Book Now: First 23 Events Unveiled for Broadsheet’s Dine Out Festival 2026

You know that sense of anticipation that starts building before every summer? We’re feeling it right now, in the dead of winter, as we count down the return of Dine Out.

We introduced the annual food festival last year to celebrate the Sydney’s incredible culinary talents and give them a chance to go off-piste. In 2026, in partnership with Mastercard and Doordash, we’re staging 50 new events across the city over the course of a week, from July 27–August 2.

Your favourite restaurants are joining forces for single-night collaborative menus. Queue-worthy bakeries are putting on exclusive items all week. And once again, some of New South Wales’s best regional chefs are making the trek to town, plus one of Melbourne’s hottest chefs right now. The full program will be revealed on Friday June 19. For now, we have the first 23 events to share with you – a mix of ticketed and drop-in affairs.

The festival starts strong, as Northern Rivers darling Bistro Livi heads south for a one-night-only dinner at South End. Menu specifics are still being finalised, but you’re in for a multi-course set menu – with some individual serves, some shared – that celebrates produce and hyper-seasonality, the guiding forces of both Euro-leaning restaurants.

The next night, four restaurants in the Paisano and Daughters’ family – all on Australia Street, Newtown – will unite for a mega menu like they’re the Planeteers summoning Captain Planet. The menu is fab, but around the office, we can’t stop talking about the hallowed quartet of canned cocktails finally coming together: Continental Deli’s Mar-tinny, Joe’s Tavern’s Tiramisu Old Fashioned, Mister Grotto’s Spritz and Osteria Mucca’s Negroni.

Wednesday, two chefs known for some of Sydney’s best Mexican food are getting cosy. Lottie’s Joe Valero will join Maiz’s Juan Carlos Negrete Lopez will cook side by side on The Eve Hotel’s rooftop terrace for Mexico Sin Fronteras, a dinner that asks what Mexican cuisine can look like “without borders”. Dishes include duck carnitas with beetroot mole and venison taquitos wrapped in pumpkin-seed tortillas.

On Thursday night a hard choice has to be made, as five major collaborations – all one-offs – go down simultaneously, highlighting the sheer breadth and depth of Sydney’s cheffing talent. Masterchef alum Mimi Wong is reprising her Attenzione! pop-up from last year (with a new menu, of course); fellow Masterchef star Brendan Pang is cooking Mauritian at Refettorio; former Aalia chef Paul Farag is exploring the boundaries of Italian and North African cuisines at Avia; Famelia x Olotl are teaming up on a dinner spotlighting Mexican food and women in wine; and hot Orange wine bar Hey Rosey is taking over the kitchen at Earl’s Juke Joint – although this one is walk-in, so you have a chance of making it after attending another dinner elsewhere (albeit slim).

Other collabs to hit are Toby Wilson’s porridge takeover at Superfreak, The Dry Dock x Lode’s duck ragu pie special, Goodways Deli x Sang’s limited-edition Korean sanga, Mapo x Baba’s Place exclusive Egyptian ice-cream flavours, Doom Juice Cellar Door x Calzone Zone’s Satanic Sunday service and S’more x 20 Chapel’s luxe black truffle dinner.

But while these collaborations have an inherent element of surprise, some operators are making surprises happen all on their own. Across all five Mucho Group bars – Tio’s Cerveceria, Centro 86, Bar Planet, Bar Herbs and Bar Bridge – the famous complimentary bags of popcorn will conceal one of five golden tickets. Find one and you’ll be gifted $1000 to spend at Mucho venues. Bar Planet is also bringing back The World’s Filthiest Martini from Dine Out 2025, but with all new garnishes.

Speaking of returns – not that it was a competition, but Pantry Story arguably won the festival last year with its outrageous croissant handbag. This year it’s back with a pastry teapot filled with bakso, or Indonesian meatballs. Another returnee, Surry Hills noodle shop Ama, is putting on two new “lost” Thai dishes that are hard to find, even in Thailand itself. Also in the baked goods category but this year making its Dine Out debut, wildly popular spot Sundays Bondi is putting on cinnamon scroll French toast just for us. Another sweet – and very limited – special is happening at Bar Julius, where you can nab Pepe Saya soufflé pancakes for the whole week.

Gildas, Kolkata Social and Rick Stein Coogee, meanwhile, are making date night easy with three fun, affordable menus pairing drinks and snacks.

That’s it for now. We’ll reveal the remaining events this time next week. To ensure you get the tickets you want, sign up to Broadsheet Today, our flagship daily newsletter. It’s free and brings you the best of your city, from the hottest restaurant openings to new art exhibitions.

Dine Out 2026 first program reveal
Ama
Bistro Livi x South End
Bar Planet
Brendan Pang x Refettorio Ozharvest
Continental Deli x Joe’s Tavern x Mister Grotto x Osteria Mucca
Doom Juice Cellar Door x Calzone Zone
Famelia x Olotl
Gildas
Goodways Deli x Sang
Hey Rosey x Earl’s Juke Joint
Kolkata Social
Lottie x Maiz
Mapo x Baba’s Place
Mimi Wong x Attenzione!
Mucho Group
Bar Julius
Pantry Story
Paul Farag x Avia
Rick Stein Coogee
S’more x 20 Chapel
Sundays Bondi
The Dry Dock x Lode
Toby Wilson x Superfreak

Broadsheet’s Dine Out festival returns from July 20–26, 2026 in Melbourne and July 27–August 2, 2026 in Sydney, with 100 events across the two cities.