TRAVEL: Sydney Sets the Table

On a balmy Sydney afternoon, there are few pleasures more deeply ingrained in local life than eating outdoors, a crisp white wine sweating in the glass, plates of fresh seafood and pasta drifting past, and the gentle theatre of the street unfolding beyond the table. A recent trip to one of my favourite cities, Sydney showed that this scene is becoming bigger, brighter, and easier to create than ever before.

The week that I was there, the City unveiled a bold proposal aimed at supercharging Sydney’s alfresco dining culture, calling it a “big leap forward” for hospitality, residents, and visitors alike. If approved, the changes would make it simpler for cafés, bars, and restaurants to spill onto footpaths and streets, turning everyday thoroughfares into vibrant dining rooms under the open sky.

Public feedback on the plan which is open until Thursday 12 March, and the draft guidelines reveal a city eager once again to embrace outdoor life. The new rules would apply across most of the City of Sydney local government area, covering neighborhoods from Surry Hills and Glebe to the CBD and Potts Point, with notable exceptions including The Rocks, much of Circular Quay, Barangaroo, and Darling Harbour, where separate arrangements apply.

Certain iconic streets will have extra oversight. Martin Place between George and Pitt streets, bustling George Street itself, and Llankelly Place in Potts Point, one of Sydney’s most famous dining strips, will require additional consideration to balance pedestrian flow, safety, and special events. Larger outdoor setups, particularly those exceeding 20 square meters, will need public consultation to make sure they sit comfortably within their communities.

At the heart of the proposal is a radical simplification of the system. The City wants to make it easier for venues to apply for outdoor dining permits, use more footpath space for tables and chairs, and create greener, more inviting streets through planter boxes and landscaping. It also plans to scrap some of the more restrictive rules that have governed alfresco dining in the past, including bans on standing without a table or shelf, and requirements around toilets, food service areas, and heaters.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore AO has described the move as “flipping the script” on outdoor dining.

“Rather than telling businesses what they can do and where, we’re saying as long as you keep a clear path people can get through, and your neighbors are happy, we don’t want any red tape holding you back,” she said. “Our priority is to ensure the city continues to have thriving outdoor dining spaces while maintaining sufficient space for others, including people with disabilities, those pushing prams or people with limited mobility.”

Sydney already has a taste of what this future could look like. Since 2020, the City has offered public footpath and road space to hospitality businesses free of charge, a move born out of necessity during the Covid pandemic but now widely credited with transforming the city’s dining culture. Nearly 1,000 applications have been approved, creating around 13,000 square metres of new dining space and saving businesses roughly $20 million in waived fees.

The impact has been tangible. More than three-quarters of participating businesses say the extra customers brought by outdoor dining required them to hire more staff, while over a third reported turnover increases of at least 20 per cent. In many precincts, streets once dominated by traffic now hum with the clink of cutlery, conversation, and late-afternoon laughter. It’s a fun place again…

For locals and travellers alike, it has made Sydney feel more European, more relaxed, and more alive. Long lunches now stretch into sunset, hidden laneways reveal candlelit tables, and the city’s famously mild climate finally gets the dining culture it deserves.

If the City’s new proposal is adopted, those scenes may soon become the norm rather than the exception; a Sydney where the best seat in the house is always outside.