The most romantic restaurants and bars in Sydney that couples will love

Bennelong is as peak Sydney as it gets – you’ve ticked off world-class chef, waterfront dining, famous architecture and cultural institution in one fell swoop. The impressive and huge dining space has been a mainstay for years for romantic nights. If you still want the elegant service, the table linens and all the whistles even though time is your enemy, they also have a pre-theatre menu that kicks off just after 5pm to ensure you’re in your seats by the time those theatre bells sound.

Time Out tip: Don't have a booking? The bar is a sexy spot for snacks and cocktails.

Neptune’s Grotto is an underground Italian cave from the team behind Pellegrino 2000 and Clam Bar that’s fun, delicious and sexy in equal measure. Couples sit along the marble bar, enjoying dishes inspired by Northern Italy while knocking back juicy reds. The only catch? It’s hard to get a booking. If there’s one at 5.30pm – take it. We did.

As you take the elevator up to the 26th floor above the modern Skye Suites apartment tower from the corporate-leaning Macquarie Street, Parramatta, it’s hard to imagine you’re about to enter a glamorous, Art Deco-style cocktail and Champagne bar. But as you step out, you launch into another world – it’s the world of Nick and Nora, the murder-solving, soirée-throwing New York duo from the novel (and films), The Thin Man. If you’re looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Parramatta for an evening with your lover, come here.

Walking into Ursula’s Paddington feels like stepping into an elegant terrace home, adorned with warm caramel tones, vibrant blues, and statement lampshades that probably cost more than a month’s rent. The two-storey restaurant is by formidable chef Phil Wood and his wife, Lis Davies, and over the past three years, it has quietly and confidently cemented itself as one of Sydney’s finest diners. When a special dinner is on the cards with a special someone, the mood is just right at Ursula’s Paddington.

Sitting quietly on Potts Point's main drink-and-dine artery, Macleay Street, is an unassuming glass shopfront. Sheer, floor-to-ceiling drapes veil the interior from the footpath, but tease passersby just a little — emitting a warm, ambient glow. You wouldn’t immediately think this façade sneakily harboured one of the ritziest celebrations of Catalonian cuisine this city has ever seen, but it does. Intimate, stylish, sexy – prime date-night territory – Parlar, t’estimo! 

Lap up some of the best views in the city with your date at Cafe Sydney. The huge balcony looks over Circular Quay with sweeping views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. And while daytime is obviously a prime to visit for the above views, at night it really dazzles. Call us Cupid, but there's no doubt about it: love is in the air at Cafe Sydney.

Bowls of luscious pasta, crisp white tablecloths, a cosy dining room, and service as warm as the afternoon sun – if you’re after a romantic and intimate date night, I Maccheroni is sure to deliver. This cute neighbourhood spot is a slice of Italy in Woollahra and is guaranteed to get the feel-good love vibes flowing.

Located on Kings Cross Road, Vermuteria is both a love letter to old-school European wine and aperitivo bars, and an homage to the places and people that have come before. The space has as much charm as Matthew McConaughey’s character in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Read: a lot. Vermouth and sherry are the name of the game here, and the snacks are salty, vinegary and delicious – the kind of thing you want to have with drinks. It’s a pocket of neon-red magic on an otherwise grey road, and a sure spot to get the romance vibes flowing.

Gildas is a beautiful tribute to the tapas bars found in Basque Country that celebrate the best things in life – good food, good wine and great company. The wine bar's fit-out is sleek and sexy: tables are topped with marble, windows are arched, banquettes are olive green, and there are brass finishes everywhere you look. Add in the fact that this wine bar and restaurant is by celebrated chef Lennox Hastie, and you've got yourself one ace option for your next romantic rendezvous.

10 William St knows a thing or two about having a good time. The tin-sized wine bar has been knocking out delicious plates of food alongside cracking vinos for more than a decade now. The vibe here is always on point. If you haven’t been before, it’s time to pop your 10 William St cherry. Bring a date – and order the pretzel.

