Food & Drink

The Ultimate Flavour Trail: Here’s Where To Eat Across Parramatta Right Now

Written by: Lizzie Scorer

Internet-breaking eats, award-winning menus, under-the-radar gems and cafes worth planning your weekend around—Parramatta has it all. This thriving foodie playground plates up just about every cuisine under the sun—and at every price point.

From fiery Japanese BBQ and backyard-born pizza joints to swish Euro bistros and Middle Eastern brunch favourites, Urban List has rounded up Parramatta’s best places to sip, snack and settle in for a seriously good feed.

Here’s our ultimate guide on where to eat across Parramatta right now.

Elevated Dining Spots

A euro style dish served with steak and fresh vegetable salads

Ruse Bar And Brasserie

Refined wining and dining is the standard at Ruse Bar and Brasserie, a sleek Euro-style bistro serving flame-licked meats, fresh seafood and seasonal produce with serious polish.

The open-fire Josper and Basque ovens deliver standouts like Wagyu rump cap, lamb saddle and whole fish, alongside handmade pastas, cold and hot starters and a sharp international wine list.

Private dining is also on the cards in a 14-seat, cellar-side room built for intimate celebrations.

LILYMU

LILYMU brings bold Pan-Asian flavours, sophisticated cocktails and neon-lit interiors to Parramatta Square. Part of the Esca Group stable—behind Sydney favourites Itō, Henrietta, Jōji, NOUR and AALIA—it’s designed for elevated date nights, celebratory gatherings and bottomless long lunches ($89pp).

Experience the kitchen’s best with the $78pp banquet, comprising of coconut tuna ceviche, golden chicken gyozas, MB9+ Wagyu massaman curry, mochi sorbet, and more knockout mouthfuls.

Nick & Nora’s

This glitzy rooftop bar is literally an elevated dining spot, sitting 26 levels above Parramatta on top of the five-star SKYE Suites. The cocktails and canapes are class, the art deco decor brings the glam, and there’s champagne towers with $5 pours every Friday from 5pm—the perfect pre- or post-dinner affair.

Coffee And Dessert SpotsSlicing a delicious dessert cake topped with strawberriesHomage Specialty Coffee

Beneath the towering skyline of George Street, Homage Specialty Coffee slings some of the best coffee in Parramatta. Branch out from your usual order with a coffee flight built around single-origin espresso, white coffee and batch brew.

On the food front, expect a next-level chilli scram, loaded avo toast, bagels, sweet treats and a huge lineup of jaffles and toasties (their second specialty).

Circa Espresso

Circa Espresso is a top-notch spot for mega Mediterranean brekkie and lunch feeds plus ethically sourced and specialty roasted brews. The ottoman eggs are a go-to: two free-range poached eggs sit atop crumbed eggplant on a creamy garlic labne base, with burnt chilli and sage butter, fried leeks and house-made focaccia.

Lucien Baked Goods

This cool cafe-slash-bakery from the Circa team is a top sweet spot in Parramatta. Buttery blueberry bagels, sugary pistachio swirls and flaky almond croissants fly out of the kitchen on the daily, all baked fresh on-site. Alongside excellent coffee, they also do banging matchas—go for the iced strawberry or vanilla caramel. 

Hidden Gems

Touka

Hidden in a small courtyard off Horwood Place, Japanese BBQ spot Touka is a local Parramatta treasure. The yakiniku restaurant and bar has open grills in the centre of each table where you can cook premium wagyu, pork belly, chicken, seafood, vegetables and more. Round out the experience with fresh sashimi, gyozas, hot soup and colourful cocktails for a fun date night, family outing or celebration.

Fratelli Pulcinella

What started as pumping pizza parties and dough-tossing shows in owner Alessio Zullo’s backyard, is now Fratelli Pulcinella, a two-storey Italian restaurant who was recently awarded as the World Champion for the Classic Pizza. It still feels homey, with hand-painted rainbow chairs and a leafy courtyard, but with slightly more facilities than the old setup.

A massive wood-fire oven churns out cheesy Neopolitan pies that no carb-lover should miss, alongside a selection of starters, handmade pasta, seafood and meat mains, spritzes, Italian beers and wines.

Swanky Noodle

This wallet-friendly Chinese noodle house shouldn't be slept on. Located just outside Westfield Parramatta, Swanky Noodle is all about hand-pulled noodles, with everything on the menu under $20.

Major must-tries include the Xi Bo-style wide noodle glossed in spicy sauce and the fried chopped noodle with a choice of beef, lamb, pork or chicken. There’s also noodle-less dishes like fried dumplings, sweet and sour pork, braised eggplant and more.

Viral Eats

Served with stacked sandwich and refreshing cold beverage to satisfy cravingMISC.

MISC.’s chocolate caviar is clocking up serious views online. Layers of velvety milk and dark chocolate pearls look like the real deal, presented in a caviar-inspired tin with popping candy and a dark chocolate sponge. The creamy chocolate dessert is even served on ice—we’ve never seen anything like it.

Mikazuki

This Japanese joint dishes up some of the best ramen in Parramatta, but the star of the show is the crispy sashimi taco. These golden treats are probably Mikazuki’s most popular starter, packed with a selection of fresh cubed sashimi, kimchi, avocado and a generous squeeze of spicy mayo.

Harvey’s Hot Sandwiches

Underground Parramatta Square diner Harvey’s Hot Sandwiches has been blowing up our social feed with its stacked bread creations. The Beef Dip is an extra juicy sando, loaded with grilled scotch fillet, onion, melty provolone and horseradish mayo that comes with a dippable gravy sauce (don’t wear a white shirt for this one).

Harvey’s also has a hot Nutella fountain for drizzling over house-made ice cream sundaes and cookie sandwiches.

For more places to eat in Parramatta right now, visit here.

Editor's note: This article is sponsored by City Of Parramatta and proudly endorsed by The Urban List. To find out more about who we work with and why read our editorial policy here.

Image credit: Lilymu, Ruse,  Touka, Harvey’s Hot Sandwiches

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