A lone Cantonese star among Ashfield’s strip of Shanghai dumpling dealers. It’s a haunt for Sydney chefs chasing a midnight feed, and it’s easy to see why. Some of them say it goes head-to-head with Golden Century on quality and price.

It’s lived many lives, but music and late nights have always been at the heart of this storied inner-city pub. Currently on the menu are burgers and Greek gyros (pork, chicken and pulled jackfruit), and you can get the latter for $5 between midnight and 2am.

Mr Crackles knows its market. It stays open till 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, serving its whopping baguettes, stuffed with hunks of juicy pork belly and crisp crackling. You can also grab heavily chicken-salted fries, salads and hot dogs.

The name tells you everything you need to know about this Dixon House eatery. Crisp, bronze Peking duck hangs in the kitchen window, which you can try san choy bao-style or on pancakes till 3am on weekends.

A modern pub, Cantonese restaurant and cocktail bar in one. The warm bistro downstairs ferries dim sum platters and fancy fried rice to all corners of this two-storey boozer, and there’s a snacky edit of the menu on offer past 11pm to keep you upright.

Enmore Road’s perennial late-night Pakistani joint. Newtown kids gravitate towards the excellent tandoori, but past midnight, the taxi driver set fuel up with flash-fried Lahore-style curries and stews ordered off the special menu (the staff write it in biro on the back of a docket).

Merivale’s good-times Mexican joint is home to the tacos secreto – a sort of lucky dip for tacos where the filling is a surprise until it reaches your table. Secreto or not, every taco here is wallet-friendly and served extra late on weekends.

Francis Ford Coppola's landmark film The Godfather is the inspiration behind this basement bar beneath Hinchcliff House. A visit after 10pm here involves Sicilian-style bar snacks and panino – do the mortadella, mustard, caramelised onion and grilled cheese for $12.

As the name suggests, Jimmy’s serves falafel: stuffed into pita or served on meze plates with hummus and salad. It’s also big on charcoal-grilled meats – just follow the smoky scent along George Street to this find colourful late-night diner.

There’s a roaming focus on Southeast Asian street food at this neon-lit sibling to Potts Point diner, Ms G’s. Here you’ll find the same sense of fun across the menu of curries and wok-fried dishes. But this place has bigger late-night energy, thanks to a strong cocktail game featuring a Sydney-famous yuzu slushie.

It’s not just killer cocktails you’ll find at midnight at this hidden cocktail bar. There’s cheese, charcuterie and – best of all – six different takes on the Philly cheesesteak. Find the discreet ground-level entrance, climb the stairs and they’re all yours.

When you’re in town hankering for Thai food on the edge of midnight, Dodee Paidang is your best and final bet. Order its famous bowl of fiery “red taste” soup for a sobering jolt back to life.

This handsome, brasserie-style spin-off by the Arthur team is primed for casual after-work drinks and snacks. But it’s also a low-key, late-night winner – with a menu focused on low-waste that’s available till late on Fridays and Saturdays.

In Marrickville’s gritty heart lies this celebration of Sydney’s cultural and culinary diversity. The music and the vibe crank up a notch after 10pm, but you can still get a snack and a slosh of vino here right up until they shut the roller door at midnight.

10 William Street has everything you could possibly want from an Italian restaurant – except it’s younger, freer and more lubricated. Fancy that signature pretzel with whipped bottarga as a late-night snack? The kitchen – and the entire menu – is rocking till close.