Harvest, NewrybarCredit: Destination NSW
Visit Harvest for a long lunch on the cool verandah, sample the bespoke weekly changing Wild Harvest menu at night or enjoy a traditional country breakfast at the weekend. The dishes at Harvest are rare, wild and creative. Each new ingredient is a fresh challenge to their ingenuity, and the evening menu is imagined and reimagined weekly.
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Dine on native ingredients in NSW
Harvest, Newrybar Credit: Destination NSW
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Indigenous people have cultivated, collected and feasted on Australia’s bounty of native ingredients for thousands of years. With more than 6,000 unique ingredients, the land produces berries with the freshness of a cucumber, crustaceans with sweet and herbaceous meat, greens that taste naturally seasoned, and much more. Now, native ingredients increasingly star on restaurant menus around the state (with increasing ownership and involvement from Indigenous chefs), plus more Indigenous culture tours are on offer to show us how to find, cook with and respect each ingredient. Here are best places to try them in New South Wales.
Sydney
Incorporating many Indigenous languages and peoples, Sydney is home to an ever-increasing array of places to try native ingredients. If you’re only able to choose one experience for your bucket list, Midden by Mark Olive at the Sydney Opera House should be the pick. Not just due to the restaurant’s leading light, celebrity chef and Bundjalung man Mark Olive, but because of the harbour foreshore location (including water, city and Sydney Harbour Bridge views) and one of the most comprehensive and diverse menus of native ingredients in the country. Try barramundi with a bush tomato romesco and coastal succulents or a kangaroo fillet spiced with natives and served with a tangy quandong jus and native yam chips (you’ll also find Aboriginal-owned Mt Yengo Wines on the drinks list).
Next on the list are two of Sydney’s best restaurants: fine diner Quay and Netflix’s Chef’s Table subject Firedoor, both regularly incorporating native ingredients on their seasonal menus. Others include Bush, an innovative mid-range, sustainability-focused diner in Redfern that uses almost only native ingredients and invasive species; lush, multicultural CBD bistro Penelope’s brings wattleseed, strawberry gum and Davidson plum jam to their dessert menu; and Bennelong brings the flavours of the land to their famous dining room under the Sydney Opera House sails. For a more casual taste of native ingredients, duck into Aboriginal-owned CBD venue Sydney Aboriginal Cafe for a cuppa alongside a pastry, or non-Aboriginal-owned BTB Kirribilli for a creative menu that uses native produce to spice up classic cafe orders.
If you want to taste NSW’s produce fresh off the land, Aboriginal-owned social enterprise Bush to Bowl works with local tour operators Salty Safaris and Australia by Nature to provide on Country food and cultural experiences around Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Not far away in Brookvale, Seadrift Distillery use local botanicals (including foraged kelp) to make non-alcoholic craft drinks. Join a dusk or dawn foraging trip with Yaegl-man and Bush to Bowl co-owner Clarence Bruinsma followed by tastings of Seadrift spirits to learn how they do it.
Seadrift Distillery, Brookvale Credit: Destination NSW
Bartender creating cocktails with the Seadrift distilled non-alcoholic spirit at Seadrift Distillery, Brookvale.
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Seadrift Distillery, Brookvale Credit: Destination NSW
Bartender creating cocktails with the Seadrift distilled non-alcoholic spirit at Seadrift Distillery, Brookvale.
South Coast
In the food bowl of the NSW South Coast, the team at Bangalay Dining (at Bangalay Luxury Villas in Shoalhaven Heads) works with an Indigenous food supplier to bring native flavours to the table. Sour fruits like muntries might add zing to a lamb backstrap and seasonal salad could be dressed with lemon myrtle. Co-executive chef Simon Evans also forages for local native ingredients such as warrigal greens, beach mustard, saltbush, seablite, oxalis and samphire in the coastal area around the resort. Or instead of a luxurious sit-down meal, drop by Mark Olive’s other venue, The Farm Kiosk, for a takeaway meal by Killalea Beach, just north of Kiama. The ever-changing menu could have anything from wattleseed muffins to tandoori croc pies.
