If you’re looking for a good night, good food, and a Mexican flair, look no further than the joyous Tequila Daisy in Barangaroo.

A takeaway focused shop inspired by Australias beloved charcoal chicken shops. Expect Murray cod on the rotisserie, used to fill gravy rolls with Murray cod head gravy. The offal from the fish will be removed and used at Niland’s other restaurants, keeping in tune with his “use one fish for everything,” mindset. For dessert, Murray cod fat caramel ice cream.

It’s no easy feat opening a restaurant in the midst of a pandemic, but this new eatery in Potts Point is buzzing with locals and visitors lining up to get a taste of Tel Aviv’s cosmopolitan dining scene. After falling in love with Eastern European food, co-owners Nick and Kirk Mathews Bowden decided to open up the 90-seat bar and restaurant on a charming tree-lined street in a narrow heritage building.

Enmore Road is a melting pot when it comes to cuisines and restaurants, so it was only right for popular pop-up Little Lagos to find a permanent home here. After noticing a gap in the African cuisine market, owner Ade Adeniyi made the decision to open a brick and mortar flagship, last July.

Restaurant Leo is the latest restaurant to grace the upscale dining team. Hailing from Lumi Dining owner and chef, Federico Zanellato and ex-Oscillate Wildly restaurateur, Karl Firla, Leo is a slice of Italy, right down to its hidden alley location on a cobblestone street.

RaRa Ramen graced us with its presence in 2018, serving delicious umami bowls of ramen. The secret, their traditional tonkotsu broth, and housemade noodles. Every day the tiny kitchen churned out bowls to hungry Sydneysiders and now it’s catering to the vegan community with Lonely Mouth by RaRa in Newtown.

This Sydney restaurant takes fish seriously, both the sourcing and cooking of it. Chef and co-owner, Josh Niland is passionate about his pioneering fin-to-scale philosophy, often showcasing his fish butchery skills to diners. During Covid lockdowns, Saint Peter was busy tinkering behind closed doors, transforming a table-and-chair room into a long 12-metre Carrara marble-topped bar offering front-row views of Josh cooking who can also explain techniques and parts of the fish during the service.

This relatively new restaurant in Sydney is fire. Literally, everything on the menu passes through a flame in one form or another. There are two wood-fired ovens, three grills, and a wood-burning hearth, all visible to diners through the open kitchen. They source ingredients from local producers including aged meat such as lamb, pork, and beef. Shellfish is killed (for lack of a better word) to order from the fish tank on site.

Chippendales shining star, Automata is a provocative game-changer in the fine-dining world. Inside, the room is pared back revealing exposed polished concrete and wooden tones, but with a warm and cosy vibe from the pendant lights.

This Sri Lankan restaurant has a big personality and offers one of the best, most unique brunches on the weekend. The casual diner has become a favourite with locals and visitors, indulging in a Sri-Lankan style dinner.