Does anyone have restaurant recommendations for Sydney?

[cruisecruzer]

Hi,

I will be arriving Sydney 3-21, does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants in Sydney?

 

I'm looking at moderate price restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Also any good Chinese restaurants?

 

Thanks!

 

Annie

[Aussie Cruisers]

Okay, there are many great ones....

 

Chinese - go to Chinatown (get in a cab and say Chinatown, Haymarket) about 7 min ride. Look in the restaurant, if filled with Chinese expats, it is a winner.

 

Harbourside - you have to go to Aria. It is in the "Toaster" building. It is 1 Macquarie St from memory. Type in "aria restaurant sydney" in google to make a reservation. It is the best view in town and the best food IMHO. I love going there for lunch. Dinner is more expensive, but you have the lights. It looks at the Harbour Bridge and Opera House..... full uninterrupted 240 degree views of Sydney. If you are a tourist, it will be a highlight for sure. PRICELESS.

 

If you want a buffet style..... I must say that the food is ordinary... but I recently had some American friends who insisted on a buffet and they liked it - but I don't like buffets.... horses for courses. Try Centrepoint Tower. The tallest building in Sydney... revolving restaurant... kangaroo and crocodile on the menu... you get my drift? Tacky, but the Americans love it (as a general rule....don't flame me!!)

 

I prefer the Summit. Classier and much higher quality food and decor. It revolves too, but not as high as Centrepoint. It USED to be the highest building in the 70s. Katy and I enjoy the Summit over Centrepoint Tower any day of the week, but Aria is hands down our favourite!

 

Enjoy!

 

Mark.

[Globaliser]

I will be arriving Sydney 3-21, does anyone have any recommendations for restaurants in Sydney?

One fun thing to do is to go to Phillip's Foote on George Street in the Rocks to barbie your own steak.

 

Another lunch-with-a-view place is Doyle's at Circular Quay, on the ground floor of the International Passenger Terminal. More expensive than its sister restaurants at Watsons Bay, it's still quite a nice place on a sunny day.

 

If your budget will stretch to places like Aria, there's also Quay in the International Passenger Terminal for similarly-good views (better views of the Opera House). There's also a place called Wildfire on the ground floor, which I've had recommended to me but haven't personally tried. Or go over to the other side of the harbour and go to Aqua Dining. Of course, none of the IPT restaurants are much good if there's a ship tied up and therefore no view.

[Aussie Cruisers]

Sorry Globaliser - but Katy and I went to Doyles at the Quay recently and it was horrible.

 

The food was awful. I am not a critic of restaurants, and would say I am easily pleased when it comes to fish and chips (which is what I ordered) and it was horrible. The fish was soggy, the batter was not crisp, the chips were cold and soggy. Katy had a salad and some seafood pasta and she only ate the salad as she said the pasta was awful.

 

So, I suggest you give Doyles a miss. :(

 

Mark.

[mochuck]

Actually Mark, I've heard similar reports about Doyles at Circular Quay. I think Watson's Bay is still OK though.

 

To the OP King St Wharf (aka Darling Harbour) has a huge choice of restaurants - both in price and cuisine. My personal recommendation is Nicks.

 

Added: OK I just noticed that the OP was here YESTERDAY!

[jane02]

My favorite place in Sydney for lunch is the Bathers Pavillion at Balmoral - great setting, great food and wonderful views. You can book a water taxi and it will drop you right at the door.

Kellie

[Condocat]

An excellent resaurant in "The Rocks" area that was reasonably priced was Lord Nelson.

 

Hope this helps.

[Globaliser]

... Katy and I went to Doyles at the Quay recently and it was horrible.

 

The food was awful. I am not a critic of restaurants, and would say I am easily pleased when it comes to fish and chips (which is what I ordered) and it was horrible. The fish was soggy, the batter was not crisp, the chips were cold and soggy. Katy had a salad and some seafood pasta and she only ate the salad as she said the pasta was awful.

... I've heard similar reports about Doyles at Circular Quay.

