
Best of 2024
Sydney’s Best New Cafes and Casual Eateries of 2024
Hit a vegetarian-leaning Palestinian spot, a Filipino cafe turning out excellent brekkie burgers and multiple new Japanese cafes.
Words by Broadsheet·Thursday 5 December 2024
2024 was the year Kate Reid’s world-famous croissants (finally) came to town. But that’s not the only thing 2024 should be remembered for. We need to give it up for the hard-working operators who gave us picknicky morning plates, Japanese konbini favourites, Southeast Asian sweets and cutting-edge tech from the world of specialty coffee. These are our favourite cafes and casual eateries of 2024, in alphabetical order.

Ama, Surry Hills
In Chinatowns all over Thailand, there are shops exclusively devoted to one dish: beef noodle soup. But until sisters Rowena and Kate Chansiri came along, it was near impossible to find in Sydney. Ama began as a pop-up at the Kingsgrove coffee shop, but now it has a permanent residence in Surry Hills that serves fluffy salapao pork buns and the sisters’ own Ickle coffee. But what’s truly remarkable about Ama’s soup – a riot of noodles, sliced brisket, beef balls and greens in a punchy broth – is that the sisters recreated their grandmother’s recipe based on their mother’s memories of eating it. That’s how unforgettable this soup is. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
Domo 39, St Peters
The city’s onigiri obsession hit fever pitch this year, thanks in part to this collab between the Kurumac and Mapo Gelato teams. Inspired by Japan’s konbini (convenience store) culture, Domo 39 has your cravings covered with a fridge full of rice balls, perhaps stuffed with salted salmon, ginger pork and egg, or takana (pickled mustard leaf). There’s also a seafood odyssey to be had in a bento box one Broadsheet writer can’t stop thinking about. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
Kariton Sorbetes, Burwood
No gelato shop has had a better year in Sydney than Kariton. While most chains like Messina and Riverina boast gelati with clear Italian – and European – DNA, Melbourne-born chain Kariton looks towards Asia, specifically the Philippines, for its flavours. Classic Filipino desserts and treats such as a taho and ube halaya have been reinterpreted into gelato, joined by interpolations of favourites from around Asia like Vietnamese coffee custard, Milo Dinosaur, Malaysian pandan kaya and more. No wonder they opened two shops in Sydney this year, in Burwood and Eastern Creek. Expect – and hope – to see a Kariton arrive near you soon. – Callum McDermott, contributor

Khamsa, St Peters
When Sarah Shaweesh reopened her once-plant-based cafe at the very end of 2023, she decided to honour more of the traditional Palestinian dishes she eats with her family – which meant adding dairy and meat to the equation. Khamsa 2.0 still leans vegan and vegetarian (check the falafel and cauliflower Bedouin wraps and smoky baba ganoush), but those looking for a plate of eggs will be lovingly catered for, with the option to add on house-made khobez (flatbread) and shatta (chilli dip). A favourite is the bright green cooked-to-order falafels, made with a mixture of herbs the team keeps close to its chest. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor
Lune, Rosebery
You’ve been hearing about Lune’s croissants coming to Sydney for five years at this point. Now, you at last have the chance to try them, and see whether these impossibly anticipated pastries are worth the hype. One thing’s for sure, though: you won’t see any other bakeries like this in town. With its vast warehouse and glass-faced croissant cube where “pastry chefs” bake on full display, a visit to Lune is pastry-as-performance. And thanks to its deep bench of croissant-adjacent favourites – kouign-ammans, danishes, and more – plus excellent coffee by Ona, you may just find yourself coming back over and over. – Callum McDermott, contributor
Maido, Darlinghurst
“Maido!” It’s a greeting in Osaka that Provider Store’s Tara Bennett picked up on one of her frequent trips to Japan. It’s the perfect moniker for this beauty of a cafe she opened with the team from nearby Artificer coffee. Coffees come in beautiful handcrafted ceramic mugs; Tokyo Lamington and Comeco’s mochi brownies are in the cabinet; and you can even drop off your Provider Store candle for a refill. Make sure to check the resident shiba inu Pocari’s mood of the day too. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor

