Plenty of places are open for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Save the Easter eggs for dessert (if you can).
Dodge the sales crowds and head to these spots.
Whatever you’re doing on your day off, there’s plenty of food and drink to fuel it.
Where to while away the dog days of summer.
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This laid-back Provençal wine bar is all about small producers and easy decisions. There are just three drinks on the regularly changing cocktail list, a short food menu and a streamlined selection of wines. Plus, a choose-your-own-adventure weekend brunch plate.
This popular food truck now has its own permanent spot. You no longer have to wait for it to pop up to get your hands on the popular American-style burgers, mac’n’cheese balls and cheeseburger spring rolls.
A formidable sandwich shop meets-deli-and-bakery. And this isn’t your average sanga store – think kangaroo mortadella with fermented chilli, and chicken sandwiches with plenty of crunch, thanks to walnuts and apple, plus lamingtons, fancy Vegemite scrolls and house-made jams and pickles to take home.
A canteen-style lunch-only restaurant by celebrity chef Kylie Kwong. Named after her late son, Lucky serves Kwong's signature Australian-Cantonese food – including her famous savoury pancakes.
At this buzzing charcoal chicken restaurant and takeaway joint, match the smoky Lebanese chook with slushies or Middle-Eastern “packaged” cocktails. And get brisket-shawarma tacos and lamb san choy bow on the side.
These huge, tasty soups sold here are unlike anything else in Sydney. And they’re guided by a sustainable ethos.
Keita Abe brings Japanese like you've never seen to Surry Hills with his tempura restaurant. Sit around the centrepiece wraparound counter and order from a constantly-shifting menu.
A moody Mexican laneway diner in an old CBD printing shop. The upstairs restaurant serves tacos al pastor, a one-kilogram Wagyu rib eye and a sweet potato dessert. Downstairs there's a bar with more than 200 mezcals and tequilas.
This tiny pizzeria, run by two ex-Bella Brutta chefs, makes just 150 pizzas a day. So order your fermented-garlic honey, 'nduja or pepperoni pizza early – they sell out fast.
Rosa Cienfuegos makes some of Sydney's best Mexican food. At this colourful and casual all-day Mexican eatery and deli, she's serving home-style dishes: huevos divorciados, tacos, garnachas and more. Plus, there are hard-to-find Mexican pantry goods to buy.
One of the few places in the centre of town where you can try Nanjing specialties. If you’re into duck, this is the spot for you.
An elevated fish'n'chipper from the team behind Fishbowl. Pull up a char in the light-filled dining room for Mediterranean-inspired bar snacks, or settle on a picnic rug in the neighbouring park with takeaway boxes.
It stocks 150 plant varieties – the majority of which are indoor and shade-friendly. And if you’re lacking a green thumb, it’ll help you keep your new purchases thriving.
A nautical-themed bar with small-batch Aussie gin, live music, and regular trivia.
Sydney's crunchiest fried chicken. Plus katsu burgers, waffle fries and tater tots.
Descend the stairs into a labyrinthine den of lush velvet booths, flowing booze and a menu that champions Black Angus rib eye.
This is the long-awaited Sydney outpost for the beloved Japanese dining empire, and it's brought its signature miso cod along for the ride. Dine on salmon-sashimi tacos and evaporate-in-your-mouth nigiri, knock back "sushi cups" and enjoy some aged sake.
This restaurant surrounded by lush gardens is serving a modern-Asian menu inspired by Luke Nguyen’s heritage.
The cafe that put Aussie breakfast on the world map serves all the Bills classics – sweet-corn fritters, ricotta hotcakes and silky scrambled eggs –in a room inspired by the opulent cafes of Austria.
This brewery interprets slow-fermented, old-world beers in modern, radical ways. Its wild beers include a hoppy sour ale (fittingly called Resting Place) made with a yeast strain found on a tree in a Philadelphia graveyard.
Eat octopus cooked on the plancha, buffalo mozzarella on lemon leaves, and cured meats paired with vermouth cocktails at this seaside eatery open until 3am.
