Essential food and wine experiences: Sydney
This article represents the personal favourites of Foodtourist’s editors Sue Dyson and Roger McShane. These are the places they haunt on their regular visits to Sydney.
In the past five years Sydney has been catapulted into international recognition for the quality of its restaurants. It now stands head and shoulders above any other city in Australia and can match San Francisco and Paris for the sheer quality of the produce and the inspiration of the chefs.
Start the day with a magic coffee from Single Origin on the fringe of Surry Hills. The coffee here is outstanding and the food is good too! Another favourite is the tiny Room 10 in the emerging precinct of Llankelly Place in Potts Point.
Whenever we have been away from Sydney for more than a couple of weeks, we start to crave the vibrant food at Sydney's Asian restaurants such as the lovely, hole-in-the-wall called Spice I Am which serves fresh, vibrant food at very reasonable prices, Chat Thai where we happily line up to wait for a table, the down market BBQ King serving some of the best BBQ meats in town and Longrain (and the informal Shortgrain Canteen downstairs) also with shared tables and expertly-prepared Thai food.
At the top end of the market you have some real treasures. An all-time favourite is Bentley Restaurant and Bar where the innovative food and the extensive wine list entices us back time and time again. Tetsuya's is a must for foodies. Here you will find refined food served in impeccable surroundings. Other top end favourites are Quay, Marque, Rockpool, Rockpool Bar and Grill and Est. Another favourite, Claude's is undergoing a transformation at present and a new restaurant will open soon.
However there is another layer of restaurants where we feel very comfortable and the food and wine offerings are clever. We love the food at Jeremy and Jane Strode's Bistrode at CBD and the boisterous, but charming Felix at The Ivy. Similarly Stuart Knox runs a tight ship at Fix St James where the food is outstanding and the wine selection studded with natural wine favourites. Another jewel is Berta which serves expertly-prepared Italian-influenced food at modest prices as does the perennially popular Fratelli Paradiso in Potts Point. We also love the food at Bar H and, of course, at Billy Kwong, both in Surry Hills.
We are delighted that Ross and Sunny Lusted have returned to Australia after a long stint overseas to open The Bridge Room in Bridge Street in a charming, light-filled room. We used to love his cooking at Rockpool and a recent meal at the new venue confirms that his cooking is as deft as ever.
Sydney is also developing a vibrant wine bar scene with places such as the incredibly popular Wine Library and 10 Williams Street in Paddington, Vini and the tiny 121BC (with a dazzling array of Italian natural wines) in Surry Hills and Love, Tilly Devine in Darlinghurst all providing interesting wine in convivial surroundings.
If you want to treat yourself to lunch in a stunning setting then head for Balmoral Beach and Serge Danserau's Bathers Pavilion where the food is based on the best products available and matches the relaxed, beach atmosphere.
For lovers of French food there is a real gem in Sydney. Head for Woollahra and join the queue at Bistro Moncur. Here you will experience some of the best provincial food this side of Lyon. For lovers of offal this should be your first stop in Sydney!
If you are in the Bondi area then Icebergs is a must! If you can't get in, wander to the other end of the beach and try either Sean's Panorama where the food is prepared with care and cleverness or North Bondi Italian Food with its great atmosphere.