Some say the best meals are those made by someone else. And during one of the busiest times of the year, that couldn’t be truer. If the holidays have snuck up on you, leaving you little time to map out Christmas feasting plans, here are a few last-minute ideas.

Dine in and leave it to the pros


Place your Christmas in the good hands of the team at Malin this year with lunch at the Rathdowne Street wine bar. Expect a five-course meal including caviar-topped cromesquis, octopus with saffron rouille, roast duck with truffle puree and gem lettuce, and a beetroot sponge cake with a blueberry sorbet for dessert. Book online.

For a change from the classic holiday roast, spend Christmas Day at Thai-inspired eatery BKK. Tuck into a four-course banquet that includes fried chicken wings with sweet fish sauce, yellow curry with grilled king prawns and snake bean, and pavlova to finish. Just downstairs, Her Bar is offering its own festive, seafood-centric set menu featuring Sydney rock oysters with mignonette sauce, devilled Moreton Bay bugs with crisp pancetta and Eton mess for dessert. Book BKK here and Her Bar here.

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For a more casual affair, grab a seat at the Espy’s main bar for à la carte pizza, seafood, snacks and cocktails overlooking the bay. Book online. Or you could settle in at Arbory, which is taking bookings for tables of up to 20 guests. Book online. Or go for an interactive feed at upmarket teppanyaki restaurant Koko.

Impress your guests with a fancy finish-at-home meal

For all the satisfaction of cooking your own Christmas lunch with a skerrick of the effort, order some of Blakeaway’s Christmas starters, mains, sides and desserts. There’s stuffed turkey breast, cooked king prawns, roasted porchetta plus all sorts of fixings – think crayfish and prawn sliders, and salmon blini. You’ll be covered for dessert as well with mixed berry pavlova and fruit mince pies. Order here.

Meanwhile, Hagen’s Organics is also putting in the legwork with a range of prepped ham, turkey, seafood, rib eyes and more for Christmas. It even has stuffing, chicken gravy and cherry relish to pair with the proteins. Order here before Tuesday December 17.

And if you’re navigating dietaries, or just after a veggie-packed feast, Shannon Martinez’s vegan spot Smith & Deli has brought back its “Christmas smorgasbord” for the fourth year running. Get vegan turkey stuffed with cranberry and chestnuts, or a vegan ham that’s braised, smoked, then basted in a whisky gingerbread glaze. There’s also soy eggnog, vegan brandy custard, stuffed pumpkin and creamed greens. Pre-orders are sold out, but the deli is restocked with Christmas items daily.

Curate a whole spread from Italian supermarket La Manna, with everything from ready-to-bake Moreton Bay bugs, prawn cocktails and grazing platters, to paella, slow-cooked lamb shoulder and a box of 51 cannoli. Order for pick-up on or before Tuesday December 24.

Go all out with festive desserts

Joey Leung’s Joy Jaune at Preston Market will have whole Basque cheesecakes, chocolate chip cookies, and festive red and white strawberry jelly panna cotta. Order via Instagram direct message before Tuesday December 17 for pick-up on Tuesday December 24.

Co Bake Space co-founder Alice Bennett is selling festive cakes decorated with piped trees and wreaths as well as candy cane cookies, shortbread and ginger-spiced cookies. Order before Friday December 20 for pick-up on Tuesday December 24.

For frozen takes on classic cakes, Pidapipo has a gelato version of a classic Italian star-shaped pandoro cake. A cake base is topped with layers of bacio gelato, chocolate fudge, hazelnut gelato, cherry jam, chocolate gelato, pandoro gelato and coconut gelato. The whole thing is encased in chocolate semifreddo and finished off with a handmade gelato cherry. Available for purchase in-store or for online order until Saturday December 21, for collection on or before Tuesday December 24.

And if you’re looking for pud, Stokehouse has brought back its tropical Christmas pudding for the third year. It comes with a recipe for pastry chef Ash Smith’s brandy custard and, for each pudding purchased, you enter a draw for a $200 Stokehouse voucher. Available for pick-up until Tuesday December 24. Quantities are limited.

Cannoleria by That’s Amore has dessert sorted, with new limited edition cannoli flavours every week and gluten-free options available. The team has collaborated with AM Bakehouse on a panettone flavour, available from Friday December 13 to Thursday December 19. Then from Friday December 20 to Thursday December 26, there’s a Christmas pudding version.

This article was originally published on December 13, 2022. It was updated on Thursday December 12, 2024 to reflect new information and remove out-of-date details.