Amy Harris reveals Sydney’s top 10 fun restaurants
IN a city where eating out can take itself a little too seriously, there are a handful of guaranteed go-to restaurants where fun and food collide spectacularly.
What makes these places so merry?
A mix of great service, top food, a sizzling atmosphere and a pinch of infamy. Gloriously unpretentious, just add a splash of sex appeal and serve hot.
Bar Reggio
Cheap pizzas, great service and an atmosphere that is best described as “ebullient”. There’s a reason locals have been standing outside in a queue, waiting to plonk down and party at Bar Reggio for the past 20 years. A classic red sauce joint, “Bar Regg” as it’s affectionately known, is the place where bikies bump elbows with beaurecrats and students slurp cheap spaghetti in their school uniforms. And if your turning a year older, expect a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday sung by the entire restaurant, egged on by the wait staff. An all-round hoot.
Diethes, CBD
Via Napoli
Borrowing from the playbook of places like Bar Reggio and Bill & Tony’s, Via Napoli — now in Crown Street along with Lane Cove and Hunters Hill — is all the best parts of Italian dining without the jet lag. The wait staff, young and spunky, have been known to throw their arms around patrons on arrival before they pull out a seat, flap down a napkin and encourage you to take a healthy slug of Valpolicella. To get the most of the experience, take along a group big enough to justify ordering the two-metre pizza. The rousing fanfare that accompanies it is worth the trip alone.
The Rocks Teppenyaki
Everyone knows a night out at a good teppanyaki joint is fun. But few places turn it on as well as The Rocks Teppenyaki — hidden inside a historic 1880s, heritage building on Cumberland Street. Sure there’s flying egg and bowls of rice aplenty, but the myriad of private rooms and dining spaces and colourful, world-class chefs add to the fun And this is no ordinary menu. Strugglers can opt for the $40 set menu that covers the basics, but for the full, bargain-busting experience splash out on the lobster tail and black angus set menu for around $200 — a 10-course belter that includes a juicy lobster tail served with a sirloin. Just be sure and watch out for flying wagyu!
Black by ezard, The Star
This slick fine diner hardly screams “fun”. Elegant? Sure. Restrained? Indeed. But come for lunch on a weekend and things get a bit more interesting, fuelled by bottomless champagne. The weekend lunches, a relatively new concept at Black, are building a reputation as some rollicking fun, with an atmosphere that is more like a day at the races than a laborious long lunch. Corks fly and the room volume creeps up as groups soak up Harbour views over eye fillet and French fizz, poured by enthusiastic wait staff who legitimately appear to be having as much fun as the patrons. An absolute treat.
Spice Temple, CBD
It might not be “in your face” frivolity but watch how easily eyes light up when Spice Temple is mentioned as a possible venue of choice. Located behind a nifty “hidden” door on Bligh Street and down a spiral staircase, Neil Perry’s Asian emprioum takes sexy snacking to a whole new level. Divided up into a myriad of different seating sections, there’s usually a celeb or two to spot while tackling full-blown chilli challenges like the ‘numbing chicken’ or fried five-spice squid crunchy packed with Sichuan pepper. Helped along by a pulsing, curated soundtrack and drop-dead ravishing staff, it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
Aesops, The CBD
With a capacity of almost 200 and sweeping views of the Botranic Gardens, you can see why Aesop’s has played host to many a “big fat Greek wedding”. A classic mega-restaurant with lively plate smashing extravaganzas around the clock, Aesop’s is the kind of place that you can usually spot at least one hen’s night, a bachelor party or a raucous birthday bash in full swing. The great service is headed up by famed proprietor James Gamvros who has a knack for dragging even the most reluctant diner up dancing the Zorba. It’s a big, fat Greek blowout.
Golden Century, Chinatown
How can you go past a restaurant where, on any given night, you might find the Prime Minister at one table and Mick Jagger at the other? Or a crime kingpin sending a bottle of wine to police heavies nearby? It’s all happened — and more — at Golden Century, Sydney’s ultimate food playground for grown-ups. A sprawling multi-level Chinese monument hemmed in by live fish tanks and staffed by scores of efficient waiters, the Sussex Street institution hits its straps the later it gets, peaking after midnight as chefs, rock stars and rif-raf roll in.
Le Sands, Brighton Le Sands
The ultimate Sydney seaside brasserie where chefs will whip up a plate of pipis or grill a lobster before your eyes, Le Sands has been a decadent go-to for locals and bigwigs for a reason. Linger over chardonnay and shellfish as you gaze out over the ocean, soaking up the Mediterranean vibe that feels every bit as authentic as any waterfront trattoria on the French Riviera. Blessed-out, culinary escapism at its best.
The Malaya, King Street Wharf
Mention The Malaya to any long-time Sydneysider and you’ll get a stream of tales of long, raucous lunches that may or may not merge into an even more colourful dinner. A famed stomping ground for lawyers, cops and a few robbers — one scribe colleagues ays it’s the ‘only place’ to schmooze a VIP over a plate of Duck Perchick or Bon Bon Chicken. Go for the rubbernecking, stay for the ocean views. Hangovers likely.
Source: The Sunday Telegraph, Amy Harris, 18th October 2015
Originally published as: Amy Harris reveals Sydney’s top 10 fun restaurants
