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Sydney's dining scene is as sunny and cosmopolitan as the city itself, and there are diverse and exotic culinary adventures to suit every appetite. Mod Oz (modern-Australian) cooking flourishes, fueled by local produce and guided by Mediterranean and Asian techniques. Look for such innovations as tuna tartare with flying-fish ro
Sydney's dining scene is as sunny and cosmopolitan as the city itself, and there are diverse and exotic culinary adventures to suit every appetite. Mod Oz (modern-Australian) cooking flourishes, fueled by local produce and guided by Mediterranean and Asian techniques. L
Sydney's dining scene is as sunny and cosmopolitan as the city itself, and there are diverse and exotic culinary adventu
Sydney's dining scene is as sunny and cosmopolitan as the city itself, and there are diverse and exotic culinary adventures to suit every appetite. Mod Oz (modern-Australian) cooking flourishes, fueled by local produce and guided by Mediterranean and Asian techniques. Look for such innovations as tuna tartare with flying-fish roe and wasabi; emu prosciutto; five-spice duck; shiitake mushroom pie; and sweet turmeric barramundi curry. A meal at Tetsuya's or Rockpool constitutes a crash course in this dazzling culinary language. A visit to the city's fish markets at Pyrmont, five minutes from the city center, will also tell you much about Sydney's diet. Look for rudderfish, barramundi, blue-eye, kingfish, John Dory, ocean perch, and parrot fish, as well as Yamba prawns, Balmain and Moreton Bay bugs (shovel-nose lobsters), sweet Sydney rock oysters, mud crab, spanner crab, yabbies (small freshwater crayfish), and marrons (freshwater lobsters).
There are many expensive and indulgent restaurants in the city center, but the real dining scene is in the inner city, eastern suburbs, and inner-western suburbs of Leichhardt and Balmain. Neighborhoods like Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Paddington, and beachside suburb Bondi are dining destinations in themselves. Plus, you're more likely to find a restaurant that will serve on a Sunday night in one of these places than in the central business district (the city center)—which can become a bit of a ghost town after offices close during the week. Circular Quay and The Rocks are always lively, and the Overseas Passenger Terminal (on the opposite side of the harbor from the Opera House) has several top-notch restaurants with stellar views.
Sitting at the edge of newly completed Barangaroo like an elegant stack of wide, plant-filled bowls clad in charred timber, this three-level spaceship has a seating capacity of 900 people and a variety of spaces for casual and fine dining. The House Bar at the pedestrian promenade level offers craft beers and share plates, like barramundi bites; In the middle is Bea, a sprawling fine-dining restaurant with elevated Australian fare and both indoor and outdoor dining; the buzzy rooftop bar, Smoke, has good views across the harbor.
35 Barangaroo Ave., Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia
It's named after a cloud, but with its floor-to-ceiling-windows looking out on Cockle Bay, timber fencing (both on the floor and strung in different lengths from the ceiling) akin to what you might see in sand dunes, a suspended/flying vintage speedboat named Alvin, and perhaps the best and freshest seafood offerings in Sydney, Cirrus may as well be named for the sea it floats above. The five-course, degustation-style menu is very popular but the seafood platter of oysters, fat Skull Island prawns, strawberry clams, ocean bugs, and pipis (triangular clams) with seaweed mayo ponzu and red-wine vinaigrette is a must. The wine list is carefully curated and all about the white wines, with red limited to those light in body.
23 Barangaroo Ave., Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia
It's hidden behind huge black doors in one of the city's historic sandstone buildings, but once you're inside you'd swear you were in Paris. Dark-wood paneling, black-and-white photographs, and mirrors bearing the day's specials in flowing script lend a bistro feel. The fare is predominately Italian with a sprinkling of French and Mod Oz dishes. Being in the heart of the city, it's also popular at breakfast where the delicious crab omelet makes an exotic start to the work day. At dinner you can't go wrong with the pan-grilled John Dory with Jerusalem artichoke. A pre- or postmeal drink in the marble-lined, chandeliered Bambini Wine Room is a must.
