From offbeat brunches to edible bouquets: 23 budget-friendly Mother’s Day ideas
Forget flowers and chocolates. Go for brunch among a herd of alpacas, on a food tour at a local market, or grab a box of sweet treats by some of the city’s best bakers.
This is your reminder: Mother’s Day is on Sunday. Yes, this Sunday, May 12. Don’t worry, there’s still time to plan a memorable weekend without stretching the budget too far. From disco brunches for the party mum to bouquets of edible natives for the culinary types, this list has got you covered.
Book an offbeat brunch
Brunch doesn’t have to be boring. Forego eggs benny in favour of a fun morning in the mirror-ball booth of Tucano’s in Surry Hills, where the disco tunes are pumping, and the rose spritzes are free-flowing every weekend. If your mother prefers all-you-can-eat to all-you-can-drink, nearby Henrietta has a 90-minute feast of charcoal chicken and sides, and in Penrith you’ll find an all-you-can-eat barbecue with a complimentary drink at Brisket Boys. Want quirky? Jump in the car and head to Iris Lodge farm, about an hour north of Sydney, for brunch among 100 alpacas.
- All-you-can-eat charcoal chicken at Henrietta
Every Sunday, from $48 per person for 90 minutes
Shop 1/500 Crown St, Surry Hills, henriettachicken.com - All-you-can-eat BBQ at Brisket Boys
Every Sunday, from $59 per person
Tenancy 25/2115 Castlereagh Road, Penrith, brisketboys.com.au - Disco brunch at Tucano’s
Every weekend, from $95 per person for two hours
277 Goulburn Street, Surry Hills, tucanos.com.au - Furry-friendly breakfast at Iris Lodge
Every weekend, from $55 for children over two and $60 for teens and adults
33 Dunks Lane, Jilliby, irislodgealpacas.com
Share a sweet treat
Bakeries across Sydney are offering limited edition treats for Mother’s Day, from maritozzi (Italian brioche bun) filled with raspberry cream at Da Orazio Pasticceria in Alexandria and Bondi, to the ruby cheesecake-filled cookies at Happy Alley in Rockdale. Pre-order home-baked heart-shaped ma’amoul (date-filled Lebanese cookies) from Tayta (grandmother) Amal at online bakery Smëëd Al Maamoul, or take it to the next level with the two-tier croissant cake at Tuga Pastries, piped with yuzu cream and Valrhona raspberry namelaka (chocolate cream).
- Da Orazio Pasticceria
From $10 for one maritozzi
200 Euston Road, Alexandria and The Hub, 75/79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach, daoraziopasticceria.store - Happy Alley
From $6.50 for one cookie
13 Bay Street, Rockdale, happyalley.com.au - Smëëd Al Maamoul
From $32 for three cookies
smeed.com.au - Tuga Pastries
$75 for the Mother’s Day croissant cake
Shop 6/231 Clovelly Rd, Clovelly and 10/112 McEvoy Street, Alexandria, tugapastries.com.au
To market, to market
Forgot to buy a gift? No worries, you can head to a market for your Mother’s Day outing. On Saturday, there’s the Mother’s Day Ceramic Market in Annandale where you can check out ceramic tableware while snacking on pandan swiss rolls from The Baking Lists; or the annual Barangaroo Artisan Market, which features more than 60 stallholders including foodie favourites Vannella Cheese and Mama Liu’s chilli oil. A cute mini market is being held at St Leonards cafe Cavalier 1.0 on Sunday, where you can smash one of their dumpling jaffle sandwiches while mum picks out some flowers and pastries. And every Thursday to Sunday there’s Burwood Chinatown Night Markets, where you can try everything from taiyaki (custard-filled puffs shaped like fish) to tripe soup.
