The Naughty List arrives at Darling Glebe this July, inviting Sydney diners to discover secret winter dishes through a playful Christmas tradition.
Winter settles differently in Glebe.
By early evening, sandstone gathers warmth from the day before releasing it slowly into narrow streets and courtyards. Conversations stretch longer. Tables linger over dessert. The city seems less interested in urgency and more willing to make room for ritual.
This July, one of those rituals will take an unexpected turn.
At Darling Glebe, Christmas in July will arrive not with predictable festive menus or fixed expectations, but with a sealed invitation and a decision: whether to open it.
For five weeks, The Naughty List will quietly unfold beneath vaulted ceilings and velvet-lined colonnades, offering diners something increasingly uncommon in contemporary dining – surprise.
Each booked table will receive an envelope. Inside: three off-menu dishes created by Chef Jeff Schroeter. One entrée. One main. One dessert.
No previews. No substitutions to expectation. Only the moment the seal is broken.
Opening The Naughty List
There is something unexpectedly theatrical about not knowing what dinner will become.
Most restaurant experiences begin with choice. Menus are scanned, favourites identified, decisions negotiated across the table.
The Naughty List asks for something different.
Guests will arrive as usual, settle into their seats and order from the regular menu if they choose. But waiting at each table will be another possibility entirely – a hidden sequence of dishes available only for that week.
Once opened, the invitation reveals the temporary menu.
Each selection may be ordered individually, paired with another or enjoyed as a complete progression.
Then, by Sunday, those dishes disappear.
The following Wednesday, three entirely new creations arrive.
Across the month, fifteen dishes will appear briefly before retreating from the menu altogether.
That impermanence feels central to the experience.
Winter Dining And The Spirit Of The Naughty List
Christmas in July has long occupied a curious place in Sydney.
Part nostalgia, part seasonal fantasy, it allows winter to borrow rituals more naturally suited to colder climates – rich food, slower evenings and the permission to stay at the table longer than intended.
The Naughty List appears less interested in recreating tradition than reshaping it.
Its inspiration may come from Santa’s familiar categories of nice and naughty, but the interpretation is playful rather than moral.
At Darling Glebe, indulgence becomes the occasion.
The dishes themselves remain undisclosed, though expectations are quietly set.
Guests can expect winter flavours that favour comfort over restraint: buttery sauces worth collecting with bread, pastry that leaves flakes scattered across tablecloths, slow-cooked richness and desserts capable of extending an evening beyond its original plan.
Not excessive.
Simply unapologetic.
That distinction matters.
There is no suggestion of abundance for its own sake. Instead, the concept feels rooted in hospitality – the idea that memorable meals often begin with someone saying yes to one more course.
Inside The Kitchen Of The Naughty List
For Chef Jeff Schroeter, the project offers something beyond seasonal dining.
After a career spanning four decades and kitchens serving royalty, public figures and demanding international guests, The Naughty List creates space for experimentation without permanence.
Rather than designing dishes intended to remain for months, the format encourages brief appearances.
A dish can exist for a week, delight whoever encounters it and disappear.
That temporary quality changes expectations.
Guests are unlikely to compare notes because menus evolve continuously.
No one returns to order the same thing twice.
Instead, conversations become part of the experience.
What did you choose?
Should we share dessert?
Do we open the envelope now?
Restaurant manager Jack Schroeter describes the idea as creating the feeling of receiving an unexpected present – a small disruption to routine in the middle of winter.
There is something fitting about that.
After all, anticipation has always been part of celebration.
A Different Kind Of Christmas In July
As July moves through Sydney, The Naughty List will continue arriving quietly each Wednesday.
New invitations. New dishes. New moments of indecision.
Outside, Glebe’s streets will carry their usual winter rhythm.
Inside Darling Glebe, tables will open envelopes and negotiate temptation in small acts – adding another course, ordering dessert despite intentions, extending the evening by another conversation.
Not because they should.
Because winter occasionally invites different rules.
Perhaps that is what the season has always been about.
Not extravagance.
Just the permission to enjoy things fully while they are there.
And in this case, before Sunday arrives and the menu disappears again.
Event Details
The Naughty List – Christmas In July
Dates: Wednesday 1 July – Friday 31 July 2026
Venue: Darling Glebe, Sydney NSW
Format: Three secret off-menu dishes released weekly (one entrée, one main, one dessert)
Availability: Every booked table receives a sealed invitation
Dining Style: Order one dish, multiple dishes or combine with the regular à la carte menu
Bookings essential. Weekly dishes change every Wednesday and do not return.