Whether it’s a food truck parked in a cute village or a luxurious monthly pop-up dinner in the beautiful dining room at Silos Estate winery, follow Aboriginal-run Mirritya Mundya (translating to hungry blackfish in the Ngarrigu language) for pop-up feasts focused on native ingredients, or find them at their regular spot for lunch every Tuesday at 7 Concorde Way, Bomaderry. You can also explore the South Coast area with local guides Wandi Wandian man Matt Simms and Ngemba Karulkiyalu man Nigel Millgate from Djiriba Waagura, stopping for beach dips, bush tucker snacks and visiting sacred Aboriginal sites.
Bangalay Dining, Shoalhaven Heads Credit: Destination NSW
Chef Brett Strong showcasing the local and native ingredients featured on the Bangalay Dining menu to patrons.
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Bangalay Dining, Shoalhaven Heads Credit: Destination NSW
Chef Brett Strong showcasing the local and native ingredients featured on the Bangalay Dining menu to patrons.
North Coast
Due to its climate, fertile lands and incredible collection of talent, the North Coast is a foodie destination, so it’s no surprise to see the impact and celebration of native ingredients in the area. Byron Bay hosts Karkalla, a pop-up and online shop celebrating native ingredients from the region run by Bundjalung woman Mindy Woods (former CEO of Sydney’s Lotus Dining Group). Just outside Byron find acclaimed restaurants Harvest Newrybar and You Beauty (Good Food Guide 2025 Regional Restaurant of the Year). The former is a deli-bakery-restaurant hybrid with its own produce garden, and the latter a pub reinventing the classic Australiana menu with kangaroo schnitzels, croc toast, and a chocolate and wattleseed cake.
Leave the restaurant dining rooms to discover the flavours of the coast in situ with an Explore Byron Bay guided tour. The tours are run by Aboriginal guides Delta Kay and Nigel Stewart and share local history, culture, medicine and food, as well as provide guests with a taste of the regenerated Bangalow bushland on Bundjalung Country. Just up the coast in the tiny town of Pottsville, find one of NSW’s most celebrated regional restaurants, Pipit. Here, renowned chef Ben Devlin works only with sustainable, local and low-impact ingredients – a lesser-known fish could be complemented by foraged ingredients such as kelp, riberries, lemon aspen, wattle flowers and more.
Pipit Restaurant, Pottsville Credit: Sabine Bannard
An exquisitely presented dish at Pipit, in Pottsville on the NSW North Coast.
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Pipit Restaurant, Pottsville Credit: Sabine Bannard
An exquisitely presented dish at Pipit, in Pottsville on the NSW North Coast.
Other experiences around the state
There are countless more native ingredient-focused culinary experiences to be enjoyed around NSW. In Mudgee, the bucolic grounds of Lowe Family Wine Co host The Zin House, an award-winning restaurant utilising the organic and biodynamic gardens around the estate and vineyard. Its seasonal menu might show off linguine enriched with emu-egg, mandarin and native peppermint sorbet, or a wattleseed lemon tart. Just inland of the Central Coast, Firescreek Botanical Winery works with regenerative farming principles. On weekends and select weekdays they take guests on tours around their lands with a local Aboriginal Elder, who guides each participant through a culinary and cultural journey before a wine tasting with the winery’s distinct botanical wines. Not far north in the Hunter Valley, EXP. Restaurant in Pokolbin has taken in a decade of awards for their innovative menus, which in more recent years have included more native ingredients. Try kangaroo from one of the country’s best suppliers, Paroo, which you might find grilled over charcoals with satay and native tamarind.
EXP. Restaurant, Pokolbin Credit: Destination NSW
Australian fine dining cuisine at EXP. Restaurant, Pokolbin.
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EXP. Restaurant, Pokolbin Credit: Destination NSW
Australian fine dining cuisine at EXP. Restaurant, Pokolbin.
More Inspirational Stories
Street Art, NewtownCredit: Destination NSW
Street art on Phillip Street, off Enmore Road, Newtown.
