Freya Herring

We're all about a secret underground dive bar or two – but in a city as beautiful as Sydney, it seems like a damn shame to retreat into the depths for every tipple. From a sundowner by the harbour to a sunny rooftop in the Inner West, our town is awash with sky-high watering holes. So we've rounded up the best spots in the city to sip a cold one under a gorgeous open sky. But drinkers beware: Sydney's rooftop bars play host to some of the most contested seats in the city, so get in early for a spot in the sun.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. For more al fresco drinking try one of Sydney's best beer gardens. Looking for another top-notch watering hole? Check out the best bars in Sydney.

Spring 2024 update: From matcha to fresh fruit juices, buttery scrambled eggs to ricotta hotcakes, Sydney’s food and drink AM scene is first-class. Plus, we’re home to some of the best cups of joe in the whole wide world. Below, we’ve rounded up the best cafés in Sydney, so you can start your morning on the right note, no matter how you woke up. Sydneysiders are café people. We're constantly on the hunt for the city's best coffee and we love nothing more than donning our finest sport-luxe activewear and catching up with mates on a weekend morning over eggs, fritters and crusty artisan sourdough. So, whether it's a reward for tackling one of Sydney's most beautiful walks, an indulgent hangover fix after a night at one of the city's best bars, or a workday coffee stop, these are the best Sydney cafés, according to our in-the-know Time Out Sydney writers, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure. We'll have one B&E roll, please.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Is it lunch time? Check out our guide to Sydney's best restaurants right now.

Spring 2024 update: Let’s face it: life is expensive. But the good news is that you don’t need to stay home every night and survive on frozen pizza, thanks to our city’s incredible cheap eats. The best bit? Often they rival any dishes you would find in a fancy fine diner. We’ve rounded up the top places with prices that won’t burn a hole in your wallet, including our current faves Tan Viet Noodle House, Peranakan Place, Mami's and Hariri Chickens. Because life’s too short to eat sh*t food. Going out for a meal is sometimes a big occasion, worth the splurge. But it doesn't have to be that way. From banh mi to tonkotsu ramen, biang biang noodles to vegan burgers, and pretty much everything else in between, some of Sydney's greatest culinary hits are the cheapest. Time Out Sydney critics and local food writers, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have eaten their way around town to bring you this list, and while cheap isn't what it used to be, there are still lots of excellent affordable venues to check out. These are the ones well worth their salt. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Want to spend less at the big-ticket players? Check out our cheap fine-dining hacks.

Whether you want thick, creamy, red curries; soft, charry naan breads; oily, hot pickles; a fiery vindaloo; or a cooling lassi, there's an Indian restaurant primed to sort your spice cravings in Sydney. Time Out Sydney's writers, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure – who has spent weeks travelling from the palm-fringed beaches in Goa to the lush mountains in Darjeeling – have rounded up the best Indian restaurants in the city. We've got tropical flavours from the south and the earthy heat from northern fare, and, if you really want to go on a subcontinental adventure, head to Sydney's own little India in Harris Park. Want more food adventures? Check out our guide to the best Sydney restaurants. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. On a budget? Here are the best cheap eats in Sydney.

Leafy and buzzing Surry Hills might just be the neighbourhood with the very best of what this city has to offer in terms of eating and drinking. Whether it’s homestyle, hole-in-the-wall Korean or an all-out chef’s menu from a kitchen with nothing but open flames, each and every price point and palate is catered to on these streets, from the fringe of the city down to the bottom of Crown. Time Out Sydney's editors and critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have chosen their favourite picks from the 2010 postcode (and the home of Time Out Sydney HQ!). Go forth and eat well.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Feel like a drink? These are the best bars in Surry Hills. After a bargain? Check out Sydney’s best cheap eats

Whether it’s a five-buck-number from your local servo or a smooth and silky scoop from an artisanal store, there’s no doubt about it, ice cream is happiness in one cool refreshing bite (or lick, because, well, sensitive teeth). On a balmy afternoon or evening, a scoop of gelato or ice cream brings pure simple joy to those that hold it, and Time Out Sydney’s critics have rounded up the best in town. As Sydney prepares for a belter of a summer, cool down with a two-scoop cone and lap up this delicious, sweet treat. You deserve it. RECOMMENDED: These are the best cheap eats in Sydney right now Make a meal out of it: These are the finest fish and chips in town

In Korean, it’s called gogi-gui, literally ‘meat roast’. It's got a long and complex history but these days it means essentially one thing – meat that’s grilled, often at the table by you, and enjoyed with banchan (Korean side dishes, kimchi being the most famous) and booze. Most barbecue joints will serve the same set of classics such as an unmarinated selection including pork belly and steak. Plus a few marinated pieces, maybe some saucy chicken thighs, pork neck, and, of course, vegetables too.  Just like South Korean's capital, Sydney is jam-packed with excellent Korean barbecue joints. Time Out Sydney's critics, including Seoul-lover and Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have rounded up the best in town. They've got high-quality meat, genuine charcoal under their grills, service good enough to know when you need a waiter or a literal chef at the table, and a decent menu of non-barbecue options too. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Want more? Here's our guide to the best Korean restaurants in Sydney. Heading to Seoul? Check out guide to the best things to do in South Korea's capital. Prefer your food fast and thrifty? Try one of Sydney's best cheap eats.

