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10 spectacular Sydney dining experiences

Oysters with Yuzu and Pepper MignonetteCredit: Jonny Valiant

Oysters with Yuzu and Pepper Mignonette at Shell House, Sydney

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

10 spectacular Sydney dining experiences

Oysters with Yuzu and Pepper Mignonette Credit: Jonny Valiant

Oysters with Yuzu and Pepper Mignonette at Shell House, Sydney

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

Hashtags #feelnew #feelnewsydney

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.

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

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.

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House Credit: Jonny Valiant

The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House

#feelnewsydney #feelnew

The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House Credit: Jonny Valiant

The Dining Room & Terrace, Shell House

#feelnewsydney #feelnew

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.

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

Quay Restaurant, The Rocks Credit: Destination NSW

Couple enjoying food and drink at Quay Restaurant, The Rocks.

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

Saint Peter, Paddington Credit: Josh Niland

Saint Peter, Paddington

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

Saint Peter, Paddington Credit: Josh Niland

Saint Peter, Paddington

#feelnew #feelnewsydney

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