These Five Sydney Fish Burgers Are the Reel Deal

I think a lot of the excellence of Sydney’s fish burgers comes down to the fact we’re eating them in Sydney. Our seafood is spectacular, and eating it grilled or fried, sandwiched in a sesame-studded roll and wrapped tight in butcher’s paper, in the salty air by the ocean only takes it further.

But we’ve also got ripper options in an industrial Marrickville laneway. And a hotel bar. And at one of our best pubs.

Now, we’ve been loose with the term burger – one of these arrives in a woodfired flatbread, another in a slab of airy Turkish bread. But just enjoy.

Happy summer, Sydney – and make sure you catch one of these beauties.

Out of the Blue, Clovelly

Many people think this Clovelly Road takeaway-only joint has the best burgers in Sydney. It’s owned by Jean Marc and Sophie Gubian, a French couple who’ve lived in Sydney since 1986 – and it remains a family-run spot. The burgers are old-school: a sesame-seed roll stacked with shredded lettuce, carrot, tomato, beetroot and cheese, plus your protein of choice. Go for the grilled fish, which arrives with house-made garlic mayo, and add chilli. Plus chips with extra chicken salt. All of it will arrive wrapped tightly in butcher’s paper – but no plastic bag, for the safety of our sea life.

Roll down the hill, finding a spot on Clovelly’s concrete slab and get into it.

272 Clovelly Road, Coogee

Homer, Cronulla

This rough-around-the-edges Athenian spot is a big player in Sydney’s Greek resurgence this year. And the latest menu change delivers a play on a Maccas classic. The Filetto O Fish takes the team’s mini woodfired flatbread (first seen as the bifkeki, with a pickle and Big Mac sauce) and stuffs it with a fillet of ouzo-battered blue eye trevalla, a house skordalia (the garlicky potato dip), pickled cucumber and dill. It’s the perfect saucy, slightly smoky $14 three-biter – not technically a fish burger, but in the same realm. We’re into it.

3/3 Surf Road, Cronulla

Angus, Marrickville

This sunny inner-west cafe – from Nicholas Tabet (of Kirawee’s Thoroughbread Bakery) and Christos Arsenis – is the home of a golden, hefty hashbrown (which is this food editor’s favourite in Sydney) and a standout fish burger. It’s an order Broadsheet writer Howard Chen returns to regularly. That airy Thoroughbread focaccia! The golden slab of fried hoki! The oozy yellow cheese! The zing of pickled onion! The sauciness! The sheer size of the thing. Be warned, these babies sell out – so plan your visit to the Angus, in an industrial Marrickville backstreet, accordingly.

69 Meeks Road, Marrickville 

Saint Peter at the Grand National, Paddington

We cannot talk about fish in Sydney without looking at what Josh Niland is doing. A meaty double yellowfin tuna cheeseburger, with swordfish belly bacon, eaten in the sexy front bar of a heritage pub? An obvious choice if you’re looking for a fish burger with a fancy edge. Ace with the oyster shell gin Martini – a singular Sydney experience. 

161 Underwood Street, Paddington 

The Bat & Ball Hotel, Redfern

If you’re in the mood, you can’t beat the pub. The Bat & Ball is one of our top watering holes – for the vibes, yes, but also the menu. All hits. And the fish burger sticks to the brief. We’re talking a whack of fried fish extending out either side of a soft white bun. Shredded iceberg, melty cheese and a house tartare revved up with jalapenos, plenty of chippies. $25 on the regular, or $25 with a beer (and a side of trivia) on Mondays. 

495 Cleveland Street, Redfern