Surry Hills

The team behind Bopp & Tone, The Butler and The Botanist have given this institution a $1.5-million makeover that pays tribute to its past.

Inspired by Tuscany’s dining scene, this female-led diner is all about fresh pasta (including a squid-ink fettucine with crab), al fresco dining and flamboyant weekly specials.

On a leafy Surry Hills street, this graffitied Italian joint serves Roman-style pizzas from a woodfired oven, nostalgic carbonara and natural vino courtesy of Giorgio De Maria Fun Wines.

A sharp restaurant and bar from the team at Bulletin Place. Naturally, it serves great cocktails.

A handsome brasserie-style spin-off by the team from Arthur Restaurant. It’s primed for casual afterwork drinks and snacks with a sharing menu focused on zero-waste.

Refined bread, tarts, croissants, cookies and pastries.

The star pastry at this polished, high-end bakery is so labour-intensive, only 15 are made each day. You’ll also find French-style pies packed with Wagyu and shiitake, plus handcrafted sodas and coffee by Little Marionette. From the team behind Italian-Japanese fine diner, Lumi Dining.

The contender for Sydney's best macaron, where you can purchase the day’s technicolour creations along with cupcakes, cookies and croissants.

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.

mac'n'cheese croissants and cocktails for breakfast.

An old pub that won't go changing.

The bar formerly knowns as The Wild Rover is a grown-up version of its predecessor, with oysters on rotation and a slick cocktail list. You can still snag a sausage roll, but otherwise, it’s a seafood-driven menu piled with winners including a curried fish-finger roll and caviar with potato crisps.

It hasn’t taken long for this back-street neighbourhood pub to attract the locals.

Whisky, cocktails and yakitori.

An artisan butchery with a mini restaurant attached taking on the supermarkets by offering cut-to-order meat .

HAY Shop brings Danish design to Sydney.

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.

Everything you need for your kitchen, and state-of-the art cooking-class facilities. Plus a cheese counter with local and international specialties.