Eat Drink Play

What Eat Drink Play does

Eat Drink Play Pty Ltd is an Australian digital content publication founded in 2019, operating from Sydney, that curates recommendations for restaurants, bars, cafes, and entertainment venues primarily in Sydney and Melbourne. The platform is built around a searchable venue database organized by venue type, occasion (e.g., Date Night, Bottomless, Birthday, Client Lunch), and vibe (e.g., Fine Dining, Rooftop, Waterfront, Hidden Gem), supported by editorial city guides, a curated 'What's On' events calendar, a Perks deals platform, and a Getaways travel vertical. The core distribution asset is a free twice-weekly newsletter (Wednesday and Friday) delivered to over 120,000 local subscribers, with parallel reach through Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. The underlying technology stack is a content/SEO-led website on eatdrinkplay.com with standard martech integrations (Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, Tally.so) and a lightweight venue-submission workflow; no mobile app, API, SDK, or proprietary AI/ML system is disclosed.

The business model is a hybrid B2C/B2B media play. B2C is free to consumers, with the audience monetized through (i) advertising packages sold to venues and businesses (website ads, newsletter sponsorship, Instagram promotional content), (ii) premium venue listings sold as a recurring subscription product offering enhanced cards, offers, features, and priority placement, and (iii) Perks and event partnerships. B2B sales are conducted via direct outreach ([email protected], [email protected]) with no publicly disclosed pricing. The company has no disclosed funding rounds, appears bootstrapped, and operates with approximately 10 employees in a hybrid work arrangement, suggesting a lean, founder-led operating model rather than a venture-backed scale-up.

Name

Eat Drink Play

Legal name

Eat Drink Play Pty Ltd

Website

https://eatdrinkplay.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Eat Drink Play is an Australian digital publication that curates Sydney and Melbourne restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues through a free twice-weekly newsletter reaching 120,000+ subscribers, monetized via advertising and premium venue listings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising and venue listings: Eat Drink Play generates revenue through advertising packages sold to venues and businesses. These include website advertising, newsletter sponsorship, and Instagram promotional content. The platform also offers premium venue listing services where venues can unlock enhanced listings with offers, features, and priority placement.
2. Premium venue listings: Venues can purchase premium listing packages that include full venue cards with offers, features, and priority placement on the platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Eat Drink Play is a digital content publication that curates and publishes recommendations for restaurants, bars, cafes, and entertainment venues in Sydney and Melbourne. Its core deliverables are a free twice-weekly newsletter reaching 120,000+ subscribers, a searchable venue discovery database, editorial city and neighbourhood guides, a curated events calendar, and an exclusive perks and offers platform. The publication monetises through advertising packages and premium venue listings sold to hospitality businesses.

Product overview

Eat Drink Play is a digital food, drink, and entertainment publication operating as a unified content platform covering Sydney and Melbourne. The core offering consists of a free weekly newsletter delivered to over 120,000 subscribers, supported by a searchable venue database, editorial city guides, a curated events calendar (What's On), a perks/deals platform, and travel getaway content. The venue database spans restaurants, bars, cafes, and entertainment venues, organised by occasion (Birthday, Date Night, Bottomless Brunch, etc.) and vibe (Fine Dining, Rooftop, Waterfront, etc.), with detailed venue profiles linking to external booking and reservation systems. The platform monetises through advertising packages, premium venue listings, and database building competitions, while remaining free for newsletter subscribers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Eat Drink Play Newsletter A free digital newsletter delivered every Wednesday and Friday to over 120,000 subscribers in Sydney and Melbourne, featuring curated venue recommendations, new openings, events, and insider tips on the best places to eat, drink, and play.
• Venue Listing and Discovery Platform A searchable database of restaurants, bars, cafes, and entertainment venues across Sydney and Melbourne, with filtering by occasion, vibe, and location, featuring detailed venue profiles with descriptions, images, and links.
• Essential City Guides Curated editorial guides covering specific Sydney neighbourhoods, cuisines, and dining occasions, including best desserts, Surry Hills restaurants, bottomless dining, Bondi restaurants, private dining rooms, and more, regularly updated by the editorial team.
• What's On Events Calendar A curated events listing featuring food festivals, pop-ups, chef collaborations, and special dining experiences in Sydney, handpicked by the editorial team for the platform's audience.
• Perks Platform Exclusive deals, offers, and special promotions at partner venues available to Eat Drink Play subscribers, featuring discounts on dining, drinks, and experiences across Sydney.
• Getaways Travel and destination content highlighting dining and hospitality experiences beyond Sydney, including regional NSW destinations like the Hunter Valley and other travel getaways.
• Premium Venue Listing Packages Paid listing packages for venues and hospitality businesses that unlock enhanced venue profiles with offers, features, and priority placement on the Eat Drink Play website and newsletter.

Quantifiable outcome

• 120,000+ newsletter subscribers receiving recommendations twice weekly

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sitchu: Australian lifestyle and dining publication covering Sydney, Melbourne, and other cities with curated venue reviews, city guides, and events. Closely comparable to Eat Drink Play in editorial voice, content format, and venue-discovery focus.
• Concrete Playground: Australia and New Zealand city guide covering restaurants, bars, arts, and events with editorial curation. Directly comparable as a local-content venue-discovery publication with similar advertising-supported model and Sydney/Melbourne audience overlap.
• Broadsheet: Australian independent media publication covering food, culture, design, and travel across Sydney, Melbourne, and other Australian cities. Closely comparable to Eat Drink Play in editorial format, audience, and venue-discovery monetization, with a similar Australian-localized lens.
• The Infatuation: Restaurant discovery and review platform with editorial-led coverage, an active newsletter, and city guides. Directly comparable to Eat Drink Play's curated-venue-discovery model and newsletter-driven audience strategy.
• The Urban List: Australia and New Zealand-based city guide publication covering restaurants, bars, events, and things to do. Comparable as a content-led venue-discovery brand monetizing via advertising and venue partnerships, with broader geographic coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Eater: US-based food media brand covering restaurants, bars, and food culture across major US cities. Comparable as an editorial-led restaurant-discovery publication with maps, newsletters, and event coverage, though at global scale.
• Time Out: Global food, drink, and entertainment publication covering major cities worldwide with curated venue lists, events, and editorial reviews. Directly comparable to Eat Drink Play as a content-led city-discovery brand, but operates at a much larger global scale.
• Good Food (Sydney Morning Herald / The Age): Australian food and dining publication operated by Nine Entertainment, covering Sydney and Melbourne restaurants, bars, and reviews. Comparable as a legacy editorial-driven venue-review brand with significant Sydney/Melbourne audience overlap, backed by a major media incumbent.

Emerging players

• Secret Foodies: Australian pop-up dining and exclusive food event platform that actually appears linked from Eat Drink Play's footer. Comparable as an adjacent Sydney-based experiential food platform with overlapping audience and venue partnerships.

Regional players

• Delicious.com.au: Australian food-focused publication covering recipes, restaurants, and food culture nationwide. Comparable as a content-led Australian food media brand, though more recipe-centric than Eat Drink Play's venue-discovery focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCBa0eBoNhA13sGTG_O2SXnA
• Facebookfacebook.com/eatdrinkplay
• Instagraminstagram.com/eatdrinkplaysyd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eat-drink-play

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eat Drink Play