Loading...
-
$$$$ | Circular Quay |
With windows overlooking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, Aria could easily rest on the laurels of its location. Instead, celebrity chef Matthew Moran creates a menu of extraordinary dishes that may be your best meal Down Under. It doesn't come cheap but fine fare rarely does, especially in Australia. This foodie favorite enjoyed a recent multimillion-dollar refurbishment, with the restaurant now being one of the most stylish in Sydney.
Known For
- Foodie favorite
- Seafood like Skull Island prawns and surf clams and eel
- Incredible views of the harbor
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch weekends, Reservations essential, Jacket required
-
$$ | |
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.
Known For
- Excellent design
- Bea's whole roast duck from the Southern Highlands
- Lively rooftop bar
-
$$$ | Balmoral |
Balmoral Beach is blessed. Not only does it have an inviting sandy beach and great water views, but it also has one of the best eating strips north of the Harbour Bridge. Queen of the strip is Bathers' Pavilion, which includes a restaurant, café, and lavish private dining room. Here you'll find a menu packed with the best local ingredients no matter if you're dining for a casual breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. There's a choice of fresh light salads, wood-fired pizzas, and seafood dishes for around A$30. No reservations taken for the café.
Known For
- Great views
- Casual dining at the café
- Superior seafood
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
-
$$$$ | Circular Quay |
One of Australia's most renowned chefs, Peter Gilmore, oversees the kitchen at possibly the most superbly situated dining room in town. Tucked into the side of the Opera House, the restaurant affords views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city lights. Gilmore's creations are as special as the view and showcase the best of Australia's produce with a focus on terroir. Whatever you do, leave room for dessert, with the cherry jam lamington, a clever interpretation of an Australian classic, which has been a constant on the menu for almost a decade. It's that good. Pretheater dining is available if you are going to a performance in the Opera House.
Known For
- Incredible views
- High-end dining experience
- Opera House–shape pavlova
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch weekdays, Reservations essential, Jacket required
-
$ | Darlinghurst |
Named after celebrity chef and cookbook author Bill Granger, this sunny corner café is so addictive it should come with a health warning. It's a favorite hangout of everyone from local nurses to semi-disguised rock stars, and you never know who you might be sitting next to at the newspaper-strewn communal table. If you're not interested in the creaminess of what must be Sydney's best scrambled eggs, try the ricotta hotcakes with fresh banana and honeycomb butter or the corn fritters. The coconut-poached chicken sandwich with cucumber and lime mayonnaise makes an ideal lunch. Dinner selections at the Surry Hills location (359 Crown Street) are similarly gourmet comfort food.
Known For
- Ricotta hotcakes
- Hip atmosphere
- Great service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
-
Recommended Fodor’s Video
-
-
$$ | |
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.
Known For
- Five-course menu
- Seafood platter
- Views of the harbor
-
$ | Darlinghurst |
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.
Known For
- Authentic gelato
- Friendly staff
- Unique flavors
-
$$$ | Bondi Beach |
The fashionable and famous (including celebrities like Mick Jagger and Paris Hilton) just adore perching like seagulls over the swimming pool at the south end of Australia's most famous beach. It is one of the must-visit restaurants in Sydney, for both the sensational view and the exquisite food. Take a seat on a low-back suede chair, check your reflection in the frosted glass, and prepare to indulge in sophisticated Mediterranean creations like buffalo mozzarella air-freighted from Campania, wood-fried artichoke hearts, aged Sicilian salted anchovies, and ligurina olives served with bruschetta and an array of fresh seafood pasta dishes. The focus here is on sustainable fish so the menu is ever rotating in its offerings. Those who just want to drink in the view, and a cocktail or two, can enjoy delicious morsels—such as oysters and mini-ciabattas—in the bar.
Known For
- Bondi institution
- Amazing views of Bondi and the beach
- Superior food and drinks
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon., Reservations essential
-
$$$$ | The Rocks |
Quay has been Sydney’s top restaurant for 30 years and it's still going strong with chef Peter Gilmore's experimental Mod Oz cuisine created with seasonal, local produce. The menu has carefully created seafood dishes, like greenlip abalone. But it’s the White Coral dessert, which is what Quay has become known. It's a white chocolate ganache shell filled with feijoa ice cream and coconut cream. Add in the sweeping vista of the Opera House and the sparkling harbor, and it's perhaps no surprise that prebooking is essential.
