The Best Restaurants for Group Dining in Sydney’s CBD

Under soaring ceilings in an art deco building, The Charles evokes Europe’s grand brasseries with plenty of thoughtful touches – including a roaming dessert trolley, and tableside saucing and carving. Order the whole dry-aged duck for a show-stopping signature.

The French heavy-hitter draws on classic with a twist. Expect a duck burger and a smoked eel mille-feuille with tiny cubes of green apple. Plus, an impressive wine list splashed with burgundies.

Noisy, spicy and lots of fun – just like the original in Melbourne. Follow the pink-neon bunny to GoGo bar for cocktails, then head to the buzzy dining room proper for Chin Chin classics like kingfish sashimi with lime and coconut, and wok-fired rice noodles with Wagyu.

Moody jazz, heavy wooden beams and a bank of barbeque ducks in the old Tank nightclub space. A modern Shanghai-style dumpling den from Dan Hong and Merivale.

The overhaul of this once notorious late-night dive was a long time coming. And the chic public bar, elegant European bistro and sunny rooftop were all worth the wait. The best part? You’ll actually want to be there during daylight hours, too.

A ritzy institution on the Customs House rooftop. An appropriate focus on seafood works a treat, given the jaw-dropping views of Sydney Harbour. Book ahead for the window seats.

Southeast Asian street food is the focus at Merivale’s rowdy good-times diner: oysters spiked with Vietnamese-style vinaigrette, jungle curry with pipis and Phnom Penh fried chicken. To drink? Fresh cocktails and a famous yuzu slushie.

Sleek and informal Asian dining at the Cowper Street Wharf. The menu is a knock-out homage to the best of Chinese and south-east Asian cuisines. Try tenured dishes such as tea-smoked duck with tamarind and plum, or the pork belly with chilli caramel and nam pla phrik (sweet-and-sour sauce). White tablecloths and city skylines included.

The menu at this handsome French brasserie channels the country’s Mediterranean coastal havens, where long lunches and elegant dinners are a way of life.

This all-day eatery inside Hinchcliff House mills its own flour, using grain supplied by NSW farmers. That means house-made pastas and ciabatta to go with produce-driven share plates and cocktails.

Seafood towers, scampi spaghetti and five types of steak frites are just some of the highlights at this stylish brasserie from the Franca team. Slide into a red leather banquette and admire the capacious dining room – or perhaps that perfect spiral of lemon peel floating in your Martini.

Enter this iconic Sydney restaurant for Med-inspired dishes spanning inventive charcuterie and charcoal-fired plates. Plus, a wine list highlighting Australian producers great and small.

Halfway down Woollomooloo’s picturesque Finger Wharf, Otto has been celebrating la dolce vita for more than 20 years. Also, seasonal produce in the form of modern Italian dishes – best enjoyed from the seats that spill out onto the wharf overlooking the sparkling harbour.

This spectacular ninth-floor restaurant is the heart and soul of Shell House. Come for seafood, pasta and protein-heavy mains matched with classic French wines and new world naturals.