Oysters with Yuzu and Pepper MignonetteCredit: Jonny Valiant
Oysters with Yuzu and Pepper Mignonette at Shell House, Sydney
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Some of Sydney’s most breathtaking experiences are served on a plate. Find the top chefs cooking up the city’s best fare using NSW’s freshest produce, a nose-to-tail ethos and fiery cooking methods. Score a table at their restaurants to discover why they’re winning awards and international acclaim, including those recently recognised in the Good Food Guides 2023.
Ursula’s
Inspired by the neighbourhood bistros of Europe, Ursula’s in Paddington is the first independent restaurant from ex-Rockpool Dining Group chef Phil Wood. Expect a refined menu with a nod to Modern Australian comfort food (think mussel schnitzel; lobster salad with mango and XO sauce; LP's smoked mortadella with crispy potato). The elegant new eatery made the 2022 Good Food Guide, with the two-story, corner-block space previously a longstanding home for food institutions Guillaume and Darcy’s.
Margaret
After 30 years in the hospitality industry, award-winning chef and Australian fine-dining royalty Neil Perry has opened his first solo restaurant, Margaret, in Double Bay. The 170-seat fine-diner named in honour of Perry's late mother features luxe interiors and a woodfired menu with an emphasis on fresh local seafood. Margaret has received much deserved praise since opening in late 2021, including the claim of Double Bay’s best Negroni, made using all native Australian ingredients.
Shell House
Located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, Shell House is a multi-venue powerhouse: with ground-floor Menzies Bar and Bistro, upstairs Clocktower Bar, the grand Shell House Dining Room and Terrace, and rooftop Sky Bar. The menus are overseen by culinary director Joel Bickford (ex-Aria) while former Sixpenny head chef Aaron Wood is on the pans, serving impressive dishes like spanner crab cocktail dusted in wild garlic and a luscious cacio e pepe risotto.
LuMi
The menu at LuMi is as jaw-dropping as it’s waterfront views. The modern Italian menu comes with a Japanese twist, dreamed up by Italian chef Federico Zanellato, who has spent time in the kitchens of Noma, Attica and Ormeggio at The Spit. As well as his two-hatted restaurant, Zanellato’s highly anticipated bakery, Lode, opened in Surry Hills in late 2021, serving decadent pastries and flaky pies with the same artful plating and premium produce of LuMi.
Sixpenny
Sixpenny sits on a quiet corner of the Inner West suburb of Stanmore, neighbouring Newtown, but chef and owner Daniel Puskas’s talent speaks volumes. The award-winning chef has the maximum three hats in the authoritative Good Food Guide, and his tasting menu begins with superior snacks (hemp seed tarts with pear), advances into more substantial territory (sugar loaf cabbage with abalone and clams) and ends on striking desserts (walnut ice-cream with caramelised banana).
Margaret, Double Bay, Sydney Credit: Petrina Tinsley
Margaret by Neil Perry AM, presents modern Australian cuisine with Mediterranean and Asian flavours with a large focus on fresh local produce.
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Margaret, Double Bay, Sydney Credit: Petrina Tinsley
Margaret by Neil Perry AM, presents modern Australian cuisine with Mediterranean and Asian flavours with a large focus on fresh local produce.
The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House Credit: Jonny Valiant
The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House
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The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House Credit: Jonny Valiant
The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House
Oncore by Clare Smyth
The first and only British female chef to hold three Michelin stars in the UK, Clare Smyth opened her first international restaurant, Oncore by Clare Smyth, overlooking Sydney harbour from level 26 at Crown Sydney. Drawing inspiration from the harbour and its surrounds, the menu emphasises sustainable food and pays homage to both Smyth's childhood in Northern Ireland and her London restaurant, Core. Renowned for a combination of sophisticated cooking with the simplicity of style, you'll find exciting and surprising dishes on the menu, including the signature 'Potato and Roe'.
Saint Peter
Nigella Lawson has called Josh Niland a genius. Jamie Oliver and René Redzepi have praised him, too. Celebrity chefs aren’t his only fans; his Saint Peter restaurant in Paddington has been embraced by Sydney for its sustainable approach to seafood. No fin or scale is wasted: fish eyeballs become crackers and fish fat is turned into a butter-like substitute for the chocolate slice. His most recent venue, Charcoal Fish, an upscale barbecue fish shop in Rose Bay where you can takeaway charcoal rotisserie Murray Cod rolls and whole barbecued fish, while his Fish Butchery shop in Paddington sells a selection of seafood sourced from high-quality suppliers.
Quay
Quay in The Rocks would be worth the trip for its harbour views alone, but chef Peter Gilmore has made it a destination in its own right. Quay has been awarded three hats in the Good Food Guide a stunning 18 times and featured on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. In 2018, Gilmore replaced Quay classics (the Snow Egg) with new tasting menu favourites, such as a reinvented oyster in a custom-made shell and the snap-frozen White Coral dessert, to match the just-renovated space.
Porteño
Comedian Tim Ross is a high-profile fan of Porteño in Surry Hills. Not only does he appreciate this beloved institution, but he recognises that its owners — Elvis Abrahanowicz, Ben Milgate and Joseph Valore — changed the city for the better with their first restaurant, Bodega. A decade on, the award-winning chefs Abrahanowicz and Milgate still offer their take on Argentinean barbecue at Porteño, just in a different stretch of Surry Hills. It’s territory the team is making its own: Porteño’s team also runs the neighbouring Humble Bakery, Bastardo restaurant and reimagined Bodega X Wyno bar and bottle shop in the alley behind.
