Walking into most restaurants you’re either greeted by a smiling host or waitstaff, or maybe no one at all. At Kurumba, Sydney’s new Sri Lankan eatery, we are first met with a wave of spices – cumin, cloves and cardamom – being cooked down gently in coconut oil so it’s fragrant and hunger-inducing. We imagine it smells like dinner along the palm-fringed Unawatuna Beach and street food stalls in bustling Colombo. And after a year of new openings in Sydney filled with opulent brasseries and lavish steakhouses, it smells exactly like the kinds of things we want to eat right now.
Kurumba is special in lots of ways, though perhaps the second most special thing is that the spot is a family-owned and run affair. And that family is the De Hoedts, who were behind Dulwich Hill’s beloved café the Fold. Here at Kurumba, steering the ship again is Augustus, who has more than 35 years of cooking experience under his belt. Joining him is son, co-owner and pastry chef Travin (ex Parlar, Bennelong, Bistro Guillaume) and his wife Saaya (ex-Sokyo, Quay and Sixpenny); and other son and co-owner Jason (ex-The Star and Franca). Rounding out the killer team is matriarch Dilki. Just like the spices, she too greets us at the door with a warm smile, and we know we’re going to like it here.
The third special thing about Kurumba is its prime location on Surry Hills’ Crown Street. The two-storey Victorian townhouse has been reimagined into a modest yet polished 50-seat diner. Downstairs the walls are pai
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First: A hot towel on arrival. Spa-style timber interiors. Glass sliding doors etched with the words “Boutique Saké Room”. Minimum spend.
Then: A kitchen door with views of a gloomy car park. A Doraemon figurine in the bottle cabinet. In the fruit bowl, someone’s drawn a smiley face on a sweet potato.
Darlinghurst’s newest Japanese joint, Amuro, is neither chic nor shabby. Or maybe it’s both. But the restaurant’s swirl of contradictions is actually one of its drawcards.
They don’t do reservations here – if you want one of the restaurant’s 20 seats, you’d better arrive well before 6pm. The majority of the spots are counter-top, front-row tickets to the chef show, with a couple of two-seat, window-side tables away from the heat of the kitchen.
Through the other side of your hot towel, you’ll be greeted with a postcard. The image is from a city sidestreet – geishas in the shadow of a towering pagoda in what looks like old-timey Kyoto – and on the reverse, a short list of dishes are written in hand-scrawled caps beneath the words “Week 34”.
And tonight, conversation is on the menu. Literally.
Amuro’s dishes are ever-changing, rotating in tune with the seasons and at the volition of the young team’s culinary creativity. What doesn’t change, though, is the drinks etiquette. With no written wine list, the two house rules are (a) you must order at least one drink, and (b) you must order them only “through conversation”. This has come about, so the staff say, because such is the avera
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This little Xinjiang-style restaurant is so popular, the lines have forever snaked out the door during every lunch and dinner time. Nowadays, they have a whole lot of on-the-street seating, so you're less likely to have to wait to get a seat inside (which only has about 30 seats).
Once you're seated, you're in for some seriously delicious treats, like hand-pulled noodles with lamb, and light-as-a-feather dumplings. Add a little Chinese vinegar and chilli oil, and you'll be licking your lips throughout the meal and long afterwards. Plus, the prices are seriously right.
There are a few Xinjiang noodle houses like this in a row and dotted around Chinatown – but we're calling it, this one is The Best.
Warike isn’t just a dining experience, it’s a cultural one. I can hear the soft chatter of Spanish speakers when I enter. It’s an excellent sign when a restaurant is embraced by its own community. This one is filled with South Americans proudly tasting their heritage.
Peru is expressed in every detail. Adorning the walls are traditional Quechuan woven textiles. Peruvian music pulses the room with a melodic, rhythmic beat. A colourful mural on the wall pays tribute to Inca warriors and ceviche, the country’s national dish.
There’s a sense you’ve stumbled upon a best-kept secret at Warike. The word “warike” means a secret place to eat food in Quechua, the language spoken by ancient Incans and eight million people throughout the Andes today. It’s the only contemporary Peruvian restaurant in Sydney, with a different offering to Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Nikkei (and Warike's sister venue, Lima) or the more traditional La Hacienda in the CBD.
We are greeted with warm smiles and a palpable excitement from wait staff and Peruvian owner Luis Guzmán, as if we are entering their very home. This may be owed to Warike’s beginnings as a supper club in Guzmán’s home at the end of lockdown in 2020. He first relocated to Sydney from Lima in 2010 and longed to eat Peruvian food again. When he couldn’t find it in Sydney, he recreated it himself.
Now Peruvian Hector Chunga leads the kitchen. He brings influences from his time cooking at the Peruvian Embassy in Japan, and you can feel Peruvian
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Swinging open its doors in 1986, the OG Jacksons on George quickly became the spot for late-night antics in the Emerald City. Sadly, I was underage when the boozer was in its heyday. But I’ve heard the stories. Heck, I think the whole of Sydney has.
The Sydney stalwart closed down in 2018 and hibernated for five years. And in September 2023 – after being snapped up by new Sydney hospitality group DTL Entertainment, composed of Icebergs’ restaurateur Maurice Terzini, publican Michael Broome and entrepreneurs Paul Ford and Steve Bannigan – Jacksons on George finally reopened after a complete transformation. It now sports a casual bar, a European bistro and a schmick rooftop bar. So long, sticky carpet.
From the outside, Jacksons on George is an impressive architectural masterpiece – the kind that makes people whistle – designed by the Sydney-based award-winning Studio Hollenstein. People have said it looks like a white veil, but all I can see while approaching one Saturday is a giant, perfect wave. A tip of the hat to Terzini’s coastal roots.
This isn't the only thing that Jacksons on George and Icebergs have in common – former Icebergs chef Steven Sinclair is leading the charge in the Bistro George kitchen. Impressively, Sinclair also earned his stripes working at England’s Michelin-starred L’Enclume. It makes sense then that the chef, who hails from Northern Ireland, drew on both experiences to create his European- and Australian-leaning menu.
