The best regional restaurants near Sydney that are well worth the drive

The food scene in the agricultural Eden of Orange is a head above the rest, and just one of the myriad exceptional diners you can find here is Charred Kitchen and Bar.

As the name implies, fire plays a leading role, with much of the menu taking a sizzle on the custom charcoal stove, affectionately named Lucifer. Whether it be a subtle kiss of smoke like on the smoked corn and mascarpone gnudi, or a full-on scorch by way of burnt onion porcini custard eggs, adorably sheltered within a nest and served in their shell.

Charred strikes the balance of top-tier fine dining that's anything but intimidating, with wooden stump chairs and unpretentious yet highly refined cooking in the most beautiful of surrounds.

Just a stone's thrown away from Mollymook and Ulladulla on the New South Wales South Coast, you'll find the tiny, pristine town of Milton. The historic and picturesque settlement is home to a burgeoning food scene and leading the charge is Small Town Food and Wine, an intimate bistro serving up the best of local produce with a very big city attitude.

Get behind the wheel pronto: the benchmark for living your best life in Sydney involves joining the café society lunching at Bert’s at the Newport. Lunch here is as close as we can ever get to actually living in the jazz age in all its glory; there’s not a dining room in the city that can hold a candle to the soft-focus beauty. If you can swing it, aim for a seat that faces the vast arc of windows that look out over Pittwater and the striped umbrellas down in the beer garden below. More than one table is likely to be splashing out on the whole grilled lobster, but the price point for things off the grill also stretches down to under $50 for spatchcock, fish by the fillet and short rib.

You’re driving down a perilous road with a sheer cliff face on one side. Cicadas are screaming while bellbirds trill and blip. The slightly terrifying descent down to the yawning Hawkesbury River is about the most fraught drive you’re likely to encounter on your way to a meal within Sydney’s limits. There’s no land access to Berowra Waters Inn but waiting for the restaurant’s own ferryman to take you for a ride from the wharf is part of the adventure. The building is designed by legendary Australian architect Glenn Murcutt. The main wall looks out to the river and is made up of glass louvres that reflect the water while the room itself is light, airy, open and works in harmony with its outside environment. There’s a blissful feeling of utter seclusion at this historic and generationally loved destination.

A kookaburra sits on the deck at Cottage Point Inn, being hand fed by one of the waiters. He wrestles with it like it’s a large dog – holding back the meat, making the bird work for it. In return, the kookaburra makes a growling sound, snatches the food from the guy’s hands and flies off to a nearby gum tree. The kookaburra feeding is a regular ritual at this tiny restaurant, set right on the Hawkesbury River among the scrub and gums of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Here, head chef Kevin Solomon delivers a seasonal, French-accented menu that more than justifies the journey. 

Money might not buy you a lifetime of happiness, but it will certainly achieve it in the short term if you use it to book a weekend escape at Jonah’s at Whale Beach. This luxurious boutique hotel is a famous romantic getaway for Sydneysiders who want to soak their troubles away in a spa bath that has sightlines out to the ocean. The restaurant has earned its lauded reputation – the wine list is exciting and wallet-emptying in equal measure and they have one of the best riesling lists in the country. Of course the menu changes seasonally but the skill and finesse of this kitchen is something you can depend on. 

A restaurant attached to the decades-old Margan estate, this is one of the top dining drawcards of the Hunter Valley. Constructed with rammed earth, it features a tasting room flooded with natural light and fine Mediterranean-inspired cuisine. Margan specialises in seasonal dishes based around its own kitchen garden. The menus are changed monthly and there's an added focus on simplicity and sharing. Each dish comes matched with a fresh glass of Margan's famous wine.