Best New Restaurants in Sydney 2026 (Updated Monthly)

Smashd Sydney
May 9, 2023
6 min read

Updated: Jan 26

Updated January 2026

Looking for the best new restaurants in Sydney? From show-stopping dining rooms in the CBD to quietly confident neighbourhood spots in Newtown, Darlinghurst and the Eastern Suburbs, these are the places shaping how the city is eating and drinking this season.

Whether you’re chasing steak and martinis, underground Italian, wine-first bars, fire-led Levantine cooking or soft serve down a laneway, this is your edit of what’s actually worth visiting.

Best new restaurants in Sydney you need to try

Grill Americano

Sydney CBD

The Sydney outpost of the Melbourne favourite, built around a 30-metre marble bar and a steak-led menu with 15 cuts on offer.

Backed by an enormous wine list that caters to everything from casual glasses to truly special bottles. Finish with the iconic tiramisù Americano, scooped tableside.

Flaminia

Circular Quay

From the team behind Pilu, Flaminia brings Italy’s port-side spirit to Sydney’s harbour. A seafood-led menu anchored by a beautiful crudo bar, where simplicity and precision do the talking.

It’s a quiet nod to heritage, done in a setting that feels unmistakably special.

Osteria Luna

Sydney CBD

An underground Italian dining room with velvet booths, marble tables and a distinctly old-school feel. The menu stays close to the classics, from vodka sauce pasta and brown butter ravioli to kingfish crudo and caprese made tableside. Martinis and amaro flow as vinyl, jazz and late-night sets carry the room from dinner into after dark.

Sakura House

Sydney CBD

From the Waratah team, this walk-in only basement izakaya is built for late nights and spontaneous dinners. Playful street-style plates like karaage, katsu prawns and gyoza land alongside a serious Japanese whisky list.

Lemon sours, highballs and seasonal cocktails keep the energy up long after dark.

Claret Club

Darlinghurst

A Stanley Street wine bar made for serious drinking, with 30 wines by the glass pulled from an exceptional cellar.

The food is European-leaning and built to match, from simple bar snacks downstairs to a more refined menu upstairs. It has quickly become a new favourite for locals.

Aambra

Rose Bay

Set inside a restored former church, Aambra is a dramatic yet warm space built for long, shared meals. The cooking is fire-led and generous, drawing on Levantine flavours with a refined, modern touch.

Between the garden setting, striking interiors and expressive drinks, it feels like a destination without losing its sense of ease.

Bistro Bondi

Bondi

A neighbourhood Euro-bistro from the team behind Lox In A Box, bringing classic continental energy to Warners Avenue. The menu is built for sharing, think chicken liver pâté, latkes with anchovy and comté, and charred prawns in café de Paris butter.

Backed by a strong wine list and playful cocktails, it’s polished but relaxed, and exactly what Bondi’s been ready for.

Joe’s Tavern

Newtown

A 30-seat, New York–inspired tavern where the classics are taken seriously and nothing is overworked. Devilled eggs, cold seafood, steaks and the 50/50 burger set the tone, with a menu that also makes room for offal and whole-animal cooking. Cocktails stick to the originals, Martinis, Manhattans, Mint Juleps, and desserts lean into old-school favourites like the Knickerbocker Glory.

South End

Newtown

At the southern end of King Street, South End is a beautifully run neighbourhood bistro led by Hussein Sarhan (Fred’s) and Alex Tong (Ester), with a tight, confident menu that’s all about flavour and restraint.

The wine list is superb and globally minded, the room feels warm and considered, but it’s the service that really sets it apart. Polished, generous and genuinely welcoming, it’s the kind of place that already feels essential to the area.

Everyday Creamery

Newtown

A low-key soft serve spot tucked behind Tokyo Lamington, focused on getting the classics right. Think vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and matcha, plus affogatos and matcha-gatos. A perfect summer spot for an ice-cream pick-me-up, tucked away in a quiet little laneway.

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Corner 75

Randwick

Once a humble Hungarian restaurant known mostly to locals, Corner 75 has been brought back to life by Jean-Paul El Tom (Baba’s Place) and Daniel Puskas (Sixpenny).

The room still feels familiar with tiled floors, timber walls, printed plates, memories on the walls, and old-school glassware, but the menu’s had a reset. Goulash, schnitzel and semolina dumplings are still here, now done with finesse. Eastern European wines pour alongside, and the warmth that defined the original hasn’t gone anywhere.

