Great Sydney Restaurants
 

I am planning my trip to Sydney in April and was looking for some good food and restaurant recommendations. I was thinking about good value places for lunch as well some places that rage in the A$45-50 per person range (entree, main course, dessert and wine) for dinner.

Thanks for your help!!

Richard, I have no specific restaurants to refer you to, but only a few suggestions about AREAS. The golden rule is, get out of the city and into the nearby suburbs if you want to taste great food at reasonable prices. If you like Asian, for goodness sakes don't go to Chinatown.... head out, by train (25 minutes) to Bankstown, or, even better, Cabramatta (but that's a 45-minute train trip, so it might not be feasible for you; however, this is the REAL Chinatown of Sydney, and nearly everyone in every eatery is a local). For Indian, there are a couple of well-regarded places right at Homebush station (20 minutes by train). A ten-minute bus ride to Newtown will uncover a whole host of interesting choices, especially African and Thai. For Italian, the bus ride is about fifteen minutes, to Leichhardt's Norton Street, which is Little Italy: quite expensive nowadays, but this is where the Italians eat, so you can be sure it's genuine. If you choose to stay within walking distance of your hotel, avoid the Rocks area, which is overpriced and full of so-called Australian dishes that, in fact, most Aussies have never eaten in their lives, and head instead for Taylor Square, via Whitlam Square, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park. The restaurants up there are by no means inexpensive, but there is a pleasing variety, and the value is better than in the city itself.

I always think that an evening at Govinda's, at King's Cross (Indian vegetarian, just a hint of spice -- even my kids can take it) is an economical way to eat well (you won't even spend half of your budget!)... and you get to relax on cushions, with your shoes off, afterwards and watch a movie in their private cinema upstairs. This is four minutes' walk from King's Cross Station.... head right as you leave the station entrance.

Question for Alan (sorry to intrude, richardab!): Govinda's sounds great; is the King's Cross area okay for a single female in the evening? I'll be coming from the Rocks area. I remember reading on this board that the area is considered the red-light district and may be a little creepy. But I'm not opposed to traveling there for good food in the early evening if it's relatively safe (I've also traveled alone in the evening in both London and New York). The Thai and African in Newton sound wonderful too.

susiederkins, while waiting for Alan's reply I'll give you my 2c worth. The street he's talking about, Darlinghurst Road, is very busy and very brightly lit, and despite an undeniable sleaze factor is eminently safe in the early evening and even later.

Common sense dictates against exploring nearby dark alleys, of course. I would also advise against wearing excessively revealing clothes in questionable taste.

Neil, your reply is so accurate and concise that there's little for me to add.

Susiederkins, King's Cross is not an unsafe area -- really, by world standards Sydney is a very safe city -- but the "sleaze factor" that Neil mentions is undeniable, and I recall recently advising a family whose travel agent had booked them a hotel in the area (with two young children!) to look elsewhere, and to give their travel agent a bad day.

If you weren't hanging around TOO late at night -- and the Govinda's movie will be out around 10:30 -- then you should be fine. There's only a four-minute walk between the restaurant and the King's Cross railway subway, in any case, and that walk is, as Neil says, brightly lit and full of people doing pretty much what you'll be doing. It's further down the road that you start to think you may have wandered into a discarded set from "Sodom and Gomorrah"!

Thank you Neil and Alan for the info and good advice. I feel good about what you both said and will definitely give Govinda's a try!

Hi Richard

I can recommend Bennelong's at the Opera House and/or some appetizers at the little restaurants on the Opera House patio.

At Darling Harbor I would recommend Meat and Wine (odd name I know) but the food is very good and it's right down at the tip of waterfront. Another really great place to eat was Tony Roma's and it was great!!

Enjoy your trip - my eyes are green with envy!!

Just to make clear...Bankstown and Cabramatta are well known VIETNAMESE suburbs. Bankstown also has a lot of Lebanese/Middle Eastern people. Don't go to these places expecting to find a lot of chinese restaurants. There are a handful of great chinese restaurants in Chinatown. The Regal on Sussex St, and the one in Market City to name a few which I think are nice for Yum Cha. There is also that semi-famous handmade noodle place on the outskirts of Chinatown if you would prefer a more grass roots style eatery.

Check out my post in this thread for my recommendations.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=9&start=0