Coming Soon: 14 Sydney Restaurants, Bars and Cafes We’re Looking Forward to in 2026

With 21 openings arriving in January, the year’s been big already. Phew. But there are plenty more on the cards for 2026 – here are all the details.

Sit, Marrickville

The Baba’s Place team is readying to open Sit, a social enterprise cafe, together with NSW not-for-profit Fresh Hope. The eatery lives on the ground floor of the Illawarra Road Nightingale Housing block, near Marrickville Station.

Compared to Baba’s Place, Sit’s food will not be “reliant as much on past narrative,” the team shared on Instagram. “Produce and seasonality will be front and centre, as well as thoughtfulness, approachability and technicality. The kitchen is phenomenal and we are very proud of it.”

A bunch of local creatives have collaborated on the space, which moves away from the Baba’s aesthetic. “Cafes have always been a breeding ground for creativity, for community, for generative dissidence, for resistance, for coffee, for sustenance, for support. We are incredibly excited to connect to this history and to return aspects of this origin to the forefront.” Find out more, soon, on Sit’s community noticeboard-style website.

Sit is expected to open at 387 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, in February 2026.
@sit.marrickville
comesit.com.au

Besa, Bondi

The Aalia team, fresh from opening Aalia Wine Room in the CBD, is busy, readying to open a Spanish tapas spot in Bondi. Not unlike the suburb’s recent addition Alzado, the Besa menu will lean into coastal specialties, looked after by head chef Alan Kropman (ex-Sean’s, Aalia).

Besa will open at 75-79 Hall Street, Bondi, in late February 2026.
@besabondi

Three Blue Ducks, Burradoo

Once upon a time, or 15 years ago, Three Blue Ducks was the name of a little Macpherson Street cafe owned and run by a group of mates. Now it’s the banner for a group of farm-to-plate restaurants along Australia’s east coast. Next up is the Southern Highlands. In Burradoo, under two hours’ drive south of Sydney, the Ducks team is opening a restaurant on a working farm to be run by Annie Cannon-Brookes.

There will be a kitchen garden powering the dining room, kids education sessions with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, a bakery and produce stall. 

Three Blue Ducks is expected to open at Burradoo Park Farm, 6 Railway Road, Burradoo, in early 2026.
@threeblueducks

Mamuki Cafe, Glebe

Enmore Road matcha haunt Mamuki Bake & Bar is opening a little cafe – wrapped in light timber with warm lighting – on Glebe Point Road. There’ll be matcha (as classic lattes or in more out-there serves with yuzu or berry jam) and coffee (again, the classics or pours topped with cream), plus sweet baked goods and Japanese sets.

Mamuki Cafe opens at 16 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, on Monday February 9.
@mamuki.bake.bar

Bronte Road Fish, Bronte

The beachy Bronte Road Bistro is no more, making way for Bronte Road Fish. It’s the same team, just less French bistro plates and more… fish. You’ll find “the ultimate” potato scallop, an array of burgers (fish, tuna smash, prawn katsu, mushroom), plus fish’n’chipper classics. Sip beers or fizzy drinks, Margarita slushies or bespoke Ester Spirits from a tap, then get a soft serve. There’ll be an outdoor courtyard, and you’re welcome to take away.

Bronte Road Fish opens at 280 Bronte Road, Waverley, on Tuesday February 10.
@bronteroadfish
bronteroadfish.com

Vitelli’s Upstairs, Redfern

Baptist Street Rec Club is no more – in its place will be Vitelli’s Upstairs. Expect Italian American classics: pasta (made fresh at the team’s CBD joint Grana), porchetta, Milanese. Plus tiramisu, a late-night cheeseburger (with Calabrian chilli) and classic Italo cocktails.

Vitelli’s Upstairs will open on the corner of Baptist and Cleveland streets, Redfern, on Tuesday February 10.
@vitellis.upstairs
vitellisupstairs.com.au

Sahtein, The Rocks

The Dining Room, within Hunter St Hospitality’s revamped Argyle space, will have its final service on Sunday February 8 to make way for Sahtein a few days later. The Lebanese restaurant’s menu is lengthy, full of traditional dishes cooked over wood fire. Everything’s halal, with a snacky start including meze like kibbeh nayeh, tabouli and lemony, buttery balila (a warm chickpea dish), before skewers and larger proteins get involved.