It’s a perfect spring day when w
October 2023 update: Filipino suckling pig masters Sydney Cebu Lechon have moved from their Newtown digs to a brand new spot in Blacktown. You can now find them at 4 Kerry Road – and be sure to use the back entrance. And while Sydney Cebu Lechon's address may have changed, everything you loved about this delicious, affordable eatery is still the same. Come for the signature charcoal roast pork, beef nilaga (beef soup), pork barbecue skewers, halo-halo (a shaved ice dessert) and more. And in good news, the team are still doing catering if you want to impress at your next party. Get cracking.
- Avril Treasure
Read on for our original review of Sydney Cebu Lechon in Newtown from March 2019 by Helen Yee.
*****
At the centre of every Filipino celebration is lechon, a spit-roasted whole suckling pig that’s equal parts crackling and tender flesh. The Cebu Island version is said to be the best, stuffed with aromatics like star anise, garlic, lemongrass and shallots, before slowly being roasted over charcoal for three hours.
Whole suckling pigs are awesome but how often do you have twenty mates over for dinner? That’s why Sydney Cebu Lechon’s recently opened Newtown restaurant has been such a hit. Originally starting as a catering business in 1991, this family-run business is now serving up lechon by the plate. And local punters (and homesick Filos) can’t get enough of it.
Arrive early or make a booking. There are less than 30 seats in this casual corner eatery and they fill up fast
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October 2023 update: From Sichuan to Yunnan and Guangxi, Spice Temple is renowned for putting a spotlight on China’s regional cuisines – and has been consistently heralded as one of Sydney’s finest Chinese restaurants since it opened in 2009.
If you’re craving a delicious Chinese seafood feast, we say come along to this excellent fiery restaurant and get your pinchers on $99 mud crabs. That’s right, it’s mud crab season at Spice Temple – and there is nothing crabby about that.
You can get Queensland-sourced premium mud crabs without the eye-watering price tag now until the end of December. Loved for its luxurious, sweet and clean-tasting meat, mud crabs are a perfect show-stopping centre dish for your summertime entertaining. Choose to order your crustacean paired with one of five traditional sauces: four chillies; salted olive and black bean dressing; black bean and salted chilli; ginger and shallot; and XO sauce. And yes, licking your fingers is allowed.
Spice Temple executive chef Andy Evans said: “Mud crabs are often considered a luxury, but the real treat for our guests this season is the limited-time $99 price, which makes them an affordable option for the family and group dining experience.”
You heard it here first. Round up your gang and share these fab crabs (you don’t want to be shellfish, after all).
- Avril Treasure
Read on for our original review of Spice Temple from 2009 by Myffy Rigby
*****
Rather than choosing some airy harbourside venue with Opera House
Legendary ramen restaurant Gumshara has finally reopened – and in good news you won’t have to go far, as the new digs are still in Chinatown.
After 14 years of operation in the Eating World Food Court, news dropped in August that the beloved ramen joint would be closing to make way for a massive new development.
Thankfully, the team found a new 40-seater site on the corner of Kimber Lane and Little Hay Street to serve hungry Sydneysiders.
Spearheaded by co-owner and head chef Mori Hogashida, Gumshara has gained legions of fans – 700 of whom lined up for hours on their last day of trading at Eating World – for its collagen-enriched noodle soup made using a traditional Japanese method.
It takes a whopping seven days to make the pork stock for the tonkotsu ramen and just three ingredients: water, miso and 120kg of pork bones. The result is a rich, soul-warming bowl of noodle soup with an incredible porky flavour and enough guts for two.
And while Gumshara has a new location, everything you loved about the OG is still the same. We're so here for it.
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October 2023 update: Colourful Surry Hills’ "unauthentic" Indian restaurant Don’t tell Aunty (also the recently opened Don’t Tell Uncle) has launched a banging bottomless brunch menu that we reckon you will want to get around this spring and summer.
For $79 per person, enjoy free-flowing wines and beers paired with a tasty shared feast. The meal will begin with Don’t Tell Aunty’s signature snacks called ‘balls of happiness’, which are crisp semolina puffs filled with bright house-made chutneys; before a remix of Indian nachos with chickpeas, salsa and churneys; and crisp cauliflower with a chilli sauce. Next, enjoy a plate of tender chicken marinated in secret spices and cooked in a traditional tandoor. The main act – a show-stopping curry patter featuring six curries (some with meat and some veg) and served with pappadams, rice, raita and garlic naan (yum) will then arrive. Finish with two traditional sweet desserts – we like the sounds of the kulfi, which are milk dumplings soaked in a rose syrup.
For an extra $20 per person you can include free-flowing Margaritas, too.
Indian-born co-owners Varan Deep and Chef Jai Singh took over the reins of the Surry Hills spot in 2020. We checked it out again recently and it was absolutely pumping – proving Sydneysiders can't get enough of this buzzing place.
Don’t Tell Aunty’s bottomless brunch goes for two hours and you can make a booking for it here.
Round up the gang.
- Avril Treasure
Read on for our original review of Don't Tell A
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Unless, of course, you’re dining at Barangaroo’s flash new Korean barbecue joint. They’ve done away entirely with the exhaust hoods that descend from the ceiling like a small army of Daleks and instead embraced some very nifty technological advances that mean the smoke is sucked down into the barbecue pit. You still get delicious, coal-roasted meats, but without the smell of short rib sticking to your expensive date-night outfit. And you will want to dress for a dinner here – it has serious ‘hot night in the city’ vibes and all that golden timber and warm mood lighting acts like nature’s Instagram filter.
Maybe you’re on a first-name basis with a dolsot bibimbap and don’t require the explanations below the dish name to know you’ll be getting a rice bowl served in a hot stone pot that makes the base layer of rice crunchy. But even if you’re a frequent flyer with Korean food, don’t let that steer you off the butcher’s table set menu. They’ve collected a very convincing 'greatest hits' playlist here that covers all the bases, fills your boots, and will also keep the bill firmly to budget (if you’ve barbecued before, you know full well that the total can quickly spiral once people start getting a bit YOLO with the high-end cuts).
