If you’re looking for a good night, good food, and a Mexican flair, look no further than the joyous Tequila Daisy in Barangaroo.

A takeaway focused shop inspired by Australias beloved charcoal chicken shops. Expect Murray cod on the rotisserie, used to fill gravy rolls with Murray cod head gravy. The offal from the fish will be removed and used at Niland’s other restaurants, keeping in tune with his “use one fish for everything,” mindset. For dessert, Murray cod fat caramel ice cream.

It’s no easy feat opening a restaurant in the midst of a pandemic, but this new eatery in Potts Point is buzzing with locals and visitors lining up to get a taste of Tel Aviv’s cosmopolitan dining scene. After falling in love with Eastern European food, co-owners Nick and Kirk Mathews Bowden decided to open up the 90-seat bar and restaurant on a charming tree-lined street in a narrow heritage building.

Enmore Road is a melting pot when it comes to cuisines and restaurants, so it was only right for popular pop-up Little Lagos to find a permanent home here. After noticing a gap in the African cuisine market, owner Ade Adeniyi made the decision to open a brick and mortar flagship, last July.

Restaurant Leo is the latest restaurant to grace the upscale dining team. Hailing from Lumi Dining owner and chef, Federico Zanellato and ex-Oscillate Wildly restaurateur, Karl Firla, Leo is a slice of Italy, right down to its hidden alley location on a cobblestone street.

RaRa Ramen graced us with its presence in 2018, serving delicious umami bowls of ramen. The secret, their traditional tonkotsu broth, and housemade noodles. Every day the tiny kitchen churned out bowls to hungry Sydneysiders and now it’s catering to the vegan community with Lonely Mouth by RaRa in Newtown.

This Sydney restaurant takes fish seriously, both the sourcing and cooking of it. Chef and co-owner, Josh Niland is passionate about his pioneering fin-to-scale philosophy, often showcasing his fish butchery skills to diners. During Covid lockdowns, Saint Peter was busy tinkering behind closed doors, transforming a table-and-chair room into a long 12-metre Carrara marble-topped bar offering front-row views of Josh cooking who can also explain techniques and parts of the fish during the service.

This relatively new restaurant in Sydney is fire. Literally, everything on the menu passes through a flame in one form or another. There are two wood-fired ovens, three grills, and a wood-burning hearth, all visible to diners through the open kitchen. They source ingredients from local producers including aged meat such as lamb, pork, and beef. Shellfish is killed (for lack of a better word) to order from the fish tank on site.

Chippendales shining star, Automata is a provocative game-changer in the fine-dining world. Inside, the room is pared back revealing exposed polished concrete and wooden tones, but with a warm and cosy vibe from the pendant lights.

This Sri Lankan restaurant has a big personality and offers one of the best, most unique brunches on the weekend. The casual diner has become a favourite with locals and visitors, indulging in a Sri-Lankan style dinner.

Get your Japanese fix at Cho Cho San, a casual eatery in Potts Point serving modern Izakaya in a nordic dining room. The focus here is fun, good times surrounded by a lot of drinks and finely plated food. Expect to see a rowdy crowd (sometimes), engaging in conversation, nibbling on inventive Japanese cuisine, including snacks, to shared plates and raw bar options. The snacks are what you would expect, but with a twist.

Henrietta is the new chick on the block. The 65-seat casual eatery welcomes guests to stay and drink, but you can also take it to go. If you do stay, head to the bar for Middle Eastern-inspired cocktails including a slushie martini, lychee cosmo-meets bubble tea, and more.

In 2013 Cafe Paci lived in Darlinghurst but later closed, until 2019, when the newly-improved Cafe Paci opened in Newtown, slinging modern Italian and French dishes, with a Finnish twist at a friendly price point.

The wait is over for Sydney. World-renowned chef, Nobu Matsuhisa opened Nobu in Crown Sydney at the end of 2020 and it’s already booked out. You can expect to find his signature dishes, including the famed black cod miso and yellowtail jalapeno.

Porteño has long served Sydney, offering South American-inspired dishes in Surry Hills that has people coming back for more. Here, Parilla (Argentinian barbecue) takes centre stage featuring quality meats, vegetables, and fish cooked over a fire.

Chef Tetsuya Wakuda refurbished a heritage-listed site to create a serene dining experience in the CBD. Here, the degustation menu is based on the Japanese philosophy of using natural seasonal flavours, with French techniques. This classic institution has been open since 1989, which is a testament given it remains one of the best restaurants in Sydney.

Hidden behind a grand wooden door is a set of old rickety wooden stairs that lead to Sydney’s most revered French dining haunts, Restaurant Hubert. Although there’s more to this place than meets the eye. Its speak-easy vibes are in perfect tune with its Jazz and live music scene, including a tattered grand piano and the deep leather red booths. You can’t help but feel scandalous here, especially when cheeky theatrics take place. As a rarity, the establishment doesn’t compromise on food quality.

Sydney has no shortage of great seafood restaurants, but Cirrus is always a surefire bet. Situated in Barangaroo, Cirrus caters to the corporate world but welcomes anyone looking for good seafood, with a touch of finesse. Hailing from restaurant dream team chef Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt (Monopole, Bentley and Yellow), Cirrus lives up to expectations by serving seasonal produce, and most importantly, fresh seafood.

Sixpenny is a little restaurant in Stanmore, serving Australian Modern fare in an elegant dining room. Sounds simple right? Wrong. Prior to booking a reservation, you will notice there is no menu, anywhere. So how do you know what to expect? Well, you don’t. It’s a matter of taking a gamble, showing up, and being wowed by the menu presented in front of you.

Quay set the bar for fine dining in Sydney and still remains one of the city’s most celebrated restaurants. Helmed by renowned chef, Peter Gilmore, the waterside restaurant sits in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, commanding views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. One of its most recognisable dishes is the Snow Egg, made famous by Masterchef Australia.

Bennelong is another Peter Gilmore restaurant, taking up residence inside the Sydney Opera House. Here, he focuses on artful and imaginative Australian cuisine in a stunning dining room, surrounded by the bones of the Opera House and with views of the Harbour.