Barbecue and fried chicken might have once been the most popular manifestations of Korean cooking in Sydney, but that’s not even scratching the surface. When your cravings take you beyond the communal grills, Time Out Sydney's critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure – who visited South Korea in 2023 (read why you need to go Seoul here) – have rounded up the city’s top spots for platters of pork belly, hearty beef broths, kimchi hot pots, crunchy-leek pancakes, and cold buckwheat noodles, anju (Korean drinking food), and cheese-smothered rice-cakes.  And remember that restaurant-style Korean cuisine is often designed for big groups, so prepare for colossal hot pots and sizzling plates by bringing your gang with you.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED: Want more? Check out our guide to Sydney's top Korean barbecue joints here These are the best Japanese restauants in Sydney right now

Long gone are the days when mushroom risotto was the only option on Sydney menus for vegetarians. Okay, so a few places are still championing that veggo staple, but if you know where to go you don't need to set eyes on it again. Not all of these restaurants are exclusively vegetarian, but every place on this list is serving the kind of exciting, delicious vegetable-based fare that will make you reconsider meat in favour of a whole head of roasted cauliflower, a perfect puffy pizza or a totally plant-based degustation. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. If you're a dedicated herbivore, you can find Sydney's best vegan restaurants. Want more? Check out our guide to Sydney's best restaurants here.

Japanese food isn't just made to be eaten. It's an art of vibrantly coloured cuts of fresh fish, delicately layered condiments and the showmanship of an itamae (a sushi chef dishing up umami bites right in front of your table). And so it’s good that, thanks to all of the incredible Japanese chefs gracing our shores, we are never short of options here in Sydney. From the sushi roll lunch-run to the full sashimi-laden dego, Time Out Sydney's critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have found the best of the best – here’s where to do Japanese in the city. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Keep the culinary experience going with this list of Sydney's best ramen. Feel like heat? Check out our guide to the finest Thai spots around town.

Sydney's Inner Western suburbs have a well-earned reputation as the boho bloc of the city, with arty enclaves in places like Balmain, Marrickville and the rainbow streets of Newtown, where Sydney's counterculture communities still thrive in spite of soaring property prices. And with those creative energies comes a whole plethora of good eats to fuel the community spirits of the Inner West. Workday lunches could be anything from Egyptian street food to dumplings, tamales or banh mi, and when you don't feel like cooking dinner, there's pretty much no corner of the globe or price point not catered to. Want to eat on one of the city's most respected fine diners? Sixpenny is hiding in the residential streets of Stanmore. New world pizza? Hit Bella Brutta in Newtown. Nigerian, Pakistani, or Mexican? Got them all. And if it's the first meal of the day that concerns you, we've got top-tier coffee to spare and avo toast enough to finance a first home owner's grant. If you're hungry in this 'hood, these are the best places to fill your tank. Jump to a section: RESTAURANTS CAFES PUBS 

If you find yourself hungry and thirsty in Surry Hills, never fear – you're in one of the best places in all of Sydney to get your coffee and brekky fix. From silky scrambled eggs at Bills, to a killer breakfast plate at A.P. Bakery, on-point coffee at Single O and a picture-perfect blueberry tart at Lode, we've compiled a bumper list of all the excellent Surry Hills cafés. Lace up, grab a mate, and eat and drink your way around the tree-lined streets. RECOMMENDED READS: Want the best of the brunch? Check out our guide to the best breakfasts in Sydney. Keen for lunch of dinner? Here are the best restaurants in Surry Hills. After a dining hit list? Brush up on our guide to the best restaurants in Sydney. 

You might not have heard her name but trust us, Lorraine Godsmark is one of Sydney’s greatest pâtissiers. She worked for ten years as head pastry chef under Neil Perry at Rockpool in the '90s, and the lauded date tart she created with him is still on the Rockpool menus today. It’s on the menu at Lorraine’s Pâtisserie, too, but only sporadically – it’s such a complex thing to make that Godsmark says it takes six months to train a chef to do it right, so now she makes them herself, and only two at a time. That’s not all she makes though. Try her cheesecake. It’s as light as a cloud, with the faintest hint of lemon and a crisp, cinnamon-toned crust. Her brownies are famous for their chocolatey depth and it was her mascarpone cake that inspired Black Star Pastry’s celebrated strawberry watermelon cake (patron-chef Chris Thé trained under Godsmark before he set off on his own). It’s takeaway only and the kitchen is wide open to the store, so you can watch the chefs preparing their delicacies while you choose your poison. Trust us, you pretty much can’t go wrong with anything here – what Godsmark doesn’t know about pastry isn’t worth knowing. And that's exactly why we she took home the 2019 Time Out Food Awards Legend Award.  Time Out Awards 2019Legend Award View this year's Time Out Food Award winners