Things kick off with half a dozen banchan that includes red and white kimchi, sweet and sour pickled white onions, big chunks of radish and a wibbly steamed chestnut cake. It’s a real sensory experience across all textu
Walking into most restaurants you’re either greeted by a smiling host or waitstaff, or maybe no one at all. At Kurumba, Sydney’s new Sri Lankan eatery, we are first met with a wave of spices – cumin, cloves and cardamom – being cooked down gently in coconut oil so it’s fragrant and hunger-inducing. We imagine it smells like dinner along the palm-fringed Unawatuna Beach and street food stalls in bustling Colombo. And after a year of new openings in Sydney filled with opulent brasseries and lavish steakhouses, it smells exactly like the kinds of things we want to eat right now.
Kurumba is special in lots of ways, though perhaps the second most special thing is that the spot is a family-owned and run affair. And that family is the De Hoedts, who were behind Dulwich Hill’s beloved café the Fold. Here at Kurumba, steering the ship again is Augustus, who has more than 35 years of cooking experience under his belt. Joining him is son, co-owner and pastry chef Travin (ex Parlar, Bennelong, Bistro Guillaume) and his wife Saaya (ex-Sokyo, Quay and Sixpenny); and other son and co-owner Jason (ex-The Star and Franca). Rounding out the killer team is matriarch Dilki. Just like the spices, she too greets us at the door with a warm smile, and we know we’re going to like it here.
The third special thing about Kurumba is its prime location on Surry Hills’ Crown Street. The two-storey Victorian townhouse has been reimagined into a modest yet polished 50-seat diner. Downstairs the walls are pai
We know it’s a big call, but we think Pellegrino 2000’s truffle butter should be one of your desert island belongings (along with a cooler bag, a good book and a baguette, of course). Soft and creamy with a whack of umami truffle and a hefty dose of salt, the butter is heavenly when slathered over thick and fluffy housemade focaccia. Though beware: it’s very moreish, so dive in for seconds at your own risk (a discreet but necessary unzipping of one’s pants may be the repercussion).
It’s true that us Sydneysiders love our bread and butter as much as the folks who dined at the Last Supper, so naturally there’s a lot of excellent bread around town. But Pellegrino’s takes our coveted Top Spot. Yet it’s not just the bread and butter that’s delicious. Every single dish that comes out of the kitchen at this Surry Hills’ trattoria is on point, cooked beautifully and seasoned well. Which is why it’s about as difficult to get a booking on a Saturday evening as it is to get rid of mozzies in summer.
Take the prawn ravioli, for example. Plump and juicy crustaceans are cased in silky, slippery wrappers and finished with brown butter and sage, resulting in a dish that tastes equal parts elegant and comforting. Whole artichokes come on a plate looking pretty and dressed in a punchy vinegary sauce with mint and oregano. Meanwhile, veal milanese is served with the bone on: golden and crunchy on the outside and blushing pink and tender on the inside. Pick it up and take a bite, just like a gro
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Disclaimer: Good-times-only Italian diner Pellegrino 2000 is one of our favourite restaurants in Sydney. Chefs and owners Dan Pepperell and Mikey Clift, alongside sommelier Andy Tyson, know how to create a rocking venue with on-point flavours and a feel-good vibe (the fact that it’s impossible to get a booking unless it's a Tuesday at 5pm is testament to that). So, when news broke earlier this year that the trio were opening a third Sydney restaurant – a New York-style steak house slinging retro classics – joining Pellegrino 2000 and their French baby, Bistrot 916 – we were thrilled, hopeful, and perhaps a little biased. Thankfully, it’s turned out to be a clam dunk.
We head to Clam Bar – which has taken over the former Bridge Room space in Sydney’s CBD – mid-week and hungry. The outside doesn’t give much away except for tinted glass and silver doors with the words Clam Bar in giant letters. It looks grand and important.
If the outside city is grey, then the inside of Clam Bar is light years away from that. Herringbone timber flooring and Art Deco chandeliers the colour of toffee add sophistication; while Murano clam-shaped lights are a nice nod to the creatures of the sea. Speaking of the ocean, an illuminated sea life painting by artist Laura Jones hangs on the wall, alongside a giant fish. At the back, vintage posters of Ortiz anchovies and Rosella tomato sauce bring character above chocolate-coloured seating. It does verge into 50 shades of brown territory, even with the
You’re sitting at the bar, drinking a gin Martini out of a Nick and Nora glass, and ‘As Time Goes By’ is being played by a jazz quintet set against a red velvet curtain. This isn’t an elaborate Casablanca fantasy but rather the very real experience of dining at Restaurant Hubert on a Wednesday or Thursday night. That’s when they have the live band, which is essential to maintaining the illusion that you have travelled back in time, helped by the fact that two stories underground your phone won’t get reception worth a damn.
Dinner here is akin to immersive theatre: the narrative is a love story and the leads are played by a perfect steak bavette and your fine self. It catches your eye on the menu, it joins you at the table, and after that first bite you fall deeply in love. The Rangers Valley flank has a char that is textbook, it’s served bloody and melting over the top is a Café de Paris butter that features no less than 19 ingredients. It has a complexity worthy of a Millenium Prize Problem.
Out of the kitchen comes work from the classic French bistro handbook, punking up a velvety soft Wagyu tartare with anchovy, and directing sweet, juicy baby beetroots to go full melodrama in a purple pool of sharp blackberry vinaigrette, wearing a fascinator of flamboyant curls of crinkled Téte de Moine, a sour and creamy Swiss cheese.
Don’t be fooled by the diminutive title, because le petit aioli is no tiny snack – it’s a weighty grazing plate starring celeriac wedges, fresh avocado,
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To quote a song from the OG Kylie, it was love at first sight with Le Foote. And thank god, because expectations were at an all time high for this part Parisian wine bar, part Mediterranean grill. Word on the street is that it's Sydney’s hottest opening this year.
After all, Le Foote is a Swillhouse venue – they're the team behind some of Sydney’s most on-point venues including red-hued old-world bistro Hubert, and good-times-only Italian joint Alberto's Lounge. It’s been a heck of a long time coming, with more than two years of planning and setbacks. Which makes sense, when you consider that Le Foote has taken over the historic Phillip’s Foote restaurant in the Rocks. All that sandstone, while gorgeous, ain’t forgiving.
