An institution among Laksa addicts. Today the name has two locations under its banner, but the original, now-closed Hunter Street shop was ladling bowls of piping hot laksa all the way back in 1987 – long before most of the CBD’s other Asian restaurants joined the party.
Helmed by genre-bending Sydney chef Mitch Orr, the Ace Hotel’s eighteenth-floor diner is all about native ingredients, fire-based cooking and flavours from across the globe. The space exudes the Ace’s signature cool, with a view that’s primed for the adventurous wine list by P&V’s Mike Bennie.
The Middle East’s lesser-known cuisines brought to light on a menu informed by ancient recipes and modern techniques. You can also try wines from Syria, Jordan, Morocco and more, in a stunning contemporary space in the former MLC Centre.
Nigiri takes pride of place at this 12-seat omakase diner, and there's a formidable selection of Japanese whisky to go with it. You might end up sharing some with your neighbour – it's all about the convivial vibe here.
Chaco Bar's Keita Abe brings high-end Japanese dining to Surry Hills with this theatrical omakase restaurant. Sit at the wraparound counter try a constantly-shifting menu of Osaka-style tempura and desserts with wow factor.
At this restaurant-bar, chef-owner Junda Khoo experiments with regional Malaysian specialties. Plus there are tiki-inspired cocktails and a fun wine list.
Manon brings French flair to the Queen Victoria Building with a roll call of bistro classics such as croque monsieur, steak frites and crab bisque souffle. Take a seat in the handsome dining room, or people-watch Parisian-style at a streetside table.
This all-day eatery inside Hinchcliff House mills its own flour, using grain supplied by NSW farmers. That means house-made pastas and ciabatta to go with produce-driven share plates and cocktails.
Helmed by a Michelin-starred chef, this multifaceted Japanese diner brings together a dining room, a cocktail bar and a chef's table under one elegant roof. Dishes are informed by Japanese tradition, French techniques and a root-to-stem philosophy.
Vibrant Mexican food, super-rare tequilas and million-dollar views are all on the menu at this smart harbourside diner. But to really feel like a millionaire, splash out on the signature gold leaf Margarita.
A cosmopolitan Italian diner with enough marble to sink a ship. It’s a spin-off of Matteo’s in Double Bay, and the pizza is just as good. This place has a few of its own moves though – notably, an executive chef who was trained by the inventor of Roman-style pizza.
This sumptuous diner is one of two venues by the Speakeasy Group inside the revamped Beneficial House, a heritage-listed former department store in Sydney's CBD. Celebrating life's big moments is what it's all about here – come for tableside theatrics, premium Aussie steaks and complimentary cocktail amuse-bouches on arrival.
Celebrity chef Luke Mangan imparts his signature style to the Kimpton Hotel’s grand lobby restaurant. Expect modern Australian fare with European and Southeast Asian flourishes, matched with an extensive wine cellar starring rare French vintages and plenty of Australian drops.
Under soaring ceilings in an art deco building, The Charles evokes Europe’s grand brasseries with plenty of thoughtful touches – including a roaming dessert trolley, and tableside saucing and carving. Order the whole dry-aged duck for a show-stopping signature.
Inside Sydney's Capella hotel, the team behind Bentley and Monopole are turning out modern Australian takes on classic brasserie dishes. There's an encyclopaedic wine list to match, which accesses all the rare drops stashed in the Bentley Group cellars.
Clayton Wells’ follow-up to Automata has the chef’s signature all over it – literally. Come for unexpected dishes starring beautiful Australian ingredients, as you take in harbour views from within Sydney Modern at the AGNSW.
A moody Mexican laneway diner in an old CBD printing shop. The upstairs restaurant serves tacos al pastor, a one-kilogram Wagyu rib eye and a riff on the Pina Colada for dessert. But downstairs in the bar, it's all about mezcal and tequila.
The CBD has some of the best cocktail bars in the world, but there’s a surprising lack of venues with a focus on vino. Since moving from its original Potts Point location, Monopole, with its clever mix of snacking and thoughtful drinks list, has changed that.
At Pinky-Ji, “unauthentic Indian” chef Jessi Singh brings all the fun and flavour of his Melbourne diner Daughter in Law to the Sydney CBD. Expect modern takes on Indian dishes in a neon-lit room draped in red velvet. Plus, a private dining room with a karaoke machine pumping tunes from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.
This is the long-awaited Sydney outpost for the beloved Japanese dining empire, and it's brought its signature miso cod along for the ride. Dine on salmon-sashimi tacos and evaporate-in-your-mouth nigiri, knock back "sushi cups" and enjoy some aged sake.
A sexy wine bar from the team behind Love, Tilly Devine, where the pasta menu changes almost daily and comes supplied by its retail sibling, Fabbrica a few blocks away. You might order cavatelli with pippies and house-made pork sausage one day, and goat ragu mafaldine the next.
