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Altitude
London chef Michael Kean plates up top-notch Mod Oz at Altitude, sending your taste buds soaring as high as the harbour views. If you've only got a day or two in Sydney, make this your last hurrah.
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Aria
Carrying on the operatic theme of its famous neighbour, Aria offers a winning combination of artful dishes (the roasted duck breast with rhubarb tarte tatin, parsnip puree and black pepper sauce (around A$52 ) is music for the mouth), superb harbour views, an award-winning wine list and flawless service. Reservations essential.
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Bentley Restaurant & Bar
The reincarnation of this old corner pub as an upmarket restaurant hasn't thrown the bar out with the bathwater. The mains are an artful take on English pub fare (roast chicken and duck, slow cooked pork loin, pan-roasted jewfish), while imaginative tapas (around A$4 -12) takes the place of bar snacks. Add to the mix faultless service and an extensive wine list.
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Blue Orange
A fave with Hall St regulars and travellers alike, Blue Orange has a casual, sandy vibe and a silly name, belying its delicate, complex cooking. Start with the blue cheese and walnut brûlée, then savour the slow-cooked Flinders Island lamb with roasted eggplant, fetta and mint. Divine.
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Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay
The best restaurant in Glebe, and one of the best seafood restaurants in Sydney. Offerings range from oysters so fresh you'd think you shucked them yourself, to a snapper pie that'll go straight to the top of your favourite dish list. Anzac Bridge views; reservations essential.
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Bondi Social
This cosy, chocolate-coloured, beach-shaped room opens onto a deck, from which Pacific views extend from here to eternity. Try the honey-glazed duck with coriander or the seared yellowfin tuna with paprika, fennel and salmon caviar. They also have a mean cocktail menu if you'd rather just sip and stare.
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Book Kitchen
Sunny pavement tables, attentive service, walls of foody books, a braised Wagyu beef-and-mustard sandwich and a Book Kitchen bloody mary - sometimes life just comes together perfectly doesn't it?
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Bottom Of The Harbour
Fish and chips and Balmoral Beach go hand-in-hand so ignore the stylish dining room and grab some takeaways. Yep, it's pricey but this upmarket chippie uses only free-range, organic and sustainable products - meaning that your tuna will have been line-caught, not trawled.
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Bungalow 8
Retreat to the far end of King St Wharf if the mayhem of Darling Harbour starts to melt your mind. Slink into a low leather booth on the cool slate floor, watch the harbour lights and slurp a lemongrass laksa stacked high with fresh mussels. The Loft bar upstairs has cool cocktails afterwards.
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Café Sydney
At Café Sydney you never know if your meal will come out of a saucepan, wok, tandoori oven or wood-fired grill, but you can always be sure that the views will come straight from heaven. Easing into the roasted barramundi with yabbies (around A$39 ) on a lazy Sunday afternoon while live jazz plays is one of the more sublime Sydney experiences.
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Chish N Fips
Oh the sheer Ockerness of it all - quality fish and chips on a golden sand beach! This well-placed snack bar also has great fish burgers and, for those seeking a healthier alternative, plentiful salads.
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Cruise
The cocktail lounge upstairs wallows in lugubrious style; the bar downstairs does a heady trade. In between, Cruise restaurant cooks up satisfying serves of prawn-and-scallop dumplings with red vinegar, and local snapper fillet with shaved fennel, prawns and tomato vinaigrette. Tasty work.
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Doyles at the Quay
Here is another slick, well-placed branch of the Doyles empire, offering outstanding views of the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay in general. On a sunny day, snag a breezy promenade table under a white umbrella and enjoy the massive-portioned (and wallet-emptying) fish and chips - life doesn't get much better than this.
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Doyles on the Beach
King of Sydney seafood for so long, you might think Doyles on the Beach is resting on its laurels. Nevertheless, it ain't your average fish-and-chipper, and catching the harbour ferry to Watsons Bay for a seafood lunch is a quintessential Sydney experience.
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est.
Legendary Sydney chef Peter Doyle and sommelier Franck Moreau keep the business crowds powering through deal-sealing corporate lunches at this slick eatery. Portions are small but high quality and the dining room more suited to groups than to intimate meals, but this classy place still exemplifies Sydney dining at its best. Thick wallet and fancy threads a must.
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Forty One
Luxury dining with harbour sights and lights - the view extends forever, but the mood remains strangely intimate. It's actually on the 42nd floor, but at this rarefied altitude, most folks are too oxygen-deprived to worry about such details.
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Harbour View Hotel
Request a table with a view in the intimate upstairs dining room of this lovingly restored 1920s pub, nearly directly underneath the Harbour Bridge. An old-fashioned ambience (crisp white linen and antique crockery mounted on the walls) matches hearty but interesting meals, accompanied by complementary damper and consommé.
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Jack & Jill's Fish Café
Like Jack and Jill - go up the hill - then close to the north end of Coogee Beach you will see this simple, homely and unpretentious place, lying away from the maddening crowds. It's perfect for folks looking for good seafood dishes at reasonable prices. We recommend the Cajun-spiced barramundi with rice, but the tandoori perch is also worth a bite.
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Le Kiosk
'Le Kiosk' sounds ugly but defines romance - a sandstone cottage, subtle lighting, open fireplace and the lull of lapping waves. The food proves a worthy paramour; swoon over snapper fillet with sautéed calamari, bacon, chilli and cauliflower.
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Libertine
Libertine means 'morally dissolute'. Check your moral fibre at the door of this luxuriant, unrestrained wonderland - gold and crimson drapes, lacquered black timbers and chandeliers set the scene for captivating fusion dishes like the house curry (green prawns, squid and butternut pumpkin). Cement your moral decay at the cocktail bar.
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Lure
This small fish shop will make you look good eating fish 'n' chips and sipping organic coffee, right on Taylor Square. Its gleaming sidewalk tables are airy and attractive, while a fancier back area offers privacy for the celebrity in you. Order the salmon teriyaki salad or salt 'n' pepper squid and feel even more special.
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Mohr Fish
Don't expect to find yourself in a fancy eatery when you come to Mohr Fish - this small but popular place takes up a space that's about the size of your living room. It has a very casual atmosphere and only a short, simple menu of excellent seafood - think fancy fish and chips.
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Mongers
Gourmet, grease-free fish-and-chips for those who are fond of tradition, but not at the expense of their waistline. Grab some low-joule grilled whiting and some thin-cut sweet-potato chips and head for the sand.
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Nick's
This hugely popular, glass-fronted fishbowl is king of the newly ensconced Bondi Pavilion restaurants. Mood and marketing are 'mainstream chain' (Nick's is one of five around town), but the beach views are bodacious. Try the kangaroo fillet or char-grilled octopus with tomato, fetta and olives.
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One Alfred Street
An unexpected gem among the morass of Circular Quay fast-food joints, One Alfred Street serves up classics like slow-cooked Wagyu beef with potato and parsnip flakes and quality fish-and-chips. Also great for a morning caffeine fix or a lazy afternoon vino (Antipodean wines only!).
