JClasstraveller

Toko and Sake are $$$$$

There's Izakaya Fujiyama in Surry Hills. Very good sushi and large sake collection.

If you want basic Japanese but massive portions, try Suzuya in Surry Hills.

Jazushi is also good - again in Surry Hills.

Makoto is very good - Liverpool and Pitt Street in the city.

IMOA

In the midrange I rate Toriciya in Cammarey quite highly, closest thing I've had in Sydney to the food I most enjoyed when I lived in Tokyo

TravelinSperry

Thanks, hit sushi e last night. Quite the feast for my eyes in there... it's definitely a scene for people who want to be seen

Sushi was OK, nothing amazing in comparison to my fave places in Tokyo or LA but pretty good for Australia (which for some weird reason I find to have less than stellar sushi).

Any other recommendations for great restaurants in this city? CBD and immediate surrounds only and one's that don't require reservations way in advance please.

bensyd

I agree on your comment about sushi in Australia. California has some really awesome sushi. I guess you also had the benefit of many Japanese immigrants.

Monopole (modern Australian up in Potts Point. They even do raw kangaroo)

Blue Eyed Dragon (I don't like the dining room – old church opposite the casino – but the food is pretty amazing)

Long Chim (great Thai by David Thomson)

Restaurant Hubert (haven't been but it's been getting pretty good reviews from everyone I know who has)

Mamak (cheapest in the list here, but seriously tasty. Expect a long line, but the line moves pretty fast and it's not place to linger. BYO)

There are really heaps of options but that's a few off the top of my head.

diningdecadence

how long are you in town/ budget etc?

hubert is good - little pricey.

tapavino/ balcon by tapavino / whatever their one in barangaroo is called. tapas is good for sydney standard

mr wong's for aus take on Chinese

chinese/ malay on hunter st for a weekday lunch - have the laksa - does get packed quickly. ($10)

might be able to pick up a last minute reservation to any of the top restaurants. if not, try the bar menu at bennelong if want fancy

and finally - do be sure to grab a scoop or 2 at gelato messina - outlets around sydney - always some funky flavours going on. (would recommend down at gateway, potentially after some chat thai)

oh also - the burger/ fast-er food movement won't go away in sydney just yet - try burger project, bar luca, mr crackles, thirsty bird, mary's, frankie's pizza if that's your thing.

Nugget_Oz

Not really that pricey but it's hard to get in and it's very much a share plates place.

For the list:

- Belle's Hot Chicken
- Fred's
- Porteno
- No. 1 Bent

Annalisa12

I'm boring. I just like to eat at The Mercantile in The Rocks.

JClasstraveller

Mr Wong is overpriced and overrated.

Service is average.

Can second Porteno, really very good.

Big fan of Pendolino for Italian but it's also $$$.

Glass Brasserie I didn't mind but again $$$.

Messina is good but Cow & The Moon in Enmore is better. The texture of their gelato is a class above Messina IMHO as is the purity of flavour.

diningdecadence

interesting as we walked out $200pp lighter. did you have the whole chicken or duck?

can be ordinary when busy, but you're talking chinese restaurants - interested to hear what chinese restaurant in sydney provides better service - it's almost comical how poorly you're treated in most.

what are your alternatives?

bensyd

Blue Eye Dragon is a brother sister team. Brother in the kitchen, sister running the front of house. They both grew up in Australia, but are of Taiwanese heritage. The service is outstanding, as is the food.

number_6

Have you tried Sake in the Rocks (also in melb and brissy now ... on their way to have 100 Sake restaurants across the world). It was quite good for past few years, as good as the best in LA; I've not found sushi in Tokyo to be as good (maybe my bad luck). Sake used great fresh fish and Australia has some of the best in the world for that.

As for other places to try, very cheap and good for fish tacos is a pub in Surrey Hill called El Loco. Not best in the world unless you factor in price, also has good tequila which is otherwise rare in Sydney.

JClasstraveller

If I want Chinese I don't expect nor do I pay for service in Sydney. Mr Wong presumes and prices as to those who want good Chinese and good service, in my experience and based on extensive eating and a fairly traditional palette and bring up, it ain't that good compared to say Ming Court in Hong Kong. It prices for service but doesn't deliver IME.

I was a big skeptic of Billy Kwong but after trying it, that restaurant shows how mod Chinese Australian can be.

Then there's the cheap but extremely good strip in Kingsford.

diningdecadence

i do enjoy these comments - bit difficult trying to compare a 200+ seater to a neighbourhood restaurant. my mind was more along the lines of golden century, marigold etc- i.e. comparing apples with apples.

nonetheless, sure, there are plenty of good neighbourhood chinese - my current local is yang&co in castlecrag

JClasstraveller

Unless you do it right like in some big time HK restaurants, I find it difficult to justify Chinese as a special occasion restaurant unless you have a big table and order fresh seafood etc, banquet style.

With a party that big, arguably a table can look after itself.

Or maybe I'm too used to just snapping my fingers (figuratively) and being a bit assertive myself and the staff just do it - keeping it task focussed and taking the charm out of it which, of course, is rarely encountered in a Chinese restaurant in Sydney.

Perhaps it's my aversion unless necessary to Merivale...?

It's more than Ming Court prices but inferior quality and when it's busy it lacks the elegance and refinement needed for those prices.

Nugget_Oz

We had the whole chicken and the whole market fish along with about half a dozen other dishes and a couple of bottles of wine. There were six of us.

It came out to about $100 pp which is about the Felix price range.