Sydney, Australia Hotels and City Guide

Sydney - Restaurants

Sydney Dining - Local Cuisine & Customs

What is the best part of visiting Sydney? The gorgeous views? The wildlife retreats? The Opera House or Bondi Beach? All nice, but what about the food! Besides which attractions you should visit, the question on everyone’s mind is, “Where should we eat?” Fortunately, Sydney has no scarcity of eateries that will excite your taste buds and help introduce you to the culture of this magnificent city.

Start with a wood fire grilled vegetable and goat cheese salad; savor the fresh, organic produce before trying the grass-fed English lamb cutlets and chops with mint jelly. Save room for the rich apple gallette with brown butter ice cream and candied hazelnuts. You will find these culinary delights at the Rockpool Bar and Grill, whose amazingly decadent food is only equaled by the opulent dining room. Feeling a bit less formal? Then try the Glebe Point Diner, where each item on the menu is made in-house, including the creamy butter, unbelievable pasta, and delicious ice cream. The prices are very reasonable, especially considering the wonderful food and the careful preparation. The people of Sydney named this as their favorite restaurant in 2009: treat yourself to slow roasted, succulent chicken and fresh organic vegetables.

As you can see, the culinary options are varied, as are the prices. You can dine in luxury – if you make reservations a few months ahead – at Becasse or the Rockpool. The food is worth the splurge, but you can also get some excellent dishes at less expensive restaurants. Visit the Surry Hills district for food that is prepared creatively for a good price. At one of the fabulous restaurants on Crown Street, you can sample delicious Australian, European, Asian, Mediterranean, and creative fusion dishes affordably. Try the Alchemy Café for authentic European and Polish food, the Café Mint for African, Middle Eastern, and Moroccan fare, or Dolphin on Crown Hotel for modern Australian cuisine.

For budget-conscious travelers, there is an abundance of ethnic restaurants that traditionally charge less but deliver some of the best food in the city. Harry's Cafe, near the Woolloomooloo wharf, dates back to 1938 and serves up the city's best pies and mushy peas until the early hours of the morning. Now a recognised Sydney landmark, a visit to Harry's Cafe should be on your sightseeing list alongside Sydney's other famous landmarks.

For more cheap eats, you can also try Chinatown’s Yum Cha (said to have even better food than Hong Kong), the Thai restaurants in Newton’s Kings Street, Italian eateries in Leichhardt, and many more. You can easily find Spanish, Portuguese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Nepalese, Turkish, Lebanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Kosher restaurants in Sydney. The city’s rich diversity is on display at its many restaurants, and visitors benefit from the incredible variety. You can also visit one of the city’s wonderful farmers’ markets for fresh food and delicious treats. Do try the Sydney Fish Markets for superb, fresh seafood: perfect for a casual night of grilling.

Make sure to try some authentic Australian cuisine while visiting Sydney. Surrounded by all that beautiful water, it is no surprise that the city likes its seafood. Chefs get their inspiration from the fresh catches of the day: rudderfish, blue-eye, kingfish, ocean perch, parrot fish, prawns, shovel-nose and fresh-water lobsters, rock oysters, crab, and barramundi are often seen on menus, and they are prepared in any number of mouth-watering ways. A new fusion movement is sweeping Australian food: you can try tuna tartare with flying-fish roe and wasabi, five-spice duck, or sweet turmeric barramundi curry, which add a bit of Japanese spice to traditional Australian cuisine

Vibrant, exciting, and original: Sydney’s cuisine is second to none. The new Sydney International Food Festival will showcase the amazing quality of the city’s fare. From fine dining to farmer’s markets, Sydney will be putting its best culinary foot forward with festivals and open-air eating. The World Chef Showcase will allow the best chefs from Sydney and the rest of the world to shine and create their best dishes. If you’re planning a trip, this is a delicious time to visit!

Sydney Restaurants

harbourkitchen
Park Hyatt Sydney, 7 Hickson Road, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9256 1661 | Fax: +61 2 9256 1445

Mint Bar and Dining
62 Bridge Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9240 1210 | Fax: +61 2 9240 1240

Rockpool
107 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9252 1888

MG Garage Restaurant
490 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW 2010
Tel: +61 2 9383 9383

Paramount
73 Macleay Street, Potts Point, Sydney, NSW 2011
Tel: +61 2 9358 1652

Claude's
10 Oxford Street, Woollahra, Sydney, NSW 2025
Tel: +61 2 9331 2325

Catalina Rose Bay
1 Sunderland Avenue, Rose Bay, Sydney, NSW 2029
Tel: +61 2 9371 0555 | Fax: +61 2 9371 0559

Tetsuya's
529 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: +61 3 9267 2900 | Fax: +61 2 9262 7099

The Bathers' Pavilion
4 The Esplanade, Balmoral, Sydney, NSW 2088
Tel: +61 2 9969 5050 | Fax: +61 2 9969 4626

Bayswater Brasserie
32 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross, Sydney, NSW 2011
Tel: +61 2 9357 2177 | Fax: +61 2 9358 1213

Buon Ricordo
108 Boundary Street, Paddington, Sydney, NSW 2021
Tel: +61 2 9360 6729

Bonne Femme
191-193 Palmer Street, East Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2010
Tel: +61 2 9331 4455

The Summit
Level 47, Australia Square, 264 George Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9247 9777 | Fax: +61 2 9251 2539

Coast
The Roof Terrace, Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9267 6700 | Fax: +61 2 9267 6711

Golden Century
393-399 Sussex Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: +61 2 9212 3901

Tipping in Sydney

Tipping is not as commonly practiced in Australia as it is in other places around the world, particularly the United States. You do not usually tip at cafes or food counters. If you go to a restaurant, tipping is purely voluntary. Most Australians do not leave a tip, though the wait staff may expect you to if you are American (simply because they know Americans tip at home). If you want to, a 10 percent tip is perfectly adequate, though you’ll get no complaints for 15 percent. Tip only if the service was very good.

Most other Australian service workers expect no tip. It is courteous to round up the fare for cab drivers instead of tipping. For instance, you would leave $20 for a $18.50 fare and tell the driver to keep the change. Bell hops or baggage carriers also sometimes receive a tip of $1 or $2 for each bag they handle, but again, this is up to you. Some hotels even prohibit the employees from accepting tips, so do not be surprised or offended if they refuse.

Hotels in Sydney, Australia