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Jaipur Sweets
While Jaipur has plenty of Indian desserts on offer, it dishes up excellent meals as well. Vegetarian options dominate, with plenty of thali and curry to choose from. You can't get better value than the around A$6 'dhal of the day' - served with two roti, a small salad and spicy lime chutney.
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Jed's Foodstore
With a skateboard and a single trainer hanging from the roof, this sunny corner café is the epitome of slacker cool. Breakfast treats include a delicious quesadilla and the popular breakfast bowl (mountains of berries, muesli and yoghurt). Toasted sambos (sandwiches to the uninitiated) go by the names of Rock Hudson and Errol Flynn (a hammier version).
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Jellyfish
There are much better places for coffee, but this similarly surfboard-strewn café is a good choice for a light lunch or heftier dinner. Keep an eye on the surf as you munch on salt and pepper squid or a tasty smoked salmon and avocado wrap (around A$11 ).
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Jimmy Lik's
This chic eatery offers a menu inspired by South East Asian street food, served on a long communal table. The flavours are bold, balanced and invariably delicious. There's usually a wait for restaurant seating - an opportunity to enjoy the bar snacks and adventurous cocktails.
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Jones the Grocer
Jones has a reputation as one of Sydney's finest providores - stocking wonderful cheese, chutneys and charcuterie . Grab a seat at the communal table for a tasty deli-fresh roll or pasta.
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Katipo Coffee House Deluxe
Named after New Zealand's only poisonous spider this unassuming café offers a little extra bite in everything it does. Even the tap water is subtly flavoured with fresh fruit and delivered with a smile. For breakfast try the Nouveau Hippy Vego Feast - a banquet of eggs, herb-roasted tomato, garlic mushrooms, kumera and wilted greens.
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La Buvette
Like its sister Spring next door, La Buvette is absolutely teeny. That doesn't stop it being crammed with the beautiful, the famous and the guppies (gay urban professionals in the latest designer sunglasses). The menu features salads, sandwiches and crepes, but our favourite is the baked eggs with chorizo. Excellent coffee.
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La Cremeria De Luca
A main contender for Sydney's best ice cream, the artisans at De Luca whip up all the favourite flavours as well as the more exotic; try the sublime rose petal or chocolate and chilli. They even turn out a beer-flavoured gelato for St Paddy's Day.
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La Disfida
This humble local pizzeria of 13 years' standing serves decent pasta as well as pizza, but don't even think about it. Head straight for a delicious traditional thin-crust pizza, hot out of the wood-fired oven. It's been rated the best in Sydney, so don't be surprised if you have to wait for a table. The staff aren't renowned for their charm, but the pizza is worth it.
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La Gerbe d'Or
Sydney's most-loved patisserie, La Gerbe d'Or (pronunciation: with theek Parisian accent) has been baking mouth-watering French breads, cakes, pastries and quiches for 25 years. Their chunky beef-and-burgundy pies are legendary.
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Le Kilimanjaro
With a giant map of Africa on the side of the building, bright yellow walls and staff in colourful robes, you won't mistake Kilimanjaro. The owners are Senegalese but the menu is sourced from all over the continent, including a delicious North African tagine. Try the sossou-gorgiguan ('homosexual' in Wolof, apparently) - tuna steamed with spices. How very Newtown.
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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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Limoncello Ristorante
Start with the antipasto or homemade tagliani with scampi, and proceed to main dishes like the grilled lamb fillet, stuffed calzone or one of 24 traditional and gourmet pizza choices. Flavours will take you straight to southern Italy, especially if you sit in the airy covered patio out the back or snag an outdoor seat up front.
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Lo Studio
The sexy Deco curves of the Paramount Pictures office add glamour to this newcomer to the Surry Hills scene. The modern Italian menu covers a wide base of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes and is unafraid to be adventurous.
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Longrain
Set in a large warehouse conversion with long communal tables, Longrain pushes the boundaries of modern Thai cuisine. Try the caramelised pork hock with chilli vinegar and the eggnet - a large ball of prawns, sprouts and coriander yumminess encased in an egg lattice.
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Lumière
It's a sheer delight to sit in the bakery section of this café and watch all manner of gorgeous things being readied for the ovens. For brunch you can't go past the ricotta hot cakes with sour cherries, honeycomb and mascarpone.
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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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Mahjong Room
Siblings Billy To and Erika Chan offer up fresh, wholesome and creative Chinese cuisine at this atmospheric eatery. Choose one of the three cosy dining areas and dive into the steamed fish with ginger, or wok-fried lamb, and don't forget the Peking duck starter. In winter the mixed seafood hot pot is mandatory. Monthly mah jong classes are offered.
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Malibu
It's not often that a simple sandwich shop gets foodies excited, but this tiny hole-in-the-wall is an exception. The sandwiches are absolutely massive and the ingredients fresh and first-rate.
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Marigold Restaurant
This vast yum cha palace is a constant whirl of trolley dollies in silk dresses and waiters in bowties bustling around the 800 seats. It's hard to resist gorging as the Cantonese delights are constantly presented for inspection - dim sum, dumplings, steamed pork buns, chickens' feet and all the other usual suspects. On weekends expect to queue.
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Marque
Marque's crisp, immaculate décor provides a level-headed platform for adventurous cooking. It's one of those places where culinary experimentation at first seems ridiculous, but you walk away smiling. Try the milk-fed veal loin with Meyer lemon, liquorice, pumpkin and coffee.
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Maya Tandoori
On a strip of mainly vegetarian Indian restaurants, Maya Tandoori is proof that the prettiest is not always the best. Don't be put off by the bright lights, nasty furniture and general lack of ambience. The food's authentic, spice-tastic and one hell of a bargain (around A$13 for four curries, raita, pickles, rice, two roti and dessert).
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MCA Café
Situated under the slick Museum of Contemporary Art, this trendy cafe's outside tables boast stunning views of Circular Quay and the Opera House. The simple menu offers diners treats like seared scallops with citrus beurre blanc , corn-fed chicken breast or beer-battered fish 'n' chips. Breakfast is also popular, and the service is right on the button.
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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.