At this West End branch of Paesano Pizza – they have another in Merchant City – it’s noisy as all hell. It’s so busy with students (it’s cheap), families (the aforementioned noise) and couples (that’s amore) that even on a Tuesday evening at 9pm the place is rammed. There’s a no-bookings policy but you’ll want to stand at the bar for aperitivi anyway. The house veneto bianco is by no means elegant, but this isn’t that sort of place – it comes in a water glass, is crisp and cold and that’s enough for me. With Paesano being the first business in living memory to do justice to this truly gorgeous art deco former bank (the same space that once played host to the saddest Costa in all the land), the surrounds are swoon-worthy – all white Italian marble, high ceilings and dark timber. Every table has views of the open kitchen, where you can watch these skilled pizzaioli craft their wares. It’s all part of the show. The dough is shaped on marble tops and thrown into the 500-degrees-celsius wood-fired oven, each one taking mere seconds to cook. Order the no. 2 margherita at £6 but pay the extra £1.50 for the fuller-flavoured mozzarella di bufala over the standard fior di latte. We tried others – the mushroom one, the prosciutto number, the Tuscan fennel sausage and the aubergine. All were delicious but none compared to the marg’s refined beauty. The crust was fluffy, chewy and charry-edged thanks to a 48-hour yeast and sourdough fermentation. The tomato sauce was loose and sou

How do we define the food of the moment? It’s a tough question, and one that we at Time Out are asking ourselves all the time. There are restaurants right now that are redrawing the borders of what food can be; be it the Instagram highs of animal shaped éclairs at Doux Amour, the anti-photogenic food at Automata, or even just the chilled-out fried cheese sambo at Bar Brosé, served with an amazing glass of natural wine. The Bridge Room isn’t about any of these things. Nothing here is pushing any boundaries, or trying to shock you right out of your seat. Here the flavours are pure and the cooking refined (patron-chef Ross Lusted was once executive chef at Rockpool). It’s a comfortable, luxurious place to eat a meal in the city, and it feels like that’s what it’s trying to be, too. You’ve probably walked past the place a thousand times, with it’s prime position on  the corner of Bridge and Young Streets. But step inside and you’re hermetically sealed off from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. It’s designed with a Nordic feel; lots of pale wood and glass, and the crowd is a blend of suits and glamorous women. You can do the six-course dego here if you’re after the full shebang, but we go for the three-courser for $55 less per head (if you’re sharing between two then you’re trying six dishes anyway, so why spend the extra moolah?). The first dish of Fraser Island spanner crab leaves us a bit cold – it’s picked and shelled and cooked well (not unctuous like Firedoor’s shel

When Mike McEnearney decided to close Kitchen by Mike in Rosebery, The Sydney dining scene was in shock. It wasn’t just about the delicious food; it was about the loss of the space as well – that sprawling, high ceilinged, industrial-chic room that connected with Koskela next door, made you feel both comfortable and elevated at the same time. That’s what good design does. Luckily, now that Three Blue Ducks have moved in (and McEnearney has moved onto new horizons), the space remains just as beautiful, the garden lush and green. Even the food has an element of McEnearney’s casual, soothing, flavour-packed style. First word of warning: don’t go in on a weekday morning expecting a big menu; it’s porridge, avo toast and coffee; the sort of thing that fuels people on the way to the office. For the proper, fancy-pants breakfast, hit it up on the weekend. With one of the owners being a Brit (Byron-based Darren Robertson), it makes sense that a British-Indian classic is on there: kedgeree. It tastes like a warm, curry-scented hug. Closer to a risotto than a traditional, biryani-like kedgeree, it's a bright yellow, curry powder infused bowl of quinoa and black rice made loose and soupy by smoked bone broth. It’s studded with hunks of salmon, roasted almonds and big pieces of crunchy cucumber, with fresh mint and coriander doing the rounds on the freshness front. Pop the onsen egg in and let it melt into the rest. It's a gorgeous plate of food – and although it’s underseasoned, a touch

On Sonder café’s website, the word ‘sonder’ is defined as: “The realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness.” It’s a sentiment we like, and we like this café too, but we’re not sure it translates to the experience we have on the day. You’ll want to grab a seat in the sun if the weather’s good, because sitting outside a café at Five Ways is a Sydney luxury everybody should experience at least once. You could be in France, Italy or even London’s Chelsea; it’s that pretty around here. We order the eggy bread and are astounded by how great it works as a savoury dish. Here it's topped with a soft fried egg, caramelised eggplant and a crunchy salad of tomatoes and cucumber. A slick of yoghurt keeps things fresh, and herby zhoug sauce adds a hit of heat. The corn fritters seem good in theory: hulking and spiked with cumin, dressed with lemon cheeks and a mild chilli salsa, with a Taleggio omelette on top. But when it arrives, although the omelette is cooked beautifully, the Taleggio cheese tastes remarkably rank: like ammonia – which is not normal for this comparatively mild-tasting cheese. We tell our waitress and she suggests we don’t like it because it’s a strong flavour (not so – it's probably not dangerous, but it is off), and then doesn’t come back to give feedback after we request the chef taste it. It stays on the bill. So much for "sonder". The

