Sydney's top eating spots include Shell House Dining & Terrace. Photo / Destination NSW
With Sydney recently confirmed as the most popular international destination for an Easter break by data collated by Webjet, consider these top spots for the serious business of foodie fun, writes Neil Porten.
You’ll be way too busy having fun in Sydney to think about eating or drinking. Wait, what? Sorry! You’ll be way too busy having fun eating and drinking in Sydney to think about anything else. Except, maybe where to head for your next meal.
Bills Bondi Beach
A block from the curving sand of possibly the world’s most famous beach, Bills cafe is an all-day eatery with a breezy cabana feel - sage leather benches, wooden chairs with a neon-yellow weave, and a pink-tiled bar. My trim (skinny? skim?) latte was good, and the fresh Aussie - salmon, avocado, poached eggs on sourdough - an ideal fast-breaker. The corn fritters were a popular choice, available also at lunch, along with burgers and salads, while I’d probably plump for the coconut curry with tofu and butternut for dinner after a day at the beach. bills.com.au/bondi-beach
Bonus: For a beachside bar and all-day dining over in Manly, look no further than the Manly Greenhouse. Sea views and a seasonally-driven menu come together perfectly. shorebeachhouse.com.au
Museum of Contemporary Art Cafe
For a 270-degree view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, day-tripping catamarans and the iconic green and cream ferries, the Circular Quay West location of MCA Cafe is a winner. The stacked French toast looked very good and the smashed avocado was spread liberally over giant slices of toast. There is a selection of Korean dishes, including bibimbap, fried chicken and chapssal donuts. My bacon and egg roll and latte - a modest choice in anticipation of a long lunch elsewhere - set me up perfectly for a tour of the museum. thefreshcollective.com.au/cafes-stores/mca-cafe
Oh Boy Sydney cafe
On a grey, rainy morning the ships docked across the water at the Royal Australian Navy base, HMAS Kuttabul, are indistinct. But this glass box cafe is warm and bright in what light there is, and the food and coffee don’t disappoint. Pop up here after a few laps in the Andrew “Boy” Charlton swimming pool for a comforting bowl of overnight oats with seasonal fruit and pistachios - it’s sweet, soft, and nutty, with rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries and cashews. The blood-orange marmalade and sourdough toast were a good excuse for a second coffee. Scrambled eggs with curry butter sounds weird but works, and the Englishman at the table was intrigued by, and satisfied with, his cheese jaffle - that’s a toasted sandwich to you and me. It’s a short stroll from here, along the edge of the Royal Botanic Garden, to the spectacularly new Sydney Modern art precinct, adjoining the Art Gallery of NSW. birdandbear.com.au/oh-boy
Nour
The aroma of minted lamb cooking is the first delight to the senses on arrival at Nour in the heart of Surry Hills. A long lunch and one of the set banquet menus is a great way to indulge the rest of the senses and enjoy Lebanese food and attentive hospitality. I’m fascinated by ingredients unfamiliar to me - areesheh (a ricotta-like cheese), ezme (a spicy dip), malawach (flatbread), tarator (a tangy sauce) and jazarieh (candied pumpkin) - so Google gets a workout during the first glass of 2021 Harkham Alchimie, a blood-orange coloured natural rose from the Hunter Valley. White cheeses, pink pickled cabbage, translucent raw bluefin tuna, greens, reds, bright orange sauces open the eyes. The zaatar crisp crunches, the yoghurt bread is soft, and the glazed lamb shoulder dissolves on the tongue. noursydney.com
Bert’s Bar & Brasserie
On the edge of the sea at Pittwater in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Bert’s is a luxurious retreat from the big city. Start with a cucumber-cool Eva Green cocktail and relax into a booth of cream leather and sage furnishings as light streams in the sweeping curved window. The thoughtful service started with two types of small oysters from local growers - Wapengo Rocks and Merimbula - both were super-salty with an intensely sweet finish, the perfect entree matched with the chewiest emmer flour sourdough. The king prawns in brown butter looked and smelled terrific. But there was a real show of unveiling and serving at the table the encrusted rainbow trout I shared, including mixing a tiny spoonful of white sturgeon caviar into the sauce. A pair of New South Wales chardonnays, the 2018 Tyrrell’s HVD Old Vines from Hunter Valley and a 2019 Eden Road from Tumbarumba paid full respect to the great seafood. You should - and we did - take the longest time possible to enjoy a treat meal here. merivale.com/venues/berts/
Shell House Dining Room & Terrace and Sky Bar
