This Surry Hills bagelry is inspired by the bagels of New York icon Russ & Daughters. Owner Mike Samaha spent three years perfecting his recipe. The result? A small-but-mighty bagel that's crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Go for a classic filled with gravlax and cream cheese, or try one of the heftier steak or schnitty numbers.
Kentaro is Oratnek spelled backwards – a nod to its sister venue in Redfern. You can get Oratnek’s signature katsu sando here (“worth the 15 minute wait”), but there’s also hard-to-find Japanese classics such as omurice. It’s restaurant-quality fare, set within an industrial fit-out.
A bakery from the Bodega team. Visit for baked-bean toasties, jam doughnuts, sausage rolls and quince danishes – with a Mimosa or Bloody Mary on the side.
After a fire, a pop-up and a Covid-19 shutdown, Nomad has returned to its original Foster Street home. Enter for smoked free-range chicken, wood-roasted eggplant with flatbread, and a six-week dry-aged rib eye.
Bodega has joined up with Wyno, together the venue is now known as Wyno x Bodega. There’s a bigger focus on vino, a smaller menu and fan favourites, the fish fingers and banana spilt, are still available.
This Crown Street gin hub has a still making small-batch spirits just for Sydney, and a shop selling gin and gin-related goods. To find Eileen’s Bar, look out for the discreet doorway and ascend the staircase.
Part bookshop, part record store. It’s a must-visit for any music lover with enough books to rival their record collection. It’s a favourite among international touring artists too, with the odd legend sifting through the artfully curated shelves of books, DVDs and vinyl. Now with a second location in Barangaroo.
This charming book nook is all about quality over quantity. Sip wine and mull over the latest page-turner at one of its intimate, monthly book club meetings.
This alluring and mysterious emporium trades in antique books and curiosities from Australia’s pre-federation history. Its treasures span the entire second floor of a converted Surry Hills warehouse, and – if you’ve got an appointment – you can sit in its grand reading room and pore over immaculate books that predate the city itself.
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.