Corner 75 is less a new opening than a preservation project, a continuation of Hungarian-Australian migrant culture, communicated through food, service, and space.

Berta’s Deli

Marrickville

A small deli with big heart, serving generous sandwiches built on fresh Turkish bread layered with house pickles, cold cuts, sharp sauces, as well as veggie options.

The menu’s short but stacked, think roast broccolini with muhammara, garlic sauce and pickled cucumber, or mortadella with stracciatella and pistachio. Everything’s served on silver plates, and nothing’s trying too hard. Just good sandwiches done properly.

Bar DEMO

Newtown

A modern wine bar from bartenders Claudia Morgan and Olly Churcher, inspired by the kind of late-night spots you'd find in Berlin or Paris. It’s walk-in only, open late, and built for people who care about good wine, good company and good music.

The 60-bottle list is grouped by vibe, not varietal, with rotating pours, limited drops, and plenty under $100. Cocktails are short and seasonal: freezer Martinis at -15°C, two-sip coladas, and spicy bourbon-mezcal signatures. Even though there is no kitchen, the snacks are spot on with charcuterie from LP’s and Pino’s, anchovies, and Chappy’s chips.

Vinyl only, played start to finish on a hi-fi system from Translate Sound. A bar made by bartenders, for anyone who just wants one more glass and a good reason to stay for another.

Caness

Paddington

From the team behind Shaffa, Caness is your new neighbourhood go-to — a Middle Eastern tapas. The format is casual, small plates served as they’re ready and designed to be shared.

The menu goes back to basics, reimagining bold Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours in playful Spanish-style small plates. Think lamb brioche sliders, mushroom shawarma, chicken skewers with mojo verde, ouzo prawns with feta, and sabich layered with tahini and amba, all designed to hit the table hot off the grill.

Alas

Newtown

Alas blurs the line between café and bar, record store and neighbourhood hang. By day, it’s single origin espresso café. By night, it becomes a vinyl listening bar, set in a beautifully styled space with moody lighting, vintage Klipsch speakers, and an atmosphere that feels both cool and low-key.

Out the back, the dog-friendly courtyard, known as the “Wine Yard” is the perfect spot to enjoy a natural wine (or more) with friends. Alas is also becoming a quiet cultural hub, recently hosting an art exhibition, with more on the way.

Image credit: @nergalyoukhana.creative

Osteria Mucca

Newtown

Set inside a former butcher shop on Australia Street, Osteria Mucca blends Italian tradition with a Newtown edge. The name (‘mucca’ means cow) nods to the building’s past which has been carefully preserved.

The menu leans into family recipes and regional favourites, with handmade pasta, slow-cooked sauces, and a short list of aperitivi and digestivi that feels straight out of Rome. Wines come from small, family-run vineyards across Italy, some familiar, many not. It’s warm, unfussy, and already shaping up to be one of the inner west’s most comfortable tables.

Akti

Woolloomooloo

Akti is a modern Greek spot on the Finger Wharf that feels made for sun-drenched feasting. Enjoy elevated Greek classics like moussaka croquettes, lahanodolmades, and kontosouvli, all built to share.

The tables are a soft pastel pink, the plates are shell-shaped and Pinterest-worthy, and the views stretch right out over the harbour, it’s the kind of place you can already see yourself at, a spritz in hand and plates piling up.

Herbs Taverne

Sydney CBD

From the team behind Cantina OK and Bar Planet comes a basement bar devoted to the Negroni in all its forms. Herbs Taverne is dark, moody, and joyfully bitter, a love letter to amaro, aperitivo culture, and drinks that make you pause between sips.

Expect a rotating list of Negroni riffs and rare amaros from around the world, poured under red lights and spinning disco balls. The space leans mid-century Euro with a bit of dive-bar swagger, and the best part? It's open until 2am.

L’Avant Cave

Paddington

Tucked beneath P&V Paddington, L’Avant Cave is a wine bar by the P&V team with food from upstairs neighbour Porcine. The mood is low-lit, the menu is snack-heavy, and the list leans natural, the kind of place where you can drop in for a quick glass or end up staying for the night.

Croque Monsieur, snapper tartare, plat Provençal, it’s all designed to work with the wine, not overshadow it. No pressure, no bookings, just a corner table, a couple of snacks, and a pour worth talking about. More Sydney Guides

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