Sydney Tower Skyfeast Buffet Dining with Views

Sydney Tower: the tallest point in the city centre

Sydney Tower rises above Market Street in the heart of the central business district and, at just over 300 metres, is the tallest structure in Sydney. It opened in 1981, and its golden turret has been part of the skyline ever since. The turret holds the observation deck known as the Sydney Tower Eye and, on the levels below it, the restaurants, including the Skyfeast buffet. Visitors searching for a Sydney Tower restaurant with views end up here because the dining rooms sit high enough to see the whole metropolitan area.

From the windows you look east over Hyde Park and the harbour to the Heads where the Pacific Ocean begins, north to the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, south towards Botany Bay and the airport, and west across the suburbs to the Blue Mountains on a clear day. The tower is open every day, and because the Skyfeast ticket includes the lift, you do not need a separate observation deck ticket to enjoy the panorama from your table.

The rotating restaurant and the Skyfeast buffet

The Skyfeast restaurant is a revolving dining room: the floor with the tables turns slowly around the fixed core of the tower, completing a full circle during a typical meal. You never have to leave your seat to see every direction, which is exactly why a rotating restaurant in Sydney is such a popular choice for a special lunch or dinner. The buffet counters are in the centre, so you walk a few steps to fill your plate and return to a slightly different view each time.

The food is prepared in an open kitchen and changes with the seasons, but a typical spread includes chilled seafood such as oysters, prawns and mussels, a long salad counter, antipasto, hot mains like baked barramundi, roast chicken, lamb and stir-fried noodles, several vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free dishes, and a dessert counter with cakes, tarts and panna cotta. Everything is unlimited for the sitting, and children aged 5 to 12 get unlimited soft drinks.

How the visit works: sittings, tables and timing

Skyfeast runs lunch and dinner sittings every day, with start times from early afternoon through to the evening. Your reserved sitting lasts about 1 hour 45 minutes, which is enough for at least one full rotation of the room and several trips to the buffet. Go to the tower entrance on level 5 of the shopping centre at 100 Market Street, show your ticket at the restaurant reception, and take the lift straight up to the restaurant level. Arrive about 15 minutes before your start time.

The default option gives you a standard table; every table enjoys the rotation, but a window seat is not guaranteed. If you want a table right against the glass, choose the window option when you book, which also extends weekend dinners to 2 hours. Lunch is the clearest for daytime photography and spotting landmarks; a dinner sitting around sunset lets you watch the city lights come on across the harbour.

Around Sydney Tower: Pitt Street Mall, Hyde Park and the harbour

Sydney Tower stands over Pitt Street Mall, the city's main pedestrian shopping street, so the buffet fits easily into a day in the centre. Hyde Park, the Archibald Fountain and St Mary's Cathedral are a few minutes' walk east, and the Queen Victoria Building with its Romanesque arcades is two blocks west. Town Hall and St James train stations are both close, and the light rail stops on George Street, so getting to Sydney Tower is simple from anywhere in the city.

Many travellers combine a Skyfeast lunch with the harbour: Circular Quay, the Opera House and the start of the Botanic Garden are about 15 minutes on foot down Pitt or Macquarie Street, and Darling Harbour with its aquarium and zoo is about the same distance to the west. If you are deciding whether Sydney Tower is worth visiting, the answer for most people is yes when the view comes with a meal, because you spend far longer at the top than on a standard observation deck visit.