Noon, Manly
In my humble opinion, a picnicky plate is one of the best – if not the best – ways to eat. A hunk of bread with an egg, some cheddar and pickled veggies, maybe, for you to make perfect little mouthfuls to your liking. Or, as they do at Noon: nutty slices of hempseed loaf, a jammy egg, a few slices of house-cured trout and some Turkish tzatziki. It was popular from day one, as were Middle Eastern pancakes with ricotta and roasted grapes. The retro spot – with its leather couches and glistening glass bricks – is just a few blocks back from the beach. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor
Ona, Marrickville
If you’re a hardcore coffee drinker, you already know about Ona. If you’re not, we’re here to say it: the Canberra roaster’s Sydney flagship is the final frontier of specialty coffee in the city. Nowhere else has a coffee menu this chonky, let alone three distinct bars for different brew methods. The cuisine-crossing menu delivers everything from tteokbokki French toast to Turkish eggs, which makes Ona an equally great place to eat as well as drink coffee. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
Pantry Story, Stanmore
It’s “brochi” that first garnered baker Mutiara Sucipto a loyal following. The dense fudgy brownie-meets-mochi creation gets its chewiness from glutinous rice flour, and Sucipto sold slices of it via Instagram during lockdowns. Now she runs this permanent bakery with her partner and fellow baker Hari Wobowo on a “random” strip of Parramatta Road. For something savoury, it’s the kimchi focaccia you want. But honestly, it’s all good. And you’d better believe the sweet hybrids don’t stop at brochis. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor

Superfreak, Marrickville
When you think “Sydney cafe”, what do you see? Blond timber, white subway tiles and Edison light bulbs? A menu full of the ubiquitous brunch classics Bill Granger perfected back in the ’90s? Superfreak (and this list, generally) proves that Sydney is finally moving on from an era defined by Scandi fit-outs and avo toast. Where others zig, Soulmate’s Dan Harrison and Michael Ico have zagged with a combo of fresh, “freaky” salads and a singular venue design by YSG studios. The emerald-green walls, shaggy brown bench, and stained-glass lamp I can’t believe hasn’t been knocked off the counter and smashed to smithereens yet, are my favourites in a big bag of delicious eye candy. – Dan Cunningham, acting features editor (food & drink)
Tita’s Carinderia, Marrickville
If you’re hooked into Sydney’s food scene, it would’ve been hard to miss the frenzy around Tita. The Filipino carinderia from the Donut Papi team opened to queues snaking up the street. Everyone waiting to get their hands on a brekkie burg touting a just-baked pandesal. Award-winning food photographer Luisa Brimble bakes the buttery rolls, which are then stuffed with longanisa egg, cheese and banana ketchup. Vibrant swirls of ube soft serve are strong supports. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor
Uncut Seafood Delicatessen, Bondi
When Broadsheet spoke to Nic Lucas, one part of the sibling team of three here, he said they were firing up “restaurant-quality fish on a sidewalk” and that we’d be hard-pressed to find better cooked fish. Bold, but true. The grilled fillet of barra – fired over a lava grill – knocked it out of the park. The crunch! The juiciness! The family-recipe taramasalata on the side! And don’t miss a serve of the house-pickled octopus with spuds. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food & drink editor
An honourable mention for the sandwich scene
This year, Broadsheet pondered whether Melbourne had reached peak sandwich. Sydney, though, is still stretching for the sanga ceiling, with things between bread continuing to dominate the culinary conversation in 2024. Established players such as Kosta’s and Self Raised Bread Shoppe put more locations on the map – but we also saw the entrance of Knead, in Rockdale; It’s Recess in Surry Hills; and Ol’ Mates in Earlwood, to name a few. We’re also excited by the sandwich differentiation being added to the mix, with MLK Deli in Surry Hills using bread as a vessel to spotlight the Central Asian flavours of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Love ’em or loaf ’em, expect to see even more sanga spots open next year. – Callum McDermott, contributor
Sydney’s Best New Restaurants of 2024 Including a pasta palace in the suburbs, a Southeast Asian party diner and a swanky CBD grill.
Sydney’s Best New Bars of 2024 Including a rebooted pub with cocktail bar smarts, an underground Cantina from a team of mezcal masters, and Neil Perry’s “first real bar”.