The ultimate Sydney food & drinks crawl: 10 venues you need to taste your way through

Institution isn’t a word to be used lightly, but it suits Sydney Fish Market. Boasting more than 40 vendors as well as 22 restaurants and bars, the new Sydney Fish Market is the largest one in the Southern Hemisphere. Inside, you’ll find a mix of freshly caught wholesale, restaurants and cafes operated by some of Australia’s best chefs – and there’s even a seafood school. You can eat indoors, or take your catch out onto the steps to enjoy it in the fresh air. After all, seafood always tastes best on a brilliant, sunny day.

The biggest challenge when planning a Sydney food crawl is a good one to have: how to choose from so many great options? We say – leave it to the experts like Local Sauce Tours. Run by friendly, in-the-know locals, these fun and delicious tours operate citywide and take guests in groups of up to 12 on foot through some of Sydney’s most beloved dining experiences. Your choices of destination include Chinatown, Thaitown, Five Dock (the local little Italy), refugee-operated kitchens, secret small bars and the multicultural melting pot of Newtown.

One of our fave rooftop bars is in Western Sydney. Atop the Bankstown Sports Club, Lady Banks Rooftop serves 360-degree views that span the Sydney skyline all the way out to the Blue Mountains. It also serves up a cracking menu of Mediterranean eats, ranging from smaller bites of paella arancini and lamb kofta to generously plated portions of wood-roasted, shawarma-spiced spit chicken and charred eggplant with pickled red onion and ajo blanco. Best enjoyed with your friends and a couple of Spritzes.

Speaking of views, one of the best can be found right in the heart of the CBD (which shouldn’t come as a surprise). Found on the top of InterContinental Sydney, Aster is one of the best rooftop bars in the entire city – maybe even the country! –  thanks to its standout menu and its jaw-dropping views across Sydney Harbour and the Inner East. If you can stand to peel your eyes off the views and onto the menu, you’ll find hearty, luxe small bites and beverages. Our recommendation? Try the tableside Martini cart to design your dream drink.

If we were to try and distil the quintessential Summer meal, it would involve hot food, cold drinks and a waterfront within arm's reach. You don’t need to go far to find that in Sydney, but we’d be heading to Manly’s Felons Brewing Co. This wharf brewery blends cold glasses of beer with a menu of Med-style pub plates. It’s a hotly contested spot on a sunny afternoon, so don’t hesitate to book – you won’t want to miss the sunset views after a day well spent in one of Sydney’s best beachside suburbs.

There aren’t many suburbs in Sydney that can be recognised all over the world, but Bondi is a word synonymous with Aussie beach culture. But it’s not all beach. Close by, Bondi’s got a busy hospitality scene to feed the hungry swimmers and surfers, and one of the busiest spots is Blackwood. Known as a pedigree brunching hotspot, Blackwood serves the likes of truffled chilli scrambled eggs, tiramisu French toast, poke and protein bowls and spicy bacon and egg rolls – all best enjoyed with a hungry crew and a round of Breakfast Club Martinis.

One of the more recent arrivals on this list, NOA has set up shop down south in Cronulla. It’s the coastal sibling to Sydney’s swish fine diner, NEL. NOA promises a more relaxed dining experience, with just a dash of theatre to keep it true to its family history. The menu takes more than a few notes from the ocean’s bounty, serving everything from bug toast to seafood risotto with bush tomato and chilli.

Another relative newcomer to the local food and drink scene, Razz Room joins Sydney’s storied tradition of underground bars, hailing from Odd Culture Group – the proprietors of Sydney classics like the Old Fitz and Pleasure Club. Razz Room leans into a discotheque theme, with a disco ball and dancefloor to boot. In terms of the drinks, Razz Room goes all-in on Daiquiris, both classic and remixed, alongside food designed to be shared between dances (think cheeseburgers soaked in béchamel sauce, prawn cocktails and oh-so-moreish garlic knots).

Sydney’s multiculturalism is part of what makes it so wonderful, with food from every corner of the globe available if you know where to look. One especially popular cuisine? Vietnamese, and Cà Phê Mai is taking things up a notch from the local Vietnamese bakery. Putting a Vietnamese touch on a wine bar, Cà Phê Mai is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Expect quality classics like bánh mì, noodle soup, spring rolls and rice paper rolls alongside Vietnamese cocktails and an internationally sourced wine menu.

The Inner West is always full of surprises, and this plant-based bakery is one of the tastiest, having set up shop in a former battery store and opening to a roar in January of this year. Ard’s menu of baked delights is completely vegan, with seasonally rotating line-ups that constantly draw a crowd of hungry passersby. Think buns, cakes, rolls, biscuits and anything else your heart can desire (and an oven can conjure). Then there are the refreshments, which include coffee, matcha, sodas and tea that come in every flavour of the rainbow.