night with a talk on native ingredients and Indigenous landscape design, including Jiwah’s world-first rooftop native garden in Eveleigh.
Long Table Dinner at The Strand Arcade: NSW Icons of Land & Sea
- Talent: Nino Zoccali, Simon Marnie
- Venue: The Strand Arcade
- Date: 30th May
- Price: $325
Sydney’s heritage‑listed Strand Arcade becomes an after‑hours dining hall for this one‑night‑only long table. Presented by The Restaurant Pendolino, the dinner is hosted by chef, restaurateur and author Nino Zoccali, with veteran broadcaster Simon Marnie as MC.
Across three courses, the menu celebrates landmark NSW producers, including winners and nominees of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW’s President’s Medal and championship categories, with each ingredient chosen for its provenance and story. Top drops from leading NSW vineyards complete the picture.
Hollywood Quarter Live!
- Location: Surry Hills, Foster and Hunt streets
- Date: 30th May, from 4:00 pm
- Price: Free
Hollywood Quarter Live! turns a slice of Surry Hills into a festival‑length block party. From late afternoon, the streets fill with family‑friendly art activities, roaming performers, contemporary circus acts, live music and early dining options.
As night falls, it morphs into a communal alfresco dining room, with exclusive dishes and drinks from the neighbourhood’s restaurants and bars, followed by DJs, bands and venue‑hosted after‑parties that keep things going into the small hours.
Dream Feast
- Talent: ARLO Collective (Tobi Fox, Cal Fernie), Munasib
- Venue: The Mint
- Dates: 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th June
- Price: $250
Dream Feast folds history, design and dining into one layered experience at The Mint. In partnership with Museums of History NSW, Sydney‑born, New York‑based ARLO Collective draws on the Caroline Simpson Library’s archive of Australian design and domestic life to create a three‑course menu that remixes meals and ingredients that have shaped how Australians eat.
As the night unfolds, the dining room responds—animated projections pull from the collection’s patterns and textures, while Australian‑born Bengali DJ, radio host and curator Munasib mixes a live soundtrack. It’s both nostalgic and forward‑looking, tracing migration, changing tastes and the enduring ritual of coming together at the table.
From Saigon to Sydney
- Talent: Luke Nguyen
- Venue: Botanic House, Royal Botanic Garden
- Dates: 5th & 6th June
- Price: $275
From Saigon to Sydney turns the Royal Botanic Garden into a slice of Vietnam for two nights. Guests arrive by tuk tuk and disembark beneath a majestic Moreton Bay fig strung with glowing red lanterns, before moving into Botanic House for a sensory banquet.
Chef Luke Nguyen combines Vietnamese culinary traditions with modern techniques, highlighting NSW Asian producers and unexpected native Australian ingredients. Dragon dancers and live performers weave through the night, with musicians blending traditional Vietnamese folk with contemporary sounds.
Cult & Classic | A NSW Food & Wine Party
- Talent: Alex Kirkwood, Jacquiline Turner
- Venue: The International
- Date: 6th June
- Price: $45
Cult & Classic transforms The International into a sprawling, one‑night NSW cellar door. Curated by food and beverage director Alex Kirkwood and award-winning sommelier Jacquiline Turner, the event brings together more than 30 winemakers and producers. They will pour over 100 wines, from emerging labels to cult favourites and long-established icons.
Food offerings, immersive lighting and DJs set the mood as afternoon turns to evening, showcasing where NSW wine is now.
Oysters in the House
- Talent: John Sussman AO, PJ Charteris, Joel Bickford, Alex Kirkwood, Ed Fritis‑Lamora
- Venue: Shell House
- Date: 7th June
- Price: $50
Oysters in the House gives two of NSW’s most iconic culinary heroes—the Sydney rock oyster and Hunter Valley Semillon—the stage they deserve. Shell House opens multiple levels for tastings, pop‑up bars, shucking demos, and a program of masterclasses and guided sessions.
In addition, Chair of the Sydney Royal Oyster Competition John Sussman AO leads the charge, joined by sommeliers Alex Kirkwood and Ed Fritis‑Lamora and culinary director Joel Bickford, plus PJ Charteris exploring how specific Semillons pair with merroir‑specific oysters. Producers on pour include Mercer Wines, Margan, Charteris, Vinden, Tyrrell’s and Brokenwood, with more still to be announced.
Perspective at Infinity by Mark Best
- Talent: Mark Best (with Gail Priest, Craig Andrade)
- Venue: Infinity at Sydney Tower
- Dates: 10th & 11th June
- Price: $295
PERSPECTIVE is a 90‑minute, multi‑sensory dining experience set high above Sydney at Infinity in Sydney Tower. Led by chef Mark Best, with sound artist Gail Priest and perfumer Craig Andrade, the event guides guests through shifting urban, maritime and regional “landscapes” using food, wine, soundscapes, scent and visual art. From this extraordinary vantage point, the menu becomes a way to feel the city and its surrounds as much as to taste them.
Salt & Pepper Squiz—Vivid Sydney Premiere
- Talent: Jennifer Wong
- Venue: Mary’s Underground
- Date: 11 June
- Price: $69
Comedy, cocktails and comfort food come together at Mary’s Underground as Jennifer Wong debuts her new show, Salt & Pepper Squiz. Inspired by her book Chopsticks or Fork?: Recipes and Stories from Australia’s Regional Chinese Restaurants, the night serves up funny food recounts, bar snacks and drinks tailored to the theme.
They will sprinkle sharp, salt‑and‑pepper‑level seasoning on food culture, plus riffs on the big questions—like whether share plates are a measure of personality.
Vivid Fire Kitchen
- Location: Barangaroo Reserve
- Dates: 22nd May to 13th June (23 nights), 6pm-11pm
- Price: Free
Another festival highlight, the Vivid Fire Kitchen returns in a new home at Barangaroo Reserve as one of the most accessible ways into Vivid Food. Open every night of the festival and free to enter, it brings together Australian chefs around open‑fire cooking, with live demonstrations, talks, tastings and a rotating line‑up of pop‑up food offerings.
Additionally, at The Fire Pit, culinary heavyweights team up for collaborative, backyard‑style fire‑cooking sessions, with chances to buy that night’s signature dish. On the Food for Thoughts stage, authors, chefs, social‑media favourites and industry innovators share tales and ideas about food.
In 2026, the program features leading Australian chefs such as Mark Best, Luke Mangan, Sharon Salloum and Annita Potter, and for the first time expands to include celebrated food innovators and personalities like Julia Goodwin, Adriano Zumbo, Declan Cleary and Karima Hazim, with more to be announced. Live music keeps the energy up, while NSW wine tastings and other pop‑up events make it easy to drop in for a quick bite or stay all night.
Keep an eye on this space for the full Vivid 2026 program and line-up, announced later in April.