Merivale’s opulent Japanese diner puts a modern spin on the country’s traditional cuisine. Take your seat at the white marble counter for a theatrical experience involving premium seafood, sake and no shortage of knife skills from the team of highly trained chefs.
This '70s-inspired cocktail lounge on the 83rd floor of Sydney Tower is the highest bar in town. Cocktails come from an ex-Baxter Inn and Hubert bartender whose drinks will (almost) distract you from the 260-degree views.
The laneway eatery is a collaboration by top Sydney chefs Federico Zanellato (Lumi Dining) and Karl Firla (ex-Oscillate Wildly). While they’re both renowned for innovative fine-dining concepts, Leo is their ode to rustic Italian cuisine. That said, your pasta may come with truffles when they’re in season.
Set within Merivale’s sprawling Ivy Precinct, Bar Totti’s is more than just a facsimile of the Bondi original. It brings together the best bit of the OG (signature pastas, outstanding antipasti and woodfired flatbreads), but has a few of its own tricks, too. Notably, regular DJ sets and a late-trading licence to keep the good times rolling for longer.
This art deco drinks-and-dining complex has three seductive bars, but the heart and soul of the building is the spectacular ninth-floor restaurant. Take your time with a lengthy menu of seafood, pasta and protein-heavy mains, and a wine list highlighting French classics and new world naturals.
Serving up burgers under $10 and freshly churned thickshakes, this burger joint’s neon
signs and sky-blue tiles are a vibrant ode to ’50s American diners.
Following a stunning makeover, this beloved Greek restaurant reopened in 2021. A handful of old favourites remain on the menu, but everything else – from the sprawling open kitchen to the roaring woodfire oven – is brand new.
Formerly an oyster bar, this al fresco French diner evokes the Mediterranean with its unmatched harbour views and sterling seafood. It's got you covered for all occasions, from pre-theatre snacks to big-budget lobster and champagne dinners.
Southeast Asian street food is the focus at Merivale’s rowdy good-times diner: oysters spiked with Vietnamese-style vinaigrette, jungle curry with pipis and Phnom Penh fried chicken. To drink? Fresh cocktails and a famous yuzu slushie.
Fine dining meets Oaxacan flavours at this casual CBD spot. There's a rollicking bar with such vast quantities of tequila and mezcal, bartenders use a library ladder to access the top shelf. A pre-dinner flight here is highly encouraged – and well worth it.
Steak frites is king at this two-storey French bistro in the heart of the city. But sophisticated Gallic standards are just one part of the picture – you'll also find a formidable wine list spanning Burgundy, Champagne and the Rhone Valley wine regions.
The one-two punch of exemplary Malaysian sweets and smoky char kway teow noodles is not one you’ll experience often. But that’s exactly what you get at this unassuming food court counter run by a husband-and-wife duo.
Burgers, craft beer, minimal intervention wine, thumping rock music and a fern-filled outdoor dining space with 30 seats. And the whole menu can be ordered vegan.
A ritzy institution on the Customs House rooftop. The menu bounces between Indian and Italian flavours to create an altogether modern Australian vibe that spans surf, turf and vegan dishes. An appropriate focus on seafood works a treat, given the jaw-dropping views of Sydney Harbour. Book ahead for the window seats.
At this offshoot of CBD diner Restaurant Leo, it's all about pastries by day and aperitivi by night. Head into the laneway for innovative cocktails paired with oysters, anchovy-and-sage scrolls and parmesan custard.
A one-stop shop for celebration cakes, savoury lunch-time pastries and croissants made with a recipe that took 15 months to perfect. From the street, you can watch the team prepare all of the above inside the glass-encased kitchen.
Come to this over-the-top ice creamery if you're into inventive flavours. Just take the bestselling flavour: blue sea salt ice-cream. Toppings include popping candy, flame-toasted marshmallow, caramel popcorn and fairy floss.
Hidden behind the heritage-listed Louis Vuitton building, this tiny espresso bar has no seats – just good coffee, pastries and ready-made paninis for a quick getaway.
This is the younger sibling of Maybe Sammy (arguably Sydney’s most acclaimed cocktail bar). It’s an all-day cafe and bar, where you can have cocktails at 10am and coffee ‘till 10pm. Come for half-serve cocktails on tap, strong coffee and a tight menu of versatile snacks.
The Mary's crew snagged the old Basement space in Circular Quay and continued its legacy as an inner-city hub for live music. They've also thrown in a burger joint with the Mary's signatures: 'burgs, fried chicken and natural vino.
Francis Ford Coppola's landmark film *The Godfather* is the inspiration behind Apollonia, a dramatic basement bar beneath Hinchcliff House. A visit here involves Sicilian-style bar snacks, inventive house cocktails and a signature Negroni on tap.