This date night, leave your house and head to Letra House, an underground wine bar from The Love Tilly Group. With ace sips (more than 50 by the glass!), delicious Spanish-inspired plates, and top-notch service, there’s a lot to love.

Dining at Aria will make you fall back in love with Sydney. The warm light of this famous dining room is as dreamy as it is elegant. It’s a kind of romantic alchemy forged by the floor-to-ceiling glass – the only thing between you and the gentle glow of the Sydney Opera House – and flawless courses from the kitchen. 

This fine-dining Middle Eastern restaurant serves up exceptional plates of food in a classy and sophisticated setting with five-star service. Though, this is probably a restaurant to visit when you're past first-date territory – the chefs don't go easy on the garlic (which we love). But when you're looking for a fancy spot with big flavours, Aalia delivers.

Famelia is Enmore Road's gorgeous and intimate wine bar, seating just 25 inside. The right-hand side is dotted with round tables, leather stools and banquette seating ready for you and your beau, but the fact that it's almost always packed means there will be no awkward silences if you're on a first date. Sit down and let owner and sommelier Amelia Birch pour you a wine flight (our kind of travel), order a bunch of grown-up snacks and let the butterflies soar.

Newtown's Bloodwood is an cosy cocktail lounge slash tapas bar that has stood the test of time. The majority of the space has been built using recycled and reclaimed materials from the vintage chairs upstairs, to the massive sleepers framing parts of the open kitchen downstairs. Don't expect a fine diner – it's not that kind of place. Instead, you'll find a neighbourhood restaurant bashing out share plates and great cocktails. The best way to do Bloodwood for our dollar, is to start with drinks at neighbouring Earl's Juke Joint, hit the restaurant later in the evening then take a turn up at Mary's for a nightcap.

The capacious Crown Street site formerly known as Toko is now the home of Andrew Becher’s latest grand venture, Armorica. No stranger to dropping a casual few mill on a resplendent refit, this grandiose renewal is as tastefully opulent as one has come to expect from the self-confessed Francophile behind Potts Point’s fine-dining duo Franca and Parlar. Armorica Grande Brasserie is a grand, glittering jewel on Sydney’s crown (street) and is a stellar option for a romantic evening.

Sydney’s EDV 2.0 serves up classy signature cocktails in a dark, speakeasy-style setting with flashes of razzle dazzle. Bring your date here, go down the stairs and settle in for a whole multisensory experience. If you're looking for an out-of-the-ordinary date night out, this is it.

If you’re looking for a cool, relaxed and delicious spot to take your hot date, consider Bar Copains in Surry Hills. This gem by mates and chefs Morgan McGlone, Nathan Sasi and his wife Sali, slings seriously tasty plates with seriously good vino. Bring your A-Game and Bob's your uncle.

One minute you’re standing outside an unmarked charcoal-grey door in the CBD with King Street traffic rushing behind you, next minute you’re buzzed into the kind of stately home you’d expect to find in the Southern Highlands, or hunting country in the UK. The Gidley is a carnivore's delight, with steak and Martinis abounding. And while yes, we love our children, date night is a nice little break from the ankle biters, and The Gidley respectfully asks the under 18's to stay at home.

As far as wow venues for a cocktail in this town go, Marble Bar is the one to beat. Pillars made of multi-coloured marble hold up the arches that make this feel more like a gallery than a bar – an impression reinforced by the collection of 14 French realist-style paintings by Julian Ashton. But few galleries also feature two fully stocked cocktail bars prepped and ready to get your date night off to a great start. The bar was built in 1893 and rebuilt, piece by piece after a move across town from the Tattersals club in 2005. A small but tidy snack list means you can settle in, grab a bite, and drink the night away.

If you're able to tear your gaze away from your loved one while dining at Infinity at Sydney Tower, you might notice that you're sitting 81 storeys above ground level, with views from the Blue Mountains and out to the Pacific. The degustation menu is as dazzling as the vista and is one heck of a way to have a special date. Grab yourself a sunset booking and watch the pinks and oranges fade to inky blue-black while you sip Champagne and fall in love all over again.