14 best new restaurants to try in Sydney right now

Cooked strawberries sound like an ingredient that would never work in a dish, but paired with a seared foie gras it's a 10 out of 10 at this new eatery in Glebe that blends timeless French culinary techniques with Japanese-style Omakase dining. The 100-seat brasserie is housed in a cavernous subterranean space with exposed brick walls, hefty colonnades and five dining rooms.

Chef and restaurateur Jeff Schroeter - who earned his stripes at London's The Savoy hotel, followed by stints at Sydney's Bistro Moncur and Bayswater Brasserie - is at the helm with a menu replete with boundary-pushing French favourites. Escargot is served as a pie with sauteed spinach, while duck a l'orange gets a modern twist with shiitake mushrooms and a glaze made with Archie Rose Sunrise Lime Gin. Take your appetite and sense of adventure. darlingglebe.com.au

When former executive chef of Black at The Star, Dany Karam, opens a restaurant in south-western Sydney, it's time to pay heed. Western Sydney International Airport is set to open in late 2026, with a spate of new hotels, restaurants and tourism attractions in tow. Karam's Magma - located in the brand-new Novotel Cabramