It’s been a big year for new restaurants. As it always feels when we check the rear-view. But 2025 really was a biggie. Greek dining rooms of all sorts arrived – then kept arriving. Some of our most respected teams – Sixpenny, Bentley, Bar Copains, Baba’s Place, Continental Deli – doubled (or quadrupled) down.

Three Chinese dining rooms opened all at once, and we inherited two fine Melbourne diners (imparting some Sydney energy) and one from London. Old favourites became new favourites, and suburbia did a good job of keeping up with the city.

But 12 stood out. Across this dozen, the food spans the simple, traditional and inventive; the fit-outs the kitschy, neon-lit, brutalist and pared-back. Which one’s best? Depends what you’re going for.

Here are the best new restaurants for 2025, Sydney.

Grandfathers, CBD

I wonder what my grandfathers would think of Grandfathers?

They’d raise bushy eyebrows at the restaurant’s almond-encrusted prawn toast, which the red-jacketed staff suggest ordering before your arse even hits the leather. They’d be deterred by technicolour dim sum (too slippery!) and recoil at the sight of red emperor bobbing in a fragrant Sichuan broth (too fragrant!). How would they read the bible of a wine list with little more than the ethereal blue glow of fish tanks to light the situation? My god – the price. Isn’t Chinese food supposed to be cheap?

The Pellegrino 2000 team’s loving tribute to Chinese food would probably be lost on my grandfathers, who existed on a frugal diet of meat and two veg their entire lives – and were very much a product of their time. Truly though, Grandfathers is everything that’s great about Sydney dining in 2025: fearlessly creative, theatrical without being overblown, and open far later than we’re used to. But if there’s one thing that would bring my grandfathers to the table, it’s surely apple pie – even if it’s one as wildly inventive as this. – Dan Cunningham, national food and drink editor

Mister Grotto, Newtown

This list is tricky to wrangle. “Best” is subjective, and we’re going for a sharp curation – so you must be ruthless. That’s what’s happening here. While all of the Continental Deli team’s newcomers (the romantic Osteria Mucca; Mister Grotto, the pescatarian’s dream; and quick-change Joe’s Tavern) are winners, the experience in the Grotto is singular. 

Chef Mans Engberg previously headed up the Saint Peter kitchen, which sets the tone here. Everything has seafood, even the house-sliced potato crisps, which arrive carrying zingy mussels escabeche. The menu is refined, funky, creative, flashy – served precisely (you know that though, it’s the Deli team). 

Strips of cuttlefish are tangled with young coconut, and golden Nannygai empanadas are standout snacks. But it’s the bright pile of floral shishito peppers – stuffed with yellowfin tuna sausage, then shallow fried and served hot in a zingy chimichurri – that are the must-eat. 

And while the service and food here are notable, the energy and special-ness of your meal is, I think, down to the kitschy, casual, cool setting. Creative director Sarah Doyle’s collection of vintage treasures fills the space – so sit at the bar, disguised as a boat, order the minty Fisherman’s Mojito and soak it in. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

Homer, Cronulla

The other day I was talking about Homer and a friend said it was cool that Cronulla – and the Shire, more broadly – was starting to get dining options that felt more “inner-city”. I think I disagree. My whole family in Sydney is Shire-based, so I’ve been coming to Cronulla for big family lunches my whole life. And though Homer has all the hallmarks of a Greek restaurant you’d find closer to the CBD – the playful plating, quirky drinks, the whole Hellenic brutalism design thing – its energy feels unambiguously Cronulla to me. Crowd-pleasing, share-encouraging dishes. Tables destined to be linked together for big groups. An unshakeable belief in the supremacy of indoor-outdoor dining. All helmed by two local brothers, who clearly wouldn’t want to have a restaurant anywhere else but here. In a very Greek year for Sydney restaurants, Homer is the one I’d go on an odyssey for. – Callum McDermott, Hot List editor

South End, Newtown

When I read that the guiding principles of this little Euro diner were simplicity and laziness, I felt  a crush coming on. South End is helmed by a trio of hospo big shots – Hussein Sarhan (ex-Fred’s), Alex Tong (ex-Ester) and Paul Guiney (ex-everywhere) – and sits unassumingly on the quiet end of King Street, so far from the fray that it’s technically Erskineville. 

The fit-out is no-fuss. Grab a bar seat, booth or white-tableclothed window seat. Or book the homey, 10-seat private dining room, tucked halfway down the hall with a menu of its own. Drinks are a study in stellar small-batch producers; a bronzed wine bucket sits proudly on the bar. But, really, it’s all about the food. 

Dishes are low-touch – or “lazy” if you ask the kitchen. Go in expecting to snack. Hard. Potato rosti dazzles with herby broad beans and Goldstreet curds, while a full-on olive tapenade is ideal simply swiped on a baguette. I’m crushing. 

