Snack Bar: Mouthful Martinis, Powerhouse’s Diwali Event and More Local Food News This Week

What’s on around town

• Table Manners chef Luke Churchill is cooking at Darlinghurst’s Avia on Sunday, as part of the venue’s Re:Purpose series. Book in from midday for a lunch powered by often-overlooked ingredients. There’ll be one-bite chouxs and house-made bread, Murray cod wings revved up with “charcuterie XO” and more, in set menus or à la carte.

• Celebrate Diwali at Powerhouse Castle Hill tomorrow with dance performances, papermaking workshops and art tours, plus a food spread by Chatkazz. Free entry, 11am till 3pm.

• Standout Tokyo bar Tokyo Confidential is hitting Sydney for the first time on Tuesday October 28, as part of Suntory Bar at Prefecture 48.

• Bar Planet is now open till 2am on Fridays and Saturdays – which means more time for those ripper Martinis, Scorpinos and, now, dirty Mouthful Martinis.

• King Clarence’s $48 lunch set, complete with sashimi and Korean fried chicken, is a ripper deal – and there are only 14 made each day.

• Spice Temple ’s menu is getting a freshen up, with exec chef Andy Evans inspired by a research trip to China. The new dishes nod to the Yunnan, Sichuan and Hunan regions. There are bright pickles, corn fritters sticky with coconut sugar, steamed coral trout with pickled mustard greens and more. Plus, sweet little jelly-topped almond cakes to finish. Try them all with an 11-dish set menu, available exclusively from October 27 to November 2.

• Hit Prefecture 48 before Suntory Bar wraps up on Saturday November 8. The Tetsuya Wakuda is on snack duty, for a start. There’s a changing line-up of international bartenders and chefs, with special dishes and drinks alongside all the Prefecture 48 faves.

• Cantina OK ’s latest menu is here, with a play on a Midori Sour, a creamy pour in horchata territory and the Stingray OK, where tequila and mezcal meet umeshu, mango and jackfruit – with a gochugaru chamoy for tang and spice.

• The last Australia Street bake sale for the year is a big one – and it’s on tomorrow from 9am till 11am. Lauren Eldridge is leading the charge, and Danielle Alvarez, Helen Goh and Katherine Sabbath are joining in, sharing recipes from Two Good ’s latest cookbook, which can be bought on the day and supports women in need.

• Sea Raes is returning to Sydney for summer. The 101-foot sibling to the Wategos hotel has the same easy-living holiday vibes (thanks to interior designer Tamsin Johnson) and same fine menu (captained by Jason Saxby).

• Alex Wong is the new (and first) exec chef at Lana and Grana. “When we first opened, it was meant to be Italian-ish, with influences from Asia because of my cultural background,” he tells Broadsheet. “When I look at my new menu, the ethos is very much the same, but there’s a lot of things that are just really tasty – sometimes it doesn’t have an Asian or Italian element. We just want to serve food that’s enjoyable and tasty, and there’s always going to be a pasta in some way, shape or form.”

• Find two-for-one flutes of Perrier-Jouet at QT Sydney – at either Gowings or Parlour – from Friday till Sunday, this weekend only.

• Renowned pastry chef Phil Khoury is joining Lauren Eldridge in her Osteria Mucca kitchen on Sunday October 26, from 9am till 11am. Head in for a mix of sweets from the pair, including Khoury’s Sydney Chocolate Bar, which is stamped with our iconic bridge.

What we covered this week

• First look: Euro diner South End opens on King Street, and the team is keeping its ever-shifting menu simple.

• Tonnes of spent coffee grounds hit landfill each year, but Reground and Single O are here to fix that in Sydney. Plus, Bills, Soulmate, Happyfield and more are on board, too.

• I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Firepop’s olive oil-splashed dessert is a restorative meal-ender you’ll always have room for.

• First look: at Joe’s Tavern, they do make it like they used to. The Flora replacement brings onion rings, burgers, a dedicated offal section and more, plus a particularly lovely Knickerbocker Glory.

• First look: the El Primo Sanchez fiesta hits Crown Street with Margs, piñatas and karaoke.

• A Moment For: this wave-like lunchtime “ lasagne of sorts ” was first seen on the Ester menu. Find it in Darlinghurst.

• Coming soon: 13 venues are still to come before the end of 2025, including the first bakery for a market favourite, a late-night izakaya and Rick Stein’s Sydney debut.

• First look: Epula, Tapavino’s new restaurant, delivers a taste of Spain, France and Italy to a staggering CBD space.

You might’ve missed

• The new Sydney Fish Market (finally) has an open date. Plus, the full list of retailers in the three-storey, $700 million build.

• First look: The Palomar is a London classic – and now it’s Sydney’s turn. Head in for two-bite chicken schnitzels, baklava ice-cream sandwiches and a definitively local edge.

• Coming soon: a Levantine restaurant is set to open in a 120-year-old Rose Bay church.