13 Best Restaurants in Sydney, New South Wales

With windows overlooking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, Aria could easily rest on the laurels of its location. Instead, celebrated chef Tom Gorringe creates a menu of extraordinary dishes that may be your best meal Down Under. There's inventive seafood dishes, premium meats, and beautifully presented desserts. The dining experience is focused on different four-course tasting menus, with matching wines. And this dining experience doesn't come cheap but fine fare rarely does, especially in Australia. 

One of Australia's most renowned chefs, Peter Gilmore, oversees the kitchen at possibly the most superbly situated dining room in town. Tucked into the side of the Opera House, the restaurant affords views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city lights. Gilmore's creations are as special as the view and showcase the best of Australia's produce with a focus on terroir, with dishes like aged Kurobuta pork or Tasmanian southern rock lobster. Whatever you do, leave room for dessert, with the cherry jam lamington, a clever interpretation of the Australian classic cake, which has been a constant on the menu for almost a decade. It's that good. Pretheater dining is available if you are going to a performance in the Opera House but booking is essential.

Quay has been Sydney’s top restaurant for 30 years and it's still going strong with chef Peter Gilmore's experimental Mod Oz cuisine created with seasonal, local produce. The menu has carefully created seafood dishes, like wild blacklip abalone or native freshwater marron or crayfish. But it’s the White Coral dessert, which is what Quay has become known. It's a white chocolate ganache shell filled with feijoa fruit ice cream and coconut cream. Add in the sweeping vista of the Opera House and the sparkling harbor, and it's perhaps no surprise that prebooking is essential.

A meal at Rockpool is a crash course in what Mod Oz cooking is all about, conducted in a glamorous, long dining room with a catwalk-like ramp. Thai, Chinese, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern influences can be found in the dishes here. The menu is extensive, with caviar from around the world to start. The Wagyu beef is butchered on-site, with the premium oyster blade cut costing A$125; the tagliatelle with a rich mushroom and truffle sauce is equally satisfying. Don't miss the date tart for dessert—it's been a Rockpool favorite since 1984.

The lure of this decadent restaurant, high above Sydney Harbour on the 36th floor of the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel, is the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows providing stunning panoramic views of the city. The menu offers refined modern Australian fare featuring fresh, local ingredients, with options like seared scallops, Wagyu beef, and indulgent desserts.

With wide verandas providing tranquil views over the gardens, the sound of birdsong filling the air, and a menu created by celebrated chef Luke Nguyen, Botanic House is a top choice for a long lunch or a sunset dinner. The menu is modern Asian, leaning more toward Vietnamese, with dumplings, bao, and grilled meats usually on the menu. The restaurant is within the Royal Botanic Gardens; it can be accessed from either the Palace Gate on Macquarie Street or from Lion Gate on Mrs. Macquarie's Road.

Chef Armando Percuoco established this Italian gem in 1987 and continued to run it until 2018, when longtime head chef David Wright and his wife Rosalba Bertocci took over. The menu remains rooted in traditional Neapolitan cuisine, featuring small starters of raw or lightly cured seafood, handmade pastas, whole fish, and rich, meaty mains such as slow-cooked lamb shoulder with ricotta, mint, and lemon. Ingredient sourcing is meticulous, with dishes often showcasing a light touch and frequent use of lemon, olive oil, capers, and Parmesan. The stand-out dish is the renowned truffle-egg pasta with only a few skilled staff members trained to prepare it. The extensive wine list, with over 200 selections, predominantly features Italian wines, though a selection of local options is also included.

A firm favorite of Sydneysiders, this waterfront restaurant is a lively affair on weekends, especially in the outdoor eating area. It's renowned for its exquisite pan-Asian cuisine, with the menu crafted for sharing, featuring delectable dishes such as dumplings, Peking duck, crispy pork belly with chili caramel, and Asian greens. And there's a good chance you'll spot a celebrity while you're enjoying your meal.

This elegant, pillared dining room is the perfect setting for showing off chef Peter Doyle's modern, light touch with Mod Oz cuisine. Menu highlights include the prawn tartare and the aged pork loin with rhubarb, mostarda, and cabbage. Finish off with a dessert of intriguing tastes—Earl Grey ice cream with blood orange citrus curd doughnuts and blood orange sorbet. There's also a four-course chef's menu (A$160) and various two-, three-, and four-course lunch options, but no à la carte menu.

A bit of a hidden gem, to enter this New Orleans--inspired smokehouse you have to come through a door in an alleyway just off Barangaroo waterfront. Take the elevator up two floors and when the doors open you'll be hit by that incredible American barbecue smell. This 270-seat restaurant has water views, around 500 whiskies and a 2½-meter-long open-grill fire pit and a hickory-packed smoker. The atmosphere is buzzy every night of the week.

Few restaurants have the magnetic pull of Otto, a place where radio shock jocks sit side by side with fashion-magazine editors and confirmed foodies. Yes, it's a scene, but fortunately one with good Italian food prepared by chef Richard Ptacnik. The homemade pastas are menu standouts; try the spaghetti, baby octopus with trapanese, a Sicilian pesto sauce. The selection of Italian wines is expensive but rarely matched this far from Milan.

This is the top destination for contemporary Japanese cuisine in The Rocks. Each dish is crafted from fresh ingredients with a creative twist, offering a unique culinary experience as the team blends modern Japanese flavors with traditional elements. The menu features standout options like Hamachi kingfish with coriander-infused ponzu sauce. Enjoy every bite and explore an extensive beverage list that includes a wide selection of saké. Open every day for lunch and dinner, and no booking is required.

Housed in a beautiful sandstone building that served a number of military purposes for more than 130 years, the Tea Room Gunners Barracks has breathtaking views of the harbor and the surrounding gardens and bushland. Their traditional afternoon tea is a great way to relax after exploring the armaments of Middle Head.