RFK Rankings · Sydney
Best Restaurants Open Late in Sydney 2026
Late kitchens, seating to 23:00+ · Sydney · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published May 26, 2026 · Updated June 21, 2026
At midnight on a Friday, Mr Wong is still sending out Peking duck three floors below Bridge Lane. Sydney is not a true all-night city, but a handful of rooms keep a real kitchen going past 23:00, and the best of them cook as if it were eight o'clock. The list runs from a basement French bistro serving to 1am to a Chinatown seafood hall that goes to 3am, with burgers, a wine bar and a deli-bar filling the hours between. Six late tables, ranked on how late the kitchen runs and how well it cooks, with the hours checked against each room's current listing.
1.Mr Wong
Merivale's big basement Cantonese hall serving to midnight at the weekend. Book it for a proper late dinner, not just a snack.
Mr Wong is Merivale's three-floor Cantonese hall off Bridge Lane in the CBD, and on Thursday to Saturday the kitchen runs to midnight, late enough for a full sit-down dinner rather than a scramble. Executive chef Dan Hong's menu keeps the in-house-roasted Peking duck with pancakes as its set piece, with dinner around 70 to 110 dollars a head. This is the booking for the best late dinner in the city, a room that still feels like an occasion at 11pm. Reserve ahead for a weekend, when the late tables fill, and note the kitchen winds back to 11pm earlier in the week.
Book through merivale.com; come Thu to Sat and order the Peking duck.
2.Restaurant Hubert
A candle-lit basement French bistro with the kitchen open to 1am. Book it for the latest proper dinner in the CBD.
Restaurant Hubert is a candle-lit basement French bistro on Bligh Street in the CBD, run by the Swillhouse group, where the kitchen serves Monday to Saturday until 1am, later than any full-service room on this list. The cooking is classic bistro, the rotisserie and the charcuterie board the calling cards, with dinner around 70 to 100 dollars a head and live jazz some nights. This is the booking for a long, late, grown-up dinner when most kitchens have closed. Reserve ahead for the dining room or take a chance on the bar seats, and come after the theatre when a 1am kitchen is exactly what you want.
Book through swillhouse.com; arrive late and order from the rotisserie.
3.Royal Palace Seafood
The successor to Golden Century, serving live seafood to 3am at the weekend. Come for the latest real kitchen in the city.
Royal Palace Seafood took over the old Golden Century premises on Sussex Street in Haymarket, a 400-to-600-seat Cantonese hall that opened in 2024 and runs its kitchen to 3am on Thursday to Saturday, the latest serious cooking in Sydney. The order is the live mud crab or lobster, XO or ginger and shallot, pulled from the tanks, with banquets around 60 to 120 dollars a head and yum cha by day. This is the booking for a genuine after-midnight feast, the Chinatown institution reborn for the small hours. Walk in late or reserve a table for a group; the room stays busy well past 1am at the weekend.
Walk in late on Sussex Street; order a live mud crab from the tank.
4.Mary's
Newtown's dark-bar burger joint open to midnight. Come for a late cheeseburger and a beer, not a quiet sit-down.
Mary's is the dark, loud burger room on Mary Street in Newtown, founded by Jake Smyth and Kenny Graham, open to midnight most nights for a cheeseburger when the better-dressed kitchens have shut. The Mary's Burger, a double cheeseburger, and the fried chicken are the whole point, with burgers around 15 to 20 dollars, beer and metal on the stereo. This is the booking for a no-frills late feed rather than a sit-down dinner, the after-show staple of the inner west. There are no reservations for a small table; walk in, and note the kitchen runs to midnight rather than the 2am some older lists still claim.
Walk in to Newtown; order the Mary's Burger and a beer before midnight.
5.10 William Street
A tiny Paddington wine bar pouring to midnight with a late Italian kitchen. Book it for late small plates and an interesting bottle.
10 William Street is the cult Italian wine bar on its namesake Paddington street, from the Fratelli Paradiso group, open Monday to Saturday with the bar running to midnight and the kitchen sending late small plates until around 11pm. The zucchini-flower pizzetta is the dish people come back for, alongside a rotating chalkboard of pasta, with plates around 20 to 35 dollars and a list deep in low-intervention Italian bottles. This is the booking for a late, wine-led graze rather than a full late dinner. Reserve a table or squeeze in at the bar, and order another bottle before the kitchen closes.
Book through 10williamst.com.au; come before 11pm for the pizzetta.
6.Continental Deli
A tinned-fish-and-martini deli-bar open to 11:30pm at the weekend. Book it for late grazing and a can o' martini.
Continental Deli Bar Bistro on Australia Street in Newtown, from the Paisano and Daughters family behind Porteno, runs to 11:30pm on Friday and Saturday, a deli counter by day turned tongue-in-cheek bar by night. The canned martini is the calling card, alongside tinned-fish and jamon plates and a short list of pasta, with small plates around 25 to 40 dollars. This is the booking for a late weekend graze with a drink rather than a serious dinner, weekday nights closing earlier at 11pm. Reserve ahead for a Friday or Saturday table, and open with a can o' martini and a board of deli plates.