At last, the red curtains opened. And what a show.
In the opening two months we’ve visited Le Foote four times, drawn to the site like a moth to a flame. The first thing you need to know is that Le Foote is big. Not in the open-plan Palm Beach house kinda way, but with nooks and crannies and paths going here, there and everywhere. Walking in it feels like you’re venturing down a rabbit hole. This is a Swillhouse world, and one we’re very glad to be in.
The first time, we sat in the upstairs bar and ordered Negronis. Artist Allie Webb's signature charcoal works dress the walls, candles are dotted on each table, and jazz played in the background. Everyone around us had that warm, boozy look on their face. It looked like a dinner party with your favourite people
May 2023 update:
It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon and you get a text from Jane. She’s in the mood for a tipple with some snacks. Luckily, you’re in the know. Text Jane to meet you at 478 Bourke St for their brand new Australiano hour.
This local gem has teamed up with the award-winning Rhubi Mistelle – a Victorian-crafted rhubarb aperitif – on one of the happiest hours in town. Every weeknight from 5 to 6pm, and with extended hours of 4 to 6pm on weekends, you can sip through Jane’s drinks list, complemented by a solid selection of Australian-focused snacks. The fun starts at $6 with Jane’s top-selling Australiano cocktail featuring Rhubi Mistelle, Regal Rouge vermouth, bitter citrus and mandarin; a tall and refreshing Rhubi and Soda; a classic G&T; an all-Aussie VB; or a chilled red from Jilly’s Wine Co. When you need something a little stronger after work, there’s also the Jane Martini featuring White Possum Gin for $10.
Jane hits the nail on the head for happy hour snacks, with $2 Sydney rock oysters and $6 light bites including duck croquettes, ebi prawn brioche toast, and Jane's take on the Gilda, with layers of marinated sardines, kingfish nduja, green olives and pickled native lime. For $15, you can also sample some of Jane’s house specialities, like the lamb dumplings with saltbush, chilli and yogurt or the Kangaroo tartare with pickled cucumber, bush tomato harissa and potato.
Jane is sure to become a regular here. We don’t blame her – it’s hard to pass up happy hour
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Pioneering Australian chef Neil Perry swung open the heavy brass doors of Rockpool Bar and Grill back in 2009. Ever since then, the restaurant has been consistently heralded as one of Sydney’s – if not Australia’s – finest restaurants, winning as many accolades as Ms T Swift (well, perhaps nearly as many – 1989 was a hit).
It’s an epic achievement, and a near-impossible undertaking when you consider the cut-throat and fickle world of hospitality, coupled with the Emerald City’s tumultuous history. And while Perry has since passed the reins to the competent hands of culinary director Corey Costelloe, Rockpool is showing no signs of slowing down. That’s the thing with the classics – they never go out of style.
Rockpool is housed in the Art Deco City Mutual Building on Hunter Street, which was constructed in 1936 by architect Emil Sodersten. The grandeur of the dining room can not be overstated. Soaring marble pillars the colour of the ocean on an angry day tower into the incredibly high and ornate ceiling. There are 2,682 Riedel riesling glasses hanging like a sparkling, expensive chandelier. Furnishings are jet-black like a panther. The elegant space is almost gothic looking – and, without a doubt, one of Sydney’s most beautiful dining rooms.
We begin with cocktails. Our Negroni is on-point – bitter, with a touch of sweetness, and a citrus aroma. Our date’s Jungle Bird is pretty, pink and tart with dark rum, Campari, lime and pineapple. Cheers.
One of our waiters – who looks s
Slippery, bouncy, spaghetti-like noodles. Caramelised ground pork with pickled mustard greens. Verdant just-blanched bok choy. And a vibrant, fiery and savoury broth spiked with five-spice powder, Sichuan pepper and chilli. We’re currently demolishing a bowl of Dan Dan noodles, a classic Chinese dish originating from the Sichuan province. It’s a heart-warming flavour bomb in a bowl. And the best part? It costs just $5.90. Yeah, we can’t believe it either.
We’re at Spicy Joint in Haymarket, China’s popular Sichuan chain which has four outposts in Sydney, including Burwood, Rhodes and Chatswood. Though, don’t be put off by the word chain, as tacky this place ain’t.
Inside is huge. The dining room is decked out in 50 Shades of Brown, with intricate timber features and plush leather seats. It’s a handsome and classy space, and there’s not a free seat in the house.
Just like the room, the menu is extensive and comes with a picture of every single dish, making perusing the glossy pages both pleasurable and hunger-inducing. Interestingly, there is no red wine by the glass available. A bottle, then? Consider our arm twisted.
We see surrounding tables digging into Spicy Joint’s signature dish: water-boiled fish, where bass or catfish is gently boiled in a broth before piping hot oil is poured over it, unlocking fragrance and aromatics from chilli and peppercorns. And we’re tempted by a dish of cold chicken with chilli and a crunchy peanut sauce. But those two will have to wait for nex
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Have you ever wondered what it feels like to truly sit in the lap of luxury? You’ll know after a three-hour lunch at Brasserie 1930, the elegant hotel restaurant on the ground floor of the new Capella Hotel on Bridge Street.
They’ve taken a fully immersive approach here, gathering everything decorative, shiny and delightful and scattering it artfully across the former Department of Education building. There are towering verdant green walls in the atrium; lampshades that open and close gently overhead like jellyfish in a tropical aquarium; and textural art – ceramics, wire sculpture, textile art – around every corner. The lobby alone is its own gallery tour for visitors staying in the tastefully appointed rooms above. Of course, if you want to level-up a staycation, eschew the flights and bankroll a $690 a night deluxe room here instead and you can pretend you’re the heir to a media empire for 48 hours.