In contrast, the big city surrounds you, Blade Runner-like, at Shell House Dining Room & Terrace. The room’s elegance and Art Deco vibes - red formica and brass-edged tables, rolled upholstered benches - glow under the lampshades. A smoky Isle of Skye High Ball feels obligatory under the circumstances, the sea-salt note priming the tastebuds for the array of seafood on offer. It’s another local supplier, Sydney Rock, whose tiny oysters zing with a finger lime and verjus mignonette. The pickled mussels served with mujdei, a Romanian garlic sauce, taste tart. Delicate flavours feature in the spanner crab served with oscietra caviar and cultured cream. Soft and light, the cruller with whipped fish roe and white anchovy was not overshadowed by the fresh citrus flavours of the Adelaide Hills Shaw + Smith M3 chardonnay, chosen by my friendly South Australian companion. From the light to the dark: inky cavatelli pasta, nuggety and firm to the bite, has a texture midway between soft pellets of squid and gritty granules of dried tuna. shellhouse.com.au/dining-room-terrace/
Bar Totti’s
Step off bustling George St into buzzy Bar Totti’s and you’ll be treated to Italian-inspired cocktails - a Garibaldini anyone? - and food perfect for sharing. At one end of the counter, a conscientious staffer is metronomic on the hand-turned prosciutto slicer, while a crew member preps pans of dough for the white-tiled wood-fired oven. It’s not pizza delivered to the table, but puffed-up footballs of soft, charred, chewy, yeasty bread. Torn hunks, along with garlicky baked eggplant with chilli and pangrattato, the moist prosciutto, super-salty anchovy fillets in the freshest cut-grass scented olive oil, and sweet-tart cherry tomatoes are enough of a meal on their own. But highlights from the pasta menu included spanner crab reginette and a rich lamb ragu with fat ribbons of pappardelle, eased down with a couple of Italian red wines. Wood-grilled or roasted fish and generous cuts of veal rump, pork schnitzel, sirloin and ribeye star in the mains, and tiramisu looked like the pick of the desserts. merivale.com/venues/bar-tottis/
Priscillas at The Imperial Erskineville
The food is as fresh and fun as the entertainment on Drag N’ Dine nights at this LGBT+ community institution. The restaurant is at the rear of the main ground-floor bar and veges are the heroes on the menu. Signature cocktails take their names from famous Sydney drag queens - the Marlena Dali was a tart and smoky mix of mezcal, tequila, orange and lime juice - and the wine list covers the continent of Australia, with a sprinkling of Old World options. While double act Mu Lan and Mynx Moscato glammed it up on stage, the mushroom tostadas, grilled corn with chipotle mayo and eggplant tajine went down a treat. A glass or three of the fizzy Moonlight Super Tranquil pet nat from Riverland, NSW, cooled the chilli notes in the coconut ceviche and the slow-cooked lamb and was perfect with the yellow mole and achiote-marinated chicken. imperialerskineville.com.au/priscillas/
Shell House Sky Bar
Ascend the darkened staircase from the Shell House Dining Room & Terrace to Sky Bar, where a disco soundtrack throbs and the loungy, nooky space is wrapped in a nightscape of city lights. There’s rolled wood on the bar front, brass stools, plump couches featuring a Missoni chevron print, wicker lampshades and weave chairs. The bar snacks are classy: splash out on caviar, or slurp an oyster or two with your Dusk Till Dawn or Clooney Tunes (somebody clearly has a thing for George) cocktail. If the rest of your night requires carbo-loading, go for the cheese and pepper doughnuts or the zeppole fritter with drunken raisins and cream. shellhouse.com.au/sky-bar/
Charlie Parker’s
Through Fred’s restaurant and down the stairs into a subterranean Paddington den, you’ll hear 60s soul pumping, find sandstone and dark-wood nooks and round tables to lean across, and drink nameless cocktails concocted with the freshest seasonal botanicals. I requested a single malt scotch, and the barman helpfully served me a dram of sweet Balvenie DoubleWood 12-Year-Old, which was perfect with a piled plate of salty prosciutto served up with doorsteps of sourdough and olive oil. It’s bar snacks and sharing plates here: olives, nuts, oysters, cured meats, breads and cheese. Finish - with a second dram if you must - with the dark chocolate sorbet and Japanese whisky cream. merivale.com/venues/charlieparkers/
Tio’s Cerveceria
Complimentary bags of spicy popcorn accompany your first drink at this Mexican cantina with a happy late-evening vibe. The Tommy’s margarita, with mezcal, raicilla, agave and lime was a smoked and iced refresher. You’ll find nachos three ways - chorizo, roast pork or frijoles - and guacamole to eat; chase it down with the salty, spicy tall and cooling (really) Michelada beer, a mix of lager, red pepper hot sauce and lime. Yes, really. tios.com.au/
For more to see and do in Sydney, see sydney.com
The chef chats to Herald Travel about unforgettable foodie experiences in Aotearoa.