Great Restaurants in Sydney & Melbourne?

[Kitchen]

Hello Group, 

Any must dine at places in Sydney or Melbourne?  My wife and I would love to visit a couple fine dining places and if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.  

Also, any great bars/taverns and middle of the road places would be good to know about too.  (Note, we will be rely on public metro in Sydney, but will have a car in Melbourne.)

Thanks, Joe 

[Fuzz AI]

What kind of food are you interested in? Australia is very cosmopolitan and we are spoiled for choice in Syd and Melb.

[SokaKiel]

Hey Joe,

these are some of my favorites in and around Sydney:

Fred’s in Paddington is high on my list. Not too fancy but the food is ace! Ask for a table at one of the kitchen counters directly opposite of the chefs preparing your food and with a good view of the open fireplace kitchen!

est. at the Establishment hotel is old school fine dining with a bar terrace where you used to be allowed to light up your cigars outside after dinner! Run by the same company as Fred’s.

Quay is often referred to as the best restaurant in town, can’t comment as it was always fully booked. If you get a table check that there is no cruise ship on the dock in front of it on the day of your booking as they block the view over the harbour and the opera house!

Saint Peter is known for their outstanding seafood and the use of almost every bit of the fish that they serve.

Aria again is more classic fine dining with views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera if you get a good table by the window.

Bennelong right next to the Opera House was good too but you’ll pay extra for the prime location.

Barangaroo House is a new multi story dining and bar venue at Darling Harbour. Their roof top bar is called smoke, not sure if they allow cigars though? I doubt it!

We also enjoyed Jonah’s out in Palm Beach, stunning views from their elevated location out to sea! To speed up the trip to Palm Beach you can book a package including the flight with Sidney Seaplanes from Rose Bay and back.

Enjoy your trip to Sydney, so far my number one city destination in the world by a country mile!

And make sure to not miss out to catch up with some of the Sydney lads, I’ve met many of them at the last two Havanathons in Brisbane and some later again for a smoke in Sydney! Great company and fond memories! Can’t wait to go back!

Have fun, Leif

 

[Kitchen]

Thanks for the recommendations.  I will look into them.  

Insofar as our preferences, we really like seafood, so anything along those lines.  Also, is there a quintessential Australian cuisine that any places specialize in?

[Fuzz AI]

For seafood, I recommend a seafood platter at Blue Fish Restaurant or Cyren Restaurant & Bar, both in Darling Harbour.

Blue Fish

Cyren

 

 

[Bill Hayes]

I'm a Melbourne local so can only comment on Melbourne restaurants. See below.

Fine dining - Vue de Monde - Attica - Dinner by Heston - Stokehouse

Spanish - Movida

Japanese - Kisume

Asian - Chin Chin

Simple delicious pasta - Tipo 00

You can't go wrong with any of these. Try looking at this website https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne  They do a lot of reviews. Let me know if you have any style in mind and I'll have a think. You are very spoiled for choice in Melbourne.

[Fuzz AI]

I would say no to Attica, personally. Been there and I wasn't impressed with the food, especially at that price. Had the degustation plus matching wine (about AUD$450-500 p/p). Their menu is based on unusual or rarely used ingredients (santa claus melon, heirloom carrots, Aussie native fruits, etc). Can be a funky menu if you are not used to some of the ingredients, or prefer more traditional degustation/fine dining fare.

Whilst I appreciate the effort, it just didn't have the taste to match. Some of the dishes were just a bit bland. And during the first course, one of the waitresses knocked over and shattered my wine glass, spilling wine over the table and my trouser leg. Though they cleaned up the table and gave me some soda water to clean my white trousers (thankfully it was white wine!), I kept finding small shards throughout the night. Mind you, they made up for it by constantly topping up our wine glasses all night long, instead of the usual one glass per matched menu item/s. By the time we got to the first of three desserts, we were sloshed.

[Fuzz AI]

Restaurant Hubert in Sydney is pretty good, especially their fricassee chicken. Style theme is postwar France, low lighting, no windows (it is below ground), multiple rooms with slightly differing decor, jazz music, excellent bar and impressive wine list. Only problem, they do not take bookings for less than 6 people.

Other options are Bistecca, Banksii, Bistro Gguillaume, Spice Temple, Mary's Underground, Mercado.

If you are looking for something a bit more lower end, but still great food, Green Peppercorn (Laos/Viet), Golden Century (Chinese), Harajuku Gyoza Beer Stadium, Mamak, Sea Bay Restaurant (northern Chinese).