Sydney is celebrating Lunar New Year from Wednesday 29 January to Wednesday 12 February (and beyond) with epic banquets and festive treats, events welcoming all, and live performances to welcome the Year of the Snake.
In the Lunar calendar, the Year of the Snake (and especially the Wood Snake) represents wisdom, looking inward, and positive transformation.
Sydney will welcome the Year of the Snake with special menus, snake-shaped treats, cultural experiences like lion dances, tea ceremonies, contemporary art exhibitions, and markets bringing multicultural festivities to all corners of the city.
Here are the best menus and food specials, and celebrations and events in Sydney for Lunar New Year 2025.
Lunar New Year Celebrations And Events
The Chinese Garden Of Friendship
Pier Street and Harbour Street, Darling Harbour | Wednesday 29 January–Sunday 9 February
Image credit: Darling Harbour | Supplied
The Chinese Garden of Friendship will kick off its Lunar New Year festivities on 29 January. There'll be paper art installations, lucky red envelope giveaways with chocolate coins, traditional tea ceremonies, one-on-one Chinese zodiac readings with feng shui master Mina Zheng, and brush painting and calligraphy workshops.
Don't miss the Twilight Garden Party on Friday 31 January and 7 February with a spectacular performance by the contemporary jazz band Zodiac. Entry to the garden is $12 per adult and $8 per child.
Darling Harbour
Tumbalong Boulevard, Haymarket and Darling Harbour | Wednesday 29 January–Sunday 9 February
Image credit: Darling Harbour | Supplied
Darling Harbour’s bringing in the Year of the Snake with a bunch of events on both water and land. They’re hosting the iconic annual dragon boat races from 7 to 9 February, jet pack shows over Cockle Bay on 1 and 8 of February, fireworks throughout February, lion dance performances, and a bunch of banquets around the precinct.
Sydney Lunar Streets
Dixon Street, Haymarket and surrounds | Saturday 1 February, 5pm–10pm
Image credit: Visit Haymarket | Katherine Griffiths
There’s nowhere better to spend the Lunar New Year than Chinatown. The curtain raiser for Sydney Lunar Festival 2025 is the Sydney Lunar Streets party, where there will be heaps of market stalls and food trucks offering Asian dishes and a packed entertainment schedule that includes lion dancers, K-pop troupes, and live DJs throughout the night.
Market City
13 Hay Street, Haymarket | Saturday 1 February
Image credit: Market City | Supplied
To mark the Lunar New Year, Market City will come to life with an immersive Street Festival with market stalls, acrobatic lion dances on 3-metre high poles in the Centre Court, lucky red envelope giveaways, themed dishes from Fuji Seafood Restaurant and The Dolar Shop Hot Pot, family-friendly calligraphy workshops, custom-designed inflatable snake decorations and more—with some of the fun continuing until Sunday 16 February, check out what’s on here.
Parramatta
Parramatta Square and surrounds | Saturday 1 February, 4pm–9pm
Image credit: City of Parramatta | Supplied
The streets of Parramatta will come alive with art installations, live performances, cultural workshops and street food to celebrate Lunar New Year.
Parramatta Square will be aglow with lanterns, high-pole lion dancing, and delicacies from street food stalls serving everything from noodles and dumplings to bubble tea and mochi doughnuts. You can even get involved in Chinese calligraphy, horoscope readings, games, and more. Check out more info here.
You might also like
Darling Square Festival
Darling Square, Haymarket and surrounds | Until Sunday 16 February
Image credit: Darling Square Festival | Supplied
A major Lunar New Year Festival is taking over Darling Square with cultural performances, lantern displays and heaps of festive food and drink offerings. In honour of the Year of the Snake, there’ll be live snake shows on Saturday 8 and 15 February from 10am to 12pm, with free personalised fans on Saturdays from 4pm to 7pm and live singers and roving entertainment from 5pm.
Food specials include spicy karaage dishes by Dopa Donburi & Dessert and Gimme One Fried Skewer, a family-sized munch box from Dapur Sate, mango jam-stuffed black sesame doughnuts from Shortstop Coffee & Donuts and more. View more information online.