Thought that Nordic dining came and went with Noma Australia? Think again. Norsk Dor is the restaurant from chef Damien Ruggerio and it’s all about the feels and flavours of the north. Entering through the tiny door on Pitt Street (it's confusing as hell trying to find it, but persevere – it's the one with the stairs leading down into a deep, dark abyss), the sound of howling wolves plays as you descend flight after flight and down the long, dark corridor towards the graffitied wolf at the end. And then, suddenly, you're in a softly lit, bunker-like space not dissimilar to Nel, but with chairs draped with soft kangaroo hides; a long, elegant bar and a colonnade of tables. The Akavit cocktail is the way to start – laced with Tanqueray gin and silky, shaken eggwhite, it's like a gin Martini did a dance with a French Martini. It's a set menu all the way to the mains. To start you might get shared plates of oysters with cider vinegar sorbet, house-smoked cheddar with crackers, a fat bone filled with marrow and a side of rye bread for spreading and sliced fennel for respite. Gravlax is served with a thick, sweet mustard sauce, and Swedish meatballs are paired with dill-spiked potatoes. For mains there is venison with celeriac purée and artichokes. Mushroom tart is on offer for the veggos, and the salmon with fennel and dill cream has our name on it. The traditional chocolate cake, kladdkaka, is on offer for pud. ‘Kladdkaka’ means, literally, ‘sticky cake’ – it’s somewhere between

We all know this part of Western Sydney for its vivid array of Lebanese food, but usually people think of one resto in particular: Al Aseel. And not without good reason – we’re huge fans of the restaurant chain. But have you ever been to Jasmin? Situated on one of the Lakemba’s main strips, Haldon Street, it’s a humble little restaurant with thick stuccoed walls framing painted pictures of what we can only imagine are scenes of Lebanon (castles; charming harbour vistas, that sort of thing). Order up an ayran – not dissimilar to kefir, it’s a fermented yogurt drink that’s typical of this part of the world, aiding digestion and soothing the throat when you hit it with too much chilli. There are mint, chilli and garlic flavours to choose from, but we’re all about the salted plain (it’s not on the menu; but your friendly waiter will sort you out with a bottle if you ask). We order a plate of foule (broad bean dip), labne and one mixed plate, and between two people we barely make a dent; that’s how big the portions are here, so don’t order much unless you’re down for bringing a bag of food home. The foule is a huge bowl of thick, garlicky bean sauce studded with pulses – although we spot more chickpeas than broad beans. We get ours laced with tahini and studded with tomato, but you can order it plain if you’re after something more soothingly simple. The labne is thick and nicely tart, but the mixed plate is the thing to order, because everything you could want is on there. There i

Sri Lankan food is having a bit of a moment right now. And it’s all about one dish in particular: hoppers. A thin, crisp, yeasted rice crepe, hoppers are served as a traditional brekky in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. A riff on tradition are string hoppers: imagine a jangle of vermicelli noodles, woven together into a loosely shaped disc. They’ve been served out West in Sydney for decades, but with word on the street saying that ex-Berta chef O Tama Carey is due to open a hopper restaurant this year, they’re gaining a hip-factor like never before. Indo Lankan Food Bar is an old faithful for string hoppers. Situated right beside Seven Hills train station, this Indian-Sri Lankan restaurant-cum-takeaway feels a bit tired and worn, boasting that aggressive neon lighting so familiar from India. Although it’s quiet when we walk in at 8pm; by 9pm there’s a far more bustling crowd. The string hoppers come all different ways – tossed with spices, egg and onion aka ‘kothu’; or served steamed with a side of curry. We try them alongside a Spanish mackerel curry where the oily, pungent fish is absolutely the prima donna. Use the neutrally flavoured hoppers as dippers to lighten the load. It's served with a light and bright coconut chutney which further balances out the strong fish taste. Vada are like savoury Indian doughnuts. Here they are studded with fragrant fennel seeds, with a dense, rather than soft, texture. They will fill you fast. Order them alongside some bouncy, steamed rice cakes

Bangladeshi sweet treats are goddamn delicious. Lakemba bakery Dhaka Delight sells a whole range of sugary surprises, and as soon as we walked past their door we had to go in and investigate. The service is super warm and friendly, and when we ask the gentleman behind the counter what we should try, he is more than obliging, telling us what each dessert is made of and giving us an indication of what it tastes like. It’s a cute space too – long and thin, with crisp, Euro-inspired pastries at one end and the more uniquely Bangladeshi offerings at the back. Nab a window seat so you can watch Lakemba wander by, and eat as much sugar as your liver can handle. There are loads to choose from but we like the cream toasts, which aren’t like toasts at all. Subcontinental cuisine uses milk powder the way the Western world uses flour, which makes for rich, creamy cakes. They look like teeny unbaked hotdog buns but in fact these melt-in-your-mouth pastries are sweet and syrup-drenched, enveloping a whipped cream and pistachio-topped filling. The cream jams have a similar look, but the cake is closer to a gulab jamin in its bronzed getup (thanks to deep-frying, no doubt), and it boasts a thick, creamy centre. Try a laddu for something completely different – vivid orange, deep-fried chickpea batter shaped into balls and soaked, you guessed it, in syrup. If you’re not of subcontinental descent you might find eating sweet chickpeas odd, but we’re into it. Or go the gur shondesh, a ricotta and

Bistro Guillaume is the new, more casual offering from Guillaume Brahimi, everyone’s favourite Frenchie. It’s open for breakfast and lunch six days a week, and dinner on Saturday nights. From October onwards, dinner will be available six nights a week. The menu is traditional French bistro fare, like steak tartare and classic cheese soufflés, but with a bit of a twist. The soufflé for example can be made giant for groups of four, so you can all dig in together, and there’s a toastie on the bar menu with our name on it: Iggy’s sourdough – “the best bread in Australia,” Brahimi tells us – stuffed with Holy Goat cheese, and served with chips and mixed leaves. WANT. It’s a beautiful, blue and black toned space designed by Blainey North, who is more known for her hotel and private dwelling work than anything else – this is her first restaurant design. There’s a private dining room lined with walls of wine that looks like the setting for a meeting of the Shark Tankers. And it’s all within the foyer of the Suncorp skyscraper, handily just by Wynyard station. And speaking of handy, there’s a pâtisserie inset into the space, for takeaway or sit-in. We got the first taste of all the delicious cakes on offer, so read all about that (ridiculously fun) experience here. But the thing we’re losing our mind over is this: they’re doing Iggy’s sourdough. Not sure why this is exciting? Until now, we’ve only been able to get the bread – Sydney’s best, we’d wager – from the bakery itself in Bront

When we first went to Folonomo, the sister restaurant to Gratia café (so sisterly, in fact, that the two venues sit side-by-side on Surry Hills' Bourke Street, and even use one another’s spaces when they reach capacity), we were blown away, and awarded it five stars. We come to Gratia some months later; will it be as good? The space comprises a long, slim coffee bar/kitchen, with bar seating along the side, and some tables out front on the pavement. At the back lies the rustically designed courtyard shared with Folonomo, that makes you feel like you’re tucked away in a small café in Tuscany, it’s that idyllic. Gratia, like Folonomo, is a not-for-profit restaurant, and at the end of your meal, you are awarded rubber bouncy balls to the amount you have raised from eating there. You pop them into charity jars of your choice as you leave, so you can decide where 50 per cent of your money is going (the remaining 50 per cent is donated to the Pure Foundation, the charity collaboratively established by founder of the café, Matthew Byrne). The coffee beans come from Chatswood roastery, Gabriel Coffee, and result in a silky-smooth, deeply chocolaty flat white. The sticky chai is its polar opposite: robust and hot with pepper and cinnamon. It comes as a chai latte rather than loose in a pot, so order it without milk if you’re off the dairy. So what about the food? Our pick is the brisket. House-made flatbread studded with fragrant nigella seeds encases big hunks of tender, slow-cooked

Most of the time, cafés get bacon and egg rolls wrong: the bread is too dry, the bacon portioning too stingy, and atrocity of atrocities: the egg yolk is overcooked. Not at Rolling Penny, Newtown's hottest new café. Here, the breakfast roll sees a big white roll stuffed with two perfectly poached eggs, a heap of crispy bacon, a thicket of fragrant coriander and parsley, fresh spinach leaves and a slick of mayo and spicy house-made, sour tomato relish. Add a splash or two of Diemens hot sauce for extra punch, but really this is just a beautiful plate of food as is. Rolling Penny is a new venture from brother and sister duo Martin and Penny Morgan. Martin’s on when we visit, and his relaxed, super smiley service demonstrates straight away what this place is all about: a place to chill out and take it easy. The interior is all white walls and open kitchen, with colourful abstract paintings hung up around and laid back, helpful service behind the counter. The tunes, when we're in, mainly centre on steel drum instrumental covers, which we find both hilarious and infectiously relaxing (the traffic on King Street requires such a tonic). We start with a coffee, and although the flat white arrives a bit too hot, the Little Marionette beans have been roasted to nutty, fruit-driven perfection. It's almost like drinking a strong hot chocolate, it's that silky smooth. Not into artificial highs? Try the green smoothie. It's so delicious you'd barely know it was good for you. It's a frozen

If you’ve never tried the liquorice bread at Yellow, you’re missing one of the best darn cakes in town. It’s only served at their weekend brekky/brunch service, but it’s worth crossing the city for, trust us. It’s a big wodge of warm, fudgy, black-as-night cake imbued with the flavours of melted down liquorice and liquorice root infusion. It’s topped with flaked salt and a side of whipped, salty, cultured butter ready to be spread on thick. Even if you don’t like liquorice, we’d wager you’d love this. Order it as a side, rather than the main event – one piece between two should do it. There are no bookings for brekky at Yellow, and you will probably have to wait for a table (check out Defiance Gallery next door while you wait for the call) but you won’t regret it – the breakfast here is the stuff of legend. Not only is the food amazing, but here at the Paris-end of Potts Point, you feel as if you’re actually in Paris: the bustling waiters, the classic brasserie-like surrounds, the dogs and fancy people. But it’s not exorbitantly expensive – $10-$20 is pretty average for a solid breakfast in Sydney nowadays, and that’s what you’re paying at Yellow for a main dish. Try the poached eggs with corn. You get three 63-degree eggs (which are like poached eggs but a thousand times more delicious – think just-set whites and loose, creamy yolk spilling onto the plate) with a thick ham hock consommé, cheesy crumbs, charred corn and lengths of snake beans for crunch. Or go the house-made

We’re very excited about Brick Lane opening. So excited, in fact, that we persuaded the owners, Kiran Bains and Alistair French, to give us an exclusive tasting of the menu, weeks before they open their doors on Wednesday November 2. So what are our picks? Here’s the rundown… 5 – The chai brûlée with sable biscuitSmooth, silky custard toned with chai spices and topped with a crisp sugar crust. On the side? An orange-zesty biscuit perfect for dipping. 4 – The samosas with eggplant dipThree different samosas – one filled with gingery trout; one with shredded duck and quail and one with collard greens and cheese – come paired with a rich, creamy aubergine dip. The brik pastry lends a crisp quality that is just the right side of fried, and it’s perfect with a cocktail. 3 – The half roast chookThey’re using Bannockburn chickens for this dish (the same as ex-Momofuku Seiōbo head chef, Ben Greeno, does at the Paddington), and it is some of the tenderest, most juicy hen around. Here it’s slow cooked and then fried in a light chickpea batter, and served with sides galore: buttery parathas; cooling cucumber salad; turmeric cauliflower pickles, yoghurt and vindaloo hot sauce. Now that’s what we call a chicken sandwich. 2 – The Brick Lane pork rollGod, these are good. Brick Lane’s take on a banh mi throws that Vietnamese staple out the window. House-made pâté is paired with slow cooked, tender AF pork belly, with spring onions, mayo and chilli. It’s all stuffed into a buttery paratha, an

Always wanted to try Neil Perry’s food but can’t spare the coin? The once-fine dining-only chef has been slowly branching out into the more casual sphere of dining over the past few years, opening up Rockpool Bar and Grill and most recently, Burger Project joints across the country. But now he’s turning his hand – and considerable experience – to the David Jones Food Hall in the CBD, where he opens a sandwich bar tomorrow. We got to sit down with Perry and get a sneak peak at the sandwiches he’ll be serving up, and we’ve got to say – they are goddamn delicious. “We’re making sandwiches inspired by some of the greatest sandwiches in the world, both old school and new,” Perry tells us, “we’re putting together what we believe are going to be the tastes, flavours and textures that people in the city are going to swarm for… We really believe that with what we’re doing and what we’re using and how we’re putting it together, that we can compete and come on top of any other sandwich offering in the city.” The sandwiches will be change ups of various worldwide classics – shrimp po boys, lemongrass pork, smoked ham and cheese and meatball subs (using the meatball recipe from Perry’s five star Melbourne restaurant Rosetta Ristorante). The chicken katsu sees free range Lilydale chicken fried to crispness and paired with a shredded cabbage slaw, tonkatsu sauce and sriracha for that chilli kick, enveloped in a super soft burger bun. We try a veggie-friendly wrap stuffed with spicy falafel,

Another year, another Time Out Food Awards, and what a bloody brilliant one it's been for restaurants in this town. We’ve seen food that seeks to challenge and educate us as much as please our palates. We’ve seen venues that sit somewhere between bars and restaurants, because the drinks are as good as the food. Everything is natural – from the wine list to the sauerkraut. And an extension of this is that health food has come into its own. Finally, Sydney chefs have proven that healthy food can taste as delicious as the bad stuff, and can deliver something positive to your body while its at it. Now that’s skill. This year we created some new award categories, including a one-off award for Sydney’s Best Sweet Treat, which celebrates Sydney’s incredible, ever-evolving pâtisserie and gelato scene. We also awarded a commendation for Drinks Service, which is all about those venues that are seriously excelling on the bevvy front. And – because we trust the public's judgement – we’ve got three new People’s Choice awards, sponsored by Mastercard: Best Takeaway Coffee, Best Takeaway Lunch Spot and Best Late-Night Snack Vendor. We had a big party at Est to celebrate (here's the deats on that). Here are all the winners from the biggest food night of the calendar, but for all the in-depth info, you're gonna wanna see this. Restaurant of the Year: Hubert Chef of the Year: Clayton Wells of Automata Hot Talent Award: Troy Crisante of Bennelong Best Cheap Eat: Trunk Road Best Casual Dining Re

Restaurants and cafés north of the bridge don’t have the greatest rep in this town. But frankly, that sort of attitude is all nonsensical balderdash. There’s pan-Asian eatery Yang and Co in Castlecrag, some of Sydney’s best gelato at Gelateria Gondola in Chatswood, beautiful, healthy eats at Ora in Manly, some of the best sourdough in Sydney at Berkelo in Brookvale, world-class cakes at Mrs Jones the Baker in Freshwater and some seriously fine breakfast fare at Smalltown up in Avalon. And have you been to Newport recently? Well, the Grounds crew know the score, and they’re cashing in on the action, currently looking at securing a space for a new outpost of their game-changing eatery in St Leonards, just by the Royal North Shore Hospital. The space is reported to be 4000m2, and plans are that it will have its own nursery, just like the Alexandria café, plus a roastery that will toast their – always excellent – coffee to smooth, silky perfection. The development application hasn’t been completed yet, so nothing is certain for now. If it goes ahead, it will be the third offshoot for the Grounds, who are due to open a CBD café in the Galeries in November. Should everything go to plan though, we’d say the North Shore might just solidify itself as one of Sydney’s best dining hotspots. Love cake? Check out Sydney's best cakes here. Need more patisseries in your life? Here are Sydney's best patisseries, ranked. Read our full review on the Grounds in Alexandria here.

This week we took a remarkable Aboriginal Heritage Tour at the Royal Botanic Gardens. And, wow, did we find out a lot about our native bushland. Education co-ordinator for Aboriginal programs and Ularai/Barkandji woman, Jody Orcher was our guide, and what an intelligent, generous and engaging guide she was. She'll also be speaking at our upcoming Time Out Talk. From blossoming macadamia trees to tiny, rose-scented berries, it made us totally rethink our image of the city – we were blown away by how many incredible foods are readily available and growing in Sydney right now. “Native foods to me are home,” Orcher tells Time Out, “It’s about cooking the way we prepared it, it’s about eating with family, it’s about going and getting it, catching it, gathering it, killing it, whatever it may be, and everyone pitching in. And then the way that we make use of different things in the animal or the plant – I think I value those things because they are things that I learnt from my family, so it reconnects me back to my identity.” Learning and eating bush food has larger implications too. As Orcher tells us, it’s also about “having the integrity to understand how to recognise and to respect those traditional owners or where those foods come from, it’s as easy as recognising them as who they are.”Here are some of our favourite finds on the day – some you’ll know, some you won’t, but trust us, you should be seeking out them all (go on one of Orcher’s tours to find out more).Lemon myrtleWh

You may have heard about the craze it has caused in New York, but the Frosé cocktail was always destined for Melbourne. I mean, it’s frozen wine for crying out loud – and what do we want most on balmy Melbourne summer nights? That’s right, cold freaking wine. We already pop ice in there (we know, it’s sacrilege) to cool ourselves down, but now the ice has made its way into our vino in a very permanent way. The Frosé was invented by a New York mixologist from Bar Primi – he was trying to tackle the aggressive humidity of this year’s New York summer. It’s basically sorbet made from rosé wine blended up with fruit in a Slushie machine, much like the one your local 7-11 uses. And it sounds amazing. In Melbourne, Chapel St's Mr Miyagi and Yukie's Snack Bar is already leading the charge by serving the frosty beverage on tap. The drink requires a higher sugar content for the 'slushie' effect to happen (too little sugar and it just freezes like a block of ice) and they've used the strawberries and cream-like Domaine Chandon Pinot Noir Rosé to get the magic going. The new Stokehouse downstairs venue, Pontoon, will have the summer drink ready in October. Embrace the Frosé, it's coming whether you like it or not! Want more fun cocktails in your life? Check out Melbourne's best cocktail bars here. ... or maybe you need a pick-me-up. Check out the Melbourne's upcoming Espresso Martini Festival.  

So as the runner-up to our Best New Restaurant gong at 2015’s Time Out Sydney Food Awards, you already know how much we love Firedoor. With chef Lennox Hastie cooking everything over fire, nabbing a seat at the kitchen-bar and watching the flames a’blaze while he chucks in more wood and sears his next steak is a pretty perfect evening out. Who needs Masterchef? Firedoor is not a cheap eat – it would be hard to get out with change from $100 per head at evening service (more if you want to try that steak). But, like so many things, you get what you pay for: the meat and fish here are the finest in town; in fact that steak he’s cooking up (sometimes dry aged up to 234 days – while as average steak is aged around 30 days) is undoubtedly the best in Sydney. But now the man is running $55 lunches on Thursday and Fridays, and they are un-freaking-real. Plus, you can actually afford to eat them. You get three courses for that price, and an excellent bonus of sourdough bread. It’s wood-fired and the smoke permeates the whole loaf – crust, crumb and all. The crumb is as soft as a feather-filled pillow and the crust chewy and robust: it’s a bit of dark and light, and we love it. Served warm with smoked butter, the whole thing is a dish unto itself. The courses change daily depending on what’s good and what’s fresh. We try teeny school prawns that are served with garlic chives and chilli, and eat them whole to enjoy the crunch and crack amongst the tender meat within. Creamy, whole borlo

So we all know that Guillaume Brahimi is opening up a bistro in the CBD (for those who don’t know, check out the scoop here). But there’s more; he’s opening up a pâtisserie too, attached to the restaurant. It opens tomorrow, but Brahimi, sweet fella that he is, invited Time Out over to try the treats before anyone else. Here’s how it went down. First off, there are many delightful-looking cakes here. We sat down with Guillaume at the bar and tried the selection he laid out for us: lemon tarts, chocolate caramel tarts and chocolate brioche. In a world where lemon tarts feature soggy pastry and dull, saccharine lemon curd fillings, here at Guillaume they’re doing tarte au citron the way it should be: short, buttery pastry housing light, refreshingly acidic lemon filling. We’re told by the man himself, “You have to do me a favour; you need to bite the lemon tart, because that’s the best part of it.” No knives and forks here. “It’s the real deal,” he says. And he’s right. The salted caramel tart sees silky caramel topped with bitter chocolate ganache encased in the same short, buttery pastry. By the way, are you sick of Nutella-stuffed-everything? Us too. Try the chocolate brioche, which is filled with a chocolate of 85 per cent cocoa solids that will bring your breakfast game up a serious notch. Or go a slice of classic quiche Lorraine for a deeply creamy, bacon-flecked lunch bonanza. “I want people to be in the office and say ‘Do you know what? I’m having a tough day at work, I

You may have heard about the craze it has caused in New York, but the Frosé cocktail was always destined for Sydney. I mean, it’s frozen wine for crying out loud – and what do we want most on balmy Sydney summer nights? That’s right, cold freaking wine. We already pop ice in there (we know, it’s sacrilege) to cool ourselves down, but now the ice has made its way into our vino in a very permanent way. The Frosé was invented by a New York mixologist from Bar Primi – he was trying to tackle the aggressive humidity of this year’s New York summer. It’s basically sorbet made from rosé wine blended up with fruit in a Slushie machine. And it sounds amazing. In Sydney, Double Bay’s Pelicano is leading the trend by opening a Frosé Garden terrace within its grounds. On offer will be fruity Frosé cocktails alongside dryer options to keep non-sweet-tooths satisfied. There will even be rosé cocktails for all the fools who don’t like their drinks frozen. It launches on the spring equinox, Friday September 23, and will be open from 5pm Wednesdays to Saturdays until the summer is over. We can’t believe we have to wait a month for this. Want more fun cocktails in your life? Check out Sydney's best cocktail bars here. ... or maybe you need a pick-me-up. Here's are the best Espresso Martinis in town (or check out the Sydney's newest hot spot, an Espresso Martini bar in the Rocks). OK fine, we know it's still winter. Here are Sydney's best winter cocktails.

Ever since it opened in Melbourne earlier this year, Royal Stacks has created for itself a bit of a cult following. With their In-N-Out/Shake Shack-inspired burgers, they’re cheap and as far as we hear it, goddamn delicious. They also use prime ingredients – their meat is sourced from none other than Sydney institution Vic's Meats, where many of our finest restaurants also source their meat. In their Melbourne stores, the bread is baked fresh each day. These may be trashy burgers, but bad quality they are not. And now they are opening in Sydney, with a store due to open up in Chatswood Westfield on Wednesday August 31. Fans of queuing (surely some of you must actually enjoy the wait?), ready yo’selves. So what’s all the fuss about? Let us enlighten you. First off, owner Dani Zeini has set up some of Melbourne's best burger joints, including Grand Trailer Park Taverna, Easey's and Truck Stop Deluxe. And the menu reads like a dream. There’s the Single Stack burger, which is said to be as pretty in photos as it is in real life (unlike the Big Mac. Man, that thing’s ugly…). Or there’s the Prince Harry, which is spiked up with horseradish to make it a bit posh. The Miss Elizabeth even boasts truffle mayo. But we’re most excited about the King, which is a standard burger but with a mac and cheese croquette stuffed inside, to make things extra cheesy. We also really want to try the cheese-drenched potato gems. Because cheese. The other things we’re despo to try are the frozen custar

In honour of their current exhibition, New Romance, on at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia right now, the gallery has put on a special menu at the MCA Café. If you haven’t been up there, you need to fix that, because the café has one of the best views in the city.It’s situated on the top level of the MCA, within the modern extension, and has masses of white-toned, glass-walled space inside, as well as a sprawling rooftop terrace, so you can sit outside overlooking the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.Because New Romance is a collaborative show between the MCA and Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the special menu is all about Korean fare. It has been brought together by Fresh Catering, the MCA and Pott Points’ Kim restaurant. Kim was one of Sydney’s best Korean eateries until it closed last month, so this looks like your last chance to try their food.What’s on offer? There are king prawn, pork and chive dumplings with soy sauce dipping sauce; there is oritang – hot duck soup laced with transparent, yam-based noodles; and namool – stir-fried greens topped off with scattering of puffed rice. Given its rep, you should definitely try Kim’s Korean fried chicken, the pieces doused in chilli barbecue sauce and peanuts, and the Korean Super Bowl – a bibimbap-like dish comprised of mixed grains, lengths of seaweed, kimchi, mayo, sweet shredded pork and shredded zucchini. Don’t eat everything separately; mix it together yourself at the table before yo