Being obsessed with Sydney’s dining scene is almost an official pre-requisite to working at Broadsheet. You have to love the dishes, the dining rooms and the teams behind the pass. So, narrowing down a season of eating to just one star bite is tricky.

But we’ve done the hard yards, pinpointing the dish that stood out among the darker evenings this season brings.

These are the best things we ate (and drank) in Sydney this autumn.

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Fried fish collar at Clam Bar, CBD

Clam Bar’s Hot Collars have already been praised in a past edition of this column. And since it wasn’t on the menu when I went almost a year ago, I had to have it on my return visit. The gnarly, deep-fried thing arrived on a paper doily with a pot of creamy ranch on the side. The salt-flecked exterior surpassed a KFC level of crunch, and gave way to hot white flesh. Kingfish, apparently. More like a red herring. Did we order chicken? Nope. We ordered hot collars, baby. Only this crew could make a throwaway cut of fish sound sexy.
Dan Cunningham, directory editor

Banana Daiquiri at Quarterdeck, Narooma

I was expecting the seals to be the highlight of my first trip to Narooma. And while I loved their salty somersaults, it was a cocktail at Quarterdeck that came out on top. Sitting in the breezy water-top dining room, I made the decision to hard-launch the work trip with a banana Daiquiri. 10 minutes later I spy this thing coming towards me – a banana dolphin leaping out of the glass. It was perfectly kitsch, utterly ridiculous, nice and boozy but not too sweet. Look, I am measuring “best” on the sheer amount of joy it delivered. The thing screams holiday, and nearly made me stick a cherry in my mouth and do a leap too.
Grace MacKenzie, Sydney food and drink editor

Comte tart at Bar Copains, Surry Hills

The comte and bacon tart from Bar Copains tasted like France on a plate mixed with cheese and bacon Shapes. Best damn thing I've had in a long time. I paired it with a glass of chablis, and we sat outside with the heater going – the nicest of Sydney nights.
Camille Repellin, senior sales and partnerships manager

Ricotta de la casa at Fontana, Redfern

Feeling a little stuck in my ways here, but I must not tell lies. The ricotta della casa at Fontana arrives as a slab swimming in olive oil. It’s delightfully light, creamy and made fresh on the daily... what's not to love? Have it with your other plates, or the volcanic garlic bread. Or don't: true fans shovel it down solo.
Declan Blackall, photographer

Lamb and cumin spring roll at Spice Temple, CBD

I wasn’t hungover when I had the spring rolls at Spice Temple – but I wish I had been. One bite was all I needed to realise that this was the perfect cure for any ailment. Grease, crispy pastry, rich and spicy lamb: this is the kind of dish that I would pay someone $100 to deliver to my house if I had a raging hangover. I ate six of them. I could have eaten 60.
Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor

Breakfast plate at Noon, Manly

The flavour of the house-cured trout was exceptionally good and impressive. It paired perfectly when placed atop the hemp seed loaf along with Turkish tzatziki. It's great to see a nice cafe open up on Whistler Street – it's the street I lived during many of my formative years, from 19 to 26 years old.
Yusuke Oba, photographer

La Bart Lasagne at Bart Jr, Redfern

Bart Jr cleverly does family night every Tuesday, where you can snag a bowl of pasta and a glass of vino for $35. I make almost a monthly pilgrimage, journeying in whenever the Là Bart Lasagne pops up on the menu. The layers of pork-shoulder ragu, fennel, mozzarella and grilled eggplant are tucked under a weighty blanket of taleggio bechamel – soul-restoring on a chilly night.
Karina Arora, contributor

CWA scones at the Royal Easter Show

Whenever there is an opportunity to get a CWA sone, you take it. I don't know how they have perfected them, but if it's a CWA scone it’s guaranteed to be the best scone you'll have. Ever. Strawberry jam first (always) and then cream, piled so high you get it on your nose as you take a bite. (Then add more cream the more bites you take.) While the Easter Show is the CWA’s biggest fundraiser, they do pop up at various events so keep an eye out on the CWA Sydney City Instagram to see where they are next – and prepare to have the best scone of your life.
Lauren Murray, sales and partnerships manager

