12 of the best restaurants that opened in Sydney in 2023
Brasserie 1930, Sydney's CBD - Credit: Timothy Kaye
Sydney’s reputation as an excellent place to dine out held firm in 2023. From Indigenous cuisine by the harbour to a sustainable seafood restaurant, these are the high-end, award-winning restaurants that made the biggest splash.
Nov 2023 -
5
min readPetermen, St Leonards
The second restaurant from Sydney’s patron saints of seafood, Josh and Julie Niland, is somewhat more accessible than their first: Petermen has an a la carte menu designed to share (rather than a degustation only). The menu continues the chefs’ philosophy of presenting fish in unexpected ways (don’t skip the abalone schnitzel sandwich) or, simply, to let the flavour shine (the Goolwa pipis served in their own juices are sublime). It’s definitely the only restaurant in town where you’ll find yellowfin tuna spaghetti on the kid’s menu. To add to the experience, the polished room is enlivened with Australian artworks and an open kitchen.
Accolade: two hats in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024
Petermen, St Leonards - Credit: Petermen
Midden by Mark Olive, Circular Quay
The land on which the Sydney Opera House stands was a gathering place for storytelling, ceremony and culture for the Gadigal people. It’s fitting then, that Bundjalung chef Mark Olive has created an experience underneath Australia’s most famous theatre highlighting native ingredients at Midden. The restaurant is ripe for repeat visits. Whether it’s for a grazing plate (including smoked kangaroo, NSW cheeses, roasted macadamias and quandong paste) at sunset paired with a eucalyptus gin fizz; a pre-theatre set menu with braised wallaby shank or bush pavlova; or a native high tea with wattle seed-, Davidson plum- and lemon myrtle-flavoured sweets – all are served with postcard-worthy views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Accolade: a Gourmet Traveller best new restaurant in 2023
Midden by Mark Olive, Circular Quay - Credit: Midden by Mark Olive
Brasserie 1930, CBD
If decadent food enjoyed in lavish surroundings is your idea of a luxurious night out then Brasserie 1930 should be the top of your list. On the ground floor of the five-star Capella Sydney, chef Brent Savage and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt have created a majestic French-leaning restaurant with Australian produce as the star. Elegant dishes like spanner crab pasta with sea urchin sauce, Southern Rock lobster with finger lime and tarragon, and the signature whole roasted duck – crisp-skinned and served with blood orange and grilled radicchio – are heroes. Extend the night by sampling the wares from the roving cheese trolley and perusing the hefty wine list.
Award: two hats in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024
Rock lobster dish at Brasserie 1930 in Capella Sydney - Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen
Poetica, North Sydney
Poetica is all about steak: high-end cuts, dry aged, cooked over charcoal. The pared-back interior coloured with cool grey and blues, and drenched with natural light, lends itself to any occasion, be it after-work drinks (it’s located in North Sydney’s business hub) or a romantic lunch for two. Sides and snacks are no afterthought and are what really elevate this restaurant into something special. Try the spicy oysters with nduja and guindillas (Basque chillis) or delicate broad beans with ricotta and pickled lemon.
Award: one hat in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024
Poetica, North Sydney - Credit: Steven Woodburn
Raja, Potts Point
Raja offers a romp through the punchy smells, tastes and styles of India’s regions. The Potts Point venue abounds with colour and youthful energy, from pink-fringed light fittings and leopard print banquets to carved doorframes. Dishes are imaginative and capture the chef’s memories of childhood meals and the owners’ excellent meals had in India. Inventive cocktails (try the jackfruit old fashioned) and personable service help make this meal extra memorable.
Award: one hat in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024; best relaxed dining venue at the Time Out Sydney Food & Drink Awards 2023
Raja, Potts Point - Credit: Nikki To
Longshore, Chippendale
From the elegant coastal design nods (think coiled rope, pearl tiles, inky patterned wallpaper) to the sustainable seafood-focused menu and a wine list with as many female producers as male, every part of Longshore is surprising, thoughtful and innovative. Dishes are deeply delicious, with Asian and native Australian ingredients strewn through the menu – don’t miss the abalone party pies or the delicate coral trout with XO butter and sea greens.
Award: one hat in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024
Longshore, Chippendale - Credit: Jason Loucas
Clam Bar, CBD
Clam Bar is essentially a steak and seafood restaurant, the likes of which New York is known for, but done with a Sydney twist. Australian artworks and vintage posters brighten up the timber-panelled walls, and the low lights (and tome-like wine list) help you lose track of time. Start with one of Sydney’s best martinis (bone dry, and properly dirty if you request it so) and a prawn cocktail and leave room for a rib eye to share – the sides and condiments – like creamed spinach, beef fat potatoes and anchovy butter – are deceptively delicious.
Award: two hats in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024
Prawn cocktail at Clam Bar, Sydney CBD - Credit: Clam Bar
Le Foote, The Rocks
It’s worth returning to Le Foote more than once to truly appreciate the breadth of the venue. Start with a fish sandwich al fresco on George Street, come back for a half-serve negroni in the wine bar and spend a long evening in the grand dining room, admiring the six-metre-wide resplendent mosaic mural. When you’re there, take time to walk through the heritage-listed building, dating back to 1838, to admire original features. Dishes are Mediterranean in influence: try the cheese pie or calamari and pancetta skewers, before moving onto mains such as barramundi or rib eye cooked over charcoal and served with sides.
Award: one hat in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024; restaurant of the year at the Time Out Sydney Food & Drink Awards 2023
Le Foote, The Rocks - Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen
Palazzo Salato, CBD
From the team behind venues including Ragazzi and Fabbrica comes Palazzo Salato, the group’s biggest and most refined restaurant yet, with a focus on what they do best: pasta and wine. Textured, cream walls; coffee-coloured leather banquettes and sculptural pendants soften the space, which is crowned by an overhead mural of a tablescape by the sea by Australian artist Louis Wayling. Dishes step away from obvious choices – entrees include trippa alla Romana (Roman-style tripe) and artichoke with green tomato pesto. The handmade pastas come in unusual shapes with sauces that offer an incredible depth of flavour (the Amatriciana is a must order).
Award: one hat in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024
Palazzo Salato, CBD - Credit: Nikki To
Funda, CBD
Funda’s ethos is simple: dining out should be as much fun as possible. Walk through a LED tunnel broadcasting imagery of Korean culture into a space with pumping music, neon lights and bright green booths, then sit down to a meal bringing together Korean traditions and Australian ingredients in a completely innovative way by a Michelin-starred chef. A seaweed roll comes filled with prawn and scallop mousse and fried in tempura batter, a soy-cured prawn is accompanied with burrata, and tteokbokgi (Korean rice cake) is served with mushroom cream and pickles in puff pastry. Wash it down with local brews, a soju or one of the many wines by the glass.
Award: Chef Jung-su Chang held two Michelin stars at chef Yim Jung-sik’s Jungsik Seoul
Funda, Sydney CBD - Credit: Funda
Armorica, Surry Hills
Armorica is a French restaurant that does nothing in halves: statement art on the walls, generous use of Italian marble and a menu studded with lobster, caviar and foie gras. The Josper grills form the heart of the kitchen and are used deftly to cook Australian seafood as well as the classic dish of steak frites. Leave room for the signature dessert: a chocolate bar with mousse, salted caramel and chocolate chip cookie filling.
Award: one hat in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024; best fine dining venue at the Time Out Sydney Food & Drink Awards 2023
Armorica, Surry Hills - Credit: Armorica
Kame House, Gordon
A quiet suburb on the upper north shore may be a surprising spot for an omakase (Japanese for ‘I’ll leave it to you’, meaning the chef chooses and prepares your meal, often right in front of you) restaurant. But this location suits the elegant perfection of chef Tomoyuki Matsuya’s offering at Kame House: a 15-dish menu focusing on nigiri, which changes daily. The meal sets are equally as intricate – the Next Gen Chirashi (chirashi means scattered sushi) is a pretty-as-a-picture box of rice and tuna overlaid with adjacent squares of seafood plus miso soup, pickled vegetables and chawanmushi (steamed egg custard).
Award: one hat in the SMH Good Food Guide 2024
