Circular Quay is a place people often pass through—onto the ferry or train (from one of the world's most scenic stations) after work, into the Sydney Opera House to see a performance, or over the Harbour Bridge bound elsewhere. But it's also one of the most beautiful parts of Sydney/Eora, and home to world-class restaurants to match.
These are Urban List's recommendations for the best Circular Quay restaurants right now.
Know what you want? Skip to
- The Best Circular Quay Restaurants With A View
- The Best Casual Circular Quay Restaurants
- The Best Asian Restaurants In Circular Quay
- The Best Circular Quay Restaurants For Lunch
- The Best Circular Quay Restaurants For Date Night
The Best Circular Quay Restaurants With A View
Aria
1 Macquarie Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Aria | Instagram
Consistently recognised as one of the best restaurants in Sydney and first opened back in 1999, Aria has pride of place on the eastern corner of Circular Quay.
Under the leadership of owners Matt Moran and Bruce Solomon, Aria's Head Chef Tom Gorringe is crafting dishes that celebrate the finest Australian producers and growers, with an awarded wine program and formats including a set menu, a four-course prix fixe menu, pre-theatre dining, and a weekday two-course lunch.
INSIDER INTEL
- Save this one for a special occasion, and prepare to be wowed by the food and Circular Quay views.
Whalebridge
8–10 East Circular Quay, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Whalebridge | Instagram
Perched right on the waters of Circular Quay, Whalebridge is where you want to be for oysters, fresh French fare and million-dollar harbour views as the ferries pass by.
The bistro and bar serve approachable dishes like a hot smoked salmon salad, moules frites, a Parisian bistro-style burger, and comté soufflé, or you can splash out with a seafood platter piled with a half-lobster, Sydney rock oysters, cooked prawns, scallop crudo, mignonnette and aioli. Just add champagne.
INSIDER INTEL
- We reckon Whalebridge is one of the best spots to dine outdoors in Sydney.
Bennelong
Bennelong Point, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Bennelong | Instagram
You'd be hard-pressed to find a restaurant in a more iconic structure than Bennelong, which is tucked into the main sail of the Sydney Opera House and overseen by noted executive chef Peter Gilmore.
On the far north-eastern edge of Circular Quay, this bucket-list Sydney restaurant serves set menus spinning premium Aussie produce into something as theatrical and considered as you'd expect on the nearby stages—see the signature Opera House pavlova dessert.
Insider Intel
- If you haven't made a booking, our Sydney editor, Georgia Condon, suggests you try nabbing a seat at the bar for a cocktail spotlighting boutique Australian distilleries and snacks from the filling bar menu.
Cafe Sydney
Level 5/ Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Image credit: Cafe Sydney | Instagram
Boasting a front-on, unobstructed view of Circular Quay and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Cafe Sydney has been a go-to for an unforgettable Sydney dining experience since it opened in 1999—Nigella Lawson even chose to celebrate the launch of Vivid Sydney 2025 from its balcony.
At lunch and dinner, expect seasonally driven dishes showcasing European formats with local and Asian-influenced ingredients, like Mooloolaba tuna carpaccio with buttermilk ricotta, caper, finger lime, yuzu oil and rye crisp; Berkshire pork cutlet with koji, quince, spring onion, marjoram and romesco; and a Vahlrona Manjari chocolate cherry parfait with chocolate sorbet, black pepper and orange crumb.
Cafe Sydney has a much-awarded wine list, and does a Sunday lunch prix fixe menu as well as set menus available daily.
INSIDER INTEL
- Urban List's Sydney editor, Georgia Condon, always recommends Cafe Sydney for plant-based diners, thanks to its dedicated vegetarian menu.
The Best Casual Circular Quay Restaurants
Deux Frères
6 Loftus Lane, Sydney CBD
Image Credit: Deux Frères | Instagram
Deux Frères is a Circular Quay restaurant heavily inspired by the Basque Country, which straddles the border of Spain and France. Their menu is a testament to the owner’s European heritage, focusing on tapas and pintxos, small bar snacks native to northern Spain. Expect croquettes with confit duck or bacalao fish, brioche with foie gras and onion jam, garlic shrimps and paprika (cooked at the table), and lightly grilled line-caught squid on the menu.
