It seems like quite some time since we last had a long weekend, but thankfully the time has come for Labour Day to do what it does best and celebrate labour by subtracting it from our lives for one day. Monday 2nd October will (hopefully) be a work-free, stress-free day for you so make the most of it and extend some of those weekend vibes. To help we’ve put together a few suggestions for you should you choose to stay in Sydney and soak up our relatively good weather while diving into some of the city’s best eats and drinks.
Idris Elba at Goodbar
Okay this one is tonight, Thursday, but for many Sydneysiders this is when the weekend starts anyway. Goodbar in Paddington will be hosting the award-winning actor before he heads on back up to the Gold Coast to continue filming for Thor 3. Elba has a particular love for house music, he has proven to be a beast on DJ duties (even impressing Pete Tong) and with free entry, plus support from Nicky Night Time and Handles, Goodbar is definitely the place to be for the night owls tonight. Doors open from 8pm but get there early because it seems like everyone wants a piece of Idris these days. More information HERE.
Yardbird x Harpoon Harry
Ever since taking up residency in the Harpoon Harry kitchen, chef Morgan McGlone has been opening up the venue and exploring different pop-ups every so often. He’s already invited the likes of world renowned pitmaster Rodney Scott down for a BBQ cook-off – twice – and now he’s bringing a big slice of Hong Kong to Surry Hills for one-day-only on Sunday. Yardbird is a mega popular restaurant over in HK, specialising in fried chicken, yakitori, and the ever-popular KFC (Korean fried cauliflower). Chef Matt Abergel will be making the trip down to Sydney to cook alongside Morgan, giving Sydneysiders a rare opportunity to experience Yardbird for themselves. Grab more information HERE.
Gelato Messina x Burn City Smokers
Gelato Messina have a collaborative series of their own, Messina Eats, which taps into some of the best casual food vendors around and brings them on over the carpark next to Messina’s Rosebery HQ for a pop-up. This time it’s Melbourne’s Burn City Smokers who will be making the trip up, bringing their massive smoker with them to offer the public Southern-style BBQ along with Messina’s specially created pumpkin pie & chocolate soft serve. Sound good? Sure does. You can grab more info HERE.
Listen Out
Fuzzy’s endearing dance/hip hop festival will be returning to Sydney’s Centennial Parklands this Saturday, and they’ve got one hell of a line-up in store. Anderson.Paak and his band will be showcasing the exceptional Malibu (and hopefully some older and future tracks) during the afternoon – a sure-shot highlight – as part of a line up that also includes Travis Scott, One Day, Baauer, A$AP Ferg, and Ngaiire. It’ll be wild. For more info click HERE.
Sky Terrace Returns
The Star’s Sky Terrace has proven to be the property’s secret weapon when it comes to spring and summer, a decked out rooftop bar overlooking Sydney harbour and the city skyline with some serious space to move around. It’s proven to be one of the best rooftops in the city, and now that spring is here the terrace will reopen from this Friday. Some newly created cocktails will mark the event plus a new summer menu with offerings like Philly cheese steak, lobster roll with crisps, brie & jalapeno quesadeillas, and more. The best approach is to start your night here, grab a few cocktails, take your time to really appreciate the view once the sun goes down over the harbour, and then head off and explore one of the best city’s in the world. More information can be found HERE.
Good Food Month
Sydney’s turn to host Good Food Month kicks off on Saturday 1st October. While the month-long program’s best known event, Night Noodle Markets, kicks off next Thursday it’s worth checking out some of the earlier-in-the-month events that aren’t yet sold out. 2016 has been one of the biggest year’s in dining Sydney has seen, with some of the best openings in a very long time; Good Food Month is always a great way to explore that scene in inventive, fun ways. You can check out the full program HERE.
EB Expo
One of Australia’s biggest video game conferences returns for another year. Head out to Sydney Olympic Park on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and you’ll be greeted with a showcase from some of the most exciting games coming out, plus the epic retro gaming area (which has every single console available for free-play). The expo has grown massively over the years so we can only imagine the multitude of things to do this year, perhaps the best of which is preview Playstation’s VR which is finally edging closer to public release. Want to play the new Resident Evil in virtual reality? You got it, just prepare to jump. Playable versions of other exciting games include Dishonoured 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn. There will also be special previews of Nintendo’s new Zelda game (due for NX but previewed on Wii U) and the upcoming South Park game. Yeah, it’s a busy one this year. For more information click HERE.
Fashion Weekend
The 9th annual Fashion Weekend will return to Sydney tonight and run at Moore Park’s Royal Hall of Industries through to Sunday 2nd October. It’s known as the city’s biggest shopping event, so if fashion bargains are your thing then head along and check out the large-scale mash of designer shopping, massive discounts, runways, and more. Everyone from Bec & Bridge to Dion Lee will be showcasing and there’ll be a dedicated Henkell Wine Bar on site. For more information click HERE.
NightFest
If you want to go for a bit of road trip you can always head out of the city and down to Canberra. The city is currently hosting the annual Floriade festival, which is cool and all if you like epic flower arrangements, but the real interesting part here is when the sun goes down. At night, from now until Sunday 2nd October, Floriade will become NightFest, an after dark adventure designed as an illuminated wonderland with a line-up of comedy (from the likes of Jimeon), live music, roaming entertainment, and fresh goods from local producers. Drinks will come from the likes of Pialligo Estate, Mount Majura Vineyard, and Bentspoke Brewery so you’ll be in good hands. For more information click HERE.
New Openings
It’s not just all Restaurant Hubert that’s the talk of Sydney this year. As we head towards the end of the year, it’s looking like 2016 may go down as one of the best years the city’s dining scene has ever seen. Quality venues are popping up left, right, and centre, and it’d be a good idea to use this long weekend to check some of them out.
- Bouche on Bridge (CBD)
- Belles Hot Chicken (Barangaroo)
- Bare Grill on Bourke (Surry Hills)
- Tequila Mockingbird (Paddington)
- Kittyhawk (CBD)
- Grumpy Donuts (Camperdown)
- Tramsheds (Forest Lodge/Glebe)
Headline image: Gelato Messina
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