Tom and I recently spent 6 wonderful days in Sydney.
Whenever we’re travelling, finding awesome places to eat is always high on the agenda, so today I’ve put together a list of 8 of the best cafés and restaurants that we visited while in Sydney!
Not only was the food delicious, but the decor in these places is also really beautiful. From cute and quirky cafés to cool restaurants, this list should have you covered for whatever meal you’re in the mood for - from a casual breakfast to a fancy dinner (although, being the brunch lover’s that we are, it’s probably slightly heavier on the brunch recommendations!)
There’s just something about beautiful interior design that takes the whole eating experience to the next level (and I’m sure if you’re reading my blog you probably have an appreciation for beautiful design just like I do, so you’ll understand!)
I hope you enjoy the post and find some new places to add to your list for the next time you’re planning a trip to Sydney, Australia!
1) The Butler
Located in the beautiful suburb of Potts Point, and serving up delicious food designed to be shared, this is definitely a restaurant to add to your list!
The interiors are so stunningly designed and that in itself would be enough to warrant a visit (think botanical prints on the walls, plants everywhere, rattan chairs, brass detailing, a view of the water and city), but the food, drinks and service is also exceptional!
I’ve visited three times now - once a few years ago on a girls trip (when the waiter actually brought us a free cocktail because the bartender was practicing!) and then twice on this trip with Tom (yes, we went back on the same trip!!)
On our first day in Sydney we were strolling around the Potts Point area (it’s such a pretty spot) when we stumbled across this place and decided it would be perfect for lunch (my birthday lunch in fact).
We had pulled pork tacos as well as a variety of delicious veggie dishes on this occasion and everything was so good! The fried cauliflower and beetroot (pictured below) were incredible, as was the salad which had some kind of orange vinaigrette dressing that made it exceptionally tasty! For those who are more into meaty dishes, they have plenty of those to choose from too!
They also have a great cocktail selection (although I went with a virgin mojito this time!) and Tom had some kind of fancy beer (I know nothing about beer so can’t comment on how good that selection was).
Our waiter was also really friendly and helpful which is always such a big factor for me because having nice people around makes such a difference to the experience!
We went back for dinner on the last night and again, the food was delicious. We ordered some of the same salads as well as some other meat dishes!
2) The Grounds of Alexandria
This place is basically The Secret Garden book brought to life in a way that’s even better than I could have imagined. A walled garden with a bunch of different places to eat - a cafe, restaurant, bar, bakery, as well as a little market. I probably need to do a separate post to share my photos (because everything about this place is so photogenic!) and I’d love to return to sample all the options, but for now I’ll keep it short and sweet and just talk about the two food places Tom and I tried out
The Café
The Cafe is more of a breakfast/lunch place, opening early from 7 am and closing around 3-4 depending on the day.
We made a booking at The Cafe for 11 am and had a delicious breakfast. I went for the Banana and Date Hotcake and Tom had the Maple Glazed Pork Belly Salad Bowl. Everything was so good! As you would expect from any of my recommendations, the decor was also really cool, I’m not even sure how to describe the style - a mix of rustic/eclectic/hipster sort of thing!
I just really appreciate beautiful design - I know it has nothing to do with making the food taste better but it just adds to my overall enjoyment of the experience! If you’re reading my blog you probably understand!
The Potting Shed
The Potting Shed is open for lunch and dinner from 11:30 - 9 or 10 (depending on the day of the week).
After doing a few other things in the area (visiting the Zimmermann Outlet!) we decided we may as well return for a late lunch and check out another of the eating options, seeing as we were nearby and probably wouldn’t have time to get back there! (Probably a bit excessive to go twice in one day but I was craving a salad and I’d seen they had plenty to choose from on the menu!)
I had the most delicious Summer Veggie Salad (with radish, peas, broad beans, zucchini, baby gem heart lettuce, summer herbs and seeds (it would normally also have buffalo curd but as I’m currently pregnant I had to skip that!)
They have a really nice drinks selection (I thought it was amusing that one of them is called The Taylor Swift) and I chose their fresh orange, passionfruit and raspberry juice.
In addition to the beautiful plants that are hanging from baskets all over the place, there’s fairy lights, super cute furniture (I love this tiled table!) and a Macaw named Fluffy!
