Al Shami, MerrylandsCredit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying food and drink at Al Shami, Syrian Restaurant, Merrylands. Al Shami is an included location for visitors booked on a Taste of Afghanistan and Syria tour with Taste Cultural Food Tours. For more details, visit: https://www.tastetours.com.au/
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Taste your way through Sydney
Al Shami, Merrylands Credit: Destination NSW
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Savour Sydney’s diverse flavours beyond the inner city’s many excellent restaurants. Harness traditional knowledge on an Aboriginal guided tour in an unexpected location, go behind the scenes in Sydney’s culturally rich suburbs, and be amazed by the city’s edible landscape on a foraging tour — to name but a few enriching excursions worth sampling.
Find bush tucker on an Aboriginal-guided tour
Discover how the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, Sydney’s Traditional Custodians, have harvested the natural bounty of Sydney for tens of thousands of years on an Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour at the harbourside Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Breathe in the fragrant scent of native lemon myrtle — which can be used to make a delicious tea — as you learn how flowering wattles indicate when it’s eel season. Visit an ancient red gum used in Aboriginal initiation ceremonies, taste seasonal bush foods, and be awed by the many ways that plants in the garden are used by First Nations peoples across Australia
Tuck into Sydney’s multicultural food story
Understand the many global cultures and cuisines that have influenced Sydney’s vibrant culinary scene on a guided food tour. Taste how recipes brought from China, Malaysia and Korea are elevated with Australian produce on an excursion to Chinatown, bordering the city centre, with Taste Cultural Food Tours Inc. Or hear the fascinating stories behind the recipes that have travelled all the way from Afghanistan and Syria to the kitchens of Merrylands in the western suburbs.
Sample more of Sydney’s multicultural food highlights with Gourmet Safaris, created by food journalist and broadcaster Maeve O’Meara OAM. Fuel up for the day in western Sydney’s Harris Park, also known as Sydney’s Little India, where you can try a traditional Indian breakfast. You can also meet local producers in Marrickville in the Inner West, or unleash your appetite on a gourmet Italian food tour of nearby Haberfield.
Pair a love of food with an interest in street art on a Newtown Chewtown tour in Newtown with Local Sauce Tours. Get a fun-filled taste of ‘Aussie food’ on a relaxed walk around three central Sydney suburbs, or sink your teeth into Sydney’s own Little Italy in Five Dock, also in Sydney’s Inner West.
Aboriginal Tour, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Guests learning about the rich Aboriginal culture of the Gadigal people on a guided tour in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
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Aboriginal Tour, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Guests learning about the rich Aboriginal culture of the Gadigal people on a guided tour in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney.
Avasana Afghan Street Food, Merrylands Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying food and drink at Avasana Afghan Street Food, Merrylands. Avasana Afghan Street Food is an included location for visitors booked on a Taste of Afghanistan and Syria tour with Taste Cultural Food Tours. For more details, visit: https://www.tastetours.com.au/
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Avasana Afghan Street Food, Merrylands Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying food and drink at Avasana Afghan Street Food, Merrylands. Avasana Afghan Street Food is an included location for visitors booked on a Taste of Afghanistan and Syria tour with Taste Cultural Food Tours. For more details, visit: https://www.tastetours.com.au/
Purchase fresh produce from the source
Learn the stories behind your food when you buy it directly from farmers and producers at Sydney’s farmers markets. On Saturday, make your way to Carriageworks Farmers Markets in inner-west Eveleigh. Fill your shopping basket with everything from artisan breads to single-origin coffee, gourmet meats to freshly-cut flowers as you explore the market with all your senses.
Treat yourself to organic goodies, from homemade jams to freshly harvested seasonal fruit, at the Kings Cross Market in Potts Point’s Fitzroy Gardens, also held on Saturdays. Or head across the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge to browse the offerings of more than 70 stallholders from Sydney and regional NSW at the Northside Produce Market, which pops up in North Sydney’s Ted Mack Civic Park every first and third Saturday morning of the month.
Go foraging with an expert
Feel empowered to forage for your own wild food on a tour with respected forager and author Diego Bonetto, who learned how to seek out wild edible ingredients growing up on an Italian dairy farm. Now, he leads foraging tours in and around Sydney. Whether you join a workshop that takes place in Centennial Parklands, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, or the Blue Mountains, a 90-minute drive west of the city, he’ll show you the edible riches that can be found underfoot, from warrigal greens to chickweed. Or feel the sand between your toes on a walk on Clovelly Beach in Sydney’s east with Bonetto and his collaborator Oliver Brown to learn how to identify and harvest edible sea plants found along the coastline.
Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying a visit to the Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh.
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Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh Credit: Destination NSW
Family enjoying a visit to the Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh.
Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a visit to the Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh.
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Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a visit to the Carriageworks Farmers Markets, Eveleigh.
Enjoy an urban farm experience
Be inspired by the sustainability ethos of Pocket City Farms, which grows organic produce right in the heart of Sydney’s inner west at Camperdown Commons, near Newtown. Sign up for an urban farm tour to learn more about permaculture techniques and how regenerative agriculture can improve the natural environment, tackle food insecurity and take action on climate change.
Reel in your own fish dinner
Revel in feasting on fresh Sydney seafood caught with your very own hands on a thrilling fishing charter with the likes of Off the Map, based in Pittwater in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Whether you prefer deep-sea or estuary fishing, you’ll be taken to the best angling grounds around Sydney for a half- or full-day fishing adventure.
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.