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Sydney's dining scene is as sunny and cosmopolitan as the city itself, and there are diverse and exotic culinary adventures to suit every appetite. Mod Oz (modern-Australian) cooking flourishes, fueled by local produce and guided by Mediterranean and Asian techniques. Look for such innovations as tuna tartare with flying-fish roe and wasabi; emu prosciutto; five-spice duck; shiitake mushroom pie; and sweet turmeric barramundi curry. A meal at Tetsuya's or Rockpool constitutes a crash course in this dazzling culinary language. A visit to the city's fish markets at Pyrmont, five minutes from the city center, will also tell you much about Sydney's diet. Look for rudderfish, barramundi, blue-eye, kingfish, John Dory, ocean perch, and parrot fish, as well as Yamba prawns, Balmain and Moreton Bay bugs (shovel-nose lobsters), sweet Sydney rock oysters, mud crab, spanner crab, yabbies (small freshwater crayfish), and marrons (freshwater lobsters).
There are many expensive and indulgent restaurants in the city center, but the real dining scene is in the inner city, eastern suburbs, and inner-western suburbs of Leichhardt and Balmain. Neighborhoods like Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Paddington, and beachside suburb Bondi are dining destinations in themselves. Plus, you're more likely to find a restaurant that will serve on a Sunday night in one of these places than in the central business district (the city center)—which can become a bit of a ghost town after offices close during the week. Circular Quay and The Rocks are always lively, and the Overseas Passenger Terminal (on the opposite side of the harbor from the Opera House) has several top-notch restaurants with stellar views.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Founded by two Australians who had been on a road trip to the United States, the pair returned and launched Pancakes on The Rocks in the 1950s. Seven decades later and it's still an iconic eatery in Sydney. There's a huge array of pancakes available, and each are American-style, arriving with eggs, bacon, and syrup.
Most people come to this buzzy bar at the end of Pier 4 for a quick bite before a show at the adjacent Sydney Theatre Company, but the views of the Harbour Bridge are so spectacular that it's worth coming here any time. It gets busy before a show starts, but then the crowd vanishes, leaving it a pleasant place to linger over a quiet glass of wine or cocktail and soak in the amazing view. The menu is split into small tapas-style eats to share or large mains, and there's plenty of variety from hearty pastas, fish-and-chips and antipasto boards.
Found inside the Roslyn Packer Theatre, the Walsh Bay Kitchen offers light Asian fusion fare, with flavors of miso and wasabi-crumbed fish often found on the menu. It gets busy here before a show, due in part to the fact that the food here is so much cheaper than at neighboring restaurants, usually costing around A$50 for two courses and a glass of wine. It's a pleasant spot to linger and enjoy a quiet wine from the extensive list when the crowds empty out.
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