Thanks for the warning! I haven't actually eaten there myself for about 3 years (the last time I was showing people around Sydney), when it was still OK - so it sounds like things have gone seriously downhill. Which is a pity, given its location.

[Cherlynn]

Just got back from Sydney and we had the fish and chips at Doyle's. Now maybe it's just us Americans, but I could not believe that they charged $1 each for ketsup and tarter sauce:eek: :mad: ! I just stood there with my mouth hanging open! They did give us some sauce they called Plum Sauce. It was oily and inedible. Of course it was sticker shock for everything in Australia compared to here in CA, but the ketsup thing was odd. Oh, and the fish and chips were OK, not the best I've ever had and not the worst.

 

Cheryl

[mochuck]

Well I hope you didn't tip them! You're right it is a ripoff. Service staff get paid higher wages here than in the US so prices tend to be higher (hence no need to tip). But they are MUCH higher in the city and tourist environs.

[mochuck]

Just got back from Sydney and we had the fish and chips at Doyle's. Now maybe it's just us Americans, but I could not believe that they charged $1 each for ketsup and tarter sauce ! I just stood there with my mouth hanging open!

 

Cherylynn, you will be pleased to know that you're not alone in your disgust at the price of fish and chips at Doyles at Watsons Bay.

 

Peter Doyle had the audacity to write to Sydney Morning Herald about changes in industrial relations laws and how he will have to pass on his increased costs to his customers. This was one response to his letter:

 

Judging by the price Peter Doyle charges for fish and chips, I have no doubt he will be able to absorb any increase in costs associated with penalty rates.

[MMDown Under]

I would recommend any one of the three Bills Restaurants in Sydney. There is even a Bills in Sydney cook book, which my daughter uses all the time.

 

http://www.bills.com.au/home.htm

 

In addition, there are lots of reasonably priced innovative restaurants in Potts Point, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, and, of course, Chinatown, all inner CBD. I have yet to be disappointed after visiting any well patronised restaurant in Sydney.

[mochuck]

Sorry, but have to disagree with you about Bills (in Darlinghurst anyway). I work just around the corner from them and we always used to go there for lunch for someone's birthdays etc. But they have substantially limited the menu and it is not BYO anymore which adds to the cost, so we've stopped going there. It did used to be great though and his cookbooks are good too.

 

If anyone from Bills reads this - I work at the Garvan Institute

[Pacific Sandy]

But they have substantially limited the menu and it is not BYO anymore which adds to the cost, so we've stopped going there.

 

Do some restaurants in Sydney allow you to bring your own wine??

 

Be still my beating heart !!:)

[Globaliser]

BYO - a great Australian tradition!

[mochuck]

Do some restaurants in Sydney allow you to bring your own wine??

 

Be still my beating heart !!:)

 

Not so much right in the middle of the city, but certainly in places like Surry Hills, Chinatown and Darlinghurst which are still in the city but not quite (if that makes sense). BYO restaurants will usually charge corkage (but not always) but it still isn't as expensive as the mark up that they put on when its not BYO.

 

For example, Bills was charging $42 for a bottle of wine that I could get for $12 in liquor shop. When they were BYO, the corkage was about $2.50 per head.

 

In the suburbs and rural areas most places are BYO.

[mes531]

We also went to Doyles, couldn't believe what they were charging for fish and chips, but my husband had them anyway! Nothing to rave about! We were there a little after lunch time, so I ordered off the appetizer menu, and had plenty of food. Was it worth the trip??? No!!

We enjoyed the restaurants in The Rocks area, just walked around and looked at their menus and decided from there! We had our breakfast included with our hotel....so no idea on breakfast!

[MMDown Under]

It is such a shame that Doyles has become so expensive. We always visit Watson's Bay because we love the location, with lots of beautiful walks and spectacular views. We used to eat in their beer garden next door or get takeaway from the kiosk at the end of the pier, but last visit in December, we ate at a waterfront cafe nearby, with good light food and friendly service (turn right instead of left off the pier).