Lunar New Year Menus And Food Specials
Song Bird
24 Bay Street, Double Bay | Monday 27 January–Monday 10 February
Image credit: Song Bird | Supplied
Double Bay’s three-storey Cantonese restaurant Song Bird is hosting a $148pp eight-course Chinese New Year banquet crafted by Neil Perry and head chef Mark Lee. Packed with top-quality traditional ingredients and bold flavours, each course is designed to bring good fortune for the year ahead.
Dishes include lobster and scallop money bag dumplings signifying riches, Peking Duck pancakes for good luck, blue swimmer crab with Shanghai noodles for longevity, and tangyuan sticky rice balls with black sesame custard for togetherness. There'll be a special lion dance performance throughout the restaurant on Wednesday 29 January. Book your table here.
Lunar New Year Afternoon Tea
Aperture at Capella Hotel Sydney, 24 Loftus Stree, Sydney CBD | Tuesday 28 January–Thursday 16 February, 1pm–4pm daily
The stunning courtyard cafe inside Capella Hotel is celebrating the Year of the Snake with a special edition of its afternoon tea.
The Lunar New Year Afternoon Tea experience starts with caviar and accompaniments and features lobster roll with yuzu mayo, Peking duck pancake rolls, pandan and mandarin lamingtons and more for $125pp, paired with jasmine-scented white tea. For a Lunar New Year treat, you can add a glass of Louis Roederer Champagne for $25. Book online.
Arthur
544 Bourke Street, Surry Hills | Wednesday 29 January–Monday 17 February
Image credit: Arthur | Supplied
After years of loose plans, Arthur's current head chef Juwon Gwak and former head chef Will Lawson (now at sister venue Fior) have come together to take over the Surry Hills restaurant's two set menus for the Lunar New Year period.
Reimagining classic Chinese ingredients and dishes through the restaurant's uniquely Australian lens, the menus (from $120pp or $160pp) feature dishes like scallop and pork siu mai wrapped in a delicate zucchini flower, kangaroo tartare with Sichuan flavours and native pepperberry, and a bug toast with salted egg yolk emulsion on brioche. Caviar additions are available to most dishes, and a $90pp Lunar New Year wine pairing is on offer too. See full menus and book online.
Double Chin Eats
Various locations | 22 January – 12 February
Image credit: Double Chin Eats | Supplied
While the Year of the Snake might sound scary, Double Chin Eats has imagined a Lunar New Year special that's almost too cute to eat. Their snake buns ($8.80 for two) are filled with molten chocolate lava in a traditional fluffy bun.
In addition to the cute buns, they're doing a special prosperity toss salad with all the traditional elements, plus optional truffle and peach-flavoured koi fish jellies. You can get the snake buns and prosperity toss salad at all of Double Chin Eats' locations in World Square, Westfield Sydney, The Star, Broadway, Martin Place, Westfield Miranda, and Westfield Chatswood.
The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
8-12 Sydney Street, Marrickville | Wednesday 29 January–Sunday 2 February
Image credit: Hawke's Brewing Co. | Nikki To
Hawke’s Brewing Co. and in-house retro Chinese restaurant The Lucky Prawn have gone all out this year, hosting a Lunar New Year Banquet for lunch and dinner, featuring faves like prawn toast, wontons, XO pippies and snake beans.
There’ll be live entertainment from the Jin Wu Koon Lion Dancers on Thursday 30 January at 7pm and Sunday 2 February at 3pm, as well as a special edition of their monthly yum cha sesh from 11am–3pm on 2 February packed with Cantonese classics like sang choi bao, sweet and sour pork and special fried rice. Book online.
Golden Century
Level 3, Crown Sydney 1 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo
Image credit: Crown Sydney | Supplied
The timing of Golden Century's return couldn't have been more opportune for Lunar New Year celebrations. The relocated icon is celebrating the Year of the Snake with three traditional, symbolic spreads for 10 guests priced at $1488, $2088 or $3088 with dishes including prosperity toss salad, stir-fried lobster in shallot and ginger, their beloved pipis in XO sauce. See the banquet menus and book online.
If you're in the area or visiting other venues, swing by the Crown Sydney lobby to see their three-metre-tall snake installation, and lion dances between 28 January and 2 February.
