Sydney’s best picnic hampers

Got a breakfast picnic with friends? A lunchtime affair with the family? Afternoon tea in the park? From pastries (everything from spinach bureks to cinnamon scrolls) to sushi, fruit platters to roast beef rolls, The Catering Club has you covered – with loaded hampers available to order with next day delivery Sydney-wide. The Time Out Sydney team chose The Catering Club to cater our Christmas party, and took our hampers (an overflowing antipasto platter, crudites and dips, katsu chicken and waygu beef sliders and a colourful batch of perfectly fluffy lamingtons) onto a boat on the harbour – it’s hard to think of a better way to spend a sunny day in Sydney. 

You'd be hard pressed to find a more beautifully presented picnic than the immaculately crafted masterpieces from Sydney born events catering and hamper company Stories to Gather. Drawing from her Italian-Australian roots, the founder has made a name for herself for putting together the most aesthetically-pleasing picnics in the city. There's art to crafting such a spectacular grazing set-up, but the sum is as good as its parts: think rustic breads, artisan cheeses and perfectly piped cakes, tied up with Stories To Gather's signature bow. Each grazing box is bespoke, so you'll have to get in touch for a quote.

A favourite of fashion labels and aspiring fiancés alike, Milk & Honey offers beautifully presented picnic set-ups for events of any size: from a two person proposal to a 200 person affair. Expect a bespoke curation of delights including seeded bagels, fresh figs, cakes and berries paired with add-ons to suit your occasion. Want flower crowns and a coffee cart? No problem.

Catering Project Sydney can sort you out with anything from oysters to sliced ribeye steak to delicately piped doughnuts – and if you order before 3pm, it will arrive the following day. The extensive range caters for vegan, gluten free and dairy free dietary requirements – but if you're down to eat everything, we'd recommend ordering the family picnic hamper and getting stuck into a juicy prawn roll. 

Husband and wife team, Simon and Natalie Thomas, are picnic connoisseurs. They’re passionate about seasonal produce and they’ve devised three different hampers packed with beautifully arranged gourmet feasts to level up your next picnic. Starting at $165 for two people is the ‘Wind in the Willows’, which features burrata with charred zucchini, roasted butternut squash with salsa verde, rocket & Persian fetta and Valrhona chocolate brownies with walnuts (it's a vegetarian hamper, but it can be adapted to be vegan). At the top of the range is ‘The Great Gatsby’, starting at $235, featuring poached and peeled Australian king prawns and chargrilled pasture-fed beef fillet with dijon mustard. Delivery can be arranged from $20, or you can pick up from the Annandale base. Orders are available Wednesday to Sunday. Book at least two days in advance.