Deluca Marrickville take coffee seriously- so seriously that they serve coffee and only coffee. Choose from full cream, oat or black. For milk-based coffees, there’s Sweet Spot, Deluca’s core blend that uses beans from Colombia and Indonesia.
Don't pay attention to the name – Super Okay far exceeds the expectations set for it by its moniker. Come for spectacular jaffles and coffee in a vast warehouse. The jaffs are filled with the likes of smoked ham and cheddar, truffled mushroom and ricotta, and bolognaise.
At this French bistro above P&V;’s Paddington bottle shop, a 60-kilogram Berkshire pig gets delivered each fortnight. Every part of the beast is used, from the head (which becomes terrine) to the belly (bacon sangers for staff meals).
Woodfired pide and Turkish breakfast spreads in Newtown
A modern atrium space on Liverpool Road’s busy strip.
Soak up the country air at this historic, rambling property south of Sydney. Hang out with chickens, roam the vegetable garden or take the tyre swing for a spin.
One of Melbourne’s favourite cafes has a Byron Bay outpost. This beach-adjacent space has large umbrellas at the entrance, terrazzo tabletops inside and large wooden windows to keep things bright. Come here for strong coffee and great bagels.
This is a buzzing South American-inspired cocktail bar and diner by the teams behind Gin Lane and Eastside Bar & Grill. Expect ingredients such as spiced worm salt and grasshoppers, Margarita "trees", and more than 100 types of mezcal and tequila.
Get "proper" ancakes topped with real maple syrup, “happy” eggs with an assortment of sides and a Canadian take on the Bloody Mary (complete with Clamato juice and Canadian vodka) at this sunny cafe.
Authentic Neapolitan street food in a bright, modern setting.
This isn't just a carbon copy of the Bondi original. DJs play live sets most nights, so you can smash a flaky lasagne pie to some retro Italian tunes until 2am.
Everything at Mschief, from the banana and pear bread to the brownies, tarts and cakes, is low in sugar.
Go for a 120-day dry-aged beef sirloin with Café de Paris butter, an apple tarte tatin and something from the whisky cart.
Oma is a wine bar and restaurant by the Three Blue Ducks team, replacing their nightclub Locura. There's an all-natural wine list highlighting female winemakers, and exciting dishes such as a sourdough crumpet with XO pipis and Oomite spread.
Order fettuccine carbonara and pizza slathered in cheesy sauce at this diner in Sydney’s Green Square.
A cellar door, bottle shop and late-night rotisserie for the Oaks.
The smallest venue at Coogee Pavilion is packed with spritzes, Martinis and snacks. It’s also open till late on weekends.
This tiny bar serves old-school cocktails, classic drinks with a twist and fresh-juice highballs.
This social enterprise serves soft-shell crab roti-tacos with mango salsa as well as more traditional home-style food, alongside punchy, spice-driven cocktails.
This cafe – from the founder of The Grounds of Alexandria – is looking to reinvent the humble office lobby.
This casual eatery highlights the cuisine of southern Italy. There's slow-cooked octopus, chickpea pasta and house-made shortcrust pastries.
Italian classics and a late-night outdoor bar in a previously underused space.
Twenty-eight types of Nepalese dumplings and a full vegan menu.
This Greek cafe channels new-school Athens, serving an array of pastries, pies and cakes.
Local DJs, craft beers and beer-flavoured lamingtons bring the RSL into the 21st century.
Home-style cooking at this Malaysian-Indian restaurant.
A tiny grocery store with a Filipino barbeque, karaoke and a cult following.
Come to this hole-in-the-wall Manly bakery for sourdough loaves and wholewheat pastries. Once you've grabbed your goods, order a coffee and stroll over to enjoy it by the beach. If you're down to try baking your own bread, Staple's hand-ground flour is available here, too.
A glowing warehouse brewery and bar where the drinks go down easy. There’s a food truck serving burgers, and beers are made with hops grown on Hunter Valley farm.