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Hacienda
Level 3, 61 Macquarie Street, Sydney CBD
Image Credit: Hacienda | Supplied
Hacienda is a bar and lounge combining a Latin-American flair with sweeping Sydney Harbour views. Located inside the Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour Hotel, floor-to-ceiling windows cast an eye over the venue's prime real estate—but nighttime is when this Circular Quay restaurant and bar really comes alive.
Soulful Latin beats and live Afro-Cuban jazz bands are the soundtrack to a menu bursting with modern Australian and Latin flavours. Think share plates honouring fresh local produce: poached prawns with espelette pepper, lobster tostada, crab linguine with charred habanero and a signature club sandwich.
INSIDER INTEL
- We recommend passing by during their Golden Hour: from 4pm to 6pm Tuesday–Friday, you can indulge in three distinctive margaritas for just $15, alongside a specialty snack-sized menu.
Mary's Circular Quay
7 Macquarie Place, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Mary's | Instagram
We don't need to say much about Mary's, but we will say: there are a few things that one of their juicy burgers can't fix.
The Circular Quay burger spot sits atop sister venue Mary's Underground, so it's primely positioned for pre-gig or late-night eats when you find yourself in the CBD and in need of something a little dirty. We'd visit on a Thursday to make the most of $10 margaritas.
INSIDER INTEL
- Lorde crashed her own themed party at Mary's Underground in May 2025, so you never know which celebs will pull up here...
Humble Bakery
Shop 19, 16-20 Loftus Lane, Circular Quay
Image Credit: Humble Bakery | Instagram
Drop into Humble Bakery for a grab–and–go bite post-run club or trot around the CBD, and take your pick of their carefully crafted sandwiches. Their hole–in–the–wall pastry window in Circular Quay plates up lightly crusted sourdough loaves, focaccia, baguettes, and ciabatta, made fresh daily and paired with locally sourced ingredients. There isn't much seating here, except for a few stalls outside, so don't plan on lingering. Walk-ins only.
INSIDER INTEL
- If you need to cater a team event or brekkie meeting, the bakery offers catering services, so you can pre-order online or contact them in advance.
The Best Asian Restaurants In Circular Quay
Pearl
Quay Quarter Tower, 50 Bridge Street, Sydney CBD
Pearl is an elevated Circular Quay restaurant from the beloved Lotus Dining Group, taking their tried and true formula of Cantonese favourites and stepping things up a notch as far as ingredients and technique.
Taking inspiration from Hong Kong, the menu (spanning the three main elements of dim sum, barbeque and seafood) covers favourites like roast duck (which takes three days to prepare), char siu pork and live seafood alongside dim sum, soups, rice and noodles. A 200-strong wine list and signature pan-Asian-influenced cocktails round out the offering.
INSIDER INTEL
- The 30-seat balcony provides the best Harbour Bridge views in the house.
Besuto
3 Underwood Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Besuto
Found above the Quay Quarter Lanes foodie precinct—and, we reckon, one of Sydney's best omakase experiences—Besuto offers Japanese tranquillity and escapism amid the chaos of the Sydney CBD.
Surrender to the 20-course seasonal omakase menu that guarantees an intimate and memorable Japanese meal.
INSIDER INTEL
- Kick on at nearby sister venue Bar Besuto if you find room for a nightcap.
Oborozuki
Level 3, 5/71 Macquarie Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Oborozuki | Instagram
Found in one of Sydney's most luxurious apartment buildings, Oborozuki is a multi-faceted Japanese-meets-French dining hotspot that's out to wow, with a fresh a la carte concept, high-end teppanyaki and kaiseki offerings.
The blend of Japanese and French flavours and techniques are best experienced on the three or four-course a la carte menu, with dishes like raw Abrolhos scallops with honeydew, crème fraiche, elderflower and wasabi leaf, grass-fed beef tartare with pomme paillasson, smoked unagi, beetroot and tamari soy, and Maremma duck with turnip fondant, amazake, fig, black garlic and spiced shiso seed.
INSIDER INTEL
- Nab a spot by the floor-to-ceiling glass windows for sparkly views over Circular Quay.
The Best Circular Quay Restaurants For Lunch
Bar Mammoni
Shop 2, Loftus Lane, Sydney CBD
Image Credit: Bar Mammoni | Instagram
Bar Mammoni is the youngest sibling of Hinchcliff house venues Grana and Lana, serving grab–and–go plates and pasta, handmade daily, from the flour mill at Grana. Great for casual lunch break catch-ups, this laneway spot serves pastas, focaccia sandwiches, and fresh pastries, plus a cheeky cocktail or two. Favourites include their orecchiette with pesto trapanese and chilli pangrattato, rigatoni alla vodka, and their focaccia with prosciutto and stracciatella.
