Fourteen years on, the Pyrmont Food and Wine Festival is still the weekend that reminds us what makes Sydney so special.
There’s a moment, somewhere between your second glass of Hunter Valley shiraz and a warm Berry donut dusted in sugar, when Pyrmont Festival stops feeling like an event and starts feeling like home.
That’s the magic that has kept Sydneysiders coming back for fourteen years. This May, Pirrama Park transforms once again into the city’s most beloved harbourside celebration – and if you haven’t been, 2026 is the year to fix that!
A road trip without the driving
Festival Director Alex Gibbs has a gift for distilling the soul of the festival into a single image. “Leave the keys at home,” he says, “and go on a statewide road trip.” In one afternoon, you can sip your way from the Hunter Valley to Orange, take a detour through Mudgee, and finish on the South Coast – all without moving more than a few steps from the harbour’s edge.
More than 25 wineries, breweries and distilleries will be pouring across the weekend, from beloved names like Tulloch Wines and Scarborough Wine Co. to smaller discoveries just waiting to become your new favourite. Four standout distilleries – Finders, Unexpected Guest, Karu and the cheekily named Pants Off – round out a drinks list that covers every mood from sharp, buttery whites to classic cocktails reimagined.
A star ingredient
This year, one of the festival’s most exciting presences is right on the doorstep. The Star Sydney, a longstanding partner of the event, is bringing the talent of its kitchens to Pirrama Park — and for Executive Chef Vincent, the occasion means something beyond the plate.
“The Star is such a big part of the Pyrmont community,” he says in an exclusive interview with New Idea.
“It’s not just a food and wine festival – importantly, it’s about creating a memorable and unique experience for the local community.”
Leading that charge is Chef Kenji Lai, Chef de Cuisine of Fat Noodle, who is bringing one of the restaurant’s most beloved dishes to the festival: the signature laksa.
“It’s inspired by both our home country, Malaysia, and my career-forming years in Singapore,” Kenji explains. “It reflects a unique flavour – we make the dish easy to integrate for everyone, from anywhere in the world.”
The laksa has long been Fat Noodle’s best-selling dish, and Kenji is not resting on its reputation. “We always try to enhance the recipe,” he says – a quiet confidence that speaks to the kind of cooking that earns loyalty not through trends, but through consistency and genuine craft.
More than something to drink
Pyrmont Festival has always understood that great wine deserves great company and great food. Beyond Fat Noodle’s laksa, this year’s eating is as eclectic and generous as Sydney itself. Sofrito Paella brings the smoke and saffron. The Gnocchi Way does Italian the right way. Wagyu Blacks offers an A5 experience you’d normally need a reservation weeks in advance to access. And then there’s The Famous Berry Donut Van, an institution so beloved it requires no further explanation.
Wander a little further, and you’ll find artisan cheeses, hand-rolled salamis, local honey, single-origin chocolate and small-batch miso – a producers’ market that celebrates the people growing and making things with real care, not far from the city at all.
A community that’s been building for 14 years
What sets Pyrmont Festival apart from the weekend pop-ups and fleeting food markets is something harder to manufacture: genuine community. This is a grassroots event, built by locals for locals, that has quietly become one of Sydney’s most anticipated calendar moments. Families spread out on the grass. Dogs trot happily on leads. Kids get their faces painted or work their way around a mini golf course with sticky fingers and wide eyes.
On the Harbourside Stage, Jo Fabro and the Crown Jewel Band deliver the kind of soulful, unhurried music that makes you want to stay one more hour. Over at the Sunset Stage, the energy lifts with Luna and As Seen on TV keeping the afternoon moving.
There are art exhibitions, wellness showcases and hands-on workshops from local artists too – because Pyrmont Festival has always believed a good weekend feeds the mind as much as the stomach.
Save the date
Pirrama Park opens its gates on 23 and 24 May – and entry is completely FREE. Whether you come for the wine, the wagyu, that legendary laksa, or simply the excuse to spend a sunny May weekend by the harbour with people you love, Pyrmont Festival will, as it always does, deliver something you didn’t quite expect.
