Most of what gets written about this day is the seated lunches, which is the part almost nobody does. The trail itself calls those The Sides. The main course is the street: 26 venues push stalls out onto James St and the lanes around it, and the kitchens sell their signatures a plate at a time, walk up, no booking.
Below is where the stalls sit and what each one is cooking, based on what the venues have posted themselves. Three of the best are on the same block of Doggett St, so that is where the day plans itself.
Hellenika
Lamb on the spit and the char-grilled octopus that goes every year.
● Doggett St · Get directions
Hellenika sets up on Doggett St with a spit going, and the plate is lamb with tzatziki and pita. The two things that sell out every year are the chargrilled octopus and the spit lamb, so this is the stall to hit first rather than circle back to. Spanakopita is on the same counter for anyone who wants pastry instead.
Going. Walk up, no booking. Get there early in the day if the octopus is what you came for.
Sushi Room
The stall on Doggett St, and the bluefin carving on the chef stage twice.
● Doggett St · Get directions
The stall runs spicy tuna crispy rice, tuna sashimi, a Moreton Bay bug sushi roll and Kagoshima wagyu A5 aburi nigiri. The carving is a separate thing, and it is the one piece of theatre worth timing your day around: master fishmonger Mitsu Sakurai and Sushi Room head chef Shimpei Raikuni break down a whole bluefin on the Gourmet Traveller Chef Stage at 11am, then a second and final one at 3pm. Free to watch, no registration.
Going. Walk up for the stall. For the carving, be at the Chef Stage at 11am or 3pm, not five minutes after.
SK Steak and Oyster
First year on the street, and the signature strawberry cake comes with them.
● Doggett St · Get directions
SK is new to the trail this year and brought the full room with it: Gazander and Pacific oysters shucked to order with lemon, chargrilled Stockyard prime rib BMS 5+ with a leaf salad, steak tartare with crackers, and the strawberry cake the dining room is known for. It is the most talked about addition on this year's line-up, so treat the queue as part of the plan.
Going. Walk up. The oysters are shucked to order, so this is the stall to stand at rather than carry away.
Biànca
Mortadella focaccia and fried calamari, with its own bar stall alongside.
● Near Ada Lane · Get directions
Biànca comes down to the lane end as two stalls side by side: the food one does mortadella focaccia layered over ricotta and fried calamari with lemon aioli, and the bar next to it pours the margaritas and a short wine list. Nearly every venue on the trail splits into a food stall and a bar stall like this, so check which queue you are actually standing in.
Going. Walk up. The focaccia is the order, the calamari is the one to share, and the drinks are the stall next door.
Jocelyn's Provisions
A stall on the street, and their own shop open two hours before it starts.
● James St · Get directions
Jocelyn's runs a stall on the trail with the yellow curry chicken and pumpkin pie and the hundreds and thousands lamington. It also has the advantage of being a real shop on this street, and those doors open at 8am, two hours before the trail starts. That makes it the sensible first stop: get the pie before the queues exist, then come back out when the stalls open at 10.
Going. Shop open from 8am, stall from 10am. Do the shop before 10, not after 2.
The rest of the street
What else is worth walking for once the first five are done.
The Calile lobby bar does a Moreton Bay bug roll with finger lime mayo and rooftop chives. Gelato Messina is on Arthur St with the S'more Please, which is the reason to leave room. The Green runs shawarma and a snack pack, and sAme sAme does a bao trio near Ada Lane. The one worth knowing about is St Albans Bar, sitting in the middle of the Doggett St three: it pours Hellenika's frozen watermelon margarita, Sushi Room's yuzushu spritz and SK's Strawberry Fields, so the drinks from all three come out of one queue.
Going. Stalls run down Doggett, James and Robertson Streets, plus Ada Lane and Arthur. Card is the safer assumption at every stall.
The Sides
The seated lunches, ticketed separately, limited numbers.
If the point of the day is sitting down, these are booked on their own and they are not part of the free street. Harveys runs a five-course French long lunch at $150pp. Hellenika does a seven-dish express lunch at $90pp, ESSA is $58pp and Mosconi $55pp. Mud Australia runs a fused-glass workshop with Lawn Bowls at $120pp for anyone who would rather make something than eat it, and the Kids Cake Haus cupcake session is $20pp plus booking fees.
Not all of The Sides costs money. The Gourmet Traveller Chef Stage runs free demonstrations through the day with no registration, including both bluefin carvings. The Calile runs free rooftop tours, and Cru Cellar pours a free Shaw and Smith tasting from 1pm to 3pm.
Booking. The ticketed ones sit under The Sides at fwt.jamesst.com.au. Numbers are limited on each one.
A note on the picks.
Checked on 24 July 2026 against the trail's own site, the venues' own Instagram posts and the 2026 previews in Gourmet Traveller and Urban List. Stall menus are the venues' own words. The free street does not publish per item prices, so bring a card and expect the usual market range; the prices listed above are the ticketed Sides only, and those move, so confirm before you book.
Carousel photos are via the venues.
On the map.
Which street to aim for. Stall numbers are on the trail map on the day.