But then: mussels arrive, the molluscs swimming in a silky, herby white wine sauce. Then! A barely set chocolate tarte, with a crisp and buttery shell, pulls Cupid’s final arrow. – Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor

Lottie, Redfern

I’m convinced Joe Valero was destined to rocket this rooftop, almost-poolside Mexican joint to its full potential. The chef’s punchy tacos won us over in a Potts Point laneway, but his Lottie menu is a total knockout: snacky (beetroot empanadas! House-made tostadas topped with tuna and oomphy, orange-y salsa brava!), interesting (pork jowls cooked slowly in a mole sweetened with cola, cut with pickled fennel) and memorable. Valero’s two-bite sope has been on my mind since we met. Fermented potatoes power a golden-fried disc of masa (packing a perfect mochi-like chew), ferrying slow-cooked kangaroo sope that’s hot with Mexican chillies. One or two of those and a Tajin-rimmed cocktail in the mezcaleria? Then a dip in the pool, atop The Eve? Exactly the Aussie-Mexico mix Valero’s going for. – Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

Olympic Meats, Marrickville

In the 1993 comedy Cool Runnings, based on the Jamaican bobsleigh team’s entry into the 1988 Olympics, Doug E Doug’s character, Sanka Coffie, fires off a classic line on the morning of his team’s event: “I am feeling very Olympic today”. I’ve co-opted the line every time I feel like scaling the mountain of meat at Olympic Meats. But here’s the thing: no matter how Olympic I’m feeling, the popularity of Sydney’s hottest Greek grill means I don’t always get to ascend.

Come early, though, and Tim Cassimatis’s gyros are guaranteed. The woodfired politiko kebab will appeal to fans of lamb, beef and democracy alike. The custard-filled bougatsa? You gotsta. But the beauty of Olympic Meats is that, unlike the new Maccas opening on nearby Marrickville Road, this place feels like a natural (read: welcome) evolution of the neighbourhood, with the city’s biggest Greek enclave living down the hill in Earlwood. Oh, and the fact it’s BYO. – Dan Cunningham, national food and drink editor 

Vin-Cenzo’s, Darlinghurst

They say don’t meet your heroes, but maybe you shouldn’t buy your heroes either. That was the bind that Morgan McGlone and Nathan and Sali Sasi – of Bar Copains, Bessie’s and Alma’s – found themselves in earlier this year. They bought Darlinghurst’s Bar Vincent, one of their favourite restaurants, and tasked themselves with saving it from certain closure. But it couldn’t be done. So instead the trio closed it up, rejigged it, and made it their own. Bar Vincent is gone; Vin-Cenzo’s stands in its stead. 

Rather than focusing on what was lost, diehards should focus instead on what they’ve gained: one of the most interesting – and thrillingly revisit-able – Italian restaurants in Sydney right now. It’s sad to lose a restaurant. But it’s even sadder when a place stays open for longer than it should. By replacing Bar Vincent, Vin-Cenzo’s is preserving its legacy – and leaving space to develop one of its own. – Callum McDermott, Hot List editor

Izakaya Gaku, Five Dock

Sydneysiders have chased Haru Inukai’s ramen since 2013, when he offered limited-edition bowls at Elizabeth Bay’s since-closed Blancharu. Naturally, noodles and broth have headlining power at Izakaya Gaku, which he opened in March. If your face isn’t gently steamed by the ramen (mine turned semi-rosy from a leftfield bowl topped with olive oil and fried gobo chips), perhaps rice-filled kamameshi is the reason you’ve settled into the restaurant’s tatami mats: this Japanese soul-food staple is rarely on Sydney menus. Here, diners lift steel lids to reveal kamameshi lined with egg and grilled eel or other rice-friendly ingredients. Vivid rows of home-made plum wine are another reason to take notice of Gaku Robata Grill’s sister restaurant. – Lee Tran Lam, contributor

Saigon Things, Strathfield

You wouldn’t think an inner-west suburb not named Marrickville could lay claim to one of Sydney’s best Vietnamese restaurants, but a few weeks after opening, Saigon Things is already up there. Owners Duc Le and Tina Hoang layer the flavours from the streets of modern Saigon with their own thoughtful twists. It’s one of the only Sydney spots to get oysters grilled with Laughing Cow cheese, and the bright plate of sweet corn revved up with salted egg. The must-order, though, is the Saigon classic: com tam (or broken rice plate). Rice is hedged by a slice of pork and egg meatloaf, shredded pork skin, and fresh and pickled vegetables, then topped with a gooey fried egg and adorned with pork croutons and scallion oil. But a slurp-ready crab tapioca noodle soup and jumbo DIY bamboo platters prove stiff competition. Arrive with a group, so you don’t have to choose – and pair your order with a house iced tea or Saigon Highball, every bite feeling like a street-side adventure in Saigon. – Howard Chen, contributor 

Young’s Palace, Potts Point

Follow Big Sam Young online and you’ll meet a guy whose love for suburban Chinese restaurants knows no bounds. But you can tell it’s not just the pippies at Eaton House in Ashfield, or the sizzling tofu at Sun Ming in Hurstville he loves. It is, as he calls it, the hustle. The hustle of migrants like him, who moved to another country with little more than the grit and determination to build a life abroad. And, like him, they often build it with a restaurant.

