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Inside restaurant at Bennelong
Photograph: Anna Kucera

The best restaurants in the CBD

Seek out these swanky dining destinations in the heart of Sydneytown

Maxim Boon
Written by
Maxim Boon
&
Elizabeth McDonald
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Virtually every suburb in Sydney can boast a world-class eatery (or several), but none rival the CBD for the sheer number of sky-high culinary experiences on offer. We've cherry-picked the best tables to book in the heart of the city, whether you're stepping out for business lunch, a pre-show bite or a swanky degustation. 

Foodies, here are some other stories that might tickle your fancy:

Wallet looking a little empty? We made a list of hacks for fine dining on a budget in Sydney.

Want something a little more casual? Check out our guide to the best cheap eats in the city.

Nightcap anyone? Polish off your meal with a drink at one of these fine cocktail bars.

The best restaurants in the CBD

  • Restaurants
  • Australian
  • The Rocks
  • price 4 of 4

The dress-circle Harbour views? The exquisite works of art on each and every plate? The custom-made crockery? The cornucopia of produce grown exclusively for the restaurant? The service team’s unrivalled professionalism? Some restaurants are engineered for special occasions and totally worth the splurge – this is most definitely one of them.

  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Sydney
  • price 3 of 4

As soon as you walk through the big wooden doors of Hubert you feel instantly detached from the outside. This is because they have excellent attention to noise control (acoustic ceilings and carpeted floors), which also means you can actually hold a conversation over lunch. As you climb down two flights of stairs into the city’s depths, it feels like you’re walking back in time (Belle Époque? Post-war Paris?). Your destination: a music-filled, candle-lit restaurant buzzing with people. Order up the whole chicken to share, or the steak frites.

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  • Restaurants
  • Fusion
  • Circular Quay

Seasonality is key at Lana, and head chef Alex Wong’s menu is constantly shifting, leaning on the best available local produce. On paper, this is a set three-course menu for $99 (add dessert for an additional $10), but the reality gives you far more bang for your buck. You can also add on dishes from the "Lana's Playlist" menu so expect palate cleansers, yummy little snacks, and aperitifs in the gorgeously renovated surrounds of Hinchcliff House.

  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Sydney
  • price 2 of 4

They’ll tell you to go for the Peking duck. They’ll tell you it’s a juicy bird with crisp skin and sweet meat. And they’d be right. It is. This is just one of the many roast delights at Mr Wong – a two-level Canto-extravaganza offering everything from fancy dim sum to green beans stir-fried with pork mince and house-made XO sauce. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Thai
  • Sydney
  • price 2 of 4

David Thompson has brought his Long Chim empire to Sydney to stoke the flames of our South East Asian eats. Order up the $79 set menu – it’s a treat with all the good bits in reasonable portions. You'll kick off with a serve of glorious chicken wings delicately covered in a sticky mix of sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind. Amongst other entrées, these are followed by an aromatic curry, or perhaps sautéed broccoli tossed in garlic and oyster sauce. Finish with terracotta-hued Thai tea ice cream adorned with pistachios and coconut jelly. 

  • Restaurants
  • Sydney
  • price 3 of 4

Dining at Aria will make you fall back in love with Sydney; the longstanding, harbourside fine-dining landmark not only has world-class views, but it's overseen by world-class chef Matt Moran. Helmed by current head chef Thomas Gorringe thanks to the kitchen’s less-is-more approach and a brighter spotlight on native ingredients has brought the menu firmly into the hear and now. The panoramic outlook from the floor-to-ceiling windows, on the other hand, remains some of the city’s best.

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  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Sydney

Piling out of the elevator, onto the first floor of Sydney’s historic Gowings Building, the ornate, art deco gilding of the State Theatre feels a world away, despite being only just beneath your feet. Far removed from the overt, grand elegance of 1920s gothicism downstairs, the QT Hotel exudes sophisticated swagger and contemporary cool.

 

  • Restaurants
  • Sydney

A new wave of exceptional restaurants has come to 25 Martin Place, the revamped dining precinct that joins a slew of culinary quarters to hit Sydney. Riding this wave is Aalia, the latest venture from beloved and deservedly celebrated Nour. While Aalia's Surry Hills sister might focus on Lebanese cuisine (as diverse and eclectic as that is), what sets the stunningly plush Aalia apart is that it's a veritable field trip across the whole of the Middle East, including a jaunt across the coast of North Africa. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Seafood
  • Barangaroo
  • price 3 of 4

Hit peak Sydney with seaside seafood from Cirrus, the fourth venue from culinary kingpins Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt. Their trophy cabinet is already chockers thanks to Monopole, Bentley and Yellow, but the collection wanted an aquatic addition. When NOMA moved out, Savage and Hildebrandt moved in and built something Sydney was sorely lacking: an elegant seafood restaurant by the water that'll impress the socks of anyone you bring here.

  • Restaurants
  • Steak house
  • Sydney
  • price 2 of 4

The sequel to Bistecca, which offers a broader spectrum of carnivorous thrills but keeps the old-world elegance front and centre. Handing over your mobile phone at the door allows you to surrender completely to a bygone era of prawn cocktails and vol-au-vents, when drinks were stiff and proper and whole fish were filleted tableside. If you need to loosen your necktie and let out your inner Don Draper, this is the place. 