- Cavalier 1.0 Mini Market
7am-2pm, Sunday, May 12
Shop 1/34 Oxley St, St Leonards, cavalierspecialtycoffee.com.au - Mother’s Day Ceramic Market
9am-1pm, Saturday, May 11
Market Studio, 131 Booth Street, Annandale, airrmade.com - Barangaroo Artisan Market
10am-3pm, Saturday, May 11
Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo, barangaroo.com - Burwood Chinatown Night Markets
5pm-late, every Thursday to Sunday
127/133 Burwood Road, Burwood, burwoodchinatown.com.au
Bring an (edible) bouquet
Set aside your preconceptions about edible arrangements - they’ve evolved beyond the cringey bouquets of cut fruit made popular in the early ’00s. Online Sydney baker Macey Nemer, founder and head baker at The Baked Bouquet, creates stunning bouquets of cupcakes with frosting mimicking real flowers. They’re so popular they’ve been ordered by celebrities such as Jason Derulo and Rita Ora. For something a little more low-key, order a bouquet of flowers interspersed with freshly baked croissants at Astin Min Fine Foods (Long Reef) or a floral croissant filled with yuzu mascarpone cream and dipped in raspberry chocolate from Madame and Yves (Clovelly). The culinary-minded mum may prefer a bouquet from Bush to Bowl in Terrey Hills, made with edible natives like lemon tea tree leaves and cinnamon myrtle.
- Floral croissant at Madame and Yves
$10
343-345 Clovelly Road, Clovelly, madameandyves.com.au - Croissant bouquet from Astin Min Fine Foods
$70
998 Pittwater Road, Long Reef, astinmin.com.au
- Edible bouquet of natives at Bush to Bowl
From $60
40 Myoora Road, enter via Mona Vale Road, Terrey Hills, bushtobowl.com - Edible bouquet of cupcakes at The Baked Bouquet
From $165 on Mother’s Day
Available Sydney-wide, thebakedbouquet.com.au
Tea time with a twist
High tea is a popular Mother’s Day activity, but there’s a lot more out there for tea-loving mums. Potts Point’s Ms Cattea Tea Bar offers tea tasting, tea ceremonies and Chinese high tea experiences, and on Mother’s Day they’ve planned a special 90-minute tasting for green tea connoisseurs. On Saturday, Tea Angle in Marrickville is hosting two guided 90-minute tea tastings. Matcha fans should head to Cre Asion cafe in North Sydney to try matcha tarts, cookies and cakes with a warming cup of ceremonial-grade matcha. One of the best places for chai is Ambi’s Chai in Pennant Hills, where over a dozen Afro-Punjabi teas are available to try.
- Ambi’s Chai
Cups of chai from $6.50
Shop 5/366 Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills, ambischai.com.au - Cre Asion
Cups of matcha from $6
18 Eden St, North Sydney, creasion.com.au - Tea Angle
90-minute guided tea tasting for $69 per person
88 Addison Road, Marrickville, teaangle.com - Ms Cattea
Green tea connoisseur tasting for $88 per person
17/1-21 Darlinghurst Road, Potts Point, mscattea.com.au
A pub feed for under $50
Head to the pub for a relaxed lunch with the family, without the exorbitant price tag. Mum will score a complimentary peach bellini on arrival at The Erko (Erskineville), before taking on the $49 set menu of kingfish tartare, house flatbread and seared barramundi and more from former Chiswick chef Ethan Robinson. A hearty roast lunch is on offer at Woolloomooloo pub The Old Fitz, where mum’s choice of crackling pork belly, chicken Maryland or Japanese squash with roast vegetables and a Yorkshire pudding starts at $28 (with a complimentary glass of champers). On the Northern Beaches, Freshwater’s Harbord Hotel is hosting a Mother’s Day brunch with a complimentary mimosa and shared brekkie menu for $49.
- Sunday roast at The Old Fitz
From $28
129 Dowling St, Woolloomooloo, oddculture.group/venue/the-old-fitzroy-hotel - Mother’s Day brunch at Harbord Hotel
$49 per person
29 Moore Rd, Freshwater,harbordhotel.com.au - Mother’s Day lunch at The Erko
$49 per person
102 Erskineville Road, Erskineville, theerko.com.au
Bianca Hrovat – Bianca is Good Food's Sydney-based reporter.