The best seafood restaurants in Sydney

Neil Perry's swish Double Bay fine diner serves some of the best seafood in Sydney – if not Australia. Which makes sense, because after more than four decades of cooking experience, Perry is an expert when it comes to respecting his ingredients and allowing seasonal produce to shine. At Margaret, you won't find any overly complicated and intricate dishes. Instead, there's local and sustainably sourced seafood, beautifully cooked and presented, perhaps with a drizzle of robust olive oil, a cheek of lemon and seasoning. As good as it gets.

Some of the city's top cooking talent is in the kitchen here at Barangaroo, and unlike the other restaurants in the Bentley Group stable, they're focusng all their attention on seafood. But forget a lemon wedge, here your prawns will come with smoked curd and ginger; your scallops woth pomelo and parsley; and your trout with XO, cucumber and sour cream.

Famous for its coastal, homey dining room, reliable, delicious food and those surf views, Sean’s is one of Sydney’s best and most-loved restaurants, and has been ever since it opened its doors in Bondi back in 1993. Sean’s legendary roast chook is a standout, of course, but so too are the waterfront restaurant’s seafood dishes. Fresh, tasty, unpretentious – they are the kind of things we want to eat on a sunny day here in Sydney.

When you sit down at the beautiful marble-topped counter that runs the length of this Paddington eatery, it’s not a simple matter of ‘what do you want to eat?’, but rather, ‘what can you not afford to miss?’. Fill your space with seafood charcuterie, followed by a perfect piece of dry-aged fish, with their famous tart for dessert.

Fich at Petersham is definitely nicer than your average suburban fish and chip shop. It’s split in two – on one side you’ve got a counter for ordering takeaway and perusing the ready-made salads. Over the divide is a clean, white dining room with a single giant fish on one wall and Norah Jones on the stereo, where the menu stretches from fist-sized potato scallops with tomato sauce all the way to a ceviche of the day or tender calamari strips that are scored to soak in more of the garlic and chilli oil they are bathed in.

Chippendale restaurant Longshore is helmed by hospitality legends and ex-Hartsyard owners, Jarrod Walsh and Dorothy Lee (Dot) – and here seafood is king. Head chef Walsh grew up fishing, camping and exploring in Port Macquarie on the NSW North Coast, and has drawn on his childhood to create the menu. Come for the ten-course snack flight, which may feature plates like Abrolhos Island scallops with mandarin kosho (a Japanese spice paste) and makrut lime; grilled Clarence River octopus skewers with a smoked soy glaze; and a knock-out abalone pie with pine mushroom ketchup.

No Sydney visit is complete without a serve of fish and chips by the beach. If it can be a piece of flathead, armoured in a crunchy beer batter and served with tartare sauce on the side, the more the better. And for the real A-list treatment, eating it while enjoying some of the most famous beach views in the city is a very good way to go. With that said, when it comes to fish and chips, we reckon North Bondi Fish is hard to top. 

In its basic structure, Fish Shop is just like your seaside local – you pick a main from snapper, ocean trout, barramundi or King Ora salmon, as well as a market fish, then add a condiment and tack on a side – but after that, it goes off-script. Add on sugo with capers, salsa verde or tangy ladelomono, a Greek-style vinaigrette of lemon and oil. Sides are less along the lines of floury chips, and more in the vein of freekah with apricot chopped through, or fagioli bianchi with herbs and lemon. Joel Bennetts (formerly of Bistrode CBD and Peppe's) heads up the kitchen, shining a light on sustainable seafood and cuts that aren't so widely available. 

Breathe a sigh of relief: the pippies in XO sauce at XOPP are just as good as they are at Golden Century. And that’s a damn good thing, because it would be pretty awkward if the dish that inspired the awkwardly named (say it slowly, one letter at a time) and eagerly anticipated spinoff of the Chinatown institution were not up to scratch. The steamed clams are textbook tender, the shimmering amber sauce just as mystifyingly complex, and, of course, the addition of springy vermicelli noodles or crisp Chinese doughnuts (or both) remains vital. To order this dish is to remind yourself why it is a bona fide Hall of Famer on the Sydney dining circuit.

Located on Sydney’s north shore in St Leonards, Josh and Julie Niland's latest restaurant is called Petermen – a nod to the 1400s, when fishermen were known as Petermen, in the tradition of their patron, Saint Peter. Championing Australian vegetables and seafood – Niland knows his fishers by name, and only works with farmers who uphold sustainable practices – Petermen is the fifth string to the power couple's bow. Come for Flinders Island scallops with Tasmanian horseradish; Manjimup marron and curry butter; and line-caught coral trout with chimichurri. There’s also an epic Mooloolaba yellowfin tuna chateaubriand for four. 

