“They’re searching for something in Australia,” says the chef-owner of Copenhagen’s Noma. “They’re not food preservationists—they’re on the verge of creating something mind-bogglingly new.” René Redzepi is such a believer that he’s relocating his restaurant to Sydney this month for a ten-week stint (reservations sold out in less than 90 seconds). Australia’s a natural fit for the world’s most famous forager, who spent much of 2015 combing the continent for obscure native ingredients: “We found spiders that taste like crabs, bizarre bush fruit, and magpie geese that feed on water chestnuts and mangoes.” Redzepi also scoured Sydney for culinary inspiration, finding it at these eminently relaxed, quintessentially Aussie standouts.
BILLY KWONG
“She’s not well-known internationally, but [owner] Kylie Kwong is one of the cleverest people in the chef world—showcasing her immigrant-Chinese background in a marriage with native Australian ingredients to create a new reality of food. Her dumplings stuffed with warrigal greens? Brilliant and delicious.”
SPICE TEMPLE
“Neil Perry is probably the best restaurateur on the planet. At his Chinese place, Spice Temple, they take cooking very seriously— creating spicy, authentic Chinese food the likes of which we just don’t have anywhere in Europe.”
ESTER
“Like Relæ in Copenhagen or Estela in New York, Ester is one of those modern restaurants that’s really nailing casual dining right now. The cooking is always spot-on, reliably seasonal, and there’s always lots to choose from—a sure bet.”
PORTEÑO
“This one goes close to the heart of Australians. Everywhere you travel around the country, they’ll tell you they have the best beef or the best lamb—and here you can have that wonderful meat cooked over the fire. Porteño’s inflection might run a bit more South American or European, but at its heart, this is like being at a super-fun Aussie barbecue.”
EDITION COFFEE ROASTERS
“It doesn’t really matter if you’re here or in Brisbane or Darwin or anywhere else—Australia’s most ‘alive’ food culture is in its cafés, which are unique in the world. Wherever you go, you can always find friendly people serving great-quality food and coffee. For me, Edition is the best café in Sydney.”
MASTER
“A former intern at Noma has opened this tiny place with not much money and loads of young talent. To me they are doing the best of a mash up of what (I hope) he learned with us and his part-Chinese upbringing. It is a place with a really exciting modern, fresh Australian feel.”
ARABELLA
“The Lebanese community is a huge part of the cultural make up of Sydney and when I asked every taxi driver where they would take their wives out for a great dinner, each said this was the spot for the best Lebanese food.”
BOURKE STREET BAKERY
“Of course you can't be in Australia and not eat a meat pie, but for something so iconic, strangely, most are pretty terrible. But not here.”
The NEW CLASSICS
Couldn’t score a table at the Noma pop-up? Three other fine-dining entrants have been generating similar buzz—particularly chef Peter Gilmore’s relaunch of Bennelong, which occupies a soaring, elegant space inside the Sydney Opera House. Dishes like a whole head of John Dory smeared in umami butter—served with Tokyo turnips and the curious desert plant saltbush—offer a nuanced mix of indigenous and immigrant flavors. Around the bay, near Darling Harbour, Martin Benn and Vicky Wild’s Sepia pairs flawless service with a fresh and novel take on Japanese-Aussie fusion. (In Australia, fusion was never a four-letter word.) And after a quarter of a century, Neil Perry’s pioneering Rockpool relocated to the magnificent colonial-era Burns Philp Building downtown, with its Mod Oz spirit and mad soul intact.
