Guide: An alcohol-free night out in Sydney

Inner West  

Activities: 
Alcohol-free leisure moves between ultra-involved and super-relaxing in the Inner West. Put your mental fortitude to the test at The Cipher Room, an award-winning escape room in Newtown, or tackle the walls at the inclusive climbing gym Blockhaus Bouldering in Marrickville. For more chilled pursuits, check out Marrickville’s Factory Theatre for ticketed gigs and free live music on the weekend or catch a movie at The Dendy in Newtown – arthouse or blockbuster, your pick. 

Blockhaus Bouldering, Marrickville - Credit: Blockhaus Bouldering

Dinner: 
Bites-wise, there’s so much to choose from. We Three in Marrickville delivers all the appeal of a cosy wine bar with pastas and antipasti as well as a no-alcohol take on a spritz. Its ‘notini’, a herbaceous-syrup-enriched alcohol-free martini, will also go down a treat. Feast with abandon at Hannibal Restaurant in Glebe where a generously sized and flavoured Middle Eastern banquet is accompanied by belly dancers on Saturday nights. For further feasting, consider a snack journey through ‘Little Shanghai’ in Ashfield, pursuing the vibrant Vietnamese restaurant offerings in Marrickville or visiting Tandoori Hut in Newtown, which is open late and has a secret menu of Pakistani specials.  

We Three, Marrickville - Credit: Yusuke Oba

Dessert/tea/coffee: 
With dinner done, there’s no need to feel rushed to head home as there are so many late-night delights on offer. If you skew savoury, head to Pastizzi Cafe on King St for Maltese pastries stuffed with anything from ricotta to custard and berries, as well as tea and coffee until about 11pm. Or start a dessert trail with a taste of natural, artisanal Mapo Gelato, wandering down towards Enmore Rd for Hakiki Turkish Ice Cream (or numerous flavour variations of baklava) and a final scoop at Cow and the Moon, which serves tea and coffee and closes at 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Café Nho in Marrickville is open until 9pm on weekends, the old-school Vietnamese cafe serves a wild range of coffees as well as elaborate desserts and ice-cream flavours like durian and pandan.  

Cow and the Moon, Enmore

CBD 

Activities: 
Sober nights out in the CBD can play out like a choose-your-own adventure. Lean into the energy of the city’s centre by packing your itinerary to the brim with options including Strike Bowling on King St Wharf followed by a dinner cruise with Clearview Cruises, being sure to take in the Darling Harbour fireworks show on at least once a month at 9pm. On Wednesdays, try the Art Gallery of NSW's Art After Hours experience, which is open until 10pm. Those wanting their karaoke fix will relish the CBD’s many places to hit the mic, including Lantern Wagaya, which stays open until 2am every night.    

Strike Bowling, Sydney - Credit: Strike Bowling

Dinner:  
Skip the drinks and dine with social good in mind at one of Australia’s only Ukrainian restaurants. Kyiv Social in Chippendale is a Plate It Forward venue that puts every dollar you spend to use as meal contributions to those in need here and in the Ukraine. Alternatively, you could rethink the yum cha model and take yourself to the stalls of your choosing at the Chinatown Night Market on Friday nights – it’s open until 11pm. Or visit Thai Town nearby for a flavour shift, on weekends you can get a snack at @ Bangkok until 4am.  

Kyiv Social, Chippendale - Credit: Kyiv Social

Dessert/tea/coffee:  
Dessert options are so abundant in the CBD that you could easily consider this course a full evening activity. Savour ultra-complicated yet simply delicious desserts at KOI Dessert Bar – outpost of famed MasterChef-alum Reynold Poernomo and his brothers. Or find a spot at Old School Kafey for Instagrammable late-night desserts like Thai milk tea bingsu and banana croffles – croissant/waffle hybrids. There’s also Sweet Town, which serves up Japanese and Thai sweets including custard-, matcha- and chocolate-filled obanyaki (stuffed pancakes).

Koi Dessert Bar, Chippendale

South Sydney  

Activities: 
You’ll need your wits sharp and your accuracy on point to hit the 27 mini golf holes of Holey Moley in Alexandria, which also serves booze for any friends who are drinking. You’re then moments away from Hijinx Hotel for a diverse selection of escape rooms, or step into another dimension via cutting-edge virtual reality game Zero Latency. The neon glow of Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq nearby will lure arcade game addicts and, if you can’t choose just one pursuit, you can go big with a Funlab Fun Bundle pass that lets you tick off three of the above activities in one night. But, for a dose of old-world cool, visit Golden Age Cinema and Bar in Surry Hills, an indie cinema with a top-class menu of drinks and a film line up that looks like a cinephile’s bucket list. 

Archie Brothers, Alexandria - Credit: Archie Brothers

Dinner:  
With so many eateries open late, you’ll be able to craft a diverse itinerary with stop-offs including Maya Da Dhaba in Surry Hills for no-frills Indian dishes with fantastic vegetarian options, Erciyes Restaurant, one of Sydney’s oldest Turkish restaurants, for a feast with belly dancers on Fridays and Saturdays or Ricos Tacos in Redfern – a pub incarnation of a popular taqueria. If you’ve yet to sate your appetite, Deccan Flavours delivers a great Hyderabadi biryani or, blending snacks and fun you can head to Goros in Surry Hills for chicken karaage and more until midnight, with karaoke rooms and games on offer, too. 

