The 5 best restaurants at King Street Wharf

The best King Street Wharf restaurants offer the world on a plate, all from the edge of Sydney Harbour.

King Street Wharf, sandwiched between Darling Harbour and Barangaroo, is a familiar name to anyone who has taken a cruise around Sydney Harbour before. Most of the boats board here, and many Sydneysiders have spent long nights partying at Cargo Bar and Bungalow 8 in their formative years. It’s as familiar a slice of Sydney’s famously relaxed, waterside lifestyle as Circular Quay and East Balmain.

Plus, families are well-served by the area, given it’s just a skip away from the Merlin Entertainment venues Sea Life Sydney, Wild Life Zoo and Madame Tussauds. But King Street Wharf isn’t just an endearing slice of Sydney due to its location. The decades-old diversity here predates a lot of other food precincts around Sydney, with an incredibly varied mix of restaurants.

Let your nose guide you around King Street Wharf and you’ll catch a whiff of Malaysian curries (The Malaya), Indian spices (Manjit’s) seafaring Greek (Georges), gregarious Middle Eastern (Mecca Bah), meaty Brazilian (Brazico), hearty Italian (Casa Ristorante) and soulful Mexican (Alegre). Then there’s not one but two steakhouses, spots for classic Aussie pub food and fresh seafood, and, of course, nightlife staples Bungalow 8 and Cargo Bar.

To say King Street Wharf is a microcosm of Sydney’s best bits would be underselling the area.

Since it was made even more convenient with the recent opening of Barangaroo Station, as part of the wider Sydney Metro project, attention has rushed back to this institution. In particular nostalgia-baiting favourites The Maylaya, which originally opened on George Street in 1963, and the consistently excellent Manjit’s, another family-owned favourite that first opened in 1984.


Best Restaurants at King Street Wharf


Manjit’s at the Wharf is one of the best restaurants at King Street Wharf (photo supplied).

1. Manjit’s at the Wharf

The Gurjal family have been at this game since 1987, when Manjit Gurjal established Manjit’s Indian Restaurant Balmain. The move to King Street Wharf didn’t come much later, but by then the family-owned kitchen had not only perfected traditional Indian flavours for the Sydney crowd, but expanded it beyond more than just indulgent butter chicken and palate-scorching beef vindaloo.

Vegetarians have plenty of choice from the large menu, but the most consistent crowd-pleaser is the bakra rogani, where lamb cutlets are simmered in a creamy sauce of North Indian spices until nice and tender.

Contact: (02) 9279 3379
Opening Hours: Monday (5:30pm – 10pm); Tuesday – Wednesday (12pm – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm); Thursday – Saturday (5:30pm – 10:30pm); Sunday (12pm – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm)

The Malaya has been delivering quality South-East Asian to Sydneysiders since 1963 (photo supplied).

2. The Malaya

Wong Tai See, who migrated to Australia from Hong Kong in the 1940s, founded The Malaya in 1963. The brand has been upheld as the prime example of South-East Asian food in Sydney for in the decades since, typically focused around its Nonya and Malaysian flavours.

When The Malaya arrived to King Street Wharf in 2001, the influx in demand pushed the kitchen to expand its menu and work with more seafood. Now you’ll find Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian and Thai staples on the menu, smartly refined to balance the Western palate with authenticity.

Contact: (02) 9279 1170
Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday (12pm – 2:30pm, 6pm – 9pm); Friday (12pm – 2:30pm, 6pm – 9:30pm); Saturday (12pm – 2:30pm, 5:30pm – 9:30pm)

Georges is King Street Wharf’s portal to the Greek Islands (photo supplied).

3. Georges Mediterranean Bar & Grill

Having just reopened with a new fit out, Georges is that bright, generous Mediterranean grill that almost every harbour city scrambles for. We just happen to have one of the best, with a smart lean towards Greek cuisine (so the $72pp lamb feast is a must). Everything from king prawns saganaki to Cretan anchovies with pickled peppers and grilled bread takes diners straight to the Greek Islands.

Contact: (02) 9295 5066
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday (11:30am – 9:30pm); Saturday – Sunday (8:30am – 10pm)

King Street Wharf heads on over to Brazil courtesy of Brazico (photo supplied).

4. Brazico

Feel like some churrasco? King Street Wharf’s scope manages to fit in some good ol’ Brazilian BBQ for groups looking for a fun dining experience. There used be plenty of more Brazilian BBQ spots in Sydney but Brazico has outlasted most of them off the back of quality and consistency.

For the unversed, churrasco is basically a Brazilian mix grill with meats cooked on a rotisserie and delivered to the table in-tact, with choice meats being picanha, chicken and sausages.

Contact: 3 King Street Wharf, NSW 2000
Opening Hours: Monday – Wednesday (8am – 9:30pm); Thursday (8am – 10pm); Friday – Saturday (8am – 11pm); Sunday (8am – 9pm)

Steersons Steakhouse is one of two classic steakhouses at King Street Wharf (photo supplied).

5. Steersons Steakhouse

There are two steakhouses at King Street Wharf and while they’re both excellent, we lean closer to Steersons Steakhouse for its understated elegance and immaculate service. With a 150-ranged cellar to pull from, a dinner here has that air of classicism that transports you straight to the cinematic dining scenes of New York City and France.

And yet you’re just inches from Sydney Harbour.

Contact: (02) 9295 5060
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday (11:30am – 10:30pm)


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