Overseas Passenger Terminal
Known For
- Experimental cuisine
- White Coral dessert
- Harbor views
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch weekdays, Reservations essential
-
$$$$ | City Center |
A meal at Rockpool is a crash course in what Mod Oz cooking is all about, conducted in a glamorous, long dining room with a catwalk-like ramp. Chefs Neil Perry and Corey Costelloe weave Thai, Chinese, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern influences into their repertoire with effortless flair and originality. The menu is extensive, with caviar from around the world to start. The Wagyu beef is butchered on-site, with the premium oyster blade cut costing A$125; the spanner crab with semolina noodles is equally satisfying. Don't miss the date tart for dessert—it's been a Rockpool favorite since 1984.
Known For
- Date tart
- Wide caviar selection
- Dramatic interiors
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Mon., and Tues. No lunch Sat., Reservations essential, Jacket required
-
-
$$$$ | City Center |
It's worth getting on the waiting list—there's always a waiting list—to sample the unique blend of Western and Japanese-French flavors crafted by Sydney's most applauded chef, Tetsuya Wakuda. The serene, expansive dining room's unobtrusive Japanese aesthetic leaves the food as the true highlight. Confit of ocean trout served with unpasteurized ocean-trout roe is a signature item on the set 11-course degustation menu, while other dishes may include New Zealand Scampi with chicken liver parfait, or roasted breast of quail with quail leg rillettes. Views of a Japanese garden—complete with bonsai and a waterfall—make this place feel miles from the city center. It's open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, and lunch on Saturday only.
Known For
- Incredible Japanese fare
- Degustation meals
- Quiet atmosphere
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.--Wed. No lunch Tues.–Fri., Reservations essential
-
$$$ | |
Head chef Justin Wise’s focus here is celebrating the elements of air, land, and sea in a menu that celebrates local farmers and fine Australian wines. Menu highlights include the pork jowl with black pudding and riberries and lamb neck with potato and broad beans. There's a seven-course dessert tasting menu if you prefer to skip dinner, and the specialty dessert bar is so popular that it’s available through Uber Eats, so you can get the flourless chocolate cake with salted caramel wherever you are in the city.
Known For
- Superior wine pairing
- Dessert bar
- Tasting menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Mon.
-
$$$$ | The Rocks |
The lure of this decadent restaurant high above Sydney Harbour on the 36th floor of the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel, is the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but the Mod Oz dishes presented with a strong European influence are equally impressive. The produce hails from local farmers. For a special occasion, gather a dozen friends to dine in the opulent, egg-shape private dining room, or indulge in the seven-course degustation with matching wines. On weekends the adjoining bar can be a little noisy as the night wears on, so it might be a good idea to beat it early or join in the fun.
Known For
- Stylish dining
- Locally sourced produce
- High-end prices
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., Reservations essential
-
$$$$ | Sydney Harbour |
Tucked beneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge with views of the harbor and Sydney Olympic Pool, this is a popular restaurant for both lunch and dinner. And it is open seven days a week for both. The menu features a lot of fresh seafood, which you can pair with a choice of over 300 Australian wines. Reserve a balcony seat at sunset for a truly unforgettable experience.
Northcliff St. and Paul St.
Known For
- Incredible views
- Outstanding seafood
- Smooth service
-
$$ | City Center |
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.
Known For
- Great location
- Outdoor dining options
- Open late
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No breakfast or lunch Sat.
-
-
$ | Paddington | Italian
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.
Known For
- Substantial mains
- Unique meals
- Warm and welcoming atmosphere
-
$ | Haymarket |
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.
Known For
- <PRO>duck pancakes</PRO>
- <PRO>late-night feed</PRO>
- <PRO>quick turnaround</PRO>
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
-
$ | Bondi Beach | Coffee
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.
Known For
- Healthy eats
- Convenient location
- Fresh juice
-
$$ | Woollahra |
This bistro in the Woollahra Hotel spills over with happy-go-lucky patrons—mostly locals from around the leafy suburb of Woollahra—who have been coming back for more than 20 years now. The best dishes are inspired takes on Parisian fare, like the grilled Sirloin Café de Paris, French onion soufflé gratin, and port sausages with potato puree and Lyonnaise onions, although the signature dish you must try is the much-loved, twice-cooked soufflé. The casual café and bar, Moncur Terrace, serves mains such as wagyu beef burgers and gourmet pizzas.
Known For
- Great atmosphere
- Friendly staff
- Caters to a long lunch
-
$$ | Potts Point |
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.
Known For
- Chic interiors
- Delicious eats
- Lively atmosphere
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch. Closed Sun. and Mon.