Things get even more luxurious in the bistro dining room. It’s less towering marble colonnades and chandeliers and more quiet luxury homewares that you’ll want to add to your fantasy renovation Pinterest board. They ticked all the boxes on the high-life shopping list: checkerboard marble tiles, glossy hardwood, monochromatic hand-built ceramics, buttery leather, and then a few cheeky pops of colour to remind you that even dining at the black tie end of town is still supposed to be fun. You’ll find yourself wondering if you could find room for a custom Georgia Bisley wall hangi
We know that the world of fine dining has a notorious reputation for being misely, baby-sized portions that leave you in need of a Maccas run on the way home. And there are elements of dishes at Bennelong - the longstanding restaurant in resident inside the famous Opera House sails - that toe the line of that sterotype. However, where delicate featherweight portions may dwell, a full on uppercut of flavour and depth leave any thoughts of hunger KO'd.
This little Xinjiang-style restaurant is so popular, the lines have forever snaked out the door during every lunch and dinner time. Nowadays, they have a whole lot of on-the-street seating, so you're less likely to have to wait to get a seat inside (which only has about 30 seats).
Once you're seated, you're in for some seriously delicious treats, like hand-pulled noodles with lamb, and light-as-a-feather dumplings. Add a little Chinese vinegar and chilli oil, and you'll be licking your lips throughout the meal and long afterwards. Plus, the prices are seriously right.
There are a few Xinjiang noodle houses like this in a row and dotted around Chinatown – but we're calling it, this one is The Best.
October 2023 update: Filipino suckling pig masters Sydney Cebu Lechon have moved from their Newtown digs to a brand new spot in Blacktown. You can now find them at 4 Kerry Road – and be sure to use the back entrance. And while Sydney Cebu Lechon's address may have changed, everything you loved about this delicious, affordable eatery is still the same. Come for the signature charcoal roast pork, beef nilaga (beef soup), pork barbecue skewers, halo-halo (a shaved ice dessert) and more. And in good news, the team are still doing catering if you want to impress at your next party. Get cracking.
- Avril Treasure
Read on for our original review of Sydney Cebu Lechon in Newtown from March 2019 by Helen Yee.
*****
At the centre of every Filipino celebration is lechon, a spit-roasted whole suckling pig that’s equal parts crackling and tender flesh. The Cebu Island version is said to be the best, stuffed with aromatics like star anise, garlic, lemongrass and shallots, before slowly being roasted over charcoal for three hours.
Whole suckling pigs are awesome but how often do you have twenty mates over for dinner? That’s why Sydney Cebu Lechon’s recently opened Newtown restaurant has been such a hit. Originally starting as a catering business in 1991, this family-run business is now serving up lechon by the plate. And local punters (and homesick Filos) can’t get enough of it.
Arrive early or make a booking. There are less than 30 seats in this casual corner eatery and they fill up fast
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Legendary ramen restaurant Gumshara has finally reopened – and in good news you won’t have to go far, as the new digs are still in Chinatown.
After 14 years of operation in the Eating World Food Court, news dropped in August that the beloved ramen joint would be closing to make way for a massive new development.
Thankfully, the team found a new 40-seater site on the corner of Kimber Lane and Little Hay Street to serve hungry Sydneysiders.
Spearheaded by co-owner and head chef Mori Hogashida, Gumshara has gained legions of fans – 700 of whom lined up for hours on their last day of trading at Eating World – for its collagen-enriched noodle soup made using a traditional Japanese method.
It takes a whopping seven days to make the pork stock for the tonkotsu ramen and just three ingredients: water, miso and 120kg of pork bones. The result is a rich, soul-warming bowl of noodle soup with an incredible porky flavour and enough guts for two.
And while Gumshara has a new location, everything you loved about the OG is still the same. We're so here for it.
Hungry for more? These stories are popular:
These are the best cheap eats in Sydney
Sydney Place is a new dining and drinking precinct featuring 15 yummy spots
Check out Rockpool's new happy hour that lets everyone experience the high life from as little as $15
In a city loaded with hidden gems – concealed in dark alleys and dingy basements, behind unmarked doors and unassuming shop windows – there are other venues that go for the opposite approach, sucking you in with a blast of bright lights and loud noises. The Dolphin Hotel is one of those. You can hear it coming from a dozen doors down on Crown Street. Baselines blare from open windows, diners chatter cheerily from curbside tables, a giant banner strung from the first floor balcony reads: You Want a Pizza Me? Stepping inside is like entering the heart of the storm. This isn’t, after all, your standard Sydney pub. Walls wrinkle with off-white fabric, tables and chairs pop with black-on-white faux graffiti, daily specials are taped to arbitrary vertical surfaces. The place is positively sprawling, opening into a collection of distinct dining rooms and bar areas, including an outdoor terrace and street seating.The clientele is young, smartly dressed, and – on weekends – in a riotous mood. The packs of day drinkers and hen parties are more likely to be after a tray of sours than a perfect pizza. But that hasn’t stopped the hotel’s head honchos from serving that up.
They’ve spent the last few months building the Delfino Pizzeria, a dedicated in-house pizza kitchen. It boasts a handmade Neapolitan Mesiano wood oven, a dough recipe made of three types of Italy-imported flours, and the masterful hands of head pizzaiola Sasha Smiljanic, who previously led the kitchen at popular Newtown
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The first mistake we make when visiting Malay Chinese’s flash new eatery at Circular Quay is visiting on a Wednesday. You see, the famed har mee noodle soup – the one loved for its incredible prawn-rich flavour – is only available on Tuesdays and Fridays (the chefs start the cooking process at 4am). That’s OK – we will have to come again. Worse things can happen.
The second mistake we make is wearing white.
But that’s where the bad news ends, because Malay Chinese has knocked it out of the park again with its drool-worthy flavours and prices.
Malay Chinese was first opened in 1987 by the Woon family – the OG joint was near the corner of Elizabeth and King Streets. There have been iterations of it around the city ever since, including the beloved shop on Hunter Street, which is now closed. Nowadays there is a Malay Chinese in Ashfield, and this new one at the new dining precinct, Sydney Place.
We would say Sydney Place has a signage problem, in that there doesn’t seem to be one single sign at the top saying “Yum food, down there,” but it looks like it’s only tourists missing out on the fun, because this place is heaving – the crowds are like a pack of wild animals at feeding time.