Firedoor
Lennox Hastie learnt how to cook with fire at the much-acclaimed Asador Etxebarri in Spain. At Firedoor in Surry Hills, he’s created his own style of transforming ingredients with smoke and coals: an approach that’s made him the local star of the Netflix show Chef’s Table BBQ and showcased his ability to elegantly grill anything — even lettuce. When the chef lights up with apple wood, hay and even wine barrels, it’s fuel for his well-sourced meat, seafood and vegetables sourced from local growers.
Quay Restaurant, The Rocks Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying food and drink at Quay Restaurant, The Rocks.
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Quay Restaurant, The Rocks Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying food and drink at Quay Restaurant, The Rocks.
Saint Peter, Paddington Credit: Josh Niland
Saint Peter, Paddington
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Saint Peter, Paddington Credit: Josh Niland
Saint Peter, Paddington
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Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, CorowaCredit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a visit to Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa.
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Feast on the riches of one of Australia’s most important food bowls on a road trip through the Murray, named after the mighty river that flows through this southwest area of New South Wales. Float down the river on a historic paddlesteamer wine cruise, stop by farm gates to sample incredible fresh produce, and dine at chic restaurants and bars in this unique culinary playground.
Take the back roads for gourmet treats
Head off the beaten path along The Backroads Trail, a 250km driving route that passes through the small pastoral towns of Barham, Moama, Mathoura and Deniliquin on the upper reaches of the Murray River. Sink your teeth into fresh olives, avocados, free-range pork, honey and citrus fruit from farm gates along its loops and trails, and taste the region’s wines at vineyards such as Restdown Wines. While you’re at this winery, venture out along the Restdown Wetland Walk to encounter Aboriginal cooking hearths and an old sheep camp.
Cruise along to The Old School Winery & Meadery in Womboota to pick up wine, pottery and honey mead. Or seek out Ivy Joyce in Barham to indulge in a warm space, offering local produce from farms for a truly paddock to plate experience in the heart of Murray River country. For more snacks and meaty fare such as British-style pork pies and sausages, head to Pacdon Park’s factory shop in Moama.
You can work up an appetite as you build your own itinerary on the theme of food, paddocks and produce, and find suggested routes and maps to Murray River farm gates, at the Echuca Moama Visitor Centre.
Wine and dine along the river
Embark on a wine tour by water in Moama, where the first steamboats made their way up the Murray in 1853. Take a Murray River Paddlesteamers Wharf to Winery Cruise from the town to Morrisons Riverview Winery for a leisurely lunch. Or drive along the river, stopping in at Three Black Sheep for risotto and woodfired pizzas, and tasting crisp dry whites and full-flavoured reds at St Anne’s Vineyards, where you can nibble on a cheese platter overlooking a scenic lake.
Head east along the riverside roads to rest and recharge in the town of Tocumwal, known for its riverside beaches, golf courses, glider flying and iconic Big Murray Cod statue. Start the following day with a solid foundation of breakfast pizza (topped with bacon, eggs and a hash brown) at The Old Bank and indulge in a scoop of ice-cream or sorbet from Tocumwal Ice Creamery – flavours include rocky road, green apple or macadamia. If you’re in town on a Saturday, pick up honey, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, dressings and other condiments made by local producers at the Tocumwal Foreshore Markets.
Continue your odyssey along the river to Corowa, the birthplace of Australian Federation. Immerse in the town’s rich turn-of-the-20th-century colonial heritage as you make your way to the former 1920s flour mill housing Corowa Distilling Co. Here you can book a whisky tasting and behind-the-scenes tour and buy locally made chocolates and sweets from sister shop Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory. Work off an indulgent afternoon with a walk along the river before settling into the stylish Circa 1936 hotel, which is housed in an Art Deco former bank on the main street of Corowa.
Celebrate regional ingredients in Albury
From Corowa, follow the Riverina Highway eastward to the city of Albury, a food, wine and culture hub. Taste how seasonality and locality are expressed at The Proprietor, a former butcher shop turned cafe offering brunch treats such as fruit toast with Beechworth honey and whipped ricotta, and banana waffles with Gundowring vanilla ice-cream. Or try the all-day breakfast offering at Mr Benedict, from cheesy bacon waffle with popcorn chicken to one of its signature eggs benedicts, including one with cider-braised ham hock.
At The River Deck restaurant, local ingredients are celebrated alongside stunning river views, and dishes may include chicken Caesar salad with Milawa eggs or beef brisket braised in coffee by Albury roaster The Brothers Cup. At tiny and elegant Bistro Selle, complement warm Gooramadda olives with a buttery Australian chardonnay and fresh market fish. Yardbird offers a bold-flavoured menu featuring dishes like scorched Albacore tuna, along with meats grilled in a Spanish woodfired oven.
In between meals, stroll along the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk and take in the contemporary artworks by Aboriginal artists that line the Wagirra Trail. Meander through the Murray Art Museum Albury’s contemporary photographic collection, Aboriginal art and works by renowned Australian artist Sir Russell Drysdale. Afterwards, order lunch or dinner at the museum’s excellent Canvas Eatery – try the saltbush lamb rump or one of their Neapolitan-style pizzas.
The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
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The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
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Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
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Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.
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Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.