56 Best Restaurants in Sydney, New South Wales

With windows overlooking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, Aria could easily rest on the laurels of its location. Instead, celebrity chef Matthew Moran creates a menu of extraordinary dishes that may be your best meal Down Under. It doesn't come cheap but fine fare rarely does, especially in Australia. This foodie favorite enjoyed a recent multimillion-dollar refurbishment, with the restaurant now being one of the most stylish in Sydney.

Balmoral Beach is blessed. Not only does it have an inviting sandy beach and great water views, but it also has one of the best eating strips north of the Harbour Bridge. Queen of the strip is Bathers' Pavilion, which includes a restaurant, café, and lavish private dining room. Here you'll find a menu packed with the best local ingredients no matter if you're dining for a casual breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. There's a choice of fresh light salads, wood-fired pizzas, and seafood dishes for around A$30. No reservations taken for the café.

One of Australia's most renowned chefs, Peter Gilmore, oversees the kitchen at possibly the most superbly situated dining room in town. Tucked into the side of the Opera House, the restaurant affords views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city lights. Gilmore's creations are as special as the view and showcase the best of Australia's produce with a focus on terroir. Whatever you do, leave room for dessert, with the cherry jam lamington, a clever interpretation of an Australian classic, which has been a constant on the menu for almost a decade. It's that good. Pretheater dining is available if you are going to a performance in the Opera House.

Named after celebrity chef and cookbook author Bill Granger, this sunny corner café is so addictive it should come with a health warning. It's a favorite hangout of everyone from local nurses to semi-disguised rock stars, and you never know who you might be sitting next to at the newspaper-strewn communal table. If you're not interested in the creaminess of what must be Sydney's best scrambled eggs, try the ricotta hotcakes with fresh banana and honeycomb butter or the corn fritters. The coconut-poached chicken sandwich with cucumber and lime mayonnaise makes an ideal lunch. Dinner selections at the Surry Hills location (359 Crown Street) are similarly gourmet comfort food.

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.

There's a reason why there's always a queue snaking down the street. This is undoubtedly the best gelato in Sydney, with unique flavors that change all the time. There's now many Gelato Messina parlors across Sydney but this is the original. DIY sundaes available. No seating so grab and walk down the tree-lined Victoria Street.

The fashionable and famous (including celebrities like Mick Jagger and Paris Hilton) just adore perching like seagulls over the swimming pool at the south end of Australia's most famous beach. It is one of the must-visit restaurants in Sydney, for both the sensational view and the exquisite food. Take a seat on a low-back suede chair, check your reflection in the frosted glass, and prepare to indulge in sophisticated Mediterranean creations like buffalo mozzarella air-freighted from Campania, wood-fried artichoke hearts, aged Sicilian salted anchovies, and ligurina olives served with bruschetta and an array of fresh seafood pasta dishes. The focus here is on sustainable fish so the menu is ever rotating in its offerings. Those who just want to drink in the view, and a cocktail or two, can enjoy delicious morsels—such as oysters and mini-ciabattas—in the bar.

Quay has been Sydney’s top restaurant for 30 years and it's still going strong with chef Peter Gilmore's experimental Mod Oz cuisine created with seasonal, local produce. The menu has carefully created seafood dishes, like greenlip abalone. But it’s the White Coral dessert, which is what Quay has become known. It's a white chocolate ganache shell filled with feijoa ice cream and coconut cream. Add in the sweeping vista of the Opera House and the sparkling harbor, and it's perhaps no surprise that prebooking is essential.

A meal at Rockpool is a crash course in what Mod Oz cooking is all about, conducted in a glamorous, long dining room with a catwalk-like ramp. Chefs Neil Perry and Corey Costelloe weave Thai, Chinese, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern influences into their repertoire with effortless flair and originality. The menu is extensive, with caviar from around the world to start. The Wagyu beef is butchered on-site, with the premium oyster blade cut costing A$125; the spanner crab with semolina noodles is equally satisfying. Don't miss the date tart for dessert—it's been a Rockpool favorite since 1984.

The lure of this decadent restaurant high above Sydney Harbour on the 36th floor of the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel, is the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but the Mod Oz dishes presented with a strong European influence are equally impressive. The produce hails from local farmers. For a special occasion, gather a dozen friends to dine in the opulent, egg-shape private dining room, or indulge in the seven-course degustation with matching wines. On weekends the adjoining bar can be a little noisy as the night wears on, so it might be a good idea to beat it early or join in the fun.

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.

The creation of three Italian brothers, this trendy Paddington eatery is a winner at both breakfast or at lunch. The menu has truly unique creations, like the breakfast burger with poached eggs, truffled mushrooms, and crushed peas. There's substantial mains for lunch like lasagne or risotto, including light salads. But for a takeaway option, go for the Italian baked treats, which are baked on-site daily and a coffee.

You can find better basic Chinese food elsewhere in town, but for duck and pork, barbecue-loving Sydneysiders know that this is the place to come. The poultry hanging in the window are the only decoration at this small Chinatown staple, where the food is so fresh you can almost hear it clucking—make sure you sample the duck pancakes. Barbecued pork is the other featured dish, and the suckling pig is especially delicious. It's open from 11 am until late at night, when the average customers are large groups of mates sprawled at the Formica tables feeding their drunken munchies, or Chinatown chefs kicking back after a day in the kitchen. The service can be a little brusque, but it's all part of the low-budget charm.

Bondi is known for being the health epicenter of Sydney and, unsurprisingly, the cafés are all about packing as much healthy food into a dish as possible. Breakfast bowls packed with eggs, vegetables, toasted seeds, and gluten-free toast is a popular option here. There's also fresh juices, smoothies and kombucha, which most grab-to-go and take to the nearby grass bank opposite the beach.