185 Elizabeth St., Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia
This bistro in the Woollahra Hotel spills over with happy-go-lucky patrons—mostly locals from around the leafy suburb of Woollahra—who have been coming back for more than 20 years now. The best dishes are inspired takes on Parisian fare, like the grilled Sirloin Café de Paris, French onion soufflé gratin, and port sausages with potato puree and Lyonnaise onions, although the signature dish you must try is the much-loved, twice-cooked soufflé. The casual café and bar, Moncur Terrace, serves mains such as wagyu beef burgers and gourmet pizzas.
116 Queen St., Sydney, New South Wales, 2025, Australia
Incredibly chic, this is where the hippest of the city come for early dinner during the week or a late-night nibble with cocktails on the weekend. The feel is Parisian bistro, with a lively atmosphere and traditional French cuisine like steak frites.
50 Macleay St., Sydney, New South Wales, 2011, Australia
At this cute, popular little pub in Paddington, chef Colin Fassnidge (an Irishman who emerged as the most controversial guest judge on Australian TV cooking show My Kitchen Rules ) has been wowing patrons for years with his shared dish for two of slow-braised lamb shoulder with kipfler potatoes, baby carrots, and salsa verde. His whole suckling pig is also a popular Sunday long-lunch treat. Starters and mains change monthly, and the restaurant's popularity has seen it open for lunch and dinner six days a week.
105 Sutherland St., Sydney, New South Wales, 2021, Australia
Few restaurants have the magnetic pull of Otto, a place where radio shock jocks sit side by side with fashion-magazine editors and confirmed foodies. Yes, it's a scene, but fortunately one with good Italian food prepared by chef Richard Ptacnik. The homemade pastas are menu standouts; try the strozzapreti pasta with prawns or the saffron fettucine with rabbit ragout. The pepper-crusted swordfish with romesco sauce is also delicious. The selection of Italian wines is expensive but rarely matched this far from Milan.
Owned by Vietnamese TV chef Luke Nguyen, this restaurant is popular with his legions of TV fans. Diners should always start with the country's great export, rice paper rolls. Here you can have them filled with roast duck, enoki mushrooms, and herbs; or prawns and pork. Another tasty dish is ga chien don—crispy skinned chicken slowly poached in master stock with ginger, shallot, and oyster sauce. An unusual but yummy dessert is the black sesame seed dumplings with black sesame seed ice cream. For the full range of flavors, there's a tasting menu of nine dishes.
60 Riley St., Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia
North Bondi Beach wouldn't be the same without Sean's Panaroma ("Sean's" to locals), perched on a slight rise a stone's throw from the famous beach. It's been there since the mid-1990s and owner Sean Moran loads his menu with fresh produce grown on his farm in the Blue Mountains, aptly named "Farm Panaroma." Dishes change regularly and are only featured on a blackboard: they may include baked blue-eye fish with roasted cauliflower, or a ravioli of zucchini, mozzarella, and lemons. The many fans in Sydney means it can be difficult to secure a table, and some the say the service is hit-and-miss (if not a bit arrogant), so be warned.
270 Campbell Parade, Sydney, New South Wales, 2026, Australia
The culinary focus of this chic basement eatery—another of the restaurants owned by Neil Perry of Rockpool fame—is regional China. There are dishes from far-flung Yunnan, Hunan, and Sichuan provinces, and as the names suggests, they all have a kick. The food is meant to be shared, so pass around the ginger shallot crab, the pork belly, or the extra spicy hot and numbing crispy duck. It's a busy, trendy eatery (down a somewhat steep flight of stairs), so if you have to wait at the bar for a table, grab a cocktail and a spicy pork bun and take in the opium den ambience. Cocktails are named after the Chinese Zodiac; if you're born in the Year of the Dragon you might like to sip on a refreshing mix of lemongrass and rose soda, citrus, and Tanqueray gin.
10 Bligh St., Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia
Found a little farther up Bondi Road, away from the beach, this restaurant has been a bit of an unexpected hit since opening in 2018. Unexpected because it's housed above a run-down pub called The Royal. But once you're up the stairs, it's an incredibly classy restaurant serving Italian-inspired wood-fired mains. The chef Khan Danis has worked at some of the best restaurants in Sydney and is hailed as the king of wood fire in the city. Each dish is impressive, with pizza-size flatbreads arriving with house-made charcuterie, pickled fish, stracciatella and seasonal fruit. There's also alfresco dining available, and there's lunch and dinner served every day.
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