We’d heard about the lines, and we were primed and ready for (slow) action. Walking up, we see office workers snaking out the door (the line at next door's Kosta's Takeaway doesn’t look to be any better).
Circular Quay’s eatery is shinier than its predecessor, with slick jade-green tiles, pops of bra
UPDATE: Since writing this review, Swallow Coffee Traders has been taken over by new owners Steph and Mick and become fully vegan. They are the only 100 per cent vegan eatery in the whole St George area of Sydney. To check out their plant-based menu, click here.
*****
Some inner-west devotees will tell you that once you leave the café heartland all hope for a great coffee is lost. They couldn't be further from the truth. Dare to venture beyond the confines of your regular brunch haunts and you may just uncover a hidden gem in the least likely of locations.
One such treasure is Swallow Coffee Traders in Rockdale. Nestled in a tiny nook just next to the station, this wee café sees off the hordes of morning commuters with powerful espresso shots and quick breakfast snacks. Opened in November last year, it boasts a street-art inspired mural, milk crates covered with fashionably repurposed printed hessian sacks and industrial interior that would be right at home on King Street. New café owners Angus Nicol and Jessica Hol have instead set up shop just off the thundering Princes Highway.
The beans at Swallow are Single Origin and it is clear that Hol and Nicol have more than a passing interest in coffee. Right now the order of the day is espresso but looking beyond your standard shot there are plans afoot for pour-overs, siphons and cupping – specialty extraction methods that include test tubes and Bunsen burners among other strange and wonderful paraphernalia.
On the weekend there'
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The orange neon signage and lacklustre shopfront may not look like anything special, but anyone who’s tried an Indian kebab from here knows that this Oxford Street late-night haunt is a very special place. Pick your naan (go on, live a little and get the cheese naan), then with metal tongs they’ll smash together pieces of grilled chicken tikka with either aloo chop (fried potato) or an onion bhaji. Finally, pick your curry sauce (butter chicken, vindaloo, Rogan Josh or korma) and watch them fold it up into one of the tastiest wraps you’ve ever had.
At Malibu, which you’ll find down a Surry Hills alley, there’s just one man, Marc Aebi, taking orders, chopping fillings and waving you off with a smile and a ginormous, foil-wrapped sandwich. Pick from an array of tins holding crunchy butter lettuce, sweet beetroot, pickles, and crisp cucumbers. A green, herby mayo forms the base of your ‘wich. Beware: structural integrity could be compromised if you play too fast and loose with additions. Are you sure you need that extra avo? Even if you decide you do, your sandwich will probably still ring in under $10 (just make sure you bring cash. Your card's no good here).
What Marc Aebi can’t stick between two pieces of bread probably isn’t worth knowing and he works the matchbox-sized shop like nobody’s business, making everything fresh every morning. Don’t miss the schnitzel on fluffy white bread and baby cos lettuce, or the roast vegetables with hummus on brown bread. If you're really looking to get messy, dive into the ham, bocconcini, tomato and basil number. It's stacked sky–high and doused in a thin, creamy dressing.
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Japan’s best izakayas are the ones you lose yourself in. The places where your first visit ends hours later, when you stumble out after a long night of highballs and grilled offal feeling like a regular. The team behind two of North Sydney’s cosiest Japanese small bars, Yakitori Yurippi and Tachinomi YP, have nailed that feeling so well at their third project, Nakano Darling, that time and place become vague; the little details transportive enough to make you wonder if you’re still in Darling Square.
Beyond the grubby garage door façade, flanked by a wooden bench and a giant, eye-popping yellow flag, is not so much a bar as a Japanophile’s dream. It’s brought to life by unmistakably yellow Kirin beer crates, an abundance of raw oak, and a bar with an impressive line-up of backlit, now ultra-rare bottles of Suntory Kakubin blend whiskey perched above the usual suspects from the Yamazaki, Chita and Hakushu distilleries. That’s in addition to pages of beer, shochu, umeshu and sake imported straight from the source.
There’s a projector casting famously offbeat Japanese advertisements onto the back wall as diners bask beneath. Shed a tear of Nippon nostalgia as MOS Burger, the ubiquitous Japanese fast-food chain, flashes across the screen and fires your synapses. You can butcher the classics in the karaoke booth or pile into one of two tatami rooms for a traditional sit-down. That soft-drink vending machine in the back, the sort you’d find on every Tokyo corner, has probably co
Yes, there is nasi goreng on the menu. And yes, there is beef rendang as well. But let’s face it – you, and everybody else, are here for the chicken. You will have to make choices: thigh or breast; grilled over charcoal, deep-fried, or deep-fried and coated in a sweetish glaze, Javanese style. Whatever you decide, the result will be a tender, succulent and seasoned to the high heavens thanks to a hearty marinade of turmeric, garlic, ginger and galangal, among other ingredients. It epitomises the ‘hole-in-the-wall’ trope in the very best of ways, almost always pack to the rafters with expats and uni students, and a true champion in the value-for-money stakes.
Look, it’s probably been said 100 times before, but we’ll say it again: Rocker, Bondi’s breezy and cool restaurant and bar, rocks.
Found 200 metres from Bondi's golden stretch of sand, the relaxed eatery by Darren Robertson (also Three Blue Ducks) and Cameron Northway (also Melbourne's Loti) has been keeping Bondi locals well fed and hydrated since 2017, and the good times have just kept on coming.
The menu by head chefs Stuart Toon and Ethan Smart (who are also part owners) is packed with tasty hits, like white bean hummus with pickled onion, flat bread and za’atar; fried chicken with almond buttermilk, fermented chilli honey and orange vinegar; pappardelle with beef cheek ragu, tomatoes, parmesan and pangrattato; and grilled broccoli with curry butter, yoghurt and pistachios. Can’t decide? There’s a stellar feed-me menu for $75 per person.
