104 Best Restaurants in New South Wales, Australia

Dining at Arajilla Retreat at least once during a stay on Lord Howe Island is a must. The cuisine, which changes daily, uses fish straight from the ocean and lovely homegrown vegetables. Begin with a drink at the cozy bar, decked out just a little like a gentlemen's club with leather armchairs, and then take a seat at the restaurant with its white walls and one dramatic burgundy-color feature wall. The three-course menu changes weekly, based on what is fresh and in season. Desserts are irresistible and may include black sticky rice with lychee sorbet, toasted coconut, and kaffir lime.

In-house guests take precedent over those not staying at the resort, so bookings are essential.

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.

Locals rub shoulders while eating no-fuss Chinese food at TV chef Kylie Kwong's trendy restaurant. Kwong prepares the kind of food her family cooks, with Grandma providing not just the inspiration but also the recipes. The prawn wontons with brown rice vinegar are always popular, but the standout dish is the deep fried whole sand whiting with black bean and sea parsley. If you have a big appetite, indulge in a variety of dishes with the seven-course banquet (A$75).

Local French-born celebrity chef Robert Molines, who used to run Roberts Restaurant, has a restaurant on the grounds of the lovely Tallavera vineyard, which has one of the best views in the valley. Make sure you nab a table on or near the veranda. Food isn't overly complicated or styled, which fits nicely with the relaxed (but professional) service. The twice-roasted Hunter duckling on braised cabbage is delicious, while seafood fans love the Jewfish with jamon consomme. It's a two-course minimum at A$85. Those who want a nap after a long lunch, or don't want to drive home, might want to book into the two-bedroom cottage (operated by Robert and his wife Sally) that's just a stroll from the restaurant.

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.

For almost 60 years, The Famous Berry Donut Van has been just that, a famous must-visit spot for those visiting Berry. The quality of their cinnamon doughnuts is unrivaled. They are made-to-order so are always piping hot. Collin and Shirley London toured the doughnut van around Australia in the 1960s but once they arrived in Berry, they decided it was home. Best bit? They're open every day from 9 am until 6 pm, come summer or winter.

In this century-old farmhouse with distant views of Byron Bay the draw is upmarket Mod Oz cuisine blending Asian and Mediterranean flavors. Produce fresh from the owners' farm is featured on the lunch platter menu. Each platter is themed like "From The Hills," with a whole free range chicken "spatchcock" cooked in lemon and thyme, with a side of roasted potatoes and cauliflower. As the name suggests, the restaurant also has accommodations: the Dairy and the Sunrise House, two cottages with wonderful views, can both sleep up to eight people; prices are from A$600 a night in the holiday season of Christmas, January and Easter with a minimum stay of three nights. The restaurant and rooms are 5 km (3 miles) inland from Byron Bay at Ewingsdale.

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.

Set in the remarkable Paperbark Camp glamping spot filled with high-end tree houses that are available for two-night minimum stays on the weekend, this restaurant is a romantic and warmly lit tree house for grown-ups. The menu is a set, three-course affair (A$80) featuring meats in the autumn months and light zesty fish and seafood in the summer. The desserts are light and packed full of flavor.

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.

It's always a fun night at this fashionable post-industrial Thai eatery because you never know who you'll end up meeting at the large communal table. The generous-size innovative mains—some say the best Thai food in town—are designed to be shared. Begin with a simple starter of either betel nut leaf with prawn-toasted coconut or a freshly shucked oyster with red chili and coriander. Mains include the stir-fried pork belly with chili and ginger, while egg nets—lacy omelets filled with prawns, pork, peanuts, and bean sprouts—are also a popular choice. Longrain's cocktails are legendary for their generous pours; try the ping pong—a luscious mix of passion fruit, lychee, and vodka.

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This is a fine place to socialize with the locals and tourists and enjoy some honest, unpretentious food. The on-site Sunset Bar & Grill is open for dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, and the menu includes a variety of roasts (such as roast chicken or lamb), steak with garlic butter, schnitzel, fish, and salads, plus pizza on Sunday nights. Friday night is the "big night out" on the island, when almost everyone turns up for the sunset barbecue—try the barbecue kingfish and grab an ice-cold beer. Desserts include what appears to be the island staple—sticky-date pudding—and ice cream. It's best to come early to take in the view over the golf links and the lagoon beyond. 

Overlooking the harbor’s edge, here you'll find fresh produce and traditional Japanese fare. Serving up sashimi, sushi, and noodles, Nagisa is a popular weekend restaurant with a buzzy atmosphere. There's also a lively teppanyaki bar, where you'll be mesmerized by the talented chefs and incredible aromas of sizzling meats and fresh seafood.

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.

In Glenbrook, one of the first Blue Mountains towns you'll reach coming from Sydney, this is a great place for breakfast or a relaxing lunch before continuing to Wentworth Falls, about a 30-minute drive west. Dinner is served Thursday through Saturday, with the menu firmly focusing on local produce, especially organic meat from Lithgow Valley (on the other side of the mountains). The menu offers both large eats and share plates. 2773 serves only fair-trade tea, coffee, and chocolate and uses many organically grown ingredients and locally sourced beer and wine. Live music on Sunday afternoon is a great way to enjoy the weekend. Kids love meeting the pigs out the back.

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.

A Byron Bay legend, this open-air café is a perfect place to sit in the morning sun and watch the waves. Breakfast runs the gamut from wholesome (award-winning locally produced Brookfarm Macadamia muesli with yogurt and banana) to hearty (corned-beef hash, sautéed spinach, fried egg with béarnaise sauce). For lunch, there's everything from local seafood to the region's finest steak. The café is open for cocktails. It also has an attached takeout section for those who want to have light meals on the run. 

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.