The Best Restaurants of Sydney

Sydney is a true foodie city, with an almost endless selection of fun and often excellent restaurants. With Asia just around the corner, this cuisine is very well represented. The historic Rocks district boasts many good and charming restaurants. Surrey Hills is always home to the hippest and newest restaurants. In Chinatown, you can enjoy delicious food for little money.

Many restaurants operate on the sharing principle: you choose dishes to share, and they're brought to you as soon as they're ready. It's often quick, and dining often doesn't take up a full evening. Many restaurants also operate on a Bring Your Own (BYO) basis. That means: bring your own drinks! It's quite common in Sydney to walk around with a bottle of wine in your bag. Restaurants are always full, so reservations are essential.

Our recommendations per popular city area:

The Rocks

Sake Restaurant & Bar: Fantastic sushi (try the s express) and other modern Japanese dishes (think Nobu). The atmosphere is dynamic, hip, and happening.

The Cut Bar & Grill: Fine dining steak restaurant with premium Australian beef and seafood, in a historic cellar.

Munich Brauhaus: Authentic Bavarian restaurant with schnitzels and the famous pork knuckle, and plenty of beer.

El Camino Cantina: Classic Tex-Mex rock n’ roll restaurant, delicious tacos, fajitas, tequila, and large margaritas.

Surry Hills

Bills Surry Hills: One of TV chef Bill Granger's restaurants. Laid-back Australian atmosphere, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Classic: ricotta hotcakes, banana, and honeycomb butter.

Longrain: Southeast Asian cuisine, with long tables and a menu designed for sharing. The banquet/tasting menu is to die for.

Nomad: Mediterranean dishes with a modern Australian flair, great atmosphere and location. It can get a bit noisy (as in many Australian restaurants).

Toko: Beautifully decorated modern Japanese restaurant. The tasting menu was excellent. There's a sushi bar, and the meat, fish, and vegetables come from the robato grill.

China Town

Marigold: Yum Cha lunch, where you can choose from delicious Chinese snacks like dim sum and dumplings. These are regularly delivered on trolleys.

Din Tai Fung: The best dumplings in the city. Also available in the food court of the Westfield shopping center and World Square Shopping Center.

Mamak: Malaya street food. Rice and noodle dishes. It's worth queuing, and don't forget the famous roti!

NaruOne Korean BBQ & Chicken: We ordered the hot pot (a kind of Chinese fondue). A pot of broth is placed in the middle of the table, with various vegetables, meat or fish, and noodles simmering in it, which you then fish out and eat. The Famous NaruOne fried chicken is also said to be very good.

Central Business District (CBD)

Mejico: One of the best Mexican restaurants in the city. The guacamole is prepared tableside. All the sharing dishes they serve here are to die for!

Jamie’s Italian: A lovely traditional Italian restaurant by Jamie Oliver. With delicious antipasti, pasta, and meat and fish dishes.

Gowings Bar & Grill: Stylishly decorated modern Australian restaurant with the feel of a European brasserie.

Burger Project: Gourmet burgers. Try the chili cheese and the real shakes!

Potts Point

Fratelli Fresh: Delicious Italian dishes made with fresh local ingredients. The pizzas are wood-fired. There are several locations throughout the city.

Billy Kwong: One of the best Chinese restaurants in Sydney, with a large open kitchen. The menu is Australian-inspired and includes Walibi tail. My favorite dish is the duck with orange sauce.

Busshari Authentic Japanese Restaurant: The sushi and sashimi dishes are simply stunning. The atmosphere is great and the service is friendly and attentive. You can sit at the sushi bar and watch the sushi chef create these little works of art.

The Butler: Beautifully decorated restaurant with botanical motifs on the wallpaper and plenty of tropical plants. You can dine on the terrace overlooking the city skyline. The contemporary dishes are meant to be shared.

Other recommendations where to eat in Sydney

Darling Harbour and Wooloomooloo (popularly known as The Wharf) also boast many lovely and excellent restaurants. The Victoria Building is a great place for high tea and lunch. Enjoy food from all over the city's food courts until around 3 p.m.

A great alternative to the city is dining on the coast at places like Coogee Pavillion in Coogee, Iceberg in Bondi, or The Three Blue Ducks in Bondi. A real treat is Doyles on the Beach in Watsons Bay. You can take the ferry there and enjoy fish and chips on the beach with a view of the Sydney skyline.