Spice Temple
10 Bligh Street, Sydney CBD | Monday 5–Sunday 18 February
Image credit: Spice Temple | Supplied
Iconic CBD Chinese restaurant Spice Temple is ushering in the Year of the Snake with a one-off banquet menu. Available at lunch and dinner for $159pp, the Lunar New Year menu features raw tuna with spicy orange oil for prosperity, pork and prawn-filled money bags representing wealth, roast pork belly with aged black vinegar sauce signifying success, and red ingredients that symbolise joy, with a rose, raspberry and chocolate lollipop inspired by love, as a sweet end. Book here.
Aria
1 Macquarie Street, Sydney | Wednesday 29 January–Wednesday 12 February
Image credit: Aria | Supplied
Aria always comes through with the goods on special occasions, so if you plan on celebrating Lunar New Year with an unforgettable feast, this is your spot. Sommelier Salvatore Persico has even curated an optional pairing of wines created in previous Years of the Snake.
Their eight-course, $350pp tasting menu, honouring traditional flavours and paired with Aria's breathtaking views, includes drunken quail with water chestnut, turnip and young garlic; Aquna Murray Cod with scallop, gai lan and ginger; and a strawberry, Sichuan and pepperberry dessert. Two special cocktails incorporating ingredients like Sichuan pepper, lychee and Chinese five spice are available too. See the full menu and book online.
The Lunar Feast
Fat Noodle at The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont | Tuesday 4 February, 6pm–10pm
Image credit: Fat Noodle | Supplied
Chef Luke Nguyen is hosting a $128pp six-course Lunar New Year feast at Fat Noodle for one night only including a lychee and kalamansi mocktail on arrival, and dishes like fatt choy yu sheng with Australian king salmon and Kaluga caviar; braised pork ravioli with yam taro and lotus chips in Luke’s special-recipe stock; golden king prawn fried rice with egg floss and a Vietnamese coffee bavarois infused with Kahlua and coconut gelato.
The Star’s other venues also have exclusive Lunar New Year 2025 offerings like a $138pp Lunar New Year banquet at Harvest Buffet, a decadent sashimi platter at Sokyo for $888 and more, alongside LED dragon and horoscope installations and lion dance performances throughout the venue—check out everything that’s on here.
Lana
Level 1/5-7 Young Street, Circular Quay | Thursday 30 January–Saturday 15 February (excluding Friday 14 February)
Located in the historic Hinchcliff House, Lana is effortless, modern Italian dining punctuated with Asian flavours. Executive chef Alex Wong has devised a $188pp multi-course feast for Lunar New Year 2025, with a line-up featuring scallop ‘silk’ with nduja XO; spring onion piadina topped with konbu mascarpone, sea urchin and caviar; prosperity salad packed with Ora king salmon; a top-tier Wagyu rump cap in white pepper sauce; and silken tofu budino made with yogurt, coconut, lychee and rice congee. Book online.
Lilymu
3 Parramatta Square, 153 Macquarie Street, Parramatta | Saturday 25 January—Sunday 2 February
Image credit: Lilymu | Supplied
Parramatta pan-Asian restaurant Lilymu is putting on a $108pp Lunar New Year Banquet, where guests receive a $20 dining voucher in a red pocket for future visits. Standout dishes include spicy dumplings with black vinegar; mapo eggplant with arare crackers; tuna takai with XO and nasturtiums; roast barramundi with ginger and shallot; and beef short rib with gochujang and perilla. There’ll also be lion dance performances from noon on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 February. Book online.
The Fullerton Hotel
1 Martin Place, Sydney CBD | Monday 27 January–Sunday 2 March
The Fullerton Hotel is celebrating with a prosperity-inspired Lunar New Year Afternoon Tea at The Bar starring colourful creations like rambutan coconut verrine, a decadent black sesame mousse roulade, and pecking duck wraps. The festive afternoon tea is $78pp including tea or coffee, $88pp with a flute of Chandon sparkling wine or $98pp for two hours of free-flowing prosecco—available from 12pm to 4pm daily.
There’s also a lion dance on Friday 31 January from 1pm to 2.30pm, limited-edition cocktails for $25 like a Red Lantern martini, and three festive delicacies at The Place restaurant including an eight-treasure dim sum basket, XO pipis and a Fullerton prosperity salad.
Now fill up your calendar with
Main image credit: Darling Square | Supplied
Urban List Best Of: has our highest stamp of approval—curated lists of the very best recommendations for you to eat, do, see, buy or book, carefully chosen by our Editors.