Sydney\u2019s thriving Greek community has long added colour and flavour to the city\u2019s dining scene, but 2025 has stepped up another notch, with eight new restaurants opening.<\/p>\n
Olympus Dining is the one everyone\u2019s talking about, but I also visited Akti and Etheus and was blown away not only by the food (I could be very happy snacking on the crudo, olives and Melitzanosalata with fresh pita bread at Akti all day) but by the fabulous fitouts and clever, contemporary cocktails like the Spasta (Ouzeus Lime, Skinos Mastiha, dill-lemon cordial, supasawa) or the Aperol, Limoncello, clarified guava, pistachio orgeat combo.<\/p>\n
Inside Akti. Photo \/ Alexia Santamaria<\/p>\n
I\u2019d be lying if I said I wasn\u2019t a little jealous since we only have a handful of great Greek spots back home \u2013 and being able to stroll Bondi Beach after fresh oysters, rich saganaki. Zesty Greek Salad and fall-apart lamb Kleftiko at Etheus was heaven.<\/p>\n
City of Steak<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret Aussies turn out some pretty incredible beef \u2013 almost as good as ours \u2013 but you might not know that in this year\u2019s World\u2019s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list, 17 were from Australia, and 11 of those from Sydney: Margaret, Rockpool, The International, Firedoor, Porte\u00f1o, The Gidley, Aalia, Shell House, The Cut Bar & Grill, 20 Chapel, and Bistecca.<\/p>\n
After a visit to Margaret (ranked No 2) and The International (ranked No 14), I can confirm both were exceptional.<\/p>\n
Inside Margaret. Photo \/ Alexia Santamaria<\/p>\n
Even with Neil Perry at the helm, I was sceptical about what could make the 240g David Blackmore Wagyu rump with anchovy butter at Margaret rank so high, but it delivered as perhaps the best steak I\u2019ve ever had (it\u2019s certainly not cheap, but the menu is designed for sharing).<\/p>\n
Also recently opened and worth mentioning is 24 York, where the sole menu item is a grass-fed Scotch fillet accompanied by beef tallow shoestring fries (the only variations are peppercorn, chimichurri, umami butter, or veal jus sauce). Book ahead as it\u2019s often full.<\/p>\n
Raising the bar<\/p>\n
Sydney is always a great night out, and I was struck by how comfortable I felt in every bar I visited. Being a \u2018few years\u2019 older than the 20-something crowd, it was refreshing to see people of all ages, stages, styles, and vibes out having a great time. Maybe Sammy ranks among the World\u2019s 50 Best Bars regularly (this year included) for good reason, and if great mezcal and margs are your thing don\u2019t miss Cantina OK!, a tiny spot in Council Place.<\/p>\n
Also from the Mucho Group is hot new spot Herbs Taverne, where it\u2019s all about Negronis, and popcorn comes standard for every table. I also loved watching the world go by over a refreshing concoction of lime leaf vodka, clarified mandarin, bergamot and bubbles from the rooftop at Smoke Bar in Barangaroo.<\/p>\n
The newly launched Inner West Distillery Trail runs from Balmain and Rozelle through to Lilyfield and Marrickville and includes nine distilleries (four of which have won awards this year). This area is home to more micro-distilleries than anywhere else in Australia<\/p>\n
Street food heaven<\/p>\n
While Sydney excels at fine dining, it\u2019s just as much fun exploring its cheap-and-cheerful side. If you\u2019re staying central, head towards bustling Hay Street and Chinatown, where you can feast on fresh crispy roast duck, hand-pulled noodles, dumplings and all your favourites \u2013 whether you\u2019re after the old-school charm of the original Chinatown or the more modern vibe around Darling Square and surrounds.<\/p>\n
You can find authentic Thai, Korean, and Chinese street food within one block. Photo \/ Alex Santamaria<\/p>\n
The area around Pitt and Goulburn Streets is known as Little Thai Town, while Pitt and Liverpool Streets are nicknamed Koreatown, and you\u2019ll see why. Nearby, stock up on gorgeous fresh fruit (mangoes that might just make you weep with joy) at Paddy\u2019s Market, and check out its new addition, Hay Street Market, a super-bougie indoor permanent market \u2013 complete with bar and lots of food to eat on site.<\/p>\n
And if seafood is your thing, the Sydney Fish Market is the stuff of dreams. Depending on when you visit, you may even catch it in its brand-new location, set to be one of the city\u2019s most exciting new attractions.<\/p>\n
Sydney Fish Market. Photo \/ Alexia Santamaria<\/p>\n
Sydney really is a city made for eating, and after a few days hopping between high-end haunts and hole-in-the-wall gems, I was reminded just how good it is to have such deliciousness so close to home. Lucky, lucky us.<\/p>\n
The writer travelled courtesy of Destination NSW.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney\u2019s thriving Greek community has long added colour and flavour to the city\u2019s dining scene, but 2025 has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[836,2840,73530,95,6128,3390,138,63701,81902,7490,1866,564,2082,228,89092,117,111,139,69,10270,73531,1734,223,14344,19985],"class_list":["post-142947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-836","tag-across","tag-alexia","tag-and","tag-bars","tag-best","tag-business","tag-ditch","tag-eateries","tag-eats","tag-find","tag-food","tag-for","tag-guide","tag-hops","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-restaurants","tag-santamaria","tag-sydney","tag-the","tag-travelling","tag-worth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}