Not many of us want to be up at 6am on Christmas Eve curing a side of salmon, preparing two kilograms of prawns — and three dipping sauces — and also just about to start a theatrical (read: challenging) cherry and gingerbread bombe Alaska or festive Yule log. Christmastime is busy enough before we even factor in the culinary efforts, so to save the effort, here are the best restaurants open on Christmas Day in Australia in 2024.
If you’d rather give yourself a break this year, we have the answer: outsource the festive stress and have a Christmas feast at a top Australian restaurant. We wholeheartedly support you getting out of the kitchen (and the tedious clean-up) altogether by booking everyone into a restaurant.
Of course, many popular spots close over the holiday period. So, we’ve done the heavy lifting to pull together the top places open on Christmas in Australia’s major cities — and that still have bookings available. From harbourside Sydney restaurants and rooftop restaurants in Perth to beloved St Kilda pubs and fun-loving Chinese diners in Brisbane, these top restaurants are offering celebratory banquets for all tastes and traditions this season.
Restaurant bookings tend to book out quickly for the holiday, too, so it’s best to secure a table for you and your merry crew as soon as possible. Here are the top restaurants open on Christmas Day around Australia in 2024.
What’s open Christmas Day in Sydney
Delta Rue
Sydney
Situated within the freshly renovated Sofitel Wentworth Sydney, this Vietnamese-French restaurant will transform into a seafood haven, replete with a spread of prawns, oysters, sashimi, poached bay bugs and crab. There will also be glazed rum honey ham, turkey with all the trimmings and abundant salads. To amplify the festive vibes, there will be live music, a visit from Santa and free-flowing drinks.
Price: $249 per adult or $99 for kids aged 5–17.
Quay
Circular Quay
Quay is putting on a spectacular five-course menu on Christmas Day, featuring five courses from celebrated Australian chef Peter Gilmore. Dishes may include raw scallops with smoked eel cream and sea cucumber crackling; marron with sea urchin, koshihikari rice and marigold broth; and roast beef fillet with mushroom and black garlic purrée.
Price: $650 per person, plus the option to add wine pairing.
Yallamundi Rooms at Sydney Opera House
Circular Quay
Just across the harbour, Danielle Alvarez is crafting a three-course Christmas Day feast. Book in for a lunch in the Yallamundi Rooms to dine on the likes of roast turkey, pancetta, cranberry, sage and pistachio stuffing; summer greens and cos salad; garlicky roasted potatoes; and a white peach and cherry trifle.
Price: from $299 per person or $115 for children.
Cafe Sydney
Circular Quay
Also by the harbour, Cafe Sydney is hosting Christmas Day lunch for $330 per person. With some of the best views in town, it will be serving a set menu that is both festive and uniquely Australian — think seared scallop with oyster cream and caviar; truffle stuffed quail with hazelnut and blackberry; duck with red currant jus; and Christmas pudding with brandy crème anglaise.
Price: $330 per person or $95 for children up to 12.
Anason
Barangaroo
Want to break tradition this Christmas? No ham, no roast turkey, no mince pies? Barangaroo’s waterfront Turkish restaurant Anason is serving up a Middle Eastern feast of tarama, salmon cig kofte, Tilba haloumi drizzled with honey, charred calamari, pomegranate roast chicken and pull-apart lamb shoulder.
Price: $195 per person or $95 for children under 14.
Woodcut
Barangaroo
Also in Barangaroo, Woodcut at Crown Sydney is offering a festive four-course lunch for $390 per person. Plus it’s open for dinner, offering a la carte menus for groups of nine people or less.
Price: $390 per person or $130 for children.
a’Mare
Barangaroo
Also located in Crown, Italian fine-diner a’Mare is putting on a Mediterranean feast of trofie al pesto pasta made tableside and tiramisù al cucchiaio served the traditional way.
Price: $295 per person.
Brasserie 1930
CBD
In the city, Brasserie 1930 is hosting Christmas meals this year, with both Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch services on offer. The menu is a three-course shared menu of Christmas classics — think king prawn with fermented chilli, glazed ham, and show-stopping sides — curated by executive chef Brent Savage.
Price: $295 per person.
Fabbrica Bread Shop
Rozelle and Coogee
Looking for something more casual on Christmas Day morning? Fabbrica Bread Shop, both in Rozelle and its brand-new Coogee outpost, is open from 6.30am–12pm with coffee and pre-ordered catering pick-ups.
Promenade
Interior at the Promenade Bondi Beach.
The sandy shores of Bondi Beach can be your backdrop this Christmas, all joined by a seafood-studded set menu. The dining room is open for bookings only, but the Beach Bar is open all day for walk-ins.
Price: $299 per adult or $99 for children.
