If you’ve got a cellar full of wine that you’re desperate to dust off and match with some great Sydney food, then we’ve got just the list for you. We’ve narrowed down Sydney’s best BYO restaurants as seen in the 2019 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide, so you can bring your own bottle and still enjoy the perks of not cooking at home.
Nothing says Sydney quite like Sunday lunch at Sean’s (corkage $20/bottle; 270 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach, 02 9365 4924, seanspanaroma.co), where a bottle of your finest is always a welcome guest. You could argue the same about a midnight feast at Golden Century ($8/ person; 393-399 Sussex St, Sydney, 02 9212 3901, goldencentury.com.au).
The array of flavours at Chat Thai ($3/ person; our picks are its Thaitown HQ at 20 Campbell St, Sydney, 02 9221 1808, and the glossier Westfield branch; Level 6, Westfield Sydney, Cnr Pitt & Market Sts, Sydney, 02 9221 0600, chatthai.com.au) might merit a magnum of something light and aromatic, while the metre-long pizze at Via Napoli ($10/bottle; 64-68 Gladesville Rd, Hunters Hill, 02 9428 3297) sing out for the sangiovese you’ve stashed away.
Be sure to bring a quenching quaffer with you to Mamak ($3/person; 15 Goulburn St, Haymarket, 02 9211 1668, mamak.com.au) for the sake of taming spicy sambal, or to complement Egyptian eats at Cairo Takeaway (no corkage; 81 Enmore Rd, Newtown, 02 9517 2060, cairotakeaway.com).
Japanese cuisine is always a pleasure to pair drinks with – be it alongside ramen and yakitori at Chaco Bar ($15/bottle; 238 Crown St Darlinghurst, Sydney, 02 9007 8352, chacobar.com.au) or teppanyaki and soba at Jugemu & Shimbashi ($4/person; 246 Military Rd, Mosman, 02 9904 3011, jugemushimbashi.com.au).