As well as tasty dishes and fun vibes, Rocker slings some banging deals too. First up is Rocker’s bottomless brunch, which changes with the seasons. The current rendition comes with house-made roast onion and thyme focaccia; local burrata; glazed free-range chicken; harissa-spiced roast pumpkin and almond cream and more. All paired with two hours of free-flowing Mimosas, sparkling, red, white and rosé, for $99 per person. The bottomless brunch is available every Thursday to Sunday, noon and 3pm sittings. Rally your gang.
There’s also a House of Friends event on Friday nights with $16 Margaritas – Casamigos tequila-based Tommy’s, Classic,
If there’s one thing us Sydneysiders love, it’s a ripper sandwich. And now there’s another joint we reckon you should check out, and that’s at sunny hole-in-the-wall café June’s Shoppe, which has just launched an epic all-day sandwich menu.
Part of the Applejack Hospitality group (also Rafi, Bopp and Tone), the vibrant café is based in the Wynyard Precinct in Sydney's CBD. Applejack culinary director Patrick Friesen (formerly Queen Chow) has created the new bad boys, which were inspired by the giant rainbow sandwiches from King George Deli in Tokyo.
Made with fresh, super fluffy and thick-cut Texas-style bread, June’s sambos are packed to the rafters with fresh salads, delicious fillings and house-made sauces. There are eight colourful creations to choose from, including the salad sandwich with cucumber, tomato, beetroot, carrots, alfalfa, mayo and vintage cheddar; the spicy fried chicken with comeback sauce, cheddar and gem lettuce; curried free-range egg salad with nori, Kewpie mayo and gem lettuce; and the roast free-range fennel pork with pesto, pickled chillies, provolone and rapini (a green veggie, similar to broccoli).
Pat says you should “come give it a try when you’re done hurting your mouth eating sourdough or ciabatta sandwiches".
And if you were wondering what Pat's favourite sambo is, the answer may surprise you. “I think my favourite is the salad sandwich and the broccoli salad.” See, even chefs make friends with salad. Come down to June’s and have a bite for yo
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ED'S NOTE: This review was written following the café's opening back in 2018, but it's still a top spot for breakfast and coffee.
When it comes to café breakfasts, Sydney is a hard town to impress. But when Edition Coffee Roasters opened their light, bright Japano-Nordic café in Darlinghurst, it rocketed to the top of everyone’s brunch bucket list with fine-dining inflected dishes like the mushroom pond, inspired by a dish at Noma and featuring consommé, udon noodles, mushrooms and crème fraîche.
Fast forward a few years and we’ve been gifted a second bite at the fusion cherry, but Edition’s Haymarket outpost is no carbon copy. In fact, it’s almost a complete contrast, and we’re not just talking about the fact that the CBD Edition is painted black. The pared-back layout is inspired by Japanese farmhouses, and it feels almost like you’re inside a piece of activated charcoal – like Valhalla for minimalists. It’s also leaning more heavily on the Japanese half of the concept. Sure, you can get open sandwiches (smorrebrod) on a malty, chewy rye that they bake in-house. As far as smugly beautiful lunches go, your plate of three slices topped with sweet chunks of butter-poached prawn meat just fastened to the bread with a yuzu kosho buttermilk dressing is the one to beat. Dill and fresh apple keep it light, and an extra allotment of seafaring credentials in an amber sprinkle of briny flying fish roe.
From here, the menu steers into more recognisably Japanese territory. Students slop
UPDATE: Since writing this review, Swallow Coffee Traders has been taken over by new owners Steph and Mick and become fully vegan. They are the only 100 per cent vegan eatery in the whole St George area of Sydney. To check out their plant-based menu, click here.
*****
Some inner-west devotees will tell you that once you leave the café heartland all hope for a great coffee is lost. They couldn't be further from the truth. Dare to venture beyond the confines of your regular brunch haunts and you may just uncover a hidden gem in the least likely of locations.
One such treasure is Swallow Coffee Traders in Rockdale. Nestled in a tiny nook just next to the station, this wee café sees off the hordes of morning commuters with powerful espresso shots and quick breakfast snacks. Opened in November last year, it boasts a street-art inspired mural, milk crates covered with fashionably repurposed printed hessian sacks and industrial interior that would be right at home on King Street. New café owners Angus Nicol and Jessica Hol have instead set up shop just off the thundering Princes Highway.
The beans at Swallow are Single Origin and it is clear that Hol and Nicol have more than a passing interest in coffee. Right now the order of the day is espresso but looking beyond your standard shot there are plans afoot for pour-overs, siphons and cupping – specialty extraction methods that include test tubes and Bunsen burners among other strange and wonderful paraphernalia.
On the weekend there'
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Is it a garage sale? Is it a tiny art gallery? No! It’s the entrance to Parramatta’s celebrated café, Circa Espresso. For the three of you in Sydney who haven’t heard of it, this narrow space has been exemplifying café excellence since 2010. It really doesn’t matter if we’re talking about the full-page tea menu, the refined coffee program, real-deal baked goods or the go-to, destination-worthy dish of Ottoman Eggs – people here have clearly worked hard to ensure the options are all killer, no filler.
Owner Aykut Sayan is still here, front and centre – cheerfully greeting customers, running coffees out to tables, checking in with the chefs – and it feels like you’re a guest in his home. The shop’s layout places you in the middle of a narrow room amongst the (tiny) open kitchen and coffee bar. As you sit back and watch your whole order being prepared, soak in the old-timey paintings, posters, books and artefacts that line every wall. Don’t forget to clock those ornate ceiling fans above you, too. If you venture to the back of the space, you’ll find a quiet booth for a romantic date or a less romantic business meeting.
Circa’s menu is seasonal, but always steered by flavours and textures of the Middle East. We’re talking about hearty, restaurant-level dishes at around $20 a plate. Value. Yes, you’re getting extraordinary value, especially considering the effort that goes into each individual component. Halloumi and cauliflower fritters are the opposite of mushy, and come thin a
At Malibu, which you’ll find down a Surry Hills alley, there’s just one man, Marc Aebi, taking orders, chopping fillings and waving you off with a smile and a ginormous, foil-wrapped sandwich. Pick from an array of tins holding crunchy butter lettuce, sweet beetroot, pickles, and crisp cucumbers. A green, herby mayo forms the base of your ‘wich. Beware: structural integrity could be compromised if you play too fast and loose with additions. Are you sure you need that extra avo? Even if you decide you do, your sandwich will probably still ring in under $10 (just make sure you bring cash. Your card's no good here).