Fried eggs, whipped tofu and crisp chilli at Good Luck, CBD

Merivale’s latest is a feast of fusion, with regional Chinese restaurant-via-Baz Luhrmann design and a lengthy pan-Asian menu lobbing Pinbone-esque flavour bombs from chef Mike Eggert. There are many dishes that could be named Best on Ground, but my fave was this substantial entree. A net of puffy, crisp-fried egg is served over a pool of whipped silken tofu, then topped with spoonfuls of chilli crunch and fresh chives like a new-wave mapo tofu. It’s uncompromisingly savoury and satisfying – like something you might concoct after a big night out – and served with a pair of scissors on the side.
Michael Harry, features editor

Moreton Bay bug pasta at Ursula’s, Paddington

This Moreton Bay bug pasta with crustacean butter is probably the best thing I've eaten this year, not just autumn. It’s the epitome of umami. Twirls of silky pasta are topped with a tender piece of charred bug, drenched in a rich, oozy sauce so tasty it takes all willpower not to lick the plate. Epic.
Lucy Brewer, contributor

Prawn miso ramen at Ramen Auru, Crows Nest

When our directory editor Dan recommended I line up at Ramen Auru half an hour before the restaurant opened, I thought he was having a laugh. He was not. After queuing and placing my order through the ticket machine, my friend and I took a counter seat and then slurped some of the most interesting ramen I’ve had in Sydney. The prawn miso ramen was full of depth, umami, warmth and what I think was butter – or pure fat. It was worth the wait.
Monique Foy, sales and partnerships manager

Mortadella pizza from Fortune Pizza at Grifter Brewing Company, Marrickville

Last weekend I found myself on a bar crawl through Marrickville. And look, I don’t actually like beer, but it was my boyfriend’s birthday so I buckled up my big-girl shoes and braced myself for a full day of asking brewery staff in band tees if they had any ciders or seltzers on tap. But the day really turned around when we stopped by Grifter. Not only did they have a seltzer but they had pizza, too. Made by the folks at Fortune Pizza, this mortadella pie was everything I was looking for. Piled with chunks of fior di latte and stracciatella, sprinkled with pistachio and decorated with parmesan, pistachio and garlic oil, I fell deeply in love with this charred woodfired pie.
Lucy Bell Bird, national assistant editor

Chicken and leek pie at Tucker, Randwick

The minute we entered autumn, my mind went straight to this hot, steamy, creamy chicken and leek pie from Tucker. And boy, it did not disappoint. It was the hand-made puff pastry, the oozy hearty filling and even the sprinkle of salt flakes on top. Of course, no pie is complete without a little side salad. This one came with a rocket and parmesan mix. This simple, classic and warming dish has been top of my mind since.
Tilly Christie, campaign coordinator

Flank steak at Theeca, Darlinghurst

We had a delightful dinner at Theeca that started with the Ligurian olives – the perfect savoury appetizer – before we moved on to the stracciatella with heirloom tomatoes and warm, perfectly fluffy flatbread with whipped butter. But it was the main that hit hardest: a juicy flank steak with red wine jus, accompanied by a crisp house salad and golden chippies.
Erin Butler

Crispy rice sushi from RND, Bondi

My favourite pick of the season is the crispy rice sushi from RND (that’s Raw Next Door) in Bondi – hands down! It’s the sushi we all know and love, with a crunchy upgrade. Pair it with RND’s signature spicy Margarita and you have yourself the perfect autumn evening.
Hannah Singleton, photographer

Beef burger at Hey Chu, CBD

I think I'm doing it wrong. I very rarely try anything on or after shoots. However, I loved this burger from Hey Chu. It was 10/10 – the patty’s made from dry-aged beef, it’s dripping in special sauce… I'm dreaming about returning rn. Pair that with a cold Bintang and I'm transported to southeast Asia.
Chad Konik, photographer