Sun, rain, winter or summer, regardless of season or circumstance, there’s always something to uncover in Sydney. This month find new restaurants across the city bringing creative new ideas to service, cuisine and style; explore the Blue Mountains through Aboriginal culture; stay in a bold, colourful new hotel; and discover priceless Egyptian artefacts.

FOOD & DRINK

Dessert in the city

Ever finished a late-night dinner and found there’s few dessert options? 2AM: dessertbar is your saviour. The new dining concept within the anticipated W Sydney hotel serves creative desserts by award-winning chef Janice Wong until, as promised, 2am. Before then, dine at BTWN, a NSW-produce-focused modern Australian restaurant run by Chris Dodd, formerly of The Blue Door.

Baking on Barrack

CBD lunching is undergoing a revolution – first we got Loftus Lane, then Sydney Place and now the king of Sydney baked goods, A.P Bakery, is joining the fray with a new shop near Wynard. A.P Place serves travellers and office workers Japanese egg and cheese buns, bagels with locally made chorizo, and the bakery’s classic pies, pizza and Reuben Hills coffee.

Mumbai class

Imagine a high-end Mumbai hotel, full of character and class combined with the old-and-new style of Potts Point and you have something like Raja, a new restaurant from the team behind Ezra. Like the sometimes maximalist sometimes minimalist interiors, the menu from ex-Firedoor chef Ahana Dutt mixes the spice of India with the pared back cooking famed at Firedoor. The garlicky, green chutney mud crab with roti is already being dubbed a signature dish.

Coffee to cocktails

Start off with a morning focaccia and espresso, then come back after sunset for ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers, kingfish crudo and a spritz and stay late into the night. That’s the experience Makaveli promises, Bondi’s new morning-until-late Italian eatery by Jacob Hill and Phill Cooke (ex-Milpa Collective).

Pastry saga

Salma’s Canteen wants to be your one stop shop – the tables outside serve pastry alongside Mediterranean influenced salads, the deli fridge will have you perusing house-made salmon pastrami and shortcrust pastry, and the counter shows off sweet treats made by famed pastry chef Andy Bowdy. Joining Bowdy in the Rosebery business is partner Maddison Howes and the team behind Kepos Street Kitchen. 

Street onigiri

Few things feel more Japanese than nabbing two onigiris and a drink from a convenience store when in dire need of a snack. Otogo offers the same experience in Sydney with their new Ultimo eatery. Take a yuzu soda in one hand, a cup of soba noodles (made with local buckwheat) in the other and an onigiri for after and pay less than $20.

Secret cocktails

In a tiled alcove on Phillip Street, Circular Quar, you’ll see a curious painting of a lady with a chalice and a doorbell next to it, ring and the painting opens like a door to reveal a cocktail bar. Next, you’ll be inside the lavish interiors of Messenger, a cocktail and wine bar from Mulpha Group, who run Bimbadgen Estate, a winery in the Hunter Valley.

Prepare to queue

How long are you willing to wait for an unbelievable meal? Hansang fans would say more than half an hour. The famous Strathfield Korean restaurant’s incredible side dishes, soups and hot pots have been drawing queues since it opened, and its new Chinatown outpost is set to bring the same hype.

ACCOMMODATION

Bright and bold

Looking for somewhere where the design goes beyond a beige and grey? ADGE is your refuge, a new Surry Hills boutique hotel inspired by the colours and vibrancy of the neighbourhood’s art, music and culture. Opening in August, each suite features bold, retro carpets; bespoke light features and eclectic furnishings. Downstairs is the acclaimed Korean cafe Soul Deli.

EXPERIENCE

A Gundungurra Welcome

Hear, smell and see thousands of years of Blue Mountains Aboriginal history and culture on Scenic World’s new Gundungurra Country Experience. Gundungurra custodian David King welcomes you to Country, takes you on the railway, beneath the canopy and introduces you to local lore and wildlife, all while having a yarn.

Ramses in Sydney

Let the Australian Museum transport you to 1300BC, when Ramses the Great, the most renown Egyptian king of all history, ruled a flourishing kingdom. From November 18 until 19 May 2024, Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs lets you Gaze over 181 astoundingly well-persevered artefacts (some have never left Egypt before) and don a VR headset and tour ancient temples.