What Marc Aebi can’t stick between two pieces of bread probably isn’t worth knowing and he works the matchbox-sized shop like nobody’s business, making everything fresh every morning. Don’t miss the schnitzel on fluffy white bread and baby cos lettuce, or the roast vegetables with hummus on brown bread. If you're really looking to get messy, dive into the ham, bocconcini, tomato and basil number. It's stacked sky–high and doused in a thin, creamy dressing.
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Is it possible to build a business off the back of a lamington? When it's the arctic flurry of shaved coconut embellishing a hefty cube of chocolate-coated vanilla sponge, soaked in panna cotta and shot through with crimson berry compote at Nadine Ingram's Flour and Stone bakery in Woolloomooloo, the answer is yes.
Ingram, with her community-driven, small-batch approach, has taken the most deceptively simple baked goods and raised them to cult-like status, thanks to an unwavering commitment to precision, quality and flavour. Since it was established in 2011, Flour and Stone has become a Sydney institution with queues out the door - and they’re still a regular occurrence even with an extra space added two doors down.
It’s hard to imagine how a team of 22 fit behind the tiled wall when you sneak a peek from the communal 8-seater at no. 53, the new annexe. A high table, a pair of outdoor settings and a banquette seat provide extra dining space (but nowhere near enough to sate demand). The room is decorated in colourful Dave Teer artworks inspired by Old-fashioned vanilla cake, but the real eye candy is the display cabinet packed with madeleines, lemon drizzle cake, brulee tarts, and chocolate, raspberry and buttermilk cakes.
Do not discount the savoury treats though. Spanakopita ferries a textbook-perfect spinach and feta filling between layers of delicate puff pastry; crisp iceberg lettuce plays a surprisingly significant role in the success of a chicken ciabatta sambo with
With its bustling narrow footpaths, perpetual construction projects and conga line of rattling buses, Broadway might take the cake for Sydney’s least fun pedestrian experience. Luckily, respite is now available for us – hark! Seek out the bucolic signage at Little Livi, a little cottage tucked just far enough down Mountain Street to remain a viable pit stop on a takeaway coffee rush.
Rest assured, your cuppa is in steady hands here. Ask the friendly partner/barista Amadeo Vasquez about his lateral involvement with various roasters, importers and brewers through his career, and you’ll come to understand he’s curated Little Livi’s coffee menu from a truly wide range of experience. Today’s super clean, vibrant filter coffee hails from Dukes in Melbourne, served in a bulbous glass for optimal sniffin’ and quaffin’. Bonus points awarded for Little Livi’s house blend being an actual house blend, designed by Vasquez himself. It’s rich and punchy through milk, and its syrupy honey sweetness intensifies as it cools.
Decent grab'n'go breakfast options are something of a rare find around here, so if you’re wondering why everything looks miles better than the cling-filmed banana breads of your past, it’s because partner/chef Daniel Leyva once headed the kitchen of the Bridge Room (RIP), and this fine-dining pedigree shines through in the visuals of every edible thing under the roof. An abundant pastry cabinet features artfully stuffed croissants, bagels (by Brooklyn Boy Bagels) and hou
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When you’re dining in a hurry, it can be easy to slip into the pitfalls of mediocrity. While a fridge-cold sandwich shrunk in plastic wrap from a sad display is still a very real lunch possibility in Sydney's other CBD, the tides are turning in North Sydney thanks to a recent influx of dining destinations. Take Hawkers Village, the dizzying food market proffering a taste of Asia, or neighbouring Glorietta, a pizza and wine bar brought to you by ex-Tetsuya’s and Frankie’s chefs. Now, the team behind the Grounds of Alexandria is joining the fold with Lobby Boy.
We all know this brand specialises in generous servings of fresh, wholesome food and perfectly roasted coffee in beautifully imagined spaces – and Lobby Boy is no exception. Brushed charcoal walls, forest-green banquettes and marble tables in a soaring light-filled atrium isn’t necessarily what we’ve come to expect from “the coffee place down in the lobby”, but it’s clear here that no expense has been spared. As with the other venues, there is real luxury here, though it’s less technicolour Instagram dreamland, and more pared-back, polished and grown-up. The effect is transporting; you’d hardly know you were on a bustling intersection (unless you’ve paid for metered parking...set that timer).
Like the fit-out, the menu is considered and tailored to all manner of occasions, whether you’re dashing to work or have knocked off for a long lunch. They take a seriously (possibly overly) decadent approach to the croissant, stuf
You’ve heard of confit duck, of course, and confit garlic or tomatoes, but confit tofu? That’s a new one. Should you add said block of spongy bean curd – marinated overnight in mushroom stock and slowly cooked in olive oil – to the kimchi toastie at Brighter Coffee? It’s debatable. Not so much because the tofu itself wants for anything in particular, but because that toastie is a thing of beauty on its own.
The kimchi is made in house, more a fresh and fragrant ferment than a pungent lactic acid bomb, and it’s sandwiched between two pieces of Iggy’s miraculous sourdough in the company of sweet tomato passata and a combo of nutty Gruyère and mild Gouda cheeses. Much like the other five items on the Stanmore café’s (very) short, entirely vegetarian menu, the toastie is a variation of ‘stuff on bread’, and it might not even be the best of the bunch.
That title might go to Where the Wild Things Grow, which isn’t a psilocybin hunter’s guide, but what co-owners Ben Richardson and Junji Tai call their mushrooms on toast. Here, a plate-length slice of Iggy’s (or Nonie’s next-level gluten-free bread) gets a light swipe of mushroom purée, made from reducing mushroom stock to the consistency of Vegemite and blitzing it with cashews and truffle pâté. Layers of various sauteed fungi get stacked on top – field mushrooms, buttons, woodears – and elegantly finished with saffron-stained enoki strands and shiitakes seasoned with koji. Shiso, sage and dried rose get a little bit lost amidst al
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