Sydney

Pat Nourse celebrates the opening of 121BC Cantina & Enoteca in Surry Hills with a glass of Amarone at the bar and a bottle of Franciacorta back at home.

There’s a new wave of excellent wine bars in Sydney, and three of the best also deliver food that’s worth seeking out in its own right, writes Pat Nourse.

Dan Hong and Jowett Yu’s relaxed approach to Ms G’s kicks fusty dining to the curb, writes Pat Nourse.

Felix comes to Sydney by way of Paris and New York and chef Lauren Murdoch’s own intuitive twists. It loses nothing in the translation, writes Pat Nourse.

Bar H is the latest and greatest rejoinder to the idea that Sydney lacks quality casual eats, writes Pat Nourse.

What do you get if you cross rockabilly fun with mariachi music and the mother of all barbecues? The answer, writes Pat Nourse, is Porteño.

REVIEW The Double Bay arm of this slick and growing franchise encapsulates the Saké ethos. The room is good-looking, as is the clientele, the beats are chilled and the well-heeled diners can order contemporary spins on Japanese favourites. Here, prawns are prepared popcorn-style and the raw tuna is done as a ceviche. The menu is […]

REVIEW If walls could talk, Lucio’s might need to shut down, such are the classified conversations of Sydney’s powerbrokers, media heavyweights and artists who’ve broken bread in its sunny dining rooms. Not only do they enjoy discretion among works from art royalty who’ve eaten and sketched here – John Olsen, Charles Blackman and Garry Shead, […]

REVIEW There’s intensity here: in the energy levels of floor staff working a perpetually full house, in the furious output in the open kitchen from early evening, among diners packed cheek-by-jowl along the narrow terrace’s brick walls, in a drinks list big on organic wines, left-of-centre grape varieties and craft beers. But most of all […]

This restaurant has closed. REVIEW Jamie Irving isn’t pushing the boundaries of Italian cuisine too far at this understated bistro – he’s pushing impeccably sourced ingredients and presenting them without tricks. Tuesday nights are even dedicated to celebrating a seasonal ingredient such as chestnuts or chilli, or northern Italian cheeses, perhaps. The buzzy room befits […]

Prefer your salad leaves manicured? Jeremy Strode, a chef with possibly superhuman powers of finesse and consistency, is in full flight at Bistrode CBD, writes Pat Nourse.

The lauded team behind Glebe Point Diner have brought their unique brand of rusticity without clichés to Neutral Bay, writes Pat Nourse.

With Ad Lib, Dietmar Sawyere brings another class act to the upper north shore, writes Pat Nourse. It’s clever French cooking without the bistro clichés.

Bloodwood, with its funky setting and smart food, is a shining light in Newtown, writes Pat Nourse.

A decade on Sydney’s fine-dining A-list is a lifetime in restaurant years, but at Otto, new chef Richard Ptacnik isn’t taking its gold-plated credentials for granted, writes Pat Nourse.

With simple food done well, Medusa Taverna may be the best casual Greek diner in Sydney, writes Pat Nourse. It’s polished without being pricey and there’s not a fish-net in sight.

Fix St James has become an oasis of good eating in the heart of the city, writes Pat Nourse, who finds himself seduced by its gutsy, honest food and wine.

Having eaten his fill of generic “Italian” food, Pat Nourse is excited anew by the distinctly personal, regional path taken by Alessandro Pavoni at Mosman’s Ormeggio.

This new modern Japanese eatery in The Rocks is shaking up Sydney dining, and the bar’s signature Sake Bomb is just the start of it, writes Pat Nourse.

Map in hand, Pat Nourse navigates his way around a tuna wing at Ocean Room. On the way, he discovers a flash new fit-out and new focus at this harbourside restaurant.

Headed by two former Bistro Moncur chefs, newcomer Blanco brings a fresh combination of levity and exactitude to casual Kings Cross dining, writes Pat Nourse.

Omertà translates to a union of families, but in Eugenio Maiale’s version it’s first and foremost about the drinking of wine – and sharing some damned fine food, says Pat Nourse.

