Directory Search

The guys behind The Botanist and Bondi Hardware, Hamish Watts and Ben Carroll, opened their latest Sydney bar and restaurant, SoCal, in late 2013 in Sydney's north-shore suburb of Neutral Bay.

From the team that brought you Buzo (which, sadly for Woollahra locals, is relocating to the CBD) is The Wine Library, which is, as you might guess, exactly that. But instead of a hushed atmosphere with fussy staff, the classic reds and whites are shared here with gusto.

Mini herb gardens, indoor composting systems, home brewing—as our country grows and we become bigger and bigger consumers, there's a trend for small, DIY projects. Hop + Grain Brew Store in Enmore is welcoming first-time brewers with its start-up kit, which will create you at least 30 longnecks using its straightforward method. Best of all, it's much cheaper than visiting the bottle shop. There are options to make cider and ginger beer, too.

Long a wasteland of big pubs and over-priced touristy spots, Manly has come full circle with a band of boutique cafes and bars catering to cultured locals.

Located in a the former Newtown Conservatory, Bloodwood Restaurant & Bar is decked out to suit its industrial surrounds, with recycled and reclaimed furniture and finishes throughout, and is divided into four unique areas: front bar, mezzanine dining area, deck dining and communal tables in the basement gallery.

Image credit: Alex Squadrito

It's not called Greenheart Espresso for no reason: the interior of this cosy inner-city Sydney café is tiled a vivid shade of the colour, distinctly marking it from the surrounding run-of-the-mill establishments.

The team at Potts Point's People Hairdressing, which includes the very renowned Hamish Glianos, know how to make hair work for you as an individual, taking into account your lifestyle, personality, face shape, skin tone and hair type before embarking on any dramatic changes.

Don't be fooled by the vintage-style interior and fifties-dressing staff at this fabled establishment, for Sterling Hairdressing Parlour & Barber Shop is adept at creating looks far beyond quiffs and up-dos, though it does have a penchant for creating this classic styles. Owner and founder Tony Vacher trained at the esteemed Vidal Sassoon in London before returning to Australia to open his own salon, which not only offers great styles, but a fun atmosphere, too. 

One of Sydney's leading boutique organic and lean cafes, Henley's Wholefoods encompasses all aspects of healthy eating, and we can assure you it's anything but boring at this Bondi Junction cafe. 

We hear about eating healthily, of being kind to our body, but what exactly does that entail? Some things, like where our produce comes from, is out of our control, but Bondi Wholefoods is trying to change that with its offering of delicious, organic produce; that is, clean, nutritious food untainted by toxic chemicals in healthy soil.

A speakeasy-style bar in bustling Bondi Juction? It's this exactly incongruity that makes Spring Street Social work so well, with locals stopping by for an after-work (or post-shopping) tipple and bite. It's not easy to find, hidden down an unmarked stairwell, but the dimly lit basement bar is full of charm, with a vintage record player and gramophone setting the scene.

A quick look at some of our favourite Sydney spots – The Fish Shop, Ms Gs and Mr Wong, for example – clearly indicates that Merivale knows how to entertain without disappointing. At its inner-city headquarters and food and drink hub The Ivy is Palings, a relaxed, open-air atrium open weekdays, catering to the CBD set in need of a post-meeting refreshment. You'll enjoy imbibing here, with $5 happy hour (or make that two, given it goes from 5 till 7pm) and menus from Deli and Grill, Thai Canteen and Patisserie, ensuring everyone is taken care of. 

This quintessential Sydney bar lays claim to one of the best views (and cocktails) in Sydney. Tucked right next to the Sydney Opera House with uninterrupted views of that glorious harbour bridge and the water, this is THE place you take anyone you really want to impress (or move to Sydney!). 

Iku Wholefood is all about healthy, well-made food that's delicious, fast and easy. High quality, organic produce is used where possible, with all of its food dairy-, additive-, preservative-, animal and genetic modification-free. Its extensive menu is made daily in its central kitchen in Marrickville, with the likes of casseroles, curries, lasagnes, macro-burgers, soups, pies, salads, wraps and sweat treats on offer. 

Harbourside smokehouse and grill Papi Chulo claims to change the way you think about barbecued food, and we can certainly attest that it honours the traditions that the cooking style is known and loved for while making it feel modern and relevant to the Australian lifestyle. The Merivale-owned restaurant opened in 2013 and smokes its marinated meats over wood for a minimum of six hours, creating a pit barbecued flavour reminiscent America's deep south restaurants. If red meat isn't your thing there are also lighter, South American bites like ceviche, charred seafood and seasonal salads. Pair with a cocktail and enjoy the sparkling view. 

We love an underground bar – those dimly lit caverns that evoke the spirit of prohibition-era secrecy – and Jam Gallery is one of our favourites. Located in Bondi Junction, the multi-purpose venue plays host to music performances, exhibitions and simply as a drink-and-dine stop-off. A shared food menu (think croquette de brie, crispy grilled air dried octopus and mango jam donuts) accompanies an extensive list of spirits, which the friendly bartenders will put to good use in cocktails so tasty you'll wind up spending hours here.

Since its major revamp in 2011, The Star has welcomed a slew of high profile restaurants, making it something of a hub for fine dining. Fans of inner city Chinese food establishment Golden Century will be pleased to see the opening of The Century, which serves all of the Chinatown flagships signature dishes in a sleek interior designed by Paring Onions. For special occasions there are semi-private dining rooms which can host up to 70 people, while the main room seats 250. Settle in for your pre-show fix of braised lobster, deep fried mud crab and crispy skin chicken. 

With Carriageworks nearby, and the big developments of One Central Park and UTS, Chippendale has become a hive of activity—with that, of course, comes the good food and drinks. Brickfields, which opened in early 2013, is just one example, a bakery-café serving some of the best baked goods in Sydney. Stop by to stock your bread basket, or settle in for a tasty breakfast or lunch, such as meaty sandwiches or salads and toast. 

Sydney's one and only yoga-studio-meets-wholefoods-café will rock your world. Sure, the food at Egg of the Universe will make your heart (and tastebuds) sing and the yoga will blow your mind. But really, it's the holistic approach to wellness that has got us loving this Rozelle destination.

When Maurice Terzini bowed out of North Bondi Italian, the big question was what would the Bondi Icebergs restaurateur do next. After all, he has defined the Eastern Suburbs bar and dining scene for years. Well, Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta, his new pizza restaurant on Hall Street in Bondi Beach, is already impressing locals and devoted fans alike with its Neapolitan wood-fired pizza, made on-site. There are all the flavours you'd expect from an authentic Italian pizza restaurant, as well focaccia con porchetta. The laidback, casual atmosphere is the perfect place to dine with friends and family. 

The Strand Arcade in Sydney has long been a home of boutique and artisan businesses in Sydney, so it made perfect sense, then, for Coffee Alchemy, the famous Marrickville café, to expand its business and open a new site, Gumption by Coffee Alchemy, within The Strand's historical walls.

It has that whole urban, dark American-style bar thing going on that's so popular in Sydney right now, but we'll forgive it, for we always have a cracking time at Stitch Bar in the CBD. The menu comprises mainly burgers (BLT, barbecued pork, veggie) and hotdogs  (hot and spicy pork, chicken and rocket sausage, pulled pork), along with bar snacks like curly fries and marinated olives, all of which you can wash back with its extensive list of cocktails (all around $18-$20) and wines (local and international, particularly French champagne).