The best restaurants in Newtown

Ante is a sake bar first and foremost. Though the cool Newtown spot by Matt Young and Jemma Whiteman's also serves excellent food. But don't just take our word for it – some of Sydney's best chefs, including Danielle Alvarez (ex Fred’s) and Kiln chef Mitch Orr, said Ante was one of their favourite places to eat in Sydney. There are no reservations, so come early. As one of Time Out’s critics said: “Ante is all about the details. And Sydney is damn lucky to have it.”

At this new age pizzeria (they put clams on a pie) there are five pizzas in total, including one proudly wearing a soft pink coat of LP’s mortadella, and another featuring the house-made pepperoni – it’s a clever closed loop system since Luke Powell of LP’s fame is behind this venture, along with his partner Tania Haughton, plus hosp legends Joe Valore and Elvis Abrahanowicz of the Porteño group. 

Café Paci is a must-visit in Newtown, but really it’s just a must-visit in Sydney. Run by talented Finnish chef Pasi Petänen, this King Street restaurant serves innovative, clever dishes in a handsome dining room fit for any fine occasion. Add a stellar booze list and unstoppable team and Café Paci is a fun time indeed.

Opened by two of the greatest restaurateurs Sydney has seen in recent times, Elvis Abrahanowicz and Joe Valore of Porteño, Gardel’s Bar and Bodega (which they co-own with Ben Milgate), and LP’s Quality Meats (which they co-own with Luke Powell), this is more than just a restaurant. At Continental in Newtown a downstairs deli opens at noon and becomes a casual bar/restaurant as the later hours creep in, while upstairs there's a bistro for those fancier nights out.

Newtown loves a specialist, be it a vegan ramen joint or a café selling six kinds of lamingtons and not much else. So a skinny slip of a pizza parlour selling seven wood-fired pies, two sides and some chilli XO to dip your crusts in fits right in. Getting your hands on a Westwood pizza might require more forethought and planning than your average takeaway dinner, but the rewards more than outweighs the costs, so set your alarm for 4.30pm, because you’ve got to be in it to win it – and there are only prizes for the first 174 to make it over the line.

What's in a name? Well, if that name is Odd Culture Newtown, there's not much left to the imagination. King Street's natty joint goes hard on the ferments, wild yeasts and all things bubbly. Taking over the coveted Happy Chef space (vale), Odd Culture is a two-level craft beer, natural wine and ferment-happy diner from the group that brought us the Oxford Tav, the Old Fitz and the Duke of Enmore. With friends like that, you know it's going to be all killer, no filler. 

It’s entirely likely that Mary’s is more famous as a burger place than as a bar. People queue for up to an hour just to get in the front door of this slightly scuzzy boozer with a penchant for Slaytanic font. Of course only the uninitiated don’t know that there’s often a secondary queue up the stairs for a table on the mezzanine. People really love Mary’s burgers.

Don't expect a fine diner here – it's not that kind of place. Instead, you'll find a neighbourhood restaurant bashing out share plates like salty, savoury Provencal-style pancakes covered thickly in Persian fetta and toasted pumpkin seeds. There's plenty of veggo gear here, and they offer an affordable set menu.

While this half motorcycle workshop and half eatery lured us in for breakfast ramen (a beautiful big bowl of rich, fatty broth made from an infusion of buttered toast, topped with a just-set onsen egg, shards of crisp bacon and a charred tomato), dinner time here is worth a look in too..

In spite of the name you can eat in at Cairo Takeaway, and it’s a good time. They put a lot of care into assembling their mixed plate, featuring a mean, dark green felafel and a vegetable slice, but we can’t resist the smell of the grilled chicken doused in garlic and the lamb kofte packed with diced onion that comes on the meat edition. 

Turns out pizza without cheese is still bloody excellent. Sure, there were a lot of naysayers on the internet when Gigi on South King Street changed to a plant-based menu, but they were wrong, because a chewy, wood-fired pizza base covered in a layer of sweet golden tomato puree and tender ribbons of capsicum gets all the umami depth it needs from a liberal dose of olive tapenade, capers, chilli, oregano and olive oil. 

Flying Tong is a tiny establishment on Enmore Road and where fried chicken is king. What co-owners (and brother-sister duo) Jeff and Julie Oh have done is create an ensemble of Korean dishes that is generous, well-considered and a cut above. Despite the intensity of flavours and textures, this is elegant cooking that leaves you satisfied as opposed to outrageously stuffed, and will have you searching for any excuse to come back.

Little Lagos is a Nigerian restaurant with a big soul. Meat is undeniably the star of most of the menu here, but vegetarians can get amongst ewa agonyi (slow cooked black-eyed beans with chilli) and a Ghanaian dish of beans and rice. And no visit is complete without an order of the jollof, which takes a full three hours to prepare each day and results in an intensely tasty, spicy rice.

La Favola is a choose your own adventure of the carb kind. At this Newtown joint, it's all about marrying your preferred pasta shape with one of six sauces. A fusilli carbonara, perhaps? Or a fettucine dal mare (with seafood, garlic, chilli and white wine)? At this modest-sized eatery, space is a prized commodity. So too is a table at peak meal times, when locals flock for bowls of pasta, made fresh in-house on the daily. Keep an eye out for the specials board, where you'll find a limited-time only entree, main and dessert on offer.

Maíz is the brainchild of co-owner Juan Carlos Negrete Lopez, a former Three Blue Ducks sous-chef and permaculture designer who hails from Baja California. And unless you have shelled out more than a few pesos at Oaxacan market stalls or on the side of the road in Puebla, quesadillas are the only item you might recognise on his expansive and exciting menu – a menu which is essentially a celebration of corn in its various incarnations.

You'll find devotedly authentic Hunanese restaurant with blazing exotic peppers and unfamiliar preparations on Newtown's main strip. Pappa’s Stew, aware of the steep learning curve faced by many diners, took a leaf out of Japan’s lavish replica-food displays, setting up a full spread of their best dishes by the counter for maximum visual assistance. 

A staple on the King Street strip, Thai Pathong has been around for as long as we can remember. The menu spans traditional and modern Thai offerings and is well known for it's massive dining area which seats up to 450 people, making it a great option for big groups and functions.

This Italian eatery may be sleek and shiny, what with the polished concrete floors, big glass windows onto Enmore Road and open kitchen, but the menu is old school. There's usually two pastas on the menu – a gnocchi and a fettuccini with meatballs – but their main love is piping hot pizze that they fling into the wood-fired oven on big, decorative peels (like a shovel, or a giant spatula).