Sydney's most popular restaurants

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Local bakeries should all be like Bourke Street, which stuffs its small corner shop with impressive artisan breads, pastries and gourmet goods that keep the Surry Hills regulars coming back time and again. Space is tight, but somehow not cramped, and you can curl up in the window-box bench seats with the Sydney Morning Herald, a chocolate croissant and an espresso made from quality Belle Caffe beans.

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Upping the stakes in trendiness, The Winery by Gazebo sets out to attract those Sydney socialites who have a penchant for the finer things in life, like rhubarb and cinnamon Bellinis; mussels with lemongrass, palm sugar and coconut sauce; and, most importantly, good looking people. There's bound to be plenty of all of the above at this charming sister venue to Elizabeth Bay's popular Gazebo Wine Garden.

3

 

This glass-walled eatery tucked under a new residential warehouse conversion has had 'Pizza e Birra' scrawled across the darkened, under-construction windows for months. The pizza was obvious, but the birra? Pizza e Birra have their own trademarked brand of beer, brewed for them at Hopping Mad Brewery in Orange. The airy dining room has simple wooden chairs and tables, with a bar lining one side of the room. Co-owner/chef Donato Toce (ex-Termini in Melbourne) has devised a pretty comprehensive menu, covering the obligatory woodfired pizzas (plus the less-anticipated dessert pizzas), entrees such as chargrilled calamari and beef carpaccio, and mains that include a rich brodetto of fish and fennel and an aged rib-eye. Of course, there is also a decent array of pastas, salads and sides. There is a no-bookings policy, but then the Clock's only a few doors up if there appears to be a wait.

4

 

Moving from its Rozelle birthplace to its present CBD location did nothing to diminish Tetsuya's consistently recognised reputation as the best restaurant in Sydney. Chef Tetsuya Wakuda continues to amaze with complex tastes combining Japanese and French food in experimental combinations. The degustation menu offers the best overview of all that is available.

5

 

Sharpen your incisors and get suck into a traditional Brazilian barbecue at Braza Churrascaria where the jovial staff deliver a seemingly neverending flow of all the tasty and juicy meats you can fit in your belly. Beef, pork, lamb, seafood and chicken are cooked over charcoals and come to the table straight off the skewer, accompanied by sides of salad, vegetables and rice for those who wish to balance their diet. Dessert consists of such treats as Brazilian creme caramel.

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Bodega has strutted as confidently as a puffed-up matador onto the Surry Hills restaurant scene, with a menu of rustic Spanish and South American food. With a bar next door, people can pop in for a cocktail and some nibbles, or sit down at the restaurant for a casual feast of tapas. The tiny room is dominated by a large communal table (big enough to cover with a sizeable selection of tapas) and a funky, fanciful mural of a chest-heavy bull.

7

 

Nothing beats a great night out at a tapas bar such as this. Nibble on all the favourites to your heart's content, while slurping house-made sangria.

8

 

The simple name really says it all - Italian fare served above an iconic stretch of coast. North Bondi Italian Food doesn't try to be anything more than that, but with Maurice Terzini as one of the owners and the uber-sophisticated Icebergs Dining Room as its sibling, this new eatery can't help but create a stir. The former Moorish site has had a makeover, shifting the long bar over to the side of the room and filling the space with bright yellow chairs and simple unclothed tables, while enormous pleated lampshades hang above diners like '50s rock'n'roll skirts. Features such as recessed trays built into tables to store the cutlery reinforce the family-friendly, beachy attitude.

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While Surry Hillbillies have hardly been starving while waiting for the launch of The Bentley, the long-anticipated opening of their doors has still been greeted with a collective sigh of relief. This bright and friendly restaurant and bar spills out onto the pavement of Crown Street, making the most of the strip's vibrant and eclectic scene. Inside, the decor is light and fresh with plenty of timber, neutral tones and such funky touches as a cute tree mural on the back wall. There are plenty of tables, but the space also features a wide bar where people can dine while admiring the huge selection of liquor.

10

 

Sydney loves a hybrid bar-restaurant, and with the latest Toko, brothers Al, Daniel and Matthew Yazbek seem to have got the mix just right. Cult Thai eatery Longrain inspired Sydney's dining hipsters at the turn of the millennium, and the crew behind Toko aims to do the same with a similar concept on the Japanese tip. Moving things up a notch from its sister restaurant of the same name in Paddington, Toko Surry Hills sits on the former MG Garage site in Crown Street.