An EOFY lunch has to land two things at once: a genuine reward for the team, and everyone back at their desks before the afternoon disappears. The venues below cover both, from a fast single-dish steak lunch to a proper sit-down that earns a write-off afternoon, all within the CBD or a short walk into The Rocks. These are the EOFY lunch spots worth booking early.
24 York
24 York on York Street is the easiest lunch on this list to organise. There’s one dish, so there’s nothing to coordinate, just a premium grass-fed scotch fillet with tallow-fried shoestring fries and your choice of house-made sauces, the same every service. A team can be seated, fed and back at the desk without losing the afternoon.
If the lunch is meant to run on, the bar does a happy hour from 3.30 to 5.30pm, with $7 cocktails and frites to match. An easy place to see out the afternoon.
Rockpool Bar & Grill
Rockpool Bar & Grill on Hunter Street is the one for a lunch meant to impress a client. The grand Art Deco dining room does half the work before the food arrives. The wood-fired fillet with béarnaise and the dry-aged beef are the draw, and the wine list is long enough to find something for the table.
Saké Restaurant & Bar
Saké Restaurant & Bar in The Rocks is the pick when the afternoon still has work in it. The contemporary Japanese menu keeps a lunch from sitting heavy, built around lighter share plates and sashimi rather than a big plated main. Group menus and private rooms make a midday booking straightforward.
Spice Temple
Spice Temple is the one for a lunch that feels nothing like the office. The room is dark and low-lit even at midday, and the regional Chinese menu runs bold, from prawn toast with sweet and sour to the hotter Sichuan dishes. A banquet keeps it simple for a group.
Bar Patrón
Bar Patrón at Circular Quay is the lunch to have by the water. Set menus keep the ordering quick for a group, the margaritas signal it’s a celebration, and the room looks straight out over the harbour with the winter sun coming through. Good for a team that wants the year-end lunch to feel like an event.
The Cut Bar & Grill
The Cut Bar & Grill sits in the Argyle Stores basement in The Rocks, all heritage sandstone and low light. Groups gather around the slow-roasted prime rib, and the Rocks Room takes the bigger tables.
Sahtein
Sahtein at 18b Argyle Street runs a set Lebanese banquet, which is the quickest way to feed a big group at lunch, as no one orders, and plates just arrive. Charcoal-grilled meats and warm bread land in rounds until everyone’s done. Private rooms handle the larger bookings.
Ananas
Ananas in the Argyle Stores is the one for a proper long lunch, the kind you don’t rush back from. The French set menu runs the classics, including soupe à l’oignon and steak frites with a wagyu sirloin, in a brasserie with a Champagne bar at the entrance. Book it when the afternoon’s already written off.
Securing Your Midday Table
EOFY lunch bookings fill fast across the CBD and The Rocks as June closes, so it’s worth locking in your table early.
Book 24 York for a steak frites lunch the team can be in and out of.
*All Hunter Street Hospitality venues practise the responsible service of alcohol. Drink responsibly.