The best restaurants in Sydney, as reviewed for our annual Restaurant Guide. There are old favourites, new trailblazers, and a lot of dining out to be done in the harbour city. Pull up a seat.
With a change in season, Sydneysiders trade the beach and barbecues for dazzling dinners at the best restaurants Sydney has to offer. From date nights at the hot new spot to celebratory lunches in the sun at a waterfront restaurant, Sydney’s dining scene continues to assert itself as world-class.
Our expert critics have scoured the city for the best places to eat, drink and celebrate Sydney’s ever-evolving restaurant culture. From dégustation-only fine-diners to casual wine bars serving sensational snacks, this guide is not limited to a single style of dining. Every restaurant featured in this guide should be considered gold standard. See how the guide works.
Our choice restaurants for autumn go from the casual-cool Ante in Newtown to languid weekend lunches at cosy French diner Porcine to push-the-boat-out dining at Josh Niland’s stellar new iteration of Saint Peter. And for out-of-towners, we recommend Quay for fine-dining finesse with views of the harbour and Sydney Opera House.
Whether you’re a Sydney local routinely chasing the hottest new ticket in town or visiting the Harbour City for this year’s thrilling instalment of Vivid Sydney, you’ll want to book a table at these best Sydney restaurants, stat.
This guide to Sydney’s best restaurants in 2025 has been edited by Gourmet Traveller’s expert reviewer, national guide editor and NSW state editor Matty Hirsch. Under Hirsch’s direction, our team of Sydney critics include Gourmet Traveller editor Joanna Hunkin, news editor Jordan Kretchmer, digital editor Cordelia Williamson and digital content producer Charlotte Wishart, along with seasoned restaurant reviewers Alexandra Carlton, Nicholas Jordan and Maggie Scardifield. They have travelled far and wide to visit — and revisit — dozens of restaurants, seeking out the most exceptional meals and memorable dining experiences in Sydney.
This intelligent, genre-defying neighbourhood bistro sticks the landing with unwavering confidence every time.
“Over the years, critics have praised [chef Pasi Petanen’s] approach as ‘cerebral’ and ‘innovative’, and while those certainly aren’t untrue, he has a rare capacity for making wild ideas and flavour combinations seem simple, even logical.”
GourmetTraveller editor Joanna Hunkin at the GT Annual Restaurant Awards in 2024
GT tip: Go for the carrots. Start with the fermented carrots with ‘nduja on rye and end on the carrot sorbet with yoghurt and licorice dessert. Trust us.
At its heart, Ante reads restaurant despite its casual walk-in-only format. Almost fine-dining-level attentive service is one reason to go, but it’s also chef Jemma Whiteman’s fully developed menu.
GT tip: Ante is walk-in only, so put your name down on the list and go for a drink nearby. The wait is worth it.
The recruitment of Sixpenny and Shell House alumnus Aaron Ward has done wonders for the Bathers’ Pavilion kitchen. The longstanding long-lunch institution – with its dapper interiors, well-drilled service and trusty 40-page wine list – didn’t need much help, mind you.
Sydney is no stranger to wood-fired ovens, but there must be some sort of black magic going on inside the one at Ester. These are flavours that hit hard, leading you right to the precipice, helped along by casually confident staff and a drinks list that rides the zeitgeist.
Nicknamed “Junda’s Playground”, the humming 160-seater is pushing even more buttons and boundaries on its still-sprawling menu. There’s always been so much to love here, and now there’s even more.
The Bentley Group’s Asian offering presents a culture studies dissertation on the plate, and it’s a sentimental headspin. Playful and cerebral all at once, this is one of Sydney’s brightest openings.
“With Khanh Nguyen leading the kitchen — serving a menu as inventive as it is irreverent — and a front of house team that know how to dial up the fun without ever losing the polish, this high-flying team unlocked a new level and stuck the landing once again.”
GourmetTraveller editor Joanna Hunkin at the GT Annual Restaurant Awards in 2024
GT tip: the fish finger bao may be the Instagram darling, but the mapo tofu has our hearts.
Neil Perry’s vast menu at his suave Double Bay flagship is tied together with a voluminous wine list and service that makes you feel like family, making Margaret one of Sydney’s great dining journeys.
Chef-owner Alessandro Pavoni and his team continue to deliver at this enduring but refreshingly relevant marina-side diner. Seafood is the fitting star here, which sits well among the moored boats and the coastal-chic surroundings – all stucco walls, curves for days and a gelato bar.
Don’t let the name of this neo-bistro fool you; Porcine is more than a cathedral to pork. Sure, chef Nik Hill knows his way around a pig, but his playful marriage of French precision and kitschy whimsy, epitomised at dessert by a puffy île flottante rising from a pool of custard, extends democratically to a far broader line-up of proteins.
GT tip: Arrive early to have a drink at the new courtyard bar L’Avant Cave — a collaboration between the P&V and Porcine teams.
The views at Quay stop you in your tracks – as do the poolish crumpets and haunting White Coral dessert – and service from the plum young team remains resolutely professional. A seemingly immovable presence in the pantheon of Australia’s great restaurants.
Unhurried. That’s how Sixpenny rolls. It’s true of the pace at which flavours develop in the growing collection of ferments and preserves that line the back wall. True, too, of the eloquent explanations chefs and seasoned waitstaff offer with all seven courses.
Profound care is felt in every direction – from every pop of colour in the room to the gentle service and notable Australian ingredients both on the plate and in the glass. A triumph.
Moments of awe aren’t uncommon at the 10 chairs along chef Ryuichi Yoshii’s opulent counter set-up, in a hushed corner of Crown Sydney. Booking ain’t easy, and neither is footing the bill, but can you put a value on such mastery?
GT tip: Bookings are released on the first day of each month at 12pm for the following month. Set a calendar reminder.
To earn a place in this guide, a restaurant must deliver on multiple fronts: service, ambience, décor, value, and of course, what’s on the plate. Creativity and consistency are valued in equal measure. From dégustation-only fine-diners to casual wine bars serving sensational snacks, this guide is not limited to a single style of dining. Every restaurant featured in this guide should be considered gold standard.
All of the restaurant reviews were visited anonymously between March and June 2024, with reviewers paying their own way.
PRICE GUIDE
Average cost per diner, not including drinks.
$ = under $100 $$ = $100 to $175 $$$ = 175 to $250 $$$$ = $250 to $325 $$$$$ = $325+
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Will Horner
