I've been reading some posts about Sydney restaurants and some are pretty old so I thought I would post again on the subject. We (a family with three 20 year olds) are looking for something special and typical including nice view, good food, hip and glam or down to earth but fun (any combination!) for our week in Sydney. We have already been to Acqua and Aria on a previous trip. We'd like to avoid Italian since we come from Italy and Thai because we are stopping over in Thailand. These are some of my ideas. Etch, Wildfire, Boathouse on Blackwattle bay.
Any comments? Thanks

Love Lord Nelsons Pub and Brewery in the rocks..some of the best food and beer..one of the oldest places in Sydney.
Love Tetsuya's but you didn't want fancy but damn its good.
Had great food at Opera Cafe and like going to Bondi and there is a place that all the locals go to..can't remember the name.
Hopefully some others will chime in.

Bentley Bar and Bistro in Surry Hills has great food, but it's a bit dark and groovy for me (could be appealing to 20 year-olds). Also in Surry Hills, Red Lantern and Billy Kwong for great modern Asian. Golden Century would be my pick for favourite traditional Chinese, seafood is their speciality.

The Malaya at Cockle Bay has a good view and excellent food. I've heard Ripples right near the ferry wharf at Milsons Point is good--great view back to the city.

Ottoman at Walsh Bay is great modern Turkish, it has a bit of view as it's at the beginning rather than the end of the wharf. The restaurant in the Four in Hand in Paddington is one of my favourites, the Restaurant in the Grand National is also good. Chris Manfield's Universal in Darlinghurst is expensive, but worth it, ditto Tetsuyas and est.

The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay is one of my favourites.
Also the Bondi Icebergs CLUBHOUSE (beside the more famous, salubrious, $$ and excellent restaurant Icebergs Dining Room & Bar) is a great spot. Very good fresh food at a reasonable cost, superb views. Low key local - one of Bondi's "hidden gems" IMHO.

Afterwards, you might like to take the walk along the cliffs to Bronte or Coogee. Lots of little cafes at Bronte and a bus stop opposite to take you back to town, or Bondi if you don't feel like the return journey.

Firefly in Walsh Bay for Tapas, nice view, buzzy.
Susan7 has already suggested Otto, there are also many other restaurants on that stretch, ie Finger Wharf. Very nice spot for Sunday lunch.
Guillaume's in the Sydney Opera House.
Other restaurants which are very reasonable along East Circular Quay (same area as Aria etc) which I enjoy are Quayside, Eastbank, Aflare and Quadrant.
Neil Perry's new Asian venture which I've yet to try is called Spice Temple. Had good reviews.

' Pier ' in Rose Bay for something special .

Set on an old pier over the water , not large , with a lovely Sydney aspect and award winning ( Gourmet )seafood , but cooked in contemporary ways .Very good wine list and staff . A perfect spot for a lovely lunch , which is what I enjoyed .I highly recommend it .

Thanks everyone - I need to get my map out and figure out how far all these places are from Pitt St. Meriton. We won't have a car and I was thinking more of evening meals - I wonder if 5 of us can get in a taxi?
I guess we'll go to Bondi during the day so thanks for those lunch suggestions. We walked along the cliffs to somewhere last time I was in Australia and I remember it being really hot and really difficult to find a bus back! But that was December and this time it'll be April. I hope the weather will be nice we've had the wettest winter ever in Rome!

Hi Carrom,
April is usually glorious weather here (fingers crossed for you.)
You'll need a maxi-cab or two cabs for 5 people. Seat belts are compulsory and you'll only be able to fit 3 in the back and 1 in the front with the driver.

From the Pitt Street Meriton, a bus would be good option down to Circular Quay. Just walk around the corner into George Street. On a nice day, you could easily walk across Hyde Park, through the Domain, past the Art Gallery of NSW, to the Wooloomooloo Wharves precinct (Otto, Nove, China Doll etc.)
There's also a pub opposite which has quite good reviews for good casual food.

The Art Gallery of NSW has a good bistro/restaurant too - as well as a more casual cafe. Both have sensational views.

<<From the Pitt Street Meriton, a bus would be good option down to Circular Quay. Just walk around the corner into George Street.>>

There is now a free shuttle bus # 555 that goes down George St to Circular Quay and does a loop, they are pretty frequent

http://www.sydneybuses.info/news/115/91.htm

Geordie

We (including my 18 yr old daughter) love Cafe Sydney at Circular Quay, especially if we can get a table on the verandah. Great food and cocktails plus a magic view of the harbour, bridge and Opera House. www.cafesydney.com

You can easily walk down from the Meriton or most buses terminate there.

and there's my favourite, Sean's Panaroma, at North Bondi, across the road from the beach. I think they do lunch Friday, Sat, Sun.

Similar food, without the view, at Glebe Point Diner.

carrom, I may be taking your post title too literally, but from the responses so far you've probably gathered that you won't find much that could be described as traditional Australian (i.e. British) cuisine in Sydney restaurants.

You'll find English favourites like sausages & mash served as "pub grub" in hotel bistros, but I'm guessing that's not what you're after. What you'll find is food from a bewildering number of ethnic cuisines, dominated by Italian, Chinese and South-East Asian, but often the best deals are in the suburbs, ranging from a few to as many as 20 km from the city centre.

"Australian" restaurant food these days is a modern Australian ("Mod Oz") fusion style drawing on European and Asian influences and featuring fresh Australian produce - especially seafood. Native Australian ingredients like lemon myrtle and wattleseed are also making some inroads - you might find them described by the Aboriginal-English term "bush tucker", but it's fair to say that traditional Aboriginal cuisine itself was so basic that it hasn't influenced the way we later immmigrants eat.

As in most cities, there are overpriced tourist traps, especially in and around The Rocks and Darling Harbour areas. It would be worthwhile for you to buy a copy of the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food Guide as soon as you arrive and make your selections from that (and of course the advice of Sydney Fodorites).

Happy eating!

I second the vote for Sean's Panorama which I love. I also enjoy the cafe at the NSW Art Gallery.

Of the ones you mentioned, I would second Bokhara's suggestion of Boathouse. I also like QUAY and EST.

Thanks everyone. Yes Neil - I did mean Mod Oz rather than Asian or Italian or pub grub. I have taken note of all your suggestions and will post back on our return.
If anyone has a must for our one night in Hobart that would also be useful. Thanks again.

Amulet in Elizabeth st, North Hobart, or Fish Frenzy down at the dock for fabulous fish and chips and with a brilliant view.