Book through paisanoanddaughters.com.au; order the can o' martini Fri or Sat.
Not for everyone
Anyone expecting Mary's to run to 2am. Mary's kitchen closes at midnight, not the 2am that older lists still claim, so plan a late-but-not-all-night feed. For a kitchen still cooking after midnight, Royal Palace in Haymarket runs to 3am at the weekend and Restaurant Hubert to 1am.
Diners after Mejico on Pitt Street. The CBD Mejico has closed and the brand has moved to Surry Hills, so the old Pitt Street late booking is gone. For a late CBD dinner, Mr Wong and Restaurant Hubert are the picks; for the latest kitchen in town, Royal Palace in Chinatown.
Weeknight late diners. Several of these rooms only run late on Thursday to Saturday: Mr Wong to midnight, Royal Palace to 3am and Continental Deli to 11:30pm are weekend hours, with earlier weekday closes. Check the night before you set out, and lean on Restaurant Hubert, open to 1am Monday to Saturday, for a midweek late dinner.
How to eat late in Sydney
Know which rooms run latest. Royal Palace in Haymarket is the only kitchen here that cooks to 3am, on Thursday to Saturday, and Restaurant Hubert in the CBD runs to 1am six nights a week, so those two are the bookings when it is genuinely late. Mr Wong holds a midnight kitchen Thursday to Saturday for a proper sit-down dinner.
Match the room to the hour and the appetite. For a full late dinner, Mr Wong and Royal Palace are the picks; for late small plates and wine, 10 William Street in Paddington and Continental Deli in Newtown; for a no-frills feed, Mary's burgers before midnight. The inner-west rooms are walk-in, the CBD rooms reward a reservation.
Check the night, not just the venue. Weekend hours run later across the board, so a Tuesday plan needs Restaurant Hubert rather than the weekend-only kitchens. Browse the wider Sydney dining guide and compare the best late-night restaurants worldwide before you head out.
Frequently asked
What is the best late-night restaurant in Sydney?
Mr Wong, Merivale's three-floor Cantonese hall off Bridge Lane in the CBD, which runs a full kitchen to midnight on Thursday to Saturday. Chef Dan Hong's in-house-roasted Peking duck makes it a proper late dinner rather than a snack, in a room that still feels like an occasion at 11pm. For the latest serious kitchen, Royal Palace in Haymarket goes to 3am at the weekend.
Which Sydney restaurant has the latest kitchen?
Royal Palace Seafood on Sussex Street in Haymarket, the successor to Golden Century, which serves live seafood from its tanks until 3am on Thursday to Saturday, the latest real cooking in the city. Restaurant Hubert in the CBD is next, with its French bistro kitchen open to 1am six nights a week. Both go well past the 23:00 mark most Sydney kitchens close at.
Is Mary's in Newtown open until 2am?
No. Despite older listings, Mary's in Newtown now closes at midnight most nights rather than 2am, with the kitchen running to close. It is still a genuine late burger room, with the double cheeseburger and fried chicken the orders, but for cooking after midnight you want Royal Palace, open to 3am at the weekend, or Restaurant Hubert, open to 1am.
Where can I get a late dinner in the Sydney CBD?
Mr Wong off Bridge Lane runs a Cantonese kitchen to midnight Thursday to Saturday, and Restaurant Hubert on Bligh Street serves classic French bistro food to 1am Monday to Saturday, the two best late CBD dinners. For an after-midnight feast a short walk away in Haymarket, Royal Palace Seafood keeps its kitchen going to 3am at the weekend. Reserve ahead for the CBD rooms.
Do Sydney late-night restaurants take walk-ins?
That varies by the room, so check before you go. Mary's, Royal Palace and the Newtown deli-bar generally take walk-ins late, though a weekend table is safer reserved, while Mr Wong, Restaurant Hubert and 10 William Street reward a booking. For the latest kitchens, Royal Palace stays busy past 1am and Hubert holds bar seats for walk-ins.
Which Sydney late spots are open on weeknights?
Restaurant Hubert is the most reliable midweek late dinner, with its kitchen open to 1am Monday to Saturday. Mr Wong serves to 11pm earlier in the week and midnight Thursday to Saturday, while Royal Palace and Continental Deli keep their latest hours for Thursday to Saturday. For a Tuesday or Wednesday late meal, Hubert is the safest booking; check current hours for the rest.
Related rankings
More from RFK
Browse the full Sydney dining guide, compare the best late-night restaurants worldwide, see the best Sydney walk-in restaurants, check the best Sydney rooftop restaurants, or open the full RFK rankings index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with OpenTable, Resy or Tock; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.