Charlize Theron's plan to be incognito throughout her stay in Sydney did not exactly go well as the media spotted her during lunch at a restaurant.

The Hollywood actress was spotted with her son Jackson, her mother Gerda and three friends at Catalina in Rose Bay, the same restaurant where the launch of History Channel's Coast Australia is held.

Wearing a floral print top, denim cut-off shorts and Roman sandals, she looked breezy as she dined with her mother and friends and cuddled her son who could not be parted from his mother.

After 2 hours in the restaurant, she dashed out to the service entrance and went straight to the Audi waiting for them, as the driver shielded her and Jackson.

Charlize is in town for the 3-week reshoot of her upcoming movie, "Mad Max: Fury Road," which finished shooting in Namibia in December. For her role as Imperator Infuriosa, she had to cut her long blonde hair short causing a stir among the press. Joining her in the cast are Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult and Zoe Kravitz, the daughter of rock singer Lenny Kravitz. Hardy will be arriving in Sydney this week.

The Monster actress arrived last week but went unnoticed due to the arrival of the cast of Anchorman 2, along with Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig.

The South Africa-born actress adopted Jackson, now one-year old, from her hometown in May 2012. She has become a single mother to the adopted son since then.

Over the weekend Angelina Jolie was also spotted at the Rose Bay but in another restaurant, Grandfather's Moustache, with her twins Vivienne and Knox. She is currently filming "Unbroken," which she is directing and now residing in a 1920s mansion in Vaucluse with her children.