Peter Lynch is one of Australia's leading entertainment journalist, writer and reviewer. He is a former showbiz editor of The Daily Mail, London, and worked for The Times, The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald . He writes, interviews and reviews theatre, food, music, art and travel.
Food enthusiasts who hit the harbour city or the coast or the suburbs are lucky as our dining scene is always evolving and here is always somewhere new to try. And it’s not just modern Australian cuisine either, as our cultural melting pot means there is always some amazing new cuisine that’s on the hit list.
Here’s a brief list of Sydney’s newest restaurants and we will be updating as often as we can.
It was once a one-man band, in a tiny Darlinghurst restaurant making a big noise, including a mention in The New York Times. But Joe Kitsana has recently made a move to a bigger premises and therefore counts as one of Sydney’s newest restaurants, so more people will be able to savour the pan-Asian flavours on offer here at this alumni of David Thompson’s Longrain. Tuck into elevated versions of crispy chicken spring rolls, pan-fried garlic chive dumplings and stir-fried and slow-braised pork hock that could just as easily be found in a hidden hawker stall in the backblocks of Hanoi or Bangkok.
Once a late-night drinking haunt and pokie den (aka fruit machine/slot machine for our foreign friends), Jacksons on George has been reborn as part art gallery, part food and beverage offering and part music destination all under one spectacular roof. Under the eye of Bondi Icebergs supremo Maurice Terzini, head chef Steven Sinclair leads the menu in all three spaces, Public Bar, Bistro George and the Rooftop. Expect European-influenced bistro dishes and elevated Aussie classics. Light and fresh Clams Casino ($26) are actually local pipis with guanciale and pangritata, there’s whole yellow belly flounder or opt for retired dairy cow eye fillet. The cocktail list features an Italian lean with local twists, including a Negroni with pandan and blanco tequila. The walls feature works by local artists and adds a nice touch to one of Sydney’s newest restaurants.
Public Bar from 10am, Bistro George lunch and dinner, late night bar from 11pm, 176 George St, Sydney, (02) 8027 999
Le Foote is a slick wine bar and modern Mediterranean grill located in an historic, heritage-listed venue in The Rocks. Get lost on the back cobbled lanes to find the space that best suits you, from black leather banquettes out back to the cosy upstairs dining space. The menu ranges from small plates of white anchovies to mains of barramundi or Rangers Valley bavette from the grill. Or just pop in for a drink in the sandstone surrounds of the former pub beer garden or marble-topped tables out front with views to the Harbour Bridge.
Lunch Wed-Sun, Dinner Mon-Sun, 101 George St, The Rocks, 9232 0881
More bistro than bar, this venue takes its inspiration from New York steakhouses with the CBD location having a strong culinary history. Start with caviar, prawn cocktails and local oysters before moving onto fish of the day filleted at your table. Sticking with seafood, try the restaurant’s signature dish of diamond shell clams tossed through fresh pasta, chilli, garlic and white wine. Steaks – Boston cut, New York strip, rib-eye and porterhouse – come cooked on the bone from the Josper charcoal oven. Or you could have a good old-fashioned Barnsley chop. Talking of old fashioned, expect New York classics such as the Martini, plus the Tiki-inspired Blue Daiquiri or the Jungle Bird.
Mon-Sat, lunch and dinner, 44 Bridge St, Sydney, 9016 1590
Palazzo Salato is a 120-seater Roman-inspired trattoria for grown ups – especially those who like proper pasta, tripe and a 600-bottle wine selection. Soaking up the atmosphere in heritage-listed space that has been inspired by New York’s Gramercy Tavern. Expect handmade pasta in dishes such as shoe-shaped potato-stuffed scarpinocc, spanner crab mafaldine and bottarga and egg yolk spaghetti alla chitarra. For those who prefer protein look to blue-eye trevalla, flat-iron steak spatchcock with crunchy Asian spice crust.
Sydney’s Chinatown had a global reputation for first-class traditional Cantonese dining. It’s now on its way back, thanks to the opening of this 400-seater yum cha and seafood restaurant run by mother and son team Sun Wei and William Wu. Expect live seafood tanks of lobster, mud crab, coral trout and pippies ready to be slathered with XO sauce. The barbecue is on fire again with roast Peking duck, char siu pork and whole suckling pig.
Thurs-Sat, lunch, dinner and supper until 3am, 393-399 Sussex St, Haymarket, 9211 8518
While North Sydney is considered the second CBD, the mix of businesses there means that those on the other side of the Harbour Bridge know how to dine well. With a mix of inside spaces and light-filled outdoor terraces, this 120-seat restaurant also features an adjoining 60-seat bar. On the light side of the menu start with a broadbean salad with ricotta and pickled lemon as you watch suits rushing along the streets below. Then sit back and relax as you decide on which option to choose from the Josper grill from roasted eggplant, to roast chicken or whole flathead. If red meat is more your thing there is a 250g beef rump cap or lamb saddle. The wine wall at one of Sydney’s newest restaurants, meanwhile, is home to 2500 iconic wines from Australia, Italy and South America.
A former Nobu chef heads up this Japanese izakaya in Surry Hills, which has a hot food scene not far from the city and always has a few of Sydney’s newest restaurants opening. This 85-seater two-storey venue is inspired by the izakayas found all over Japan, but expect to see some Italian touches in the menu – like duck ravioli with ponzu and sansho or spaghetti with spanner crab and togarashi. Listen to sizzle as the wagyu hits the hibachi and is slathered in shoyu jus and black garlic.
An intimate laneway restaurant offering contemporary Australian cuisine with Euro inspiration. The venue also features more than 600 temp-controlled wine bins and is one of the few restaurants in Sydney pouring wine on tap. As one of Sydney’s newest restaurants, Beau also offers an intimate rooftop terrace with spectacular views over Sydney’s Central Station and the city skyline.
Mon-Wed 7am-4pm, Thursday Sun 7am-late, 1 Fracks Ln, Surry Hills, 9280 3395
As far as Sydney’s newest restaurants go, if you want a beachside diner, head south of the city to Bobby’s at Cronulla Beach. This new offering features a Mediterranean-led seafood-focussed menu, just steps away from a strip of white sand that is not wall-to-wall people, like its eastern suburbs counterparts. Located at the south end of Cronulla’s Esplanade, the menu heroes an ocean-to-plate ethos. Sydney’s newest restaurants.
Breakfast, lunch daily, and dinner Thursday through Sunday, 6R The Esplanade, Cronulla, 9058 2856
If you’re around Bondi, check out the best dining spots for some other of Sydney’s newest restaurants.
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