Eating and Drinking in Sydney: What You Need to Know

Australia has never had a great reputation for food and drink internationally, but due to a recent flux in immigration, their national cuisine is becoming much more varied and interesting. Sydney, especially, due to its cosmopolitan nature, has birthed a thriving scene for food and drink. Read on for a brief guide of what Sydney can offer the amateur food connoisseur.

Trying Out the Bars

As the largest metropolitan area in Australia, and a must-see destination for many tourists to the country, Sydney has one of the most thriving bar scenes in the whole country. The cosmopolitan city has a wide array of late-night establishments. As a result, whether you’re looking to party until the late hours of the morning, or prefer something more lowkey, there’s likely be something to suit you, your tastes. In particular, though, Sydney has a reputation for small, boutique cocktail bars. These are great places to hang out, soak in the sights, and meet both some of the locals and travellers passing through the coastal city. Potts Point and Surry Hills are both very popular areas for nightlife, due to their inner-city location and host of buzzing bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. If you’re willing to spend a little extra, there are also plenty of establishments which offer stunning vistas of the coastline, as well as Sydney’s most famous landmarks – the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. 

The only drawback of the smaller places is that, because of their size and intimacy, it can be a little difficult to identify the best cocktail bar in Sydney. However, there is plenty written on the subject, and this can be a great excuse to go exploring, and to try as many places as possible! 

Enjoying the Local Favourites

Despite the stereotypes you’ll hear about Australian food, the cuisine in Sydney is far from just vegemite and Foster’s! Nowadays, there are plenty of local specialities that are hugely popular with locals and tourists alike. Surprisingly, despite its distance from Italy, Sydney actually has a great reputation for gelato, for example. Today, there are hundreds of ice cream establishments in Sydney with, more flavours than you could possibly sample.  It can make for a  great, refreshing treat to enjoy on a hot day at Bondi Beach. 

Modern Sydney has a thriving, diverse population. In particular, due to its proximity, there are nowadays a large cohort of Asian immigrants that now call the city home. As a result, Sydney is also one of the best places to sample an Australian take on a classic Chinese dish – dim sum. Dim sum, or yum cha as it is known in Sydney, refers to a set of small, tapas-style dishes which are commonly eaten as breakfast or lunch in many parts of the world. Dumplings, noodle rolls, and soups are all dishes you would expect to find at a dim-sum restaurant. However, you should be aware that, because of its popularity, dim-sum can get quite expensive in the more touristic areas of the city. 

Sampling the Local Markets

Food and drink markets are starting to pop up more and more around Sydney, and, as any food blogger could tell you, street stalls are some of the best places to enjoy local, authentic dishes. Farmer’s markets, especially the one by Bondi Beach, are thus a great place to pick up some fresh produce and sample the local delights. Spice Alley, a row of food stalls located in the heart of Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD), is also an ideal place to try some genuine Thai, Malaysian, and Japanese cuisine.

Category: Food.Fun.Stuff.