Red envelopes, lion dances and banquets – where to celebrate Lunar New Year in Brisbane
Tuesday February 17 marks our official entrance into the Year of the Fire Horse. Said to symbolise bold action, transformation and creativity, it seems this year calls for a full calendar of celebrations. We’ll be slipping into our party clothes as we partake in the many Lunar New Year festivities across Brisbane. From lion dancing displays to feasts aplenty, we’ve rounded up some of the best places around town to celebrate.
Super Bowl, Fortitude Valley
Ring in the Lunar New Year at popular Fortitude Valley eatery, Super Bowl. From Friday February 20 to Sunday February 22, groups can sit down for a choice of banquet. The traditional Chinese New Year banquet features dishes such as spring rolls, barbecue plum pork and silky pandan panna cotta. Groups of ten can opt for the premium Chinese New Year banquet, which includes fried king prawns, Szechuan chicken and lobster ye mien. Lion dance performers will also be taking place over the weekend with show times varying daily. Head to the Super Bowl website for menu details and reservations.
Southside Restaurant, South Brisbane
East Asian restaurant Southside is celebrating Lunar New Year with a five-course banquet designed for sharing and abundance. Available for lunch and dinner bookings, the $108 per person menu begins with fresh shucked oysters topped with smoked salmon roe, followed by coral trout and prawn dumplings, pulled lamb shoulder san choi bao, wagyu beef fried rice and a classic coconut pudding with red bean to finish. Feeling lucky? Each diner will receive a traditional red envelope filled with vouchers and instant-win prizes. The Chinese New Year Banquet is available from Tuesday February 17 to Sunday March 1. Secure your table here.
Sunnybank Plaza & Sunny Park, Sunnybank
Celebrate Lunar New Year with a week-long festival across Sunnybank Plaza and Sunny Park. From Monday February 16 to Sunday February 22, the southside suburb will welcome Brisbane locals and visitors to a free festival featuring cultural performances, interactive experiences, family-friendly activities and the opportunity to sample delicious Asian cuisine. Other activities include daily lion dance performances, tai chi sessions, lucky charm bracelet making and – for the first time ever – a spectacular choreographed drone show featuring 200 drones lighting up the night sky. Visit Experience Sunnybank for more information.
Brisbane Quarter, Brisbane City
Brisbane Quarter is welcoming Lunar New Year with colour, movement and plenty of reasons to gather around the table, ushering in the Year of the Horse with a precinct-wide celebration that blends tradition with contemporary dining. At the heart of the celebrations is Brisbane Phoenix, leading the festivities with a series of Lunar New Year banquet menus, including a refined banquet from $108 per person, appropriately paired with a limited-edition Hennessy Year of the Horse VSOP bottle to share with your party. For a more relaxed celebration, Annamese brings bold Vietnamese flavours to the table. With its contemporary take on classic dishes and easygoing energy, it’s an inviting place to gather with family, friends or colleagues and mark the Year of the Fire Horse together. Click here to discover more information.
Donna Chang, Brisbane City
The plush surroundings of Donna Chang will also play host to some high-energy revelry for the Lunar New Year, with the inner-city eatery offering two banquet options to honour the season. Both banquets are available from Tuesday February 17 to Saturday February 21, two-hour sittings. For $138 per person ($69 for kids) you can feast on the Golden Stallion Banquet which includes delectable morsels like Ora King salmon with smoked roe, honey bug with persimmon vinegar and finger lime, roast Chinese duck with Davidson plum sauce and milk chocolate parfait with salted caramel and peanut butter. For a more casual dining experience, look no further than the Golden Saddle banquet lunch. For $89 per person diners can indulge in Biang Biang mien with rice noodles, pan-fried cumin lamb buns, stir-fried wagyu and a Chinese doughnut with caramel milk pudding. Toast to new beginnings and good fortune with a beverage list spanning Penfold’s Estate specials to tasty cocktails and enjoy entertainment, prizes and dazzling dragon dancers.Secure your spot via Donna Chang’s website.
Central, Brisbane City
Dark horses can head to underground Hong Kong-inspired basement restaurant and dumpling bar Central. From Tuesday February 17 to Sunday March 3 every diner will receive a mysterious red envelope each containing the chance to win various dining vouchers and even a private dining experience for up to 12 guests. The five-course banquet costs $128 per person and features a range of dishes including smoked foie gras Chinese doughnut scallop and prawn dumplings with salmon roe and Hokkien-style fried rice and to finish Hong Kong-inspired French toast with sesame ice cream. Head to the Central website to book your table.
Lúc Lắc, Brisbane City
Indulge in a Vietnamese-inspired Lunar New Year banquet at Lúc Lắc, featuring the Golden Stallion dinner and Golden Saddle Express lunch, available from Tuesday, February 17 to Saturday, February 21 (with lion dancing on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday only). The Golden Stallion dinner is priced at $138 per person and showcases a range of vibrant dishes, starting with raw honey bugs topped with wild scampi caviar, followed by braised octopus, roasted duck red curry and mandarin cheesecake with white chocolate soil to finish. Head here to book your table.
Stanley Restaurant, Brisbane City
Howard Smith Wharves’ neo-Chinese restaurant Stanley will be welcoming in the Year of the Fire Horse with Lunar New Year celebrations from Tuesday February 17 to Sunday February 22. Head chef Louis Tikaram will be preparing an exclusive menu of Cantonese dishes in addition to Stanley’s beloved a la carte and banquet menus including handpicked spanner crab mapo tofu and xiao long bao with shaved European truffle, five-spice roast duck with blood plum sauce, and salted duck egg fried rice with salmon caviar. Traditional lion dancers will also keep guests entertained at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm every night (Sunday at 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm). Head over to Stanley’s website to make a booking.
Queen’s Wharf Brisbane, Brisbane City
This month, Queen’s Wharf will light up in red and gold to welcome the Year of the Fire Horse. The festivities begin with a firework display on the opening night Tuesday February 17 before the program continues to Sunday February 22 including the igniting of a five-metre tall steel horse sculpture paired with a three-minute orchestra score incorporating Chinese and pan-Asian instruments, galloping sounds and soul-stirring drums. For souvenir lovers, the Lunar New Year portrait studio located at the Wentworth Gallery on level four is a perfect opportunity to capture a beautiful keepsake in preparation for the year ahead. The experience is free however bookings must be made. Other entertainment aspects include the roving lion dance performances and open-air movie classics airing at the Skyline Cinema at 6:00 pm on February 25–26. For more information, click here.
Fat Noodle, Brisbane City
The Star Brisbane’s purveyors of sizzling South-East Asian street food-inspired dishes, Fat Noodle is celebrating The Year of the Horse with an exquisite seven-course banquet for two available from until Saturday February 28. For $148, you and a loved one can linger over dishes like slow cooked pork belly, Moreton Bay bug siu mai, beef brisket and mango trifle with coconut tapioca and matcha. Reserve your table here and make your Lunar New Year one to remember.
Special mention to BrisAsia Festival 2026 – which has packed ten days with more than 25 unmissable events celebrating the Lunar New Year, Asian culture and cuisine. Head here to check out some of our most-anticipated activities, from a street festival in Fish Lane, dance battles on Queen Street Mall and fireworks displays at the Sunnybank Lunar New Year Rooftop Party.