Sydney Food & Wine

What makes Sydney so… Sydney? Unforgettable food and wine experiences

“Ever wondered where the chefs go to eat? Ilove Sydney’s Chinatown, it’s one of the best in the world. The green lipabalone steamboat - it’s like Australia’s answer to truffles. Now that’s Sydnicity.” Neil Perry, Restaurateur, Rockpool.

Great views. Great food. It’s almost an unspoken rule that one cancels out the other. Not so in Sydney. The views are agiven – from spectacular surf beaches to hidden harbour coves, leafy parkland sand the unmistakable Harbour Bridge/Opera House duo. And when it comes to eating out in Australia’s largest city, it’s no exaggeration to say, “We’ve got it all.

Food with a view
Many times Restaurant of the Year in the Good Food Guide (the Sydney food bible) and a new entry in 2009 on the World’s Best 50 Restaurants list and listed again in 2010, Quay sums up the Sydney story.Perched on the western edge of Circular Quay, with front row seats over the Opera House and harbour lights, it’s a fine-dining experience par excellence.

Chef Peter Gilmore’s complex, clever and pretty dishes draw on ingredients and techniques from around the world. His raw produce comes from his own garden, the restaurant’s growing room and a farm in the Blue Mountains, 90 minutes west of Sydney. Tiny radishes, edible flowers,heir loom carrots, the sweetest white raspberries as well as abalone, pearl meatand rare breed pork combine in the most creative and exciting ways. And that’s not to mention his extraordinary hand with desserts, including the legendary eight textures chocolate cake. At Bondi Beach, it’s contemporary Italian with style and urban cool at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar and its more casual sibling, North Bondi Italian Food. Heading north, Pilu at Freshwater also offers superb Italian surfside, this time with a Sardinian accent. For appealing contemporary Australian fare (more on that definition later), the Ripples cafes at Chowder Bay, Pyrmont and Whale Beach specialise in good eating… with more good views. Other hidden harbourside gems include Cucinetta in Woolwich, Sailson Lavender Bay, Flying Fish at Pyrmont and The Wharf and Ottoman at Walsh Bay.To name just a few…

Multicultural Influences
So what is contemporary Australian cuisine? Let’s look at Australia’s best-known international names, all Sydneysiders.Whether born in Japan, like Tetsuya Wakuda, or Sydney natives such as Neil Perry, Bill Granger and Kylie Kwong, their cooking has much in common, drawing effortlessly on the ingredients, techniques and traditions of many culinary spheres - Asia to France, Italy, Spain and the Middle East.

From Kwong’s homestyle Chinese eating house Billy Kwong with its carefully-sourced, organic produce to the cafes that put Sydney breakfasts on the map - Granger’s famous bill’s - there’s a sparkling vibrancy that’s just… so Sydney. Neil Perry, meanwhile, covers all the bases –at his 21 year-old fine dining Rockpool to the amazing Art Deco steakhouse, Rockpool Bar & Grill, and the spicy, modern Chinese menu at Sydney’s coolest basement haunt, Spice Temple. First on any serious food-lover’s dining-destination wishlist, Tetsuya’s is pure class, from the exemplary service and stellar wine list to the brilliantly original flavours of his multi-course degustation menu.

Yes, Sydney is a cosmopolitan town. It’s also a city of neighbourhoods, food villages and cultural precincts – offering everything from authentic Vietnamese to Lebanese, Korean, Spanish, Japanese ,Indian, Chinese and much more. Visit Cabramatta, Ashfield, Petersham and Marrickville to the south andwest, Neutral Bay, and Chatswood to the north, Kingsford and Kensington to the east and Surry Hills/Redfern, Liverpool Street and the World Square precinct closer to the city centre. You can take your taste-buds around the world without even getting on a plane. And that’s without mentioning “Little Italys” such as Leichhardt and Haberfield.

Eat Streets and Foodie Neighbourhoods
In other parts of town, cultures and cuisines combine. There’s the hip vibe of Surry Hills’ Vini wine bar, Bodega’s contemporary tapas and immaculate contemporary fare at Bentley and Assiette both awarded two chef’s hats in the 2010 Good Food Guide.  Marque restaurant received three chef’s hats in the same guide and the contemporary French-influenced cuisine has been recognised with a first appearance in the World’s Best 50 Restaurant list.  There are the vibrant Eat Streets of Bondi, Balmain, Crows Nest and Newtown, the gastro-pubs of Paddington and Woollahraand the excitement of city-centre complexes such as ivy and GPO.

Remarkable Asian-fusion
And then there’s Sydney’s own brand of modern Thai, the legacy of former Sydneysider David Thompson – a world authority on the royal cuisine of Thailand, as well as its street food and now at Michelin-starred Nahm in London and soon, Bangkok itself. Try the fabulous Sailors Thai in The Rocks, at Potts Point and soon opening at Ivy. Spice I Am in Darlinghurst and the funky cocktails and communal tables at Longrain in Surry Hills, where the best quality, often organic produce adds a whole new layer to the hot, sour, salty, sweet balance that’s essential to the best Thai fare.

Fresh Produce Drawing on the seasons and climates of the vast Australian continent, Sydney chefs access everything from tropical green sand exotic fruits to cool-climate berries, Mediterranean figs and tomatoes, grassy-fresh Australian olive oils and fine artisan cheeses. Home-cooks come out in their thousands on weekends to stock up at increasingly popular farmers’ markets – at Redfern, North Sydney, Warwick Farm and monthly, at Pyrmont. Finegroceries such as Fratelli Fresh (Waterloo, Walsh Bay and Potts Point) and arguably, the world’s most beautiful butchery, Victor Churchill (Woollahra) keep the food lovers coming.

The legendary Sydney Fish Market and the rough-and-tumble of Paddy’s Market cover all the bases, with extraordinary seafood, freshly-shucked oysters, sashimi tuna and fresh Asian greens. Artisan bakeries and patisseries such as Bourke Street Bakery, Brasserie Bread, Iggy’s and Sonoma have put a whole new spin on everything from natural sourdoughs to the Great Aussie Meat Pie - with tandoori chicken, anyone?

Al-fresco Dining
We love people-watching from pavement tables. We also love to barbecue and picnic. Every beach and park from Cronullato Palm Beach has public facilities for putting more than just a shrimp, or a (gourmet) sausage on the barbie. We come out in force for the large scaleevents – October’s Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park (part of the brand new Sydney International Food Festival), Sydney Cellar Door and the Taste festival inMarch (in Hyde Park and Centennial Park respectively) and the spectacular Breakfast on the Bridge in October (part of Crave Sydney).

Taste Test NSW Wine
With 14 distinctive wine regions, New South Wales covers all the styles and varietals, with a range of national and international award-winners. Many of Sydney’s leading restaurants offer remarkable wine lists featuring NSW’s best. Head to Glebe Point Diner or Wine Odyssey in The Rocks for the best of local produce matched with interesting local wines.  There’s so much more to say. But better still, come to Sydney and taste for yourself! We’ve got it all. Or have we already told you that?

For more information go to sydney.com