Canberra's winter dining scene heats up with new openings and seasonal menus

Canberra's food scene is shaking off the winter chill with a slate of new openings and seasonal menus that give locals reasons to leave the house. In Kingston, the former Penny University site on Kennedy Street reopened last month as Lark, a wine bar and kitchen focused on share plates and natural wines, according to the venue's social media. Over in Braddon, Highball Express on Lonsdale Street has launched a winter cocktail menu featuring a smoked old fashioned and a hot buttered rum, priced at $22 each.

The timing matters. With July school holidays underway and the Royal Canberra Show not until February, Canberrans are looking for low-commitment ways to break the midwinter slump. Restaurant bookings across the inner north and south have been steady, according to data from hospitality booking platform OpenTable, which reported a 12 per cent increase in dinner reservations for last weekend compared with the same period in 2025. That uptick mirrors a broader national trend: the Australian Bureau of Statistics noted in its May retail trade figures that café and restaurant spending rose 0.8 per cent month-on-month.

Where to eat now

In the city centre, Bacaro on University Avenue has introduced a three-course winter degustation for $75 a head, available Tuesday through Thursday. The menu includes a ricotta gnudi with brown butter and sage, followed by braised lamb shoulder with polenta, and finishes with a blood orange panna cotta. The restaurant's head chef told The Daily Canberra the dish is designed to be “comforting but not heavy”.

Further south in the suburb of Manuka, Ottoman Cuisine on Bougainville Street continues to draw loyal crowds for its Turkish-inspired share plates, including the signature lamb kleftiko and a winter-special pumpkin and haloumi borek. A two-course meal for two, excluding drinks, runs roughly $90 to $110 based on the venue's online menu prices. Reservations are recommended on Friday and Saturday nights.

For a more casual option, the Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets on Mildura Street have extended their Saturday trading hours until 3pm for the winter months, up from the usual 2pm closing. The market's bakery, The Flute Bakery, is selling a limited-edition sourdough loaf baked with roasted garlic and thyme for $9.50. Co-owner Anneka Manning told the market's newsletter the bread was inspired by the colder weather: “It’s the kind of bread you want with a bowl of soup.”

What’s next

Next weekend, the Canberra Winter Wine Festival will take over the National Arboretum’s Village Centre on 25 and 26 July. Tickets are $45 for general admission and include tastings from 18 Canberra district wineries, including Mount Majura Vineyard and Lerida Estate. The event runs from 11am to 5pm both days, with a food village featuring stalls from Pomegranate in Braddon and Morks in Kingston.

For those staying home, a handful of local restaurants are offering take-home meal kits. Raku on Bunda Street has a DIY ramen kit for $38 that serves two and includes broth, noodles, chashu pork, soft-boiled egg, and nori. Order before 5pm for next-day pickup, the restaurant's website states.

As winter settles in, Canberra's dining options are proving there's plenty to eat, drink, and discover without venturing far from home.