Rick Stein at Coogee Beach

Rick Stein’s ground-floor restaurant – in the revamped Intercontinental Sydney Coogee Beach – does the indoor-outdoor thing, with a menu for dining of all kinds. No minimum per-head spend, and just as ready for you to walk in or book a big celebration.

Expect dishes such as buttery scallops hot off the grill, or meaty king prawns from Coffs Harbour primed to dip into Marie Rose sauce. Fried hapuka and chips done the British way, with mushy peas on the side, could sit next to a golden fish pie with a breadcrumbed top. Singapore chilli crab uses Nelson Bay blue swimmers.

The whitewashed restaurant looks out over a grassy expanse of sunbathers, down to that arching stretch of sand. Daring swimmers freestyle out to loop around Wedding Cake Island, and there are chatty beach bums and their dogs everywhere. It’s less of a scene than Bondi, but Rick Stein adds another reason to visit.