This luxe rooftop bar and open-air terrace is the cherry atop Shell House, combining sophisticated drinks and Mediterranean snacks with a statement-making design. Think *Mad Men*-era opulence combined with a 1930s Milanese speakeasy feel.
The celebrated Darlinghurst speakeasy has resurfaced in the CBD – with a serious food menu, 37 signature cocktails and more than 500 whiskies. Enter via a discreet entrance on Wynyard Lane for all of the blazing bartending theatrics you remember.
The Maybe Sammy crew’s glamorous cocktail bar and diner on the 22nd floor of Adina’s CBD Hotel is a homage to the classic hotel bars of yesteryear. Come for playful, multi-sensory cocktails, lobster rolls and a skyline view that’ll make you feel like a millionaire.
Swish CBD basement bar Tiva is all about live music, high-end cocktails and a touch of theatre. It's part of three-in-one venue The Charles, and you can expect a mix of DJs and live performers most nights, as well as premium snacks from the impressive kitchen team upstairs.
Like visiting the Guggenheim, sipping a cocktail at Employees Only in the West Village is a quintessential New York experience. This is the plush Sydney outpost for that same bar – with the same impeccable service, late-night food menu, and yes, even a resident psychic who’ll tell you your fortune.
Don't bring a large group to this tiny laneway bar – even if it were empty, you probably wouldn't fit. It's considered one the best tequila and mezcal bars in the world for its peerless selection of rare agave spirits, and the friendly, knowledgeable staff here will help you navigate the list with confidence.
Named after the voodoo spirit of lust and laughter, Papa Gede’s is the kind of bar where the energy is always high and your flaming tiki drink is still burning when it arrives at your table. Live DJs and soul bands are on regular rotation here.
Take a subterranean space, add a ’70s sheen and a smooth soul soundtrack and you have one hell of a cocktail bar. The vibe of the space – filled with wood panelling, leather couches and a furry shag feature wall – is cool, easygoing and just the right amount of cheesy.
Find the discreet ground-level entrance, then climb four levels of steep, narrow stairs to reach this hidden rooftop. It’s completely worth it – you'll be rewarded with a killer cocktail bar set against a backdrop of towering CBD highrises.
To find this open-air oasis above the State Library's historic Mitchell Building, make your way through a grungy corridor and up a goods lift. You'll be met by a handsome bar serving cocktails and sublime views of the Domain and Sydney Harbour.
The first of three stunning venues to arrive at the refurbished Shell House building. This one draws inspiration from the grand eateries of Europe, in the form of a daily Martini hour, lobster rolls and a 2am licence.
A timelessly beautiful bar set within a hollowed-out 400-tonne clocktower atop Shell House. Ascend for high-end yet relaxed service, plenty of whisky and fresh, crushable cocktails. Also, snacks befitting the space's old-world glamour: caviar, freshly shucked oysters and truffle toasties.
Little Felix is more than a waiting room for French bistro Felix. Thanks to a Cognac and Cointreau-heavy drinks list and a bar piled high with towers of French cheese cut to order, it's a destination in its own right. It’s all set in an opulent, pale-emerald room replete with comfortable dark-toned leather lounges.
A champagne parlour and bar in the QVB with views out over George Street. There are more than 150 champagnes and sparkling wines here that run the gamut from A-list producers to smaller-scale labels. If bubbly isn't for you, there are cocktails – signature and classic – as well as a menu of pan-European food.
Founded by a qualified nutritionist, Wholegreen has amassed a cult following in Sydney and overseas for its coeliac-friendly bread, pastries and pies. If you’re looking for the gold standard in gluten-free baking, look no further.
A sleek gelateria and espresso bar that loves to push the envelope with its flavours. While pesto doesn't instantly come to mind when you think of gelato, a scoop of the signature blue vanilla is a must. It's traditionally flavoured but – coloured blue with butterfly pea flowers.
Sydney’s art-lovers, design geeks, illustrators and photography buffs practically live in Books Kinokuniya. Its range of niche titles is unparalleled – and that’s not to mention the incredible manga and comic book selection. As far as Sydney’s best book shops go, this one is vying for best-in-show.
If you’re going past the Queen Victoria Building, this longstanding independent is worth a visit. It stocks a wealth of Australian crime fiction, and if it’s true crime you’re after, history is another speciality.
The Royal Botanic Garden is huge, so you can be forgiven if you’ve never noticed this small retail nursery set on the eastern boundary, near Woolloomooloo. Outdoor plant seedlings are the thing here – more so than full-grown specimens, anyway – with prices starting from as little as $5. The stock is largely propagated from the RBG’s own collection and those of its counterparts in Mount Annan and the Blue Mountains. That means rare and exotic flowers, shrubs and creepers often pop up for sale, alongside a steadier supply of natives.
