The best Sydney CBD restaurants for a long lunch - Eat Out

Mar 12, 2025

With more workers back in the office, a feast of new Sydney dining destinations is luring hungry crowds back to CBD tables.

Just as the suits have started to reappear, so have the long business lunches, spawning a number of big openings that might just be bringing the sparkle back to Sydney. Among the newcomers is The International, a grand development in the city’s CBD that has quickly become a favoured power-lunch destination. Helmed by the team behind Shell House – itself a popular place for strategy sessions held over a saucy lobster agnolotti – The International blends old-world hospitality with contemporary Australian flavours, offering an opportunity to negotiate contracts over steaks, seafood platters and martinis.

The Grill at The International, Sydney — The Grill at The International

The sleek design of the venue’s multiple dining spaces – soaring ceilings, plush banquette and a hushed, confident buzz, with panoramic views – evokes a time when business lunches were the cornerstone of corporate culture.

Brett Robinson, Group CEO of The Point group – the team behind The International – believes it’s the role of restaurants like these to provide a comfortable environment that allows diners to focus on each other without too many interruptions.

The Wine Bar at The International, Sydney — The Wine Bar at The International

“It’s very important for our team to understand the purpose of the lunch or dinner,” Robinson says. “Does it have a time constraint? Is it a serious business discussion that requires privacy and less time from our waiter table-side?”

A few streets away, pasta-fuelled Neptune’s Grotto has taken over the dimly-lit residence beneath the NY steakhouse-styled Clam Bar, both ideal for a quick catch-up over snacks or an extended, multi-course team outing to toast a new client. There’s also King Clarence, the Bentley Group’s sleek pan-Asian diner, offering plenty of lighter raw and snacky options for those not able to nap under their desks post-lunch; as well as the Bentley Group’s new Eleven Barrack, a striking seafood and steak restaurant sure to be popular with the executive set.

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Plates of food at Eleven Barrack in Sydney. — Power dining at Eleven Barrack

Robinsons says this return to city dining reflects a longing for connection, a shift away from the transactional nature of virtual meetings and back toward the rituals of hospitality.

“It’s an exciting time for the CBD,” he says. “People have a desire to be out meeting, socialising and conversing about the events of the day.” Restaurateurs, sensing this shift, have recalibrated their offerings to meet the moment.

Neptunes Grotto in the Sydney CBD — Neptunes Grotto

Fixed-price menus cater to time-sensitive diners, ensuring a two-hour lunch doesn’t stretch into an entire afternoon. Wine lists have been retooled to include more by-the-glass options, acknowledging not every deal-maker is keen on a bottle at noon. Private dining rooms, once under-utilised during the workday, are now booked weeks in advance.

In an era of hybrid work and digital overload, returning to in-person meetings around a table, sharing food not rushed down out of microwavable containers in between meetings doesn’t just feel like a trend, but a statement. Sydney’s business folks are reclaiming the table as a space for collaboration, connection and, yes, the occasional celebratory toast.