A classic aesthetic and sober-toned interior belie the novel and forward-thinking cuisine delivered by chef Martin Benn at Sepia, his first solo venture, writes Pat Nourse.

It’s the clash of the cornichons, the war of the rosés, a bare-knuckle struggle for soufflé supremacy between Paddington’s L’Etoile and Flinders Inn, writes Pat Nourse.

With its Art Deco glory and soaring atrium, Rockpool Bar & Grill is probably the grandest restaurant Sydney has ever seen. It’s a steakhouse, writes Pat Nourse, but not as we know it.

With accomplished food from chef Jonathan Barthelmess and views to spare, it’s clear: Coast may be the finest modern Italian dining experience in the city, reports Pat Nourse.

Spice Temple’s foray into new Chinese territory presents food fit for the Chairman, writes Pat Nourse.

Spice I Am’s new sibling is a chip off the old block, with some welcome additions, Pat Nourse discovers.

Tendons, kneecaps and skewered thighs keep Pat Nourse going back for more at Azuma Regent.

The menu at Etch delivers the oomph and finesse we’ve come to expect from the team at Bécasse, says Pat Nourse, plus a little intrigue. And the soup is a must.

Stop by The Beresford for an expertly mixed cocktail – or two – and classic Italian fare, writes Pat Nourse.

Tucked away from the central spectacle of Sydney’s Ivy is the Parisian-chic Ash Street Cellar. It’s the perfect place to enjoy the wilderness of the city at a safe remove, says Pat Nourse.

REVIEW On the top floor of the historic Strand Arcade, this upmarket Italian eatery reads like a glossy boardroom: long tables, suits, ties and handshakes. The food offering is serious business, too. Parmesan is grated at the table by waiters wearing ties, and if you order more than one, ahem, $42 plates of pasta, they’ll […]

REVIEW A Tavola, “to the table”, is the call to eat in Italian homes, and the table in this instance is the marble communal number that dominates the front dining room at this local favourite, basking in the glow of copper lights and the simpatico welcome of the Italian staff. Home-style cooking is the touchstone, […]

Hiding in plain sight on Crown Street, the crack team at Marque are turning out some of the country’s finest food. With a minor facelift, the restaurant sparkles anew, says Pat Nourse.

Café Sopra, at Waterloo’s Fratelli Fresh, has quietly but surely become a Sydney dining institution, and the new Potts Point branch, writes Pat Nourse, continues the tradition.

Lotus’s reputation for attracting the young and fun crowd remains intact with rising star chef Dan Hong’s appointment to the Potts Point bar and bistro, writes Pat Nourse.

The Burlington at Crows Nest is a boon for North Shore diners who no longer have to cross the bridge to enjoy Matt Kemp’s European brasserie-style dining, writes Pat Nourse.

Perched at the top of Sydney’s elegant Strand Arcade, Pendolino swings between an olive-oil emporium and an impressive Italian restaurant, writes Pat Nourse.

The city’s beautiful people are rushing to experience the dazzling new hotel, bar and restaurant complex that’s home to Mad Cow and Teppanyaki.

Don’t be fooled when you meet chef Adam Humphrey at Arras – he may have a thick Yorkshire accent but you won’t find any stodgy stews here.

The Spanish are passionate about their food, wine and soccer. Head to this North Shore tapas bar for a sample of the first two – and to chat about the third.

Rambutan is a welcome addition to Sydney’s flowering Thai food scene. It’s southern spice with flair and flavour.

REVIEW There are the restaurants in Australia that replicate ideas of what things were like in Italy, and then there are restaurants that feel like they might have sprung new from the ground in Rome or Milan today. Small of size but big on verve and casually hip to its core, Vini is of the […]

REVIEW As with every good marathon, preparation is key. Sushi E has a phone book of a menu that rewards homework. Even then, it pays to seek advice from the glamazons who attend this white marble jewel box, tucked behind the Hemmesphere cocktail lounge. Order a Windsor Knot and watch the four chefs do amazing […]