Sahtein will open at 18B Argyle Street, The Rocks, on Thursday February 12.
@sahteintherocks
sahteintherocks.com.au

Sushi Oe, Glebe

Sushi master Toshihiko Oe is moving his fine-dining six-seater from Cammeray to the new Sydney Fish Market. The shiny, mega newcomer is open already, with Oe soon to follow – this time with eight seats, right next door to Get Sashimi.

Sushi Oe is expected to open within the new Sydney Fish Market, 1 Bridge Road, Glebe, in February 2026.

Caravin Deux, Potts Point

Caravin, the Ward Avenue Parisian wine bar, is always heaving. Perpetually tricky to get a seat. And for good reason (the wine! The snacks! The vibe!). And soon there will be a smaller, snackier version – Caravin Deux, in the team’s Llankelly Place cubby, which was most recently Tacos Tacos Tacos. Expect natural wines, cocktails and picky bits, for walk-ins only.

Caravin Deux will open at 46 Llankelly Place, Potts Point, in February 2026.
@caravindeuxpottspoint

The James, CBD

Sydney Restaurant Group, the team behind Sails, Akti, Ripples and more, is opening its next in the CBD; The James is a refined British dining room in The Langham. Head chef Sam Tuchband brings experience from London and is going big on dishes like beef Wellington, waldorf salad and sticky toffee pudding, which he’s jazzing up as a soufflé.

The James will open within The Langham, 89–113 Kent Street, Millers Point, in late February 2026.
@thejamessydney
srghospitality.com.au/venue/the-james

Doom Juice Cellar Door, Marrickville

The Doom Juice boys, Sebastian Keys and Zachary Godbolt, are resurrecting their short-lived, much-loved Doom Juice Cellar Door in the old Poor Tom’s space. This time it’s permanent. The space is quirky, slightly satanic and surrounded by Marrickville treasures (Ester Spirits, the new Primary Coffee, Mixtape and the rest of the Ale Trail). Plus, there’ll be more than just wine to drink, and a mix of indoor and outdoor seating.

Doom Juice Cellar Door will open at 66/6 Chalder Avenue, Marrickville, in mid-April 2026.
@doomjuicecellardoor

Lox in a Box, Paddington

Lox in a Box’s Candy Berger and Gaia Lovell are on what feels like a full Sydney takeover. The pair just opened Bistro Bondi, their first proper restaurant, joining their bagelries in Coogee, Marrickville and Manly. And they’ve just received keys for their biggest space yet.

Lox in a Box HQ will hit the heritage-listed, double-fronted store on Oxford Street that was most recently Infinity Bakery. The team is in and renovating, and will – if the poll is anything to go by – paint the double-fronted facade in its signature deep green.

Lox in a Box is expected to open at 178 Oxford Street in mid-2026.
@loxinabox
loxinabox.com.au

Parami, Darlinghurst

Word is our onigiri favourite Parami is opening an outpost in Taylor Square. Along with the team’s rice balls at Paramart, the news means even more salmon, mustard leaf and tangy umeboshi onigiri for Sydney.

Parami is expected to open in Taylor Square in autumn 2026.
@parami_alberta

Da Orazio Trattoria, Rushcutters Bay

Orazio D’Elia is known for his Bondi pizzas and Alexandria patisserie. Now he’s opening a restaurant that draws on his childhood in Naples in the old Marta dining room. Expect homely dishes from right across Italy, including those D’Elia grew up eating in his Naples hometown of Pomigliano d’Arco and on trips around the country.

D’Elia is working on his own tiella di Gaeta, an octopus pie first made by fishmongers in Gaeta, a coastal town south of Rome where he holidayed as a child. There will be pasta, too, plus mains kissed by coals, including a steak dressed in his father’s chimichurri-style dressing jazzed up for the restaurant setting. 

Da Orazio Trattoria is expected to open at 30 McLachlan Avenue, Rushcutters Bay, in autumn 2026.
@da_orazio_trattoria