Goros, Surry Hills - Credit: Goros

Dessert/tea/coffee: 
Bubble Nini Cafe in Zetland is a rare bubble tea shop with a beautifully styled hang out space, it’s also open until 10.30pm every night. Meet Fresh in Waterloo is a Taiwanese dessert chain with a fair few Sydney locations – its grass jelly and taro ball desserts are textural delights and are available until midnight. While you’re in Waterloo, Timluk HongKong Dessert also offers taro desserts, a Cantonese-style mango pomelo sago number and mochi balls. Plus, it’s open until 10pm every night.  

Bubble Nini, Haymarket - Credit: Bubble Nini

Northern Beaches  

Activities: 
The Northern Beaches offers up activities for all energy levels, whether you crave the thrill of hurling a dangerous weapon at Kiss My Axe in Brookvale, the burn of the climb at Skywood Climbing in Freshwater, the mental gymnastics of Room Eight escape room in Manly or simply sitting back and sipping at Seadrift Distillery – one of the first alcohol-free distilleries in Australia, which makes use of botanicals like locally foraged sea kelp. Seekers of a different kind of spirit may even lock in a Quarantine Station Ghost Tour. 

Kiss My Axe, Alexandria - Credit: Kiss my Axe

Dinner:  
Take your pick from a range of fish and chip purveyors and watch the ferries sail into Manly Wharf. Or nab an outdoor table laden with the classic chequered tablecloth at popular local haunt Pocket Pizza (they also do takeaway if you want to find a sunny spot). Take things up a notch at Little Pearl for hawker-style share plates with a view over Manly Beach. Sip on a passionfruit ‘no-jito’ or a ‘naaa-garita’ before soaking up the moonlight on a post-dinner walk to Shelly Beach.  

Dessert/tea/coffee:  
For a final sweet indulgence hit up Tokyo Cloud for fluffy Japanese soufflé pancakes or take your pick from the abundance of ice-cream/gelato/frozen yoghurt vendors dotted throughout Manly, including Anita Gelato, Gelato Messina, YO-CHI and more.  

Anita, Manly - Credit: Anita

South West Sydney  

Activities:  
Blending immersive entertainment, teamwork and the spirit of competition, Square Up Bankstown is a games room where participants navigate puzzles and obstacles in a neon- lit room. Or test your skills at a more traditional arcade experience at Koko Amusement in Hurstville. Replay karaoke bar in Bankstown is where you can debut your rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ or ‘good for u’.  

Square Up, Bankstown - Credit: Square Up

Dinner:  
Chart a course for Lakemba and carve out your own spice route, sampling the rich tapestry of offerings including but not limited to Moroccan, Afghani, Indian and Lebanese cuisine, all in close quarters. Settle into Sultano Cafe for a traditional lamb tagine or head to El-Manara for kebabs, falafels and a long list of authentic Lebanese dishes. Lakemba is also one of the last suburbs to close at night, with Shahi Dastarkhwan serving one of the Ramadan Night Market’s most popular dishes – a wrap with four types of chicken until 1am and Mataam Al Mandi offering epic plates of mandi (aromatic, spiced rice and meat) until 2am. 

Ramadan Night Markets, Lakemba

Dessert/tea/coffee:  
No food tour of this area is complete without the stand-out knafeh at Kanafandi Cafe, which is open until 10.30pm. But that’s not the only nightcap on offer – try Lebanese sweets with an evening tea or coffee at SeaSweet near Bankstown (or one of the many other sweet shops open late in the area), Bangladeshi sweets with chai at Dhaka Delight or stop by Bankstown for an acai bowl, frappe or juice from Jungle Twist, the latter two of which stay open until 12am.  

Eastern Suburbs 

Activities: 
Wanting to wash the week away? A sauna, steam room or ice bath at Xtra Clubs is the perfect mindful supplement to your alcohol-free night. Or, to burn off energy, schedule a session of Ecstatic Dance (a no-booze, no-shoe and no-talking dance experience) at Bondi Pavilion on the first Thursday of the month. Get hands-on with clay at Crockd Studios or gather your crew at FREAK for next-level multiplayer, virtual-reality gaming. Hone your swing at Moore Park Driving Range, buckle up for some hot laps on Australia's longest indoor electric go-kart track at Hyper Karting, or see a movie at The Entertainment Quarter.  

Xtra Clubs Bondi, Bondi Junction

Dinner: 
With a view like this, it’s hard to ignore the allure of packing a picnic and watching the sunset over Bondi Beach. If you’d rather dine in, slurp one of Sydney’s best ramens at Chaco Ramen. Raw Bar in Bondi is another option that delivers all the freshness of contemporary Japanese with the view of this iconic beach.  

Chaco Ramen, Bondi Beach - Credit: Chaco Ramen

Dessert/tea/coffee: 
Frozen desserts are serious business in Bondi, which is why you can’t go wrong with a ‘gelato crawl’ of Bondi. Gelato purists can stick to Anita Gelato, Gelato Messina and Rivareno Gelato, while devotees of all types of frozen desserts will also enjoy YO-CHI and Ben & Jerry’s.     

Gelato Messina, Bondi

*Some activities are not recommended for pregnant people. Please check with the provider before booking.