Better yet, they offer a $10 pasta deal on weekdays between 11am and 2pm. You can't book online, but you can order pick-up.
INSIDER INTEL
- We recommend grabbing a table early, as seating is limited—or take it with you for lunch with a front-row harbour view.
Martinez
Quay Quarter Tower, 50 Bridge Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Martinez | Instagram
A slice of the South of France in the heart of Sydney, Martinez boasts a sizable open-air terrace bar with Harbour Bridge views and a pretty dining room splashed with pink decor and lush indoor plants.
The menu here spans the Mediterranean, so there's a significant focus on seafood, with standouts like poached spanner crab tagliatelle, fried kimchi and gruyère ‘mac and cheese’, vibrant fruits de mer platters, and whole market fish.
Bistro George
176 George Street, Sydney
Image credit: Bistro George | Instagram
The tablecloths might be white at Bistro George—but it's not at the cost of personality and warmth at this chic eatery inside the revamped Jacksons on George.
Here, head chef Steven Sinclair's menu is splashed with European influences on simple, slightly nostalgic plates like clams Casino, Blackmore beef shin ragu on pappardelle, Berkshire pork fillet with apple cider and red elk, and a range of caviar and steaks.
Grana
Hinchcliff House, 5–7 Young Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Grana | Instagram
The ground-floor sister to Circular Quay restaurant Lana, Grana is a mostly Italian Circular Quay restaurant that ticks off workday lunches, sizable social spreads, and after-work drinks.
The name refers to "grain" in Italian and alludes to the on-site mill which is used to create Grana's pasta and breads with wheat sourced from small-scale NSW producers; order focaccia di recco layered with cheese, hand-folded and -filled ravioli with pumpkin and ricotta in burnt butter, pickled pumpkin and hazelnut, or opt for wood-grilled seafood or proteins.
INSIDER INTEL
- Grana Privato is one of Sydney's best private dining rooms for a special occasion, kitted out with its own kitchen, private bar, dedicated bartender, and bathrooms, with no venue hire fee.
The Best Circular Quay Restaurants For Date Night
Neptune's Grotto
Lower Ground Floor/44 Bridge Street, Sydney CBD
Image Credit: Neptune's Grotto | Instagram
Downstairs at Loftus Lane is Neptune’s Grotto, a New York-inspired den from the trio behind Clam Bar, Pellegrino 2000, and the now-closed Bistrot 916. This moody, low-lit restaurant narrows in on Northern Italian cuisine, featuring dishes like their egg yolk tagliolini with tomato and basil, grandma-style puffy pizza slices, and cotoletta alla Bolognese—a breaded veal cutlet with cream and prosciutto.
INSIDER INTEL
- Expect lighting so low you’ll be squinting to read the menu, oozing wax candles, and the odd marble sculpture—all key ingredients for a successful date night.
Bouillon L'Entrecôte
6 Loftus Street, Sydney CBD
Image credit: Bouillon l'Entrecôte | Instagram
Inspired by one particular Parisian steakhouse, Bouillon l'Entrecôte absolutely delivers on the hearty and satisfying French fare. Expect a banging steak frites (with a few select cuts), bubbling French onion soup, duck a l'orange and even escargot with a side of baguette and real deal French butter—this is one of our picks for Sydney's best French restaurants, after all.
INSIDER INTEL
- If you're just after a snack, a dedicated bar menu has smaller bites perfect for accompanying a bottle of something from Bordeaux or Burgundy from the Circular Quay restaurant's sizable cellar.
Lana
Hinchcliff House, 5–7 Young Street, Sydney CBD
Image Credit: Lana | Instagram
A modern Italian restaurant with the global influences we've come to expect in Sydney, Lana is the crowning jewel of multi-level hub Hinchcliff House.
Head to the top of the heritage-listed former wool store to discover a feminine space with pink furnishings, plenty of blooms, and a striking pink marble bar. At dinner, there's a generous share-style set menu covering snacks, an entrée and main, and sides for under $100, or you can go a la carte at lunchtime.
INSIDER INTEL
- Lana often hosts exciting collabs, special events, and fun happenings—check out what's on online.
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Main image credit: Whalebridge | Instagram
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