Young’s Palace, from Young and partner-chef Grace Chen, is the couple’s tribute to that experience, exhibited in Chinatowns they’ve visited around the world. The Palace dials back the opulence of their Castlecrag bistro S’more in favour of dishes like chicken and sweet corn soup, honey king prawns and XO fried rice. In other words, the stuff the Australian suburbs are made of. – Dan Cunningham, national food and drink editor

Corner 75, Randwick

You know when a band on Triple J does a Like a Version of a song you love? And then you end up preferring the cover to the original? And you feel conflicted about that, because you feel like liking this newer version of the same song is almost a betrayal? That’s how I feel loving the new era of long-running Hungarian institution Corner 75.

As a lifelong Randwick local, the old version was probably the only restaurant I’ve ever been to more times than I can genuinely remember. When I learned it would be taken over under the respectful auspices of the Baba’s Place and Sixpenny teams, I was almost rooting against it. On principle! I wanted these interlopers, with their delicious cooking and stellar service, to leave Randwick alone. Vocal locals and Corner 75 regulars did too. But then, it opened. And well – you just can’t deny it. It’s too good not to win you over. Corner 75’s reopening – and reassessment – is rightfully one of the restaurant stories of the year. I loved the original, but I can’t get enough of the cover. – Callum McDermott, Hot List editor

Bessie’s, Surry Hills

Of all the blockbuster restaurants that opened this year, I don’t think any came with the same level of anticipation as Bessie’s. Nathan and Sali Sasi and Morgan McGlone (aka the Goodies) set a new benchmark for Sydney wine bars with Bar Copains – what would their first capital-R restaurant do? The promise of an adjoining bar, the naming of the two venues after family matriarchs, and the Chefs Warehouse backstory were all just icing on a potentially tasty cake. 

As expected, the cake was fucking delicious. But I don’t think I was prepared for how fun it would be – standing at the bar with a frozen Marg while your table gets prepped, swiping up whipped cod roe with garlicky flatbread as Mariah Carey’s Heartbreaker blasts overhead. Big pork chops and a whole fish to share with your favourite people. This is a 360-degree dining experience I’ve repeated more than any other this year. – Dan Cunningham, national food and drink editor

Honourable mentions

Imports and overhauls came fast and strong. Chris Lucas’s Grill Americano and Victor Liong’s Lee Ho Fook arrived direct from Melbourne, both delivering the same suave style as the esteemed originals. Paddo welcomed London import The Palomar, the Soho favourite that’s being overseen by Mitch Orr in Oz. All three bring a Harbour City bent.

The family-run restaurant that, 63 years ago, put Malaysian food on the Sydney map, moved into its swishest home yet, and the Blue Mountains’ Blaq welcomed a double-header of Michelin-credentialled chefs. Mark Best is quite literally elevating modern-Oz dishes at Infinity, spinning at the top of Sydney Tower; and Bones became its biggest, best self on Stanley Street. And it was the year of the pivot: Neil Perry quick-changed Song Bird into Gran Torino; Newtown’s Flora became Joe’s Tavern; Bar Vincent became Vin-Cenzo’s – which, by all reports, have all been successful moves.

The Bentley boys’ steak joint Eleven Barrack hit Martin Place, playing a big part in the CBD’s flashy re-emergence. And Sippenham ensured Sydenham couldn’t be overlooked. The Pavonis proved they can’t sit still, opening both Cibaria –  Manly’s crowd-pleaser, with a dedicated trattoria, friggitoria, forneria, spaghetteria, gelateria and pasticceria (phew!) – and Vineria Luisa, an Enmore Road stop for goblets of G&T, suppli and the lesser-known Italian dishes they’ve always wanted to do.

Kolkata Social brings Firedoor alum Ahana Dutt back to the kitchen with family recipes, energy and technique. And Clarence & V became a dependable weekday beauty, with Euro dishes and genuine hospitality, for the CBD.

The Best of 2025 is proudly presented by Square, Kia, NAB and Four Pillars. The restaurants in this list were chosen independently.