Vivid Sydney to shut down Surry Hills with massive street parties

A special pop-up diner by Shannon Martinez has been announced for Vivid Sydney’s food program.
Surry Hills will spring to life with two street parties at each end of Vivid Sydney.
The Hollywood Quarter will be one of the most exciting areas for Vivid this year.
READ MORE: These are the best events at Vivid Food this year.

Vivid Sydney’s food lineup has been dominated by news of Nigella Lawson’s dinners, but it seems the initial announcement was only the tip of a delicious iceberg.

Revealed this week. Vivid Food will present its largest program to date, from a luminescent 1950s diner pop-up staged in Darling Harbour to vibrant laneway parties set to bring Surry Hills‘ Hollywood Quarter to life.

For the past few years, Vivid Sydney has introduced food and drink as a major focus for the 23-night event, reimagining how hospitality looks when taken with staggering light works, engaging panel discussions, and broad strips of epic live music.

So, how does it look in 2025?

A new kind of American diner

Neon Dreams is one of the more unique offerings this year, popping up as a glowing 1950s diner at the Pier Underpass in Darling Harbour. Chef Shannon Martinez has come onboard to curate a menu of American diner staples with a twist, using his plant-based approach while lunch and dinner is served up with a side of rollerskating.

The diner-slash-rink has Martinez rethinking juicy burgers, mac and cheese, jelly donuts and more of those big, uncompromising flavours that fit with the retro aviation fitout. Low-waste foraged cocktails and retro milkshakes also sit on the menu, highlighting ethically sourced ingredients and native botanicals (think lemon myrtle margaritas and lllawarra plum sours).

Entry to the diner is free but you’ll need to pay extra if you want to fit in a skating session.

Paramount House Hotel rooftop — *The Paramount House Hotel Rooftop will host plenty of live music throughout Vivid Sydney (photo supplied).*

A touch of Hollywood

Vivid Sydney is paying extra special attention to Surry Hills this year, reaching into the Hollywood Quarter and pulling out 23 nights of local programming, including two massive street parties geared to showcase the area’s finest bars and restaurants.

A Taste of HQ is first up on Saturday, May 31, closing Foster Street off to traffic and turning the strip into a mecca of al fresco dining with live music and roaming performances, not unlike one of the Sydney Streets parties that the city has been pushing. Expect this ones got pop-up stalls from some of the biggest names in the game, from dining heavyhitters like Firedoor, Nomad, Gildas, Nel, Kiln, Poly and Alberto’s Lounge, to casual favourites like Tio’s Cerveceria, Butter and Brooklyn Boy Bagels.

Foy Lane Lights Up is the second street party for the Hollywood Quarter, aligning with the final night of Vivid Sydney on Saturday, June 14. The vibrant laneway party will feature an extensive digital art show curated by Arts-Matter, served up alongside snacks and live music by Ace Hotel.

The tiny laneway has quickly become one of inner-Sydney’s favourite outdoor party spots, having previously hosted the Mince OpenAir party at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Having Vivid also enter the space should keep that area kicking as one of Sydney’s most dynamic nightlife areas.

Between those two parties is the entire Hollywood Dreaming program, that’ll see the Hollywood Quarter bursting each night with iconic movie titles, a dedicated food trail with restaurants and bars offering exclusive menus, and a live music walk with a constant flow of performances at Hollywood Hotel, Paramount House Hotel Rooftop and Butter.

Note that entry to the street parties is free, but you’ll need to pre-register online.

Vivid Sydney

Where: Sydney and surrounds
When: Friday, May 23 to Saturday, June 14
Price: Varies based on event, although 75% of the program is completely free

vividsydney.com