 

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  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Circular Quay

In a microcosm where finesse is everything (with a price tag to match), Joel Best starts each day with a visit to the fish market to make sure every element is, well, the best it can be. At Besuto, the former Bondi’s Best’s new omakase-style venture, fish with finesse is the name of the game. Best, alongside the gregarious chef Hiro Fujita, are trying their hand at the “leave it to you” style of dining that has taken Sydney by storm in recent months. The 14-seater is one of the fleet of newly opened eateries at the CBD’s Quay Quarter, alongside neighbours like underground bar Apollonia and mega venue Hinchcliff House

 

  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Sydney
  • price 2 of 4

This petite laneway pasta parlour that follows in the footsteps of sibling wine bars Dear Sainte Éloise and Love, Tilly Devine. The Harbour City’s obsession with pasta is at an all-time high, but thanks to a focus on lesser-known shapes and a willingness to stray from the tried and true, Ragazzi stands out. And because these are the brains behind two pioneering wine bars, there’s good drinking aplenty to be had. 

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  • Restaurants
  • Sydney
  • price 3 of 4

The first thing that hits you when you enter the 1936 City Mutual Building – considered by many the finest Art Deco building in Australia – isn't the pristine stone and brass work. It's the smell. Push through the heavy brass doors and be greeted by a mingling of grilling meat, wood fire and leather. This is Sydney's best-smelling restaurant and it's enough to make your mouth water even before you sit down. Breathe it in as you look up at the grandeur of the room.

  • Restaurants
  • Mexican
  • Circular Quay

In the newly Christened precinct of the Quay Quarters in the heart of the Sydney CBD, you'll find Londres 126, named for one of the most iconic home addresses in Mexico City – the home of renowned artist, Frida Kahlo. It's a far cry from the usual city fare, and while at first glance may sound gimmicky, this Kahlo-inspired den is in fact an elegant and, dare we say, authentic repro of the Mexican icon's notorious party pad. A rich mix of culture, creativity and imagination, the sophisticated wood-paneled ‘gastro cantina’ is inspired by the legendary parties thrown by Kahlo at her home in the 1940s.

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  • Restaurants
  • Sydney
  • price 2 of 4

Rather than choosing some airy harbourside venue with Opera House views, Neil Perry's gone subterranean in the city for Spice Temple. "I'm asking people to go down a number of steps and come underground in beautiful Sydney," says Perry. "To do that, I felt I had to have something really special." And special it is – a Chinese restaurant that does not serve any Cantonese dishes. Instead, you'll find a menu that roams China from Sichuan to Yunnan to Guangxi. Spice Temple is an exciting restaurant – not just because it's Neil Perry's amazing food in a casual, fun environment. It's unlike anything Sydney's seen before.

Bentley Restaurant and Bar
  • Restaurants
  • Australian
  • Sydney
  • price 3 of 4

You might not expect a seriously schmick wine bar and restaurant housed in the original Fairfax building in the heart of the CBD to be all about inclusivity, but the Bentley Restaurant and Bar by sommelier Nick Hildebrandt and chef Brent Savage wants everyone to have a good time. If you’re not here for the full sit-down dining experience that’s A-OK. But to get the most out of this venue it's worth ordering a full meal. You won't regret a bite.

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  • Restaurants
  • Sydney
  • price 3 of 4

World-renowned chef Peter Gilmore’s artful, imaginative interpretation of Australian cuisine, is even more remarkable when tasted under the soaring sails of the iconic Sydney Opera House. Much like a ride on the Manly Ferry or the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi, eating inside the Opera House is a Sydney rite of passage. Both the food and the service are every bit as polished as the magnificent setting.

  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Sydney
  • price 2 of 4

Hubert’s hyper-stylised baby sibling channels the look, feel and flavour of an Italian trattoria straight from the ’70s. The Swillhouse Group leaves no stone unturned when they commit to a concept, and Alberto’s is no exception. Stucco, wood panelling and more vintage posters than you can shake a stick at set the stage for mighty good times. You’ll want to double up on crostoli smeared with sardine paté and keep the Chianti topped right up.

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  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Sydney

In the understatement of the century, a global shutdown and border closures can be tough on a new restaurant. Even the best laid plans to create one of the best Italian fine-diners in town like, for instance, enlisting a Michelin trained Italian chef to work in a stunning heritage listed former bank in the beating heart of a major city like Sydney, can get thrown off course. This is exactly what former Wildfire and Ocean Room operator Tonci Farac dared to dream way back in 2017, when the sparks of Seta began to smoulder.

  • Restaurants
  • Sydney

This pedigreed CBD newcomer fusing Italian fundamentals and flashy technique, care of two of the city’s top chefs. Federico Zannellato (LuMi) and former Oscillate Wildly head honcho Karl Firla are bringing back the power lunch in high-flying style. They’re unafraid to reboot saltimbocca and cacio e pepe, and they go straight for the jugular with the likes of luxurious rabbit pappardelle and chilli scampi tagliatelle. Amen. 

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