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When the madness of Christmas is behind you and the fireworks of Sydney’s iconic New Years Eve have faded, what better way to take a load off and relax into a Sydney Summer than taking a trip to the Inner West Ale Trail.
As the undisputed craft beer capital of Sydney, the Inner West Ale Trail boasts 18 independent breweries spanning six suburbs within a 5km radius – Marrickville, Newtown, St Peters, Camperdown, Enmore and Rozelle – with many of them just a short stroll in between.
The epicentre of Sydney’s indie beer boom, the Ale Trail bubbled up in the mid-2010s as craft-loving pilgrims followed paper maps and paths to new breweries in search of good times and great beer.
But it is more than just the amazing beer... The Trail also offers up some of Sydney’s best eats – from juicy burgers to fresh oysters, tasty vegan dishes to deep-fried Viennetta – along with non-beer options including cocktails, wine, ciders, seltzers and more.
Plus, there’s always something on with an exciting array of free events and deals happening across the Trail.
The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, Marrickville Credit: The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
Ansett Bar, The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre in Marrickville
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The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, Marrickville Credit: The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre
Ansett Bar, The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre in Marrickville
Marrickville is home to 50 per cent of the breweries on the trail from the well-known The Grifter Brewing Co known for its retro aesthetic and fruity beers like the Serpent’s Kiss watermelon pilsner and Philter Brewing which resides in a converted abandoned yoghurt factory. There is also the award-winning Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre which takes punters a step back into the 1980s, just with better beer thanks to Hawke’s Brewing. The throwback venue is complete with retro RSL carpet, cricket commentary in the bathrooms and the Lucky Prawn Restaurant which specialises in 80s Aussie-Chinese.
One of the Trail’s biggest breweries is hiding down a tiny lane with a not so tiny beer garden, Sauce Brewing Co. is perfect for families and dogs. Meanwhile, Batch Brewing Co does it for the locals by slinging iconic beers such as Marrickville Pale Ale and is often used as the first stop for Trailers!
Forget modern beer trends and fads Wildflower Brewing & Blending brews barrel-aged Old-World styles with wild yeasts collected from native flowers. While Mixtape Brewing & Bar which has something for everyone and is part brewhouse, part community club house fixed with retro game machines and then there’s Pickled Monkey Brewing Co. which boasts 24 taps in its Groundfloor brewpub. To round out the Marrickville leg there is Kicks Brewing with its friendly neighbourhood taproom bar, full of good vibes and stylish touches.
Just up the road in St Peters is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s favourite watering hole, Willie the Boatman brewery. Albo is such a super fan, that he even lends his face to their famous Albo pale ale.
Brickworks Brewing is right by St Peters station which serves up 12 beers in a myriad of styles and just up the road are the two new kids on the block Future Brewing which opened in 2023 and Chuck & Son’s Brewing Co which has been opened by none other than Chuck Hahn (‘the godfather of Aussie craft beer’) and the brewer behind James Squire, Malt Shovel and Hahn Brewery.
In Newtown lives an Inner West institution Young Henrys. A rock ‘n’ roll den and local clubhouse famous for their flagship Newtowner Pale Ale – not only an Inner West favourite, but a favourite all around Sydney.
Around the corner in Rozelle in the heart of the Balmain peninsula is White Bay Brewery, located in a rustic 150-year-old steel mill fitted with an industrial beet hall, perfect for a summer afternoon with friends.
Wayward Brewing Co. is Camperdown’s craft brewery which includes 24 taps of award-winning brews, limited editions and their own W Seltzer range. And finally in Enmore lives Australia’s first brewing co-op – Hopsters Co-operative Brewery. Democratically funded and run by its members but open to everyone, this relaxed beer bar haven serves Hopsters’ own brews alongside an ever-changing array of guest taps.
Bracket Brewing is the Trail’s 18th brewery – which will open later this year.
Young Henrys, Newtown Credit: Destination NSW
Patrons enjoying the beer at Young Henrys bar and brewery in Newtown.
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Young Henrys, Newtown Credit: Destination NSW
Patrons enjoying the beer at Young Henrys bar and brewery in Newtown.