Restaurants open on Monday night in Sydney

Jonathan Barthelmess has long been one of Time Out’s favourite chefs. He’s back on the mainland now, doing Greek food with fellow Greek Sam Christie – the man behind mod-Thai restaurant Longrain, Cho Cho San and Subcontinental. Expect family-style dining with big plates of food and whole fish aimed to share around the table. Do the Full Greek for just $55 a person – it’s all the stuff you’ll want to order off the menu and exactly the right amount to eat.

When Bar H first opened doors in 2010, it set the tone for a new Sydney: mid-priced restaurants offering high-end food. And it keeps evolving. Check out the tempura saltbush. Whole branches of the scrubby plant are deep-fried and served with a cheek of lemon. Pluck the tender velvety leaves and run them through a side of spicy mayo. 

You'll find this North Shore dining room next to the beautiful Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace. It’s the kind of eatery that’s been sorely lacking in the area – a bit fancy, but still a place you could pop in, post movie, for a glass of wine and a quick snack. This is the place to let go of the purse strings and let the good wines roll.  

There are four ways to eat here: the restaurant downstairs the cured and cultured section up a floor the bar at the top, and if you’re in for a clean $650 per head, the chef’s table situated within the stunning, custom-designed kitchen. Read our reviews to help you make an educated choice as to how you’ll dine at one of the most celebrated locations in the world. 

What started in 2006 as a little venue on Crown Street has morphed into one of the city’s more exciting restaurants down on O'Connell Street in the CBD. The food is classic Brent Savage: highbrow technique with lowbrow touches, and while there’s a whole tasting menu there to rip into it’s actually a whole lot of fun to create your own mini-deg from the fairly extensive à la carte selection. 

Why Bill Granger waited until now to open in Bondi is a total mystery. Mornings the queue’s a mile long, but nobody seems to care – partly because it’s a scene in itself waiting for a table and everyone seems to know each other, and partly because the turnaround is unusually quick. But if you fancy Granger's modern Australian cooking for dinner, they take bookings for parties of any size of an evening. 

The new Billy Kwong is not only a kickass restaurant that now takes bookings, boasts proper chairs and some of the tastiest bar snacks in town, it's also open all week long. If you've got a Monday night birthday to celebrate, a meal of Indigenous-focussed, Asian-inspired dishes that bring the big guns to the flavour front is just the ticket. Leave the car at home because the wine list here is something to write home about. 

Jeremy Strode, whose artfully simple cooking has encouraged a whole generation of young chefs with a less-is-more attitude to what goes on the plate, is still kicking goals at this dining destination. Bistrode CBD is all about outstanding Brit-fare and classic British stylings in the stunning city dining room. Business lunches are a regular feature here, but an after-work repast is never a bad idea. 

Bridging the gap between cheap Thai and a bazillion-course molecular journey at Oscillate Wildly, Bloodwood was a very welcome addition to the Inner West. Don't expect a fine diner – it's not that kind of place. Instead, you'll find a neighbourhood restaurant bashing out share plates like salty, golden, super-crunchy polenta chips with a gutsy gorgonzola dipping sauce – a mainstay on the menu since they swung open in 2010. 

Inspired by the izakayas of Japan, the menu has plenty of snacks, raw options and meats cooked over coals, and the drinks list is as impressive as the food. Order up pork katsu buns and the scampi served raw in a pool of sweet, light ponzu dressing to start and then don't hold back until you get to the green tea soft serve for dessert.