REVIEW Fratelli Fresh has come a long way since the Danks Street warehouse, now defunct, and the first Café Sopra on the top floor. There are now multiple locations, all serving authentic Italian fare: fresh ingredients cooked well from primi to dolci. Salads have serious game. Burrata, roasted pumpkin, spinach and pistachio displays a range […]

REVIEW At Prime, the cavernous steakhouse set within the GPO, things are done on a grand scale. As you step through the colossal arched entrance and follow the red carpet to your linen-draped table, it’s clear size is the key player here (the height of the menu is just the start) and prices follow suit. […]

REVIEW Here’s a spot for sun-drenched lunches fuelled by white-peach Bellinis and bright antipasti. The glow of Otto’s egg lamps has long drawn Sydney’s glitterati, who flock here for the cashed-up marina vibe, snappy service and sensuous riffs on traditional Italian fare. There’s polish in Richard Ptacnik’s pasta offerings, as in twists of strozzapreti with […]

REVIEW Double-clothed tables. Framed Matisse drawings. Thirty-five-dollar glasses of Bordeaux. Fellow diners who begin their sentences with the phrase, “So I get a call from the ambassador…” Yes, Guillaume is every inchthatrestaurant. The sommelier will have a European accent, the other staff will be quietly competent if not exactly engaging. The same could be said […]

REVIEW If we’re brutally honest, Glebe Point Road’s status as an eat street rests more on the quantity of its outlets rather than the quality. But Glebe Point Diner stands tall among the handful of exceptions to the rule, a bistro with the sort of local charm that has near-universal appeal. The mild eccentricity of […]

REVIEW The cavernous glass and steel-framed space bustles with business folk hepped up on one of Sydney’s most voluminous and finely wrought wine lists, dipping into the broad menu that skitters from raw to grilled while touching on tapas and leaning heavily on seafood. For an entrée, try grilled sardines, crunchy and lightly charred, finished […]

REVIEW One could assume that a restaurant so well located might rely on its good looks to get by. Not so. The views of Rose Bay may be seductive, but the food is equally commanding. Seafood is the star, as an entrée of seared scallops with a tiger prawn and snapper brandade, leek purée, seaweed […]

REVIEW Bodega in one word? Swingin’. The tunes. The skirts. The tapas and share plates making their way from the open kitchen, carried by some of the friendliest waitstaff in town. The energy is infectious. Slide into a baby-blue leather banquette and peruse the strictly Latin wine list while well-coiffed chefs build queso fresco towers […]

REVIEW There are plenty of Japanese restaurants in Sydney, but not many truly evoke the feeling of dining in Tokyo in the same way as Azuma. The corporate location, sophisticated, dark-tinted interior, Japanese artworks on the walls and perhaps Sydney’s best tempura more than set the scene. There’s a tasting omakase menu, but it’s not […]

Look no further. The Holy Grail – a genuinely good plate of homemade fresh pasta – is here in this simple eating house.

The team at Catalina proves that there’s much more to this Sydney dining icon than its harbourside location.

Two blokes with an impressive pedigree open a Glebe diner that’s a bastion of simple and honest regional cooking.

After stellar stints in various Sydney venues, chef Darrell Felstead brings his confident, assured style to his own venture, Foveaux Restaurant & Bar, in Surry Hills. It deserves your attention.

If three stars weren’t enough, Peter Gilmore’s food at Quay has risen higher yet with a new degustation menu – and the views still rock.

With its modern Turkish flavours and glam harbourside setting, the Sydney sibling of Canberra’s Ottoman Cuisine shows potential.

A bastion of Italian restaurant culture and more Melbourne than Sydney in style, Fratelli Paradiso is a place where locals come for the ever-charming waiters as much as the gutsy food.

We raise a glass to chef John Evans, who has crossed the Harbour Bridge to take over the kitchen at Rozelle’s Three Weeds, cooking the kind of assured food the city’s better pub bistros are built on.

Having won the hearts of South Australian diners, chef Virat Suandokmai brings a Nu taste of Thai to the North Shore.

Oscillate Wildly in Newtown is pushing the envelope, but that thankfully doesn’t apply to the bill – so go wild.