Hollywood Quarter Serves Up ‘A Taste of HQ: Street Eats Edition’ for Vivid
Sydney
Media Release , Sydney Monday, 11 May 2026
Hollywood Quarter will transform Foster and Hunt Streets into a vibrant open-air dining and cultural precinct for Vivid Sydney 2026, with A Taste of HQ: Street Eats Edition bringing together nine of Sydney’s leading chefs for a one-night-only street food collaboration on Saturday 30 May from 4pm through to 11pm.
The event forms the centrepiece of the precinct’s broader Vivid Sydney program, turning the streets into a high-energy, food-led experience as the city comes alive after dark. Chefs and venues from across Hollywood Quarter, including Firedoor, Nel, Chin Chin, Kiln and Butter, will serve everything from cult burgers and lobster rolls to inventive late-night bites and reimagined comfort food.
“Vivid Sydney delivers a major boost to Sydney’s visitor and night-time economies, supporting precincts like Hollywood Quarter during the typically quieter winter months,” says Minister for Jobs and Tourism
Steve Kamper. “The tantalising offerings at A Taste of HQ will draw visitors to one of Sydney’s most dynamic precincts, supporting local jobs and businesses. Events like HQ After Hours also showcase Sydney’s growing reputation as a vibrant global city with a diverse and thriving after-dark culture.”
From 4pm, the precinct shifts into a pedestrian-only zone, opening with a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere of music, workshops and street activation, before building into a full-scale evening street party.
New for 2026 is Creatives’ Quarter, a vibrant creative hub transforming Hunt Street into an interactive festival-style space filled with hands-on workshops, live music, street performers and family-friendly experiences. The program includes sneaker art workshops, drag-led neon life drawing and tactile clay sculpting alongside painting stations, face painting, caricature artists and pop-up creative activities, bringing a playful carnival atmosphere and early-evening energy to the heart of the precinct.
At the heart of the evening is A Taste of HQ: Street Eats Edition, where nine of Sydney’s leading chefs reimagine iconic handheld dishes with refined technique, bold flavour and a distinctly local perspective.
The line-up includes Lennox Hastie (Firedoor / Gildas), Lakhan Bhounsie (Nomad), Nelly Robinson (Nel), Julian Cincotta (Butter Sydney), Matthew MacLeod (Chin Chin Sydney), Josh Raine (40Res), Remy Davis (Bessie’s) and Michael Shafran (Brooklyn Boy Bagels), alongside Isobel Whelan-Little (Ace Hotel Sydney).
It’s high-level cooking without the formality: fast, expressive and designed to be eaten standing up, shared between friends and experienced as part of the energy of the precinct.
“The Hollywood Quarter really embraces the concept of open streets, bringing its high-calibre local businesses – including some of the best chefs in Sydney – together in this free event, which already has a history of attracting a large crowd,” says Minister for Transport, Minister for Music and the Night-Time Economy John Graham. “Last year’s event doubled normal weekend trade, proving again that the community is sold on well-managed street parties where everyone feels welcome.”
“We love being part of Vivid Sydney, it’s when the whole city comes alive,” says Lorraine Lock, Precinct Manager. “For us, A Taste of HQ is about bringing our venues out onto the street and showcasing the talent within this precinct. It’s local, collaborative and captures the energy of Hollywood Quarter in a way that feels open and distinctly Sydney.”
“There’s an incredible concentration of talent in Hollywood Quarter, so bringing this group of chefs together was a natural fit,” says Julian Cincotta, Chef and Co-founder of Butter Sydney and menu curator for A Taste of HQ: Street Eats Edition. “It’s about translating what we do in our venues to the street, giving people the chance to experience multiple venues in one place, in a format that’s fun but still grounded in serious cooking.”
While A Taste of HQ: Street Eats Edition anchors the evening, the broader HQ Vivid Sydney program continues across the precinct, with late-night activations inside surrounding venues extending the experience into the early hours.
For one night only, A Taste of HQ: Street Eats Edition invites Sydney to experience Hollywood Quarter at its most vibrant on the street and after dark.
Full chef line-up and event details below!
A Taste of HQ: Street Eats Edition as part of Vivid Sydney 2026
Saturday 30 May 2026
Foster & Hunt Streets, Hollywood Quarter, Surry Hills
4pm – 11pm
Free entry
A part of the NSW Government’s Open Streets Program, led by Transport for NSW.
WEBSITE: https://www.hqsydney.com/
SOCIAL MEDIA: @hqsydney
About Vivid Sydney
Vivid Sydney, one of the world’s leading multi-artform festivals, transforms Sydney into a vibrant hub of creativity, innovation and community connection. In 2026, the festival will bring the city to life, both night and day for the first time, inspiring global audiences and driving cultural exchange.
From 22 May to 13 June, the festival’s pillars of Light, Music, Minds and Food will create shared experiences, attract domestic and international visitors, and support the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy’s target of a $91 billion visitor economy by 2035. Proudly owned and managed by Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney showcases NSW’s cultural vibrancy and positions it as a global leader in artistic innovation.
A TASTE OF HQ: STREET EATS CHEFS
This year’s line-up brings together a cross-section of Sydney’s most influential kitchens, reflecting the breadth of dining across the city – from fire-led cooking and spice-driven menus to narrative-led dining and street culture.
-Lennox Hastie (Firedoor / Gildas) – Internationally recognised for his mastery of cooking with fire, Lennox Hastie leads Firedoor, Australia’s first fully wood-fired restaurant, and Gildas, his Basque-inspired wine bar.
-Remy Davis (Bessie’s) – Known for fire-led, seasonal cooking shaped by time at Elkano, Sabor and OMA, balancing precision, instinct and ingredient-led cooking.
Lakhan Bhounsie (Nomad) – Leading one of Sydney’s most celebrated kitchens, Lakhan Bhounsie is known for bold wood-fire cooking, Mediterranean influence and spice-driven flavour.
-Matthew MacLeod (Chin Chin Sydney) – Bringing a high-energy, flavour-first approach shaped by Thai and Southeast Asian cuisine, continuing Chin Chin’s reputation for vibrant dining.
-Julian Cincotta (Butter Sydney) – Co-founder and executive chef of Butter, where fried chicken, hip-hop, sneakers and champagne collide in one of Sydney’s defining street culture venues.
-Michael Shafran (Brooklyn Boy Bagels) – Founder of Brooklyn Boy Bagels, known for authentic New York-style bagels and a strong street-level approach to hospitality and craft.
-Nelly Robinson (Nel) – Known for immersive, narrative-led dining experiences blending nostalgia, imagination and seasonal Australian produce.
-Josh Raine (40Res) – A produce-led chef whose approach balances creativity, sustainability and technical precision, shaped by Michelin-starred kitchens in Europe and Australia.
-Isobel Whelan-Little (Ace Hotel Sydney) – Culinary Director of Ace Hotel Sydney, overseeing Kiln and Loam, known for live-fire cooking and a produce-driven approach shaped by both London and Sydney kitchens.
CREATIVES’ QUARTER PROGRAM
New for 2026, Creatives’ Quarter transforms Hunt Street into an interactive creative hub featuring workshops, live music, street performers and family-friendly experiences throughout the evening.Program highlights include:
● Youth Lab: Butter x Vizabox – a custom sneaker art workshop inspired by hip-hop and street culture
● Neon Divas: Draw the Glow – a drag-led neon life drawing class for young creatives
● Clay Play – a tactile sculpting workshop focused on experimentation, texture and imaginative making
● Painting stations, face painting, caricature artists and pop-up creative activities