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.

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.

Blackbird Café is great place to take a break while exploring Darling Harbour. The weekday lunch specials are all under A$20 and a good value. There are great views from the balcony, so try and nab a table there. The à la carte menu includes starters of haloumi and vegetable stack or grilled prawns and crab, and there's a wide range of pizza, pasta, burgers, and grills.

With wide verandas providing tranquil views over the gardens, the sound of birdsong filling the air, and a menu created by celebrated chef Luke Nguyen, Botanic House is a top choice for a long lunch or a sunset dinner.  The menu is modern Asian, leaning more toward Vietnamese, with dumplings, bao, and grilled meats usually on the menu. The restaurant is within the Royal Botanic Gardens; it can be accessed from either the Palace Gate on Macquarie Street or from Lion Gate on Mrs. Macquarie's Road.

One of eight or nine eateries in the buzzy café strip opposite Bronte Beach, this is a great place to refuel after the Bondi-to-Bronte cliff-top walk. All share the same postcard-perfect view, but Belo is worth seeking out for its consistently good coffee and spicy sticky chai. It has a little more elbow space between tables than some of its neighbors. The menu has all the standard breakfast and brunch selections, many with a slight Brazilian twist, like the poached eggs served with a spicy tomato ragù.

You have to seek out this Bondi Beach restaurant, as it's situated several hundred feet back from the beach. You'll quickly find out, however, why locals love this place: organic, seasonal, handcrafted food. This daytime café and evening bistro is small, hip, and always buzzing. Weekend breakfasts, brunches, and lunches are popular, especially if you like Moroccan eggs (slow-cooked with English spinach, chorizo, spiced peppers, and tomatoes) and sweet treats such as mouthwatering buttermilk pancakes. It's a popular place for dinner, too, so book ahead. Main course favorites include fish pie with leek and truffle oil, while the hazelnut chocolate fondant with honey malt ice cream has to be experienced.

Fresh is the name of the game with this café. Zesty avocado on toast, slow-cooked pulled-pork rolls, fresh juices, and rich coffee. There's limited seating inside but most grab their order to go, taking it to the nearby Bradfield Park which has views of the harbor.

Walking into this happy, bubbly place is like turning up at a private party in the backstreets of Naples. Host, chef, and surrogate uncle Armando Percuoco invests classic Neapolitan and Tuscan techniques with inventive personal touches to produce such dishes as the thinly sliced kingfish with gin and orange and truffled egg pasta. Everything comes with Italian-style touches that you can see, feel, smell, and taste. Leaving the restaurant feels like leaving home, especially if you've partaken of the wonderful six-course degustation menu.

This harbor-front restaurant occupies the site of the old "airport" (back in the days when the fastest way to get to England was by flying boat), and has ringside views of the harbor and Shark Island. Patrons can watch modern seaplanes take off and land just meters away while dining on fine seafood. Perched on piers over the water, with a distinctive white profile, Catalina has been one of Sydney's standout fine-dining establishments since it opened in 1994. A unique concept for Sydney, the restaurant kitchen is open from midday to midnight (except on Sunday), allowing diners to turn up at any time; patrons can also pop in for a drink and graze on a casual bar menu. Seafood lovers relish the oysters, sushi, and sashimi created by the sushi master chef, while the signature dish of oven roasted junee lamb rack with pickled cauliflower is sensational. The views from the floor-to-ceiling windows, the open deck, and the cozy fire in winter make this a restaurant for all seasons.

For a long time, those wanting to experience Chin Chin had to head to Melbourne. But in 2016, a sister restaurant finally opened its doors in Surry Hills, and it has since elbowed its way to epicurean cult status among foodies. The South-East Asian fare here is truly standout and so are the funky interiors, resulting in weekend tables being booked-out a month in advance. Most weekends, the team roll through 600 customers per day. There are several "must" dishes on the 50-plus menu, including the Massaman brisket and the chili salt chicken wings. There’s also an on-site cocktail bar open until late, serving weird and wonderful concoctions.

Few central Sydney restaurants have access to their own homegrown produce, but here in trendy and leafy Woollahra—just a few kilometers east of the city—is an all-white and refreshingly bright restaurant surrounded by formal gardens and a large kitchen garden. Chiswick is all about stylish casual dining using the freshest of produce and a wonderful place to linger over a long lunch on a sunny day. There are small plates for sharing, such as the grilled octopus; large plates for sharing with a group of four (try the lamb from celebrity chef Matt Moran's own farm); and main courses such as the spanner crab casarecci.

This elegant, pillared dining room is the perfect setting for showing off chef Peter Doyle's modern, light touch with Mod Oz cuisine. Menu highlights include the prawn tartare and the aged pork loin with rhubarb, mostarda, and cabbage. Finish off with a dessert of intriguing tastes—Earl Grey ice cream with blood orange citrus curd doughnuts and blood orange sorbet. There's also a four-course chef's menu (A$160) and various two-, three-, and four-course lunch options, but no à la carte menu.

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.

For two hours—or as long as it takes for you to consume delicately steamed prawns, luscious mud crab with ginger and shallots, and pipis with black-bean sauce—you might as well be in Hong Kong. This place is heaven for seafood lovers, with wall-to-wall fish tanks filled with crab, lobster, abalone, and schools of barramundi, parrotfish, and coral trout. You won't have to ask if the food is fresh: most of it is swimming around you as you eat. Come for the big-ticket seafood or a simple meal of deep-fried duck. Supper is served until 4 am so it's popular with late-night revelers. It's not the prettiest of places and service can be hit-and-miss, but it has a legion of fans.