Our picks for Sydney’s most exciting restaurants and bars

Sydney may be known for its blue skies and blockbuster sights, but even that’s selling the Australian city short. Dig under its surface and you’ll find one of the most exciting restaurant scenes in the world, with everything from fine dining to pizza shops and new-wave wine bars. Here are some of the best places to experience Sydney’s epic culinary scene. 

1. 10 William St 

You’ll find this cosy and always bustling wine bar on an unassuming terrace on Paddington’s chic William Street. Opened in 2010, it was the first of the new-wave wine bars, and it’s still going strong thanks to a rotating list of hard-to-find and experimental white, red, orange and natural wines, plus a daily selection of small plates that fuse Italian and Australian flavours. Order the pretzel with whipped bottarga – it’s the only mainstay dish for a reason. 

2. Ezra

Ezra brings the pizzazz of Tel Aviv to energetic Potts Point. It always feels like a party here with loud pop tunes, juicy wines from small-batch producers, and standout dishes like slow-cooked lamb with pickles and rose syrup, roast chicken with blistered grapes, and moreish dips. With its large courtyard, this restaurant brings in the crowds for mimosa-fuelled brunches and jovial group dinners. 

3. Bella Brutta and MaPo

With a cult following in Newtown in Sydney’s edgy inner-west, restaurant Bella Brutta slings out some of the city’s best wood-fired pizzas. Start with an aperitivo like a strawberry gin and tonic before moving on to signatures such as the clam pizza with velouté and heaps of garlic, parsley and fermented chilli. Save room for dessert next door at MaPo, a lab-like gelato shop serving creative flavour combos – a scoop of Pecorino Romano, black pepper and honey ice cream, anyone? 

4. Kiln

On the rooftop of Ace Hotel, Kiln – with its retractable roof, billowy linen walls and 360-degree views across Sydney – is both supremely stylish and unpretentiously cool. The menu by celebrated sneaker-clad head chef Mitch Orr, known for his contemporary and creative cooking, is mostly vegetarian and wood-fired. Expect dishes like grilled mushrooms on wasabi leaves, roasted eggplant with macadamia nuts, and flounder in miso brown butter, as well as Orr’s signature snack of anchovy with smoked butter on a Jatz cracker. 

5. Firedoor

With no modern appliances, gas or electricity in the kitchen, Firedoor is a primal restaurant dedicated to fire. It’s headed by chef Lennox Hastie, who worked at acclaimed Asador Etxebarri in the Spanish Basque Country and brought his wood-firing skills back to Sydney. Here, juicy meat and fish are cooked over various types of wood, and flames burn high in the open kitchen. Firedoor was featured in Netflix’s Chef’s Table and has been awarded three Hats – the Australian equivalent of Michelin stars – so book ahead.  

6. Sean's

Opened in 1993, this restaurant opposite Bondi Beach is an institution as much for its eclectic interior, covered in seashells and homespun art, as for its farm-, bush- and sea-to-table dishes. Expect a rustic changing menu of juicy chicken, vegetables sourced from a nearby farm, freshly caught seafood and delicious desserts. The deal is simple: A$120 (HK$610) for three courses, and you can bring your own wine.  

7. Petermen

This is the second restaurant by acclaimed fish butcher Josh Niland, who has made a name for himself with his low-waste fin-to-scale sustainable approach to seafood. While his first restaurant, Saint Peter, serves an elegantly presented multi-course menu, Petermen spotlights Niland’s take on homey classics like yellowfin tuna chateaubriand and wild-kingfish curries. There’s also a kids’ menu with tuna Bolognese and fish burgers.

8. Le Foote

The latest from a group of restaurateurs known for their atmospheric restaurants and bars – like Hubert, Alberto’s and Shady Pines – Le Foote is a part-Parisian wine bar, part-Mediterranean grill restaurant in the historic Rocks precinct. Thanks to this new opening, locals are returning to the tourist-heavy neighbourhood to try the restaurant’s Mediterranean dishes cooked over charcoal, served alongside a soundtrack of jazz and Euro-tech groove.

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