Double Bay Is Back: The Venues Reviving Sydney’s Most Glamorous Suburb

It’s 11am on a Saturday and the footpath along Bay Street is impossible to wade through. Every shopfront along the manicured road is overflowing with people making the most of the ritzy suburb’s offerings. However, this sight of locals out with their designer dogs and Sydneysiders from all over town spilling onto the pavement wasn’t always typical.

The blue-ribbon suburb is rising from the doldrums of a quiet period where such liveliness was nowhere to be seen (bar the hoards of 18-year-olds cutting their teeth at the Golden Sheaf). A new wave of venue openings, headlined by culinary legend Neil Perry, has revitalised the suburb to return it to what he describes as “the Double Bay of the '70s and '80s”. Since opening his highly awarded fine diner Margaret in 2021, Next Door in 2023, and new venues Song Bird and Bobbie’s in 2024, Perry has led the charge to put Double Bay back on the map.

“One of the things that seems to have changed it quite dramatically was the opening of Westfield and when they took the cinemas out,” says Perry. This pull to Bondi Junction for shopping and leisure left Double Bay with few assets to create the community hub it is now. With the suburb then left in a lull, Perry says, “there was a lack of courage for people to create something”. In Australia’s highest-earning suburb, investing in such an expensive area has been a barrier to potential venue operators.

“You’ve got to really know and be sure of your product… you’re risking a lot because of that high rent and build costs,” says Perry.

Just as quickly as property development can kill a suburb, it can also revive it. Fortis Group, with whom Perry signed a 10-year lease, is one of several developers who have started projects in the harbourside suburb in recent years.

“Post-Covid, a lot of companies wanted to get out of the CBD,” says Eddie Levy, co-owner of popular Double Bay Italian venue Matteo, and the newly opened Japanese restaurant, Tanuki. “[People are] moving their offices to Double Bay,” says Levy, who has also noticed an uptick in Double Bay’s midweek trade, and attributes this to the influx of commercial developments.

Community support has been just as vital to Double Bay’s new era as these commercial developments. “There are people that really give a shit about it and are really actively trying to make it this amazing entertainment precinct,” says Charlie Kelly, owner of Southeast Asian restaurant Bartiga on Bay Street. Groups like the Bay Street Initiative have received government and private funding to support the growth of the suburb.

The future is bright for the suburb, with Perry working around the clock and spending about $13 million to open his two new venues in August 2024, and not showing any signs of stopping. “I’ve never been more happy in my entire life," he says. “Everybody says to me, ‘are you crazy? You’re 67, you’re investing all this money, you’re taking on all this responsibility… What are you doing?’ I don’t feel like that. I feel like I’m actually living my dream.”

Double Bay’s nightlife has also been shaken up. Between new Mexican joint Gitano opening until 3am on the weekend and Tanuki up the road building a dance floor after dinner service, there is now never a quiet hour in the suburb. “Everyone is eager to get a place again, where they can dine and have fun as well,” says Fransico Rosales, general manager of Gitano.

Ready to revisit this iconic Sydney suburb? Here's what's new and worth a visit in Double Bay.

Song Bird

24 Bay Street, Double Bay

Image credit: Song Bird | Supplied

Song Bird is Neil and Sam Perry’s three-storey Cantonese restaurant celebrating Neil’s love for Asian cuisine, his passion for excellent Australian produce, and the significant mid-century architecture of its setting, in the heritage-listed Gaden House. 

Neil and head chef Mark Lee's menu has over 70 dishes, with highlights like scallop spring rolls with sweet black vinegar sauce; Peking duck with hoisin sauce, condiments and mandarin pancakes; stir-fried red braised David Blackmore Wagyu with oyster mushrooms and kampot pepper sauce; and steamed coral trout with ginger and shallot. Read more about Song Bird.

Bobbie's

24 Bay Street, Double Bay

Image credit: Bobbie's | Supplied

Across the road from Song Bird, Bobbie's is a Double Bay cocktail bar by the Perrys and collaborators Linden Pride and Nathalie Hudson (of multi-award-winning bar Dante in NYC and Los Angeles), on the basement level of the iconic Gaden House. Bobbie's is named for Linden’s grandfather Bob Rogers OAM, the radio DJ who introduced top 40 programming to Aussie airwaves, and Australia’s longest-serving radio announcer.

Martinis rule on the drinks list with a signature martini blending Dolin Blanc, Mancino Dry, Hickson House Distilling Co gin, clarified green apple and pickled onion, an elevated take on the beloved lychee martini, and a white chocolate espresso martini.

A menu of elegant snacks and seafood-focused nibbles (highlighting favourite producers used by Neil at his neighbouring venues) rounds out the offering, with gildas with green olive, anchovy and pickled chilli; caviar on potato crisps or blini; Spencer Gulf king prawn cocktail; CopperTree Farm beef patty melt with gruyere and pickles, and elegant finger sandwiches. Read more about Bobbie's.

Bartiga

Short Street & Bay Street, Double Bay

Image credit: Bartiga | Instagram 

After Charlie Kelly’s mother retired from running well-known and loved Cafe Perons after over four decades, he and Malaysian chef Faheem Noor jumped at the opportunity to create an inventive South East Asian restaurant. The space at Bartiga is intimate and minimalistic, but the loud and proud transcontinental menu does all the talking here.

Noor, who has had experience working with Gordon Ramsay and more recently at closing-Sydney-stalwart Tetsuyas, has devised a cheeky yet elegant menu taking inspiration from his home country to Thailand to France and Mexico. Beef rendang sausage rolls are the perfect marriage of Malaysian and Australian, and tacos are a global affair with tamarind glazed confit duck, betel and shiso leaves, and mango salsa. The tom yum bouillabaisse spaghettini is a masterclass in fusion with generous servings of fresh seafood throughout.

Gitano

Shop 2/53 Cross Street, Double Bay

Image credit: Gitano | Kitti Gould

The site that was Bedouin now hosts this Tulum-inspired restaurant and bar. Head Chef Alvaro "Clark" Valenzuela, originally from Mexico City and having spent time cooking at Chula, is cooking a modern Mexican menu that is all about bringing people together.

The menu has Spanish and East Asian influences that keep the menu dynamic. Swing by for some sophisticated snacks like tuna and ponzu tostadas to have with their extensive margarita menu before having a boogie on the weekend. Or come for a more substantial affair with a 500g Wagyu ribeye with chimichurri on offer, and stick around for their ancho chilli burnt basque cheesecake for dessert.

Tanuki

37 Bay Street, Double Bay

Image credit: Tanuki | Instagram 

In Japanese folklore, the tanuki is a playful prankster who is jolly and mischievous. Restaurants and izakayas in Japan will place a tanuki statue outside their venue for good luck. The group behind Double Bay Italian mainstay Matteo wanted to bring that sense of fun when they named their new Japanese restaurant after the animal.

Come for lunch to see sunlight from the courtyard beaming down onto their centrepiece 30-year-old Japanese Liquid Amber tree while you dine on amped-up contemporary Japanese fare. Signature nigiri like foie gras, caviar and truffle oil set the scene for A5 Kagoshima steak imported from Japan. Come later at night for a few cheeky skewers from their robata grill and a couple of highballs before getting among the dance floor on the weekend.

More Double Bay Restaurants And Bars

Baker Bleu

2 Guilfoyle Avenue, Double Bay

Image credit: Baker Bleu | Instagram 

Mia and Mike Russell’s two Melbourne bakeries are about all things sourdough from their country loaves to their croissants and cookies. They partnered with Neil Perry to bring the beloved bakery concept up to Sydney in 2022. Now, locals and visitors to the suburb alike queue down Guilfoyle Avenue for some of the best daily bread and picnic spreads in the country.

They have also collaborated with Perry on their extensive sandwich menu, with highlights like their cured Ora salmon pastrami bagel for breakfast, or the prawn roll with potato, celery, and Marie-Rose sauce for lunch. Competition for a table by the footpath is fierce, so we recommend taking your bounty and cup of Mecca Coffee to the water for Sydney’s ultimate picnic.

Want another deep dive into a suburb's food scene? Check out our picks of the best restaurants in Surry Hills.

Matteo

29 Bay Street, Double Bay

Image credit: Matteo | Instagram

Matteo nails the easy, breezy Italian vibes with its indoor/outdoor dining room, courtyard and street-side dining space, crowd-pleasing menu, and Friday aperitivo sessions perfect for kicking off a leisurely weekend in Double Bay.

Go for limoncello spritzes, burrata, spicy vodka rigatoni and their pizzas, which are twice-proofed for the ultimate chewy but crisp base.

Main image credit: Tanuki | Instagram