With the sun shining and new year energy in the air, Sydney's coastline is buzzing with new ways to enjoy the city. Slip into a dazzling harbour beach; taste the summer produce with recently opened Italian, Greek and California-inspired eats along the coast; or get out and about with new wildlife, wine, and cultural experiences.

FOOD AND DRINK

One of the most anticipated venues in Sydney
Petermen is the new venue from Australia’s culinary star Josh Niland and partner Julie Niland. Located in St Leonards, the innovative restaurant will explore the diversity of Australian seafood, using lesser-known fish, caught sustainably and prepared creatively with a gill-to-tail philosophy by Niland’s team.

Fresh pasta at the new Coogee digs
Negronis, fresh pasta, and a good vibe – welcome to Louie, Coogee. Expect interiors and recipes plucked straight from the zeitgeist with an Italian-ish, Australian produce-driven and ever-changing menu; and white-tiled, soft-toned interiors by Atelier and Alpha.

Ramen with a batch brew
Part-café, part-ramen restaurant, Coffee Shop x Sou Ramen Lab is a tightly-packed North Sydney spot that offers a rare opportunity to order a breakfast ramen with specialty coffee on the side. Chef Takeshi Sekigawa honed his craft at cult restaurants Gumshara and Yasaka Ramen, but it's not just noodles on the menu, the Japanese-inspired eatery also offers up curry, gyoza and Australian café classics.

Brunch with a beach view
Refuel after an ocean swim in Coogee over a plate of ricotta hotcakes and a brew, or a lobster roll and mimosa at Bathers. If you’re lucky, you’ll nab one of the new café's bar stools for views overlooking the beach.

Izakaya on the coast
Wagyu to Clovelly, named after a specialised knife rather than beef, is just like a Japanese drinking bar without the actual bar. Tables in the intimate space host plates of chargrilled meats, tempura and sushi, all done with a devotion to Japanese cooking that will leave you feeling like you’ve just been transported to Tokyo.

10-seat fine diner
Soon to be one of the hardest restaurants to get into, Ka is the 10-seater creation of Zac Ng, a former Sepia chef. Ng has designed the whole experience and wants every diner to have a completely unique meal. Each night, Ng will serve a set menu based on his fine dining experience, Cantonese heritage, and his whims that night, meaning no two sittings are the same.

Eat. Drink. Dance.
A new addition to the newly refurbished Bondi Pavilion is Glory Days, a new café and bar looking to transform your day into a Californian vacation – smoothies and a panini in the sun-drenched plaza, or a watermelon margarita and water views with a live DJ on the upstairs verandah.

Golden Century returns
Literal tears were shed when beloved Cantonese restaurant Golden Century announced its closure in 2021, but now it's time for celebration as the institution opens its new iteration, Golden Century BBQ, a fast causal Chinese barbecue. Pick up a pack of roast duck and rice, take a food court or park seat among the Darling Square bustle and you might even feel like you're on the streets of Hong Kong.

EXPERIENCES

Art history
Experience the Art Gallery of New South Wales in a new light through the North Building’s first bookable experience, State of the Art, a small group tour that uncovers the secrets of the building’s striking architecture, plus offering discounts at the new gallery’s shop and kiosk.

Pose with the stars
Madame Tussauds is joining the Sydney WorldPride festivities with an interactive exhibit celebrating the city’s diversity, including a chance for visitors to get up, close and personal with a perfect wax sculpture of Australian drag icon Courtney Act.

Raunchy Opera
Forget the usual stiff Opera tropes, Opera Up Late is loud, vulgar, and sexy. Hosted by international cabaret star Reuben Kaye, the Sydney Opera House WorldPride event on the 18th and 23rd of February reinvents famous opera hits, and even some pop numbers, with Australian cabaret flavour.

Take a dip with a view of the harbour
Sydney Harbour is one of the rare big city harbours to have sparkling, clean waters. Find out for yourself by joining the CBD lunch-break crowd with a dip in Marrinawi Cove, Bangaroo Reserve’s new, picturesque ocean beach complete with a shark-net.

Australia’s most dangerous
Experience the Outback’s unique and dangerous desert ecology in Sydney, at Wild Life Sydney Zoo’s new Outback Shack exhibition, a showcase of Australia’s desert creatures including some of the world’s most venomous snakes.

Stomp before you drink
Urban Winery Sydney’s new immersive Harvest Grape Stomping tour gets you involved in wine making the old school way, by crushing grapes with your feet, and testing wines straight from the barrel. It’ll leave you feeling like you’ve just been transported to the Hunter Valley even though you’re still in the centre of Sydney.