What’s open Christmas Day in Melbourne
Warabi
CBD
If you’re staying in Melbourne and aren’t bound to tradition, Warabi is offering a 13-course omakase dinner menu inspired by the festive season. Plus, you’ll leave with a gift — a Japanese Christmas cake — to eat on Boxing Day.
Price: $420 per person.
Studley Park Boathouse
Kew
Melbourne’s historic boathouse at Studley Park will be open and full of festivities. Offering a lunch menu for $165 per person, the venue promises three courses of Christmas favourites.
Price: $165 per person or $50 for children under 12.
Hotel Esplanade St Kilda
St Kilda
Southside, St Kilda’s The Espy is hosting not one but three feasts this Christmas Day. In the main bar and onsite Italian-American restaurant Louey’s, it’s serving a seafood-leaning feast — seafood platters of oysters, prawns, and half shell scallops, followed by mains, sides, and pavlova and cherry lamington for dessert.
At its onsite Asian-inspired restaurant Mya Tiger, there’ll be a $185 Cantonese banquet featuring Moreton Bay bug dumplings; wagyu beef pan-fried buns; honey glazed char siu; and roast duck served with condiments. Plus, a five-spiced plum pavlova to finish.
Price: From $178 per person or $68 for children under 12.
Luci
Melbourne CBD
Celebrate within the grand hall of the historic Equity Chambers building. Here, Italian inspiration spans five courses including a seafood and antipasti sharing platter upon arrival and a decadent dessert buffet to finish.
Price: $250 per person or $60 for children.
Lake House
Daylesford
While not in Melbourne, Lake House in Daylesford is a picture-perfect destination for Christmas in the country. Book a festive three-night stay at Lake House Hotel and enjoy being taken care of over the holidays. The stay includes a celebratory Christmas Day lunch menu with paired sommelier-selected wines and a four-course lunch or dinner in the Lake House Restaurant.
Price: Price of Christmas at Lake House festive package varies.
What’s open Christmas Day in Brisbane
Naldham House
Brisbane City
This flash new brasserie will trot out a three-course set menu replete with lobster cocktail, Murray cod Grenobloise or crisp porchetta, and salted caramel profiteroles. Add bubbles for extra festive fun.
Price: $275 per person.
The Lex
brisbane city
W Brisbane’s New York-style grill, The Lex, is open for Christmas Day lunch. As the hotel’s new signature restaurant occupies the terrace-style space, it’s offering a festive feast with sweeping city and river views. For $299, you’ll get snacks on arrival, a three-course lunch and matched drinks for three hours.
Price: $299 per person or from $95 for children.
Donna Chang
Brisbane City
At Brisbane’s popular Donna Chang, heritage quarters with decorative ceilings create a plush setting at this upmarket riff on Chinese. And on Christmas Day, the restaurant is offering a contemporary Chinese banquet menu paired with free-flowing drinks for two and a half hours.
Price: $288 per person or $99 for children.
What’s open Christmas Day in Adelaide
Koomo
CBD
Have a sky-high festive lunch at Koomo, located on the 10th floor of the city’s tallest building, Crowne Plaza Adelaide. The self-proclaimed Asian fusion restaurant is offering a share-style Christmas dinner menu in its stylish dining room with views over the city.
Price: $169 per person.
Ela at Hotel Alba
CBD
Hotel Alba’s signature restaurant Ela is open for lunch Christmas, with a special three-course lunch of share plates paired with free-flowing drinks, plus a Spritz on arrival and an apéritif with dessert. The menu includes dishes such as lamb koftas and prawn cocktails with Marie Rose sauce to start, followed by char-grilled beef fillet, oven-baked barramundi and pickled fennel, plus festive desserts — from cannolis to fresh cherries.
Price: From $179 per person.
What’s open Christmas Day in Perth
Long Chim
CBD
David Thompson’s Long Chim restaurant is serving a share-style Thai street food banquet this Christmas, featuring aromatic beef skewers, fresh oysters, toothfish red curry, wagyu flank crying tiger, sum tum with green papaya, and more.
Price: $175 per person or $50 for children under 12.
Bistro Guillaume
CBD
At French diner Bistro Guillaume inside Crown Perth, you can expect a glass of Moët & Chandon on arrival and a luxurious four-course set menu.
Price: $230 per person or $105 for children 4-12.
What’s open Christmas Day in Canberra
The Boat House
Barton
Sitting pretty on the edge of Lake Burley Griffin, The Boat House is offering a long, leisurely Christmas lunch this year. The six-course set menu might include mud crab and lobster zucchini roulade, egg yolk ravioli, Maremma dry-aged duck and, for dessert, lemon myrtle pavlova with golden kiwi and native mint. If you’re looking for an elegant feast and a scenic setting, this is the spot.
Price: $240 per person or $110 for children.
Decided to stay at home? Check out our best Christmas recipes, Christmas salads and festive Christmas dessert recipes.