3) The Apollo
If you fancy some Greek food, you should definitely add The Apollo on Macleay Street to your list. I didn’t take any food photos unfortunately as it was quite dark (and I was also catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in years, so didn’t want to be that person making them all wait to eat!) but everything was so good!
The food is designed to be shared (my favourite way to eat) so you get to sample a little of everything. We ordered the warm pita bread, olives, fried artichokes, Saganaki cheese with honey and oregano, the eggplant, pomegranate and almond salad, Apollo sausage with lentils, Green beans, roasted potatoes and a lamb dish that was the special that night.
The dessert was also delicious - I can highly recommend the Greek doughnuts and the White chocolate with poached rhubarb & honeycomb.
4) Lox Stock & Barrel
Calling themselves a “Deli Diner”, Lox Stock & Barrel is a cute little place in Bondi that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Of course, being the brunch lovers that we are, we went in the morning and thoroughly enjoyed a delicious meal before going for a nice walk around Bondi.
My smoothie was particularly yummy with blueberries, banana, cacao, peanut butter, dates & almond and cashew milk and the rest of the food was great too (and such a pretty colourful spread!!)
5) Bar Luca
If you’re after a good burger and chips, I highly recommend Bar Luca. We’d had a long day of walking and I was starving, so this burger seriously hit the spot! They had a large selection to choose from, as well as a great drinks menu. I went with the Oreo milk shake and it was delicious.
Just a warning though, this place gets super busy. We had walked past it the night before and there was a long line with over an hour wait (although it was a Friday night and Vivid was on!)
Luckily for us, we managed to snag a table pretty quickly the next day but I’d head there early if you’re hungry or consider making a reservation.
6) Concrete Jungle
This place was recommended to me by my friend Drew (check out her website Chartered Wellness) and it lived up to all my expectations. The food is delicious and also incredibly bright and colourful. How cool is this blue smoothie bowl?
They’re open from 7am to 3 or 4pm depending on the day and serve an all day breakfast menu (love places that have this!) as well as a lunch menu from 12.
While there menu is largely plant based, they do serve meat dishes too!
Of course I had to go with the “Blue Majik Smoothie Bowl” which had blue spirulina, pineapple, banana, coconut milk & coconut yoghurt, topped with blueberries, puffed house made granola and edible flowers. It was delicious and fresh, and the toppings gave a nice crunch. Tom is a big coconut fan so he really enjoyed this too!
Tom chose the “Brekkie Ruben” which was a burger with pulled beef, provolone cheese, fried egg, pastrami, fermented cabbage and tarragon mayo (served with sweet potato fries). It looked so good but unfortunately it wasn’t pregnancy friendly so I couldn’t taste any! Tom thoroughly enjoyed it though!
The food here was a little different to your typical breakfast menu which I loved, and the decor was really cute too! Modern with lots of hanging plants!
This is Bill Granger’s restaurant. We met Tom’s cousin here for breakfast one morning, although they do also do lunch and dinner!
Tom and his cousin went with the ricotta hotcakes (with extra maple syrup!) while I had the sweetcorn fritters. Both were delicious!
The decor was gorgeous too with marble tables and pretty brass accents, although it was super busy so I didn’t end up getting any photos of the restaurant!
8) Jenny’s Cafe at Bronte
We happened to stumble upon this cute little place while walking from Bondi to Bronte Beach (one day we will do the whole Bondi - Coogee walk, but it just wasn’t happening that day).
We were a little thirsty so decided to stop in here for a drink (I had a green juice which was lovely and refreshing) and Tom had a vanilla milkshake.
Although I can’t speak to the food, the place had a great feel, the view looked out over the road to the beach and the people were really friendly so I’d definitely recommend stopping by if you’re in the area. It was just a really nice, relaxed way to spend an afternoon.
Tom and I actually preferred Bronte Beach to Bondi. It was much more quiet and had such a relaxed, chilled vibe!
That brings me to the end of this rather lengthy post! I hope it helps if you’re planning a trip to Sydney!
As always, leave a comment below if you enjoyed, or come say hi on Insta @laurennatalia.co
Let me know if you try out any of these places, or if you have any other recommendations for places to eat when I (eventually) get back to Sydney!
Lots of Love
Lauren
xxx
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