Time Out Sydney Food & Drink Awards 2025: Relaxed Dining Nominees

Chefs Corey Costelloe (the former culinary director at Hunter St Hospitality and Rockpool Bar & Grill) and Dave Allison (Stix Cafe and Catering) are behind this Marrickville neighbourhood restaurant. The soaring 66-seater dining room was a warehouse and loading dock in its first life, and the industrial space has been prettied up with hanging pendant lighting, polished concrete floors and sconces buttoned to the walls. Expect expertly cooked steaks, flame-grilled seafood, seasonal organic produce and nostalgic favourites like rissoles and potato wedges, which you have to order.

“Things taste better cooked over charcoal,” we hear Firepop’s co-owner and chef Raymond Hou say to a guest. From Bunnings’ snags to grilled fish by the sea, it’s one of life’s universal truths that fire and charcoal give character, smokiness, depth and flavour to food. It’s also one of life’s universal truths that things on sticks are just more delicious. Wife-and-husband duo Alina Van and Hou know both of these truths well. Since 2019, they have been serving flame-licked skewers from their red food truck to hungry people all across Sydney, from festivals to breweries. In March 2024, they opened their first bricks-and-mortar venue – a two-storey restaurant on Enmore Road. And it’s an absolute firecracker.

Unless you’re part of a run club, 5.30pm on a Tuesday isn’t the sexiest time for a dinner reservation. But it’s the only one that was available at Neptune’s Grotto, the new subterranean Italian restaurant from chefs Dan Pepperell, Mikey Clift and sommelier Andy Tyson. When we first dined at sibling venues – Pellegrino 2000 and Clam Bar – we sat down around 5pm on a Tuesday, too. Italians are probably getting up from their riposo at that time. But the trio’s diners – including Potts Points’ pink-tableclothed Bistrot 916 (miss you) – are so damn good that Sydneysiders will take what they can get. And feel #grateful. Forget the run club – run to make a booking here.

Olympus is the sort of restaurant where you are invited to idle. The pleasures of dining at the contemporary village-style taverna in Sydney’s Redfern are many – from its location in the buzzy new Wunderlich Lane precinct to the menu devoted to everything from classic Greek mezedes to a trove of dishes anchored to time-worn traditions. Olympus is the latest restaurant led by the team behind places including The Apollo and Cho Cho San. Co-owners Jonathan Barthelmess and Sam Christie have lured Ozge Kalvo (who won acclaim as part of the Baba's Place and Ester teams) to take the lead on the menu the pair have designed around good, honest Greek cooking. The sun-splashed courtyard is arrayed around a 50-year-old bougainvillea tree with pops of comic-book pink – it takes us back to Mykonos.

There's yet another osteria you need to add to your list of Italian restaurants to hit up. That is Postino Osteria, Summer Hill’s newcomer from Alessandro and Anna Pavoni (plus co-owner Bill Drakopoulos). They’re the star duo behind seafood haven Ormeggio, bright-and-breezy Chiosco, theatrical fine diner A’Mare and Manly’s new go-to, Cibaria. Postino Osteria is located in a beautiful two-storey brick building, the heritage-listed former post office, once home to One Penny Red. (The name is a play on words: "Postino" means both ‘postman’ and ‘small but cosy place’ in Italian.) Dining here feels good. It’s honest, homestyle Italian fare, served in a cosy dining room with service as polished as a Ferrari. No wonder it’s always packed with locals.