For the time-poor savvy diner, lunch specials are the ultimate life hack for sampling some of the best menus in the city for less. Not only are they designed to have you wined and dined in record time, they’re also an economical way to tick off some of those must-try places on your culinary hit list.
From revamped institutions serving off-menu items to rooftop bars that make it worth your while to eat away from your desk, these are some of the best fine-dining lunch specials in Sydney to know about this year.
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Aalia Wine Room
The more relaxed counterpart to Gourmet Traveller’s 2023 Restaurant of the Year for New South Wales, Aalia, this sleek Martin Place wine bar offers prime lunchtime people watching and a taste of the Middle Eastern flavours that its sister restaurant next door is loved for. Sneak in some alone time over steak frites boosted by a “café de Cairo” butter for $39, or head in with a guest (be it boss, colleague or friend) and dine on the set menu for $39 per person, where you’ll both get Aalia’s pita with labneh or eggplant dip, plus, steak and chips.
When: Tues – Fri: 12-3pm
Bookings: Bookings recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Ibushi
Located in Sydney’s multi-storey Japanese dining precinct, Ibushi is Prefecture 48’s robata-style restaurant specialising in open-flame cooking. At $75 per person, Ibushi’s lunchtime set menu celebrates expertly grilled meats and seasonal produce in a fun, communal setting. Don’t skip the tuna tartare served on crisp sushi rice, miso pork jowl complemented by a burnt apple puree and fennel-apple salad, or the heirloom tomatoes on a bed of stracciatella cheese. For the grilled meats portion, expect seasonal stars like autumn’s Koji-marinated spatchcock, finished over charcoal.
When: Weds – Sat: 12-3pm
Bookings: Bookings recommended via their website. Walk-ins welcome.
The Grill at The International
This “classy, confident and cosmopolitan” chophouse just became more accessible with the introduction of its $69 Quick Fire set menu. Designed to be enjoyed comfortably within an hour at any time of day, it’s ideal for business lunches, shopping breaks or pre-show dinners.
“Quick Fire is about respecting people’s time without lowering our standards,” says culinary director, Joel Bickford.
Begin with warm sourdough and cultured butter before moving on to your choice of seasonally-driven snacks and a main built around steak, fish or lobster (+$30).
When: any time within standard open hours
Bookings: Bookings recommended via OpenTable with tables reserved for walk-ins.
Martinez
Circular Quay’s French-leaning restaurant and rooftop terrace is making it easier to leave our desks with their $20-$25 lunch specials available throughout the whole venue. Enjoy a rotating menu of steak frites, seafood pastas, wagyu burgers and more while soaking in the autumn sun.
When: Mon-Thurs: 11:30am-3pm
Bookings: Bookings recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Petit Loulou
This adored French café and patisserie at the entrance to Martin Place metro has packaged up the grab-and-go lunch with a neat bow. For $15, you can get a baguette sandwich (choose from luxurious options like prosciutto and brie, saucisson or pork rillette, among others), a salad (nicoise, lyonnaise or Caesar) and a bottle of Orangina – best enjoyed in the sunshine.
When: Mon-Fri: from 10:30am until stocks last
Bookings: Walk-ins only.
White Horse
These days $55 won’t get you far, but at the revamped White Horse in Surry Hills it unlocks a four-course menu centred on lobster, Bannockburn chickenand seasonal produce. Round out the meal with Adelaide Hills brie ice cream served with strawberries and pistachio – and call it a day.
When: Fri – Sun: 12- 3pm
Bookings: Bookings recommended via SevenRooms.
Poetica
Continuing the lunchtime burger trend is North Sydney’s Poetica, who are offering their flamed grilled cheeseburger served with herby fries and a choice of house wine, beer or soft drink for just $28.
When: Mon – Fri: 12- 6pm at the bar
Bookings: Bookings recommended via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Olympus
Since opening in 2024, the sun-lit courtyard at Olympus has been one of the most coveted dining rooms in the Sydney food scene. Fun and fashion-forward crowds pile in, hankering for taramasalata scooped up with warm pita; lemon yellow avgolemono soup that reminds owner Jonathan Barthelmess (The Apollo) of his childhood; savouring charred octopus with an almond skordalia and potato or devouring the team’s slow-cooked lamb shoulder. For an easy way to sample all the favourites, opt for the full taverna, where for just $77 per person, you can get all the greatest hits in one go: rich taramasalata, a slightly nutty split pea dip, souvlaki with sesame yoghurt, among them.
When: Mon – Fri: from 12pm; Sat – Sun: from 11:30am
Bookings: Bookings recommended via SevenRooms.
Jōji
Whether you’re closing deals over lunch, wooing clients or simply looking for a city escape, the rooftop at Jōji is the place to be. At $65 per head, you can enjoy an express lunch menu with a curated selection of Jōji’s best dishes. Bookings are encouraged in this small CBD oasis.
When: Tues – Fri: 12-3pm
Bookings: Bookings encouraged via SevenRooms. Walk-ins welcome.
Cho Cho San
Potts Point’s loved izakaya-adjacent hotspot, Cho Cho San has always had a way of pulling us back in, and its newly launched bottomless brunch is no exception. Following the success of its “buns and bubbles” offering, it’s reinventing the menu, refreshing its drinks list, and adding live DJs to its weekly rotation. For $99 per person, diners can enjoy a banquet menu featuring all the favourites (this might look like an assorted sushi and sashimi platter, alongside glossy eggplant miso sticks, pork gyoza and more), plus a free flow of sparkling wine, house wine and beers. For those after a more premium option, upgrade to the cocktail package for $120 per person. With an hour and 45 minutes to wine and dine, these are your Saturday plans, sorted.
When: Sat: 12-3pm
Bookings: Bookings required via SevenRooms.
Woodcut
Woodcut’s signature brick chicken has been reimagined as a chicken burger with chips, available at the Hickory Bar from noon until 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday, for just $30. Also on the cards is a Moreton Bay bug brioche roll and a French dip-inspired roll starring roast beef, pastrami and bresaola doused in pepper jus. Walk-ins only.
When: Tues – Sun: 12-3pm at the Hickory Bar
Bookings: Bookings required via their website.
King Clarence
This much-loved neon-tinged hotspot wins bonus points for its lunch set menu. For under $50, you can get the best of King Clarence’s fare – including the famed fish finger bao on Nigella’s hit list. Complete with oysters, Korean fried chicken, rice and miso soup, we think this one is the whole package.
When: Daily from 12pm
Bookings: Bookings required via SevenRooms.
The Wine Bar at The International
City slickers rejoice, this trendy wine bar will have you feasting on excellent $15 pizza made with 72-hour fermented sourdough and a rotating roster of $25 handmade pastas. Plus, $10 glasses of wine. “Proper lunch” runs from Tuesday to Saturday, noon until 3pm, weekly.
When: Tues – Sat: 12-3pm
Bookings: Bookings recommended via SevenRooms.Walks-in welcome.
