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Fidel's Bar
Housed under an inconspicuous apartment block, there's nothing unassuming about Fidel's. Photos of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa adorn the walls, fiesta fajitas come sizzling out on hot plates and the enigmatic owners ensure the tequila flows freely.
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Fifi's
Chef Fifi Fudda brought the secret of her deliciously smoky baba ganouge dip with her from Beirut. Her restaurant gives Lebanese cuisine the respect it deserves, with white linen and classy décor. Opt for either a three-course omnivore or vegetarian banquet (around A$30 ) or supersize to five-courses.
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Firefly
Compact, classy and never snooty, Firefly's outdoor candlelit tables fill with pre-theatre patrons having a quick meal before the show. Come after when the audience has taken its seats and toast the Walsh Bay powerboats with some fine wine.
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foodgame
Whether you sit at the steel deli counter, in the plush lounge area, at the communal table or outside, you'll enjoy the salads (Thai to Caesar), burgers (satay to steak) and pasta (ravioli to fettuccine). And don't even think about leaving without dessert (lemon tart, sticky date pudding, lime-infused coconut panna cotta...)
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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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Fratelli Paradiso
An ever-changing and always interesting menu keeps the locals returning to this small, stylish eatery. Portions aren't large, allowing plenty of room for multiple courses. If you're not a regular the service can be cool, but the food is well worth the wait and the people-watching often excellent.
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Fu Manchu Restaurant
Think 21st-century Hong Kong slick chic, with chopsticks and elbows getting a workout. Here you will find some of the best Asian eating in Darlinghurst, and it won't kill your wallet. Wrap your fingers around some steamed barbecue pork or ginger buns for a heavenly treat. Plenty of vegetarian options are also available.
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Gelbison Pizzeria Ristorante
'Mel Gibson's', as it's often called, is an old favourite with beach bums, film industry types and assorted gluttons looking for great Italian staples. Gelbison never seems to change and in Bondi that's a rare thing. There are pizzas and pastas galore, and sidewalk tables within the ocean breeze's reach won't hurt your enjoyment either.
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Gertrude & Alice
This secondhand bookshop/café is so un-Bondi - there's not a model or surfer in sight! Students and academics hang out reading, sipping chai tea and acting like Americans in Paris. Join them for a mezze platter and theological discussion around communal tables in shambolic book-lined rooms.
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Golden Century Seafood Restaurant
This is the place for an upmarket Chinese dinner, especially if you like your seafood fresh - it's sitting in nearby tanks (check out the abalone and giant crabs!). This is a favourite late-night eating spot for many of Sydney's chefs and hotel workers, who come for the exotic, engaging flavours, fast service and fancy Asian decor.
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Grand National Hotel Restaurant
It's located right next to its namesake drinking hole, but this is definitely not pub grub. A bright and elegant dining room offers inventive cuisine like duck breast with soused vegetables or roasted lamb with carrot purée. Well-chosen wine recommendations add even more punch, and the pear strudel with prune armagnac ice cream ends the night nicely indeed.
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Grappa
Oddly located above a carpark, this spacious eatery looks better on the inside - its open kitchen, snazzy bar and elegant decor will impress your picky date. Tasty mains include snapper in rock salt, buffalo bocconcini and tuna carpaccio, or go for pure excess with the 1/2 roast duck or 450g T-bone steak. An award-winning wine list only adds to the appeal.
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Green Gourmet
Green Gourmet is a self-serve, pay-per-kilo, kind-to-animals eatery, plating up Chinese-Malaysian vegetarian at affordable prices. On weekends, grab a few morsels of cruelty-free yum cha and wash it down with one of the excellent teas on offer. Alcohol-free too.
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Green's Café
This institution-green neighbourhood café has a 1950s nana-chic aesthetic and is prone to doing oddball things like hosting tea towel and apron exhibitions. Devonshire teas are served, but the menu is contemporary café fare, with excellent all-day breakfasts (try the delicious parmesan scrambled eggs).
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Guillaume at Bennelong
Located under the smallest of the Opera House's iconic sails, a meal at Guillaume won't fail to be a treasured Sydney memory. Award-winning chef Guillaume Brahimi's masterful style is evident in every divine dish. Just thinking about the rib-eye of Wagyu beef cooked on the bone (around A$180 for two) is enough to induce palpitations (on two counts). Book well ahead.
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Gusto
Busy to the point of embarrassment for the surrounding businesses, Gusto does things with gusto. Breakfast rolls (egg, ham, tomato and hollandaise on an onion roll) nourish skinny actresses on the footpath tables, while the deli doles out cheeses, pesto, hams and olives with enthused abandon.
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Guzman Y Gomez Taqueria
Delivering a healthy and delicious alternative to fast food, this clean and modern diner uses fresh local produce to prepare authentic Mexican tacos, burritos and quesadillas. Everything's marinated and grilled daily, with only the baja -style fish cooked in oil.
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Harbour Kitchen & Bar
Chef Danny Drinkwater offers up some of Sydney's finest cuisine, and the glass walls mean that stunning views of Circular Quay are guaranteed. Try the duck and beetroot tart or the salt-baked salmon darne , both his signature dishes. Lunch is decent value; breakfast is also available.
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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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Harry's Cafe de Wheels
Ok, so it's just a pie cart - but it has been here since 1938 and at after a night on the turps you'll rate it higher than Tetsuya's. Try a Tiger - a pie with mushy peas, potato and gravy on top. Just watch out for the scavenging seagulls (during the day) and rats the size of cats (at night) - which have nothing to do with dubious hygiene issues, we might add, but are a natural consequence of the cafe's proximity to Cowper Wharf.
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Hugo's Bar Pizza
Sassy little brother of Hugo's Lounge upstairs, this indoor/outdoor neighbourhood nook has been seducing pizza fans with its delicious discs and home-style Italian fare. The marble-fronted bar and sunken velvet lounge spell luxury, but the menu won't break the bank. Try the puttanesca pizza.
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Icebergs Dining Room and Bar
Maurice Terzini's sleek celebrity magnet absolutely sizzles at its supreme cliff-top locale. His food is to Italian what Mod Oz is to meat-and-two-veg; the upmarket menu is laced with unusual delights. Reservations definitely required. Attached to the restaurant is a sleek cocktail bar with hanging chairs, colourful sofas and an elegant list of tipples and that killer view.
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Iku Wholefood Kitchen @ Glebe
Here's one of the best vegan places in town, offering cheap and healthy takeaway treats (mostly organic). Order the miso soup, tofu fritters and Japanese rolls and go picnic at nearby Victoria Park. Just note that it closes relatively early on weekends.
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Il Baretto
Packed to the rafters and dishing up some of the most heavenly gourmet sandwiches and pasta in Sydney, this tiny and chaotic restaurant offers fabulous food in local surroundings. You'll be waiting for sure, so head to the pub across the road; they'll come and get you. Try the spaghetti alle vongole or homemade gnocchi - 'yum!' is what you'll be thinking.
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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.