Mimi’s takes up the majority of the second floor in Coogee Pavilion. You won’t be the only one ordering from the live seafood menu that includes market-price mud crab and sea urchin. And bumps of caviar are delivered to your table on a dedicated cart, with accompanying frozen vodka so that you feel like you own a private jet, even if you can’t take it anywhere.

Surry Hills' dimly-lit and handsome bar and bistro The Rover may not be the first place you think of when you're craving fresh creatures of the sea, but trust us on this one. Come for The Rover’s hits, like freshly shucked oysters with Champagne mignonette; the eel pate with horseradish jelly and glazed crumpets; and the must-order fisherman’s pie with smoked trout and potato gratin. Plus, if you shimmy on down from 4-6pm during the week, you can snag $2 oysters. Shuck yes.

It's all about seafood at Ormeggio at the Spit. The fresh direction was inspired by Pavoni’s affection for the culinary style of the Southern Italian region of Puglia (the heel of the boot). Think seafood, cheese and vegetables, with crudos made from wild-caught fish.

Found in the historic Flying Fish site at the end of Jones Bay Wharf, Sala is a modern Italian restaurant with a seafood-focused menu that celebrates its coastal pozzie. Lap up stellar views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and harbour alongside sophisticated Italian fare. The restaurant is divided into several sections, so diners can enjoy different types of experiences based on the occasion: the terrace for a casual drink, the main dining room for formal dinners, and a crudo bar overlooking an open kitchen for a little theatre. Whenever you choose to sit, it’ll be a catch.

The restaurant at Hyatt Regency Sydney hotel is all about serving up sustainable Australian seafood – and they offer great-value deals. “We work closely with partners and source produce from all corners of Australia and New Zealand to ensure each dish is not only delicious, but sustainable,” says executive chef, Sven Ullrich. “I am passionate about working with local suppliers and farmers to hand-pick the best and freshest ingredients for each dish whilst being guided by what’s in season.”

On a sunny day, there are few nicer places to be than Queen Chow Manly, located right by the turquoise water at Manly Wharf. From plump prawn dumplings to steamed market fish with white soy, ginger and shallots, and kingfish sashimi with black bean, chilli and white soy, Merivale's high-end Cantonese restaurant serves fresh, premium and tasty seafood. Dig in.

Restaurant and bar St Siandra brings year-round summer vibes to Mosman. So much so that the Mediterranean-inspired venue is situated on a white-sand private beach (yes, really), overlooking the turquoise waters of the Spit. Spend the afternoon watching yachts glide by with Spritzes on tap, and eating seafood prepared by head chef Sam McCallum (formerly of the award-winning Nomad). How's that for la bella vita? 

When the sun is shining and you’re craving fresh seafood, a solid option is Manta, located by the water along Woolloomooloo Wharf. The extensive menu features the best from the land and sea. Highlights include Port Stephens yellowfin tuna crudo with kohlrabi salad, crisp barley and a Japanese-style wafu dressing; Manta’s signature Queensland blue swimmer crab lasagna with a crustacean bisque and garlic chives; and a king prawn spaghetti with chorizo, chilli, capers, tomato and soft herbs. Pair your seafood feast with a crisp white or a fun and fruity seasonal cocktail and that’s lunch done well in our books.

Dim sum doesn't get much better than this luxe Cantonese dining room. Come for lunch and enjoy your seafood in beautiful, two-bite parcels, like scallop and prawn shumai, crystal prawn and snow pea, king prawn and bamboo shoot, and lobster and scallop.

A 600-seat Cantonese restaurant with traditional yum cha, live seafood and late-night dining is now open in the former Golden Century digs. If you’ve been missing the legendary restaurant (we sure have), then we reckon the Royal Palace Seafood Restaurant may fill that dumpling-shaped hole in your heart. Live seafood is a focus of the Royal, with 24 live seafood tanks housing live lobsters, crabs, coral trouts and more. Expect Cantonese classics including lobster noodles with ginger and shallots; Peking duck with pancakes; Singapore chilli crab; and – yes – pippies in XO sauce.

Bondi’s beachside restaurant Promenade Bondi Beach is so pretty that the interiors almost rival the spectacular views of Australia’s most famous stretch of sand. Almost. There’s a focus on grilled seafood, as well as meat and vegetables, and dishes are inspired by coastal regions from around the world. Think sambals from Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and spices from India. It’s all the type of stuff you’d love to devour by the ocean

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. If you're craving fish, go for a whole-roasted John Dory with lemon, capers and brown butter sauce; and linguine with pan-fried scallops, garlic, lemon, golden tomato, scallop roe and macadamias. Yum.

Like many of Tokyo's beloved dinner spots, Gaku is tiny, and a little chaotic, with smoke form the robata grill mixed in amongst cheery greetings and people crammed in for their beautiful hand rolls, sashimi and grilled snacks.