The best restaurateurs in Sydney are excellent at reading the moment; giving people what they want even before they want it. And this point in time belongs to tighter budgets. The reality bites hard as corporate entertainment spends are capped and cost of living increases.
Of course, classic three-course meals and dégustations will always have their place, but increasingly, diners are looking for more entry points to the establishments they love. They want snacks at the bar, set lunch menus, and generous golden hours.
They want it with finesse, knowing the cash they are parting with is money well spent. As ever, hospitality is about being hospitable and some of Sydney’s best industry minds are tailoring their menus to oblige.
As Tristen Rosier, founder of Jane in Sydney explains, it’s about finding creative ways to offer great value so that “people want to keep coming back”. And at $2 an oyster, surely, we will.
If this is the year of democratic and affordable fine dining, book us in for an express table or seat at the bar.
Here are Sydney’s best lunch specials, set menus, happy hours, and bar menus for affordable fine dining in Sydney in 2025.
Best lunch specials and set menus in Sydney
Aalia
To experience a quick taste of Paul Farag’s wood-fired Middle Eastern menu at Aalia, try the express lunch option, where $60 will get you a snack and a choice of entrée and main to share — including Murray cod masgouf or lamb neck shawarma.
The Charles Bar
It may not be as grand as its big sister brasserie next door but The Charles Bar serves up chic NYC energy with its all-day bar menu and generous lunch special every Monday to Saturday, which features its aged wagyu cheeseburger and choice of house wine or beer for just $25.
Esteban
From Wednesday to Saturday, Esteban’s $65 Almuerzo Pequeño menu (Spanish for “little lunch”) offers three quick and quality courses: starting with a yellowfin tuna tartare with pickled garlic and crispy potato, followed by a pork belly taco, before the crescendo of steak with black garlic and chipotle butter, and smoked kipfler potatoes.
Monopole
The team at Monopole are ushering in a new era with their newly reimagined French restaurant. Best of all, they’re introducing a Menu Á Prixe, where $55 will get you two courses of French-inspired fare, including chicken liver parfait or burger de canard. Add dessert to make it three courses for a neat $70.
Bistro Moncur
Woollahra favourite Bistro Moncur has a daily two-course lunch menu for just $65 per person, which includes crowd-pleasers like steak tartare and steak frites. Or try their French feasting menu for $120 per person.
Bennelong
Traditionally, Bennelong keeps their dining tight with set menus, putting their best foot forward in the best order possible, always. This year, things are changing slightly. Enter Bennelong’s a la carte dining debut, so you can sample some of the best Sydney has to offer, in a way that’s comfortable for you.
Best happy hours in Sydney
Bobbie’s
Neil Perry’s slinky jazz and cocktail bar in Double Bay, Bobbie’s, has just launched a standout happy hour with $10 cocktails and complimentary snacks every Wednesday–Sunday. Dubbed Bobbie’s Golden Hour, the weekly special will run from 4–5pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and from 2.30–4pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
The basement bar has also rolled out a new bar menu created by the globally renowned chef, which features lavish snacks such as chicken liver parfait with port jelly, salumi plates, caviar tartlets and a standout Reuben sandwich.
Jane
At Jane in Surry Hills, where founder Tristan Rosier emphasises that his Australiano Hour offers the same dishes you get at regular service, just in a cheaper, more snackable form. “You can get our kangaroo tartare, which is a signature, or $3 oysters with a punchy guava vinaigrette, with the exact same oysters we normally use,” he says. “Quality for us is paramount, not just cutting the price.” Must-orders include the lamb dumplings and creatively grilled cucumbers. Run, don’t walk.
The Rover
Surry Hills’ The Rover is offering $2 freshly shucked oysters and $14 Venetian Spritz in its elegant upstairs restaurant. These happy hour specials are available daily from 4-6pm, making them an ideal pre-dinner deal.
Gildas
Also in Surry Hills, Lennox Hastie’s San Sebastián-inspired wine bar Gildas celebrates after-work occasions with its Gildas Golden Hour. On offer on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5–6.30pm, Golden Hour sees $12 cocktails and wines alongside its namesake snack for $5 and $12 off-menu specials. Plus, it’s launched a reasonable $59 pre-theatre menu which could see you eating gildas, grilled Bundarra pork with romesco and baby leeks and smoked buffalo milk soft serve with blackberry, plus more.
Rockpool Bar & Grill
Pulling up a seat at Rockpool’s bar is always a good idea but there’s an even better reason now. RP Hour hits the bar for two hours every weekday between 4pm and 6pm, with $12 Martinis, wines by the glass for $15 and reasonably priced snacks.
Maybe Sammy
One of the world’s best bars, Maybe Sammy, continues to offer up its teeny Martinis at an approachable price point. From 4.30–5.30pm every Tuesday to Saturday, you can score classic Martinis as well as the Chamomile Martini in miniature form for $7, plus more mini cocktails such as a mini Eucalyptus Gimlet and mini Irish Coffee.
Saké
Sydney’s contemporary Japanese diner Saké has launched Saké Hour at its three Sydney locations — The Rocks, Double Bay and Manly — running from 4–6pm at The Rocks and Double Bay and from 3–5pm at Manly, Monday to Friday. Available exclusively at the bar, the happy hour sees $10 wines and $12 cocktails, plus a stack of value-packed snacks.
Pleasure Club
Escape to Pleasure Club’s suave happy hour. Kicking off every Wednesday to Sunday from 4-7pm, find $9 LP’s dogs and vegan dogs alongside $15 cocktails and $10 non-alcoholic cocktails.
Odd Culture
Newtown’s Euro-inspired hotspot is now slinging happy hour prices from 4-6pm, Tuesday to Friday. Roll in for $15 Martinis and Negronis and a snazzy array of snacks, including a $12 cheeseburger, $7 potato scallop with crème fraîche and Avruga, and $8 zucchini flowers topped with togarashi.
Morrison’s
Get shucked at Sydney’s oyster hotspot, Morrison’s. Enjoy the signature oyster hour every Wednesday from 6-7pm, where Sydney Rock Oysters are freshly shucked to order (and $1.50 to boot). And if oysters aren’t your thing, from 4-6pm on weekdays, happy hour is serving up $10 Negronis and Aperol Spritz, alongside $7 beer, wine and spirits and a chef’s selection of snacks.
Shell House Sky Bar
Continuing Sydney’s salty trend for cheap as chip molluscs, Shell House’s Sky Bar has expanded their Golden Hour offer to include everyone’s favourite shelled critter: the oyster. Between 4-6pm every Tuesday to Saturday, guests are able to purchase oysters for $2, a signature prawn katsu sando for $15 and a Margarita for $15. Bookings are encouraged but walk-ins are welcome. Golden, indeed.
Dunes Palm Beach
Sunday evening has been given a luxury upgrade with Dunes happy hour. While the afternoon away from 4-6pm with half price oysters, $15 Margaritas, $10 rosé and $7 Coronas, all set to an iconic seaside backdrop.
Suki
Suki calls on modern Asian flavours for their daily Golden Hour. With glorious interiors and service, their menu includes $3 oysters, $6 edamame, $15 holy basil chicken and $15 Margaritas for a blissful afternoon spent sipping.
Bar Tilda
Bar Tilda is bringing its signature brand of classic elegance to the happy hour scene in the CBD, with $12 Martinis, Negroni or Spritz from 3-6pm, Monday to Friday.
Best bar menus in Sydney
Bentley Restaurant & Bar
The bar has never been an afterthought at CBD heavyweight Bentley. Bites include beef tartare, piquillo pepper and capers, or tempura bay lobster, duck liver parfait with steamed buns, or dive into king prawn with smoked lime butter and sundew. The seafood platter is also one of the best in the city.
Bennelong
Whether you’re heading for pre-show snacks or looking for a snacky meal backdropped by some of the best views in the city, the bar at Bennelong always dazzles. Order oysters with lemon pepper granita, prawn toast with fermented chilli aioli and zucchini, goat’s curd, pepita and hemp arancini and you can’t go wrong.
Oncore by Clare Smyth
The Seasons menu at Clare Smyth’s fine-diner at the top of Crown Sydney won’t leave you with much change under $400. But the bar menu offers a way to sample her cooking with a little less commitment, for both your wallet and your time.
Rafi
A North Sydney favourite, Rafi’s bar menu is one for the records. Dishing up bites such as house made sourdough pita & hummus, their renowned South Coast tuna with tomato, tahini and fragrant chilli oil or their more substantial Cheeseburger with dill pickles and Rafi sauce, these bar snacks are worth shelling out for.
Bar Julius
The Eve Hotel’s lobby bar is bringing European-inspired snacks and cult cocktails to Redfern’s new Wunderlich Lane precinct. From beef tartare to crispy lamb belly and an All Day Mary, Bar Julius is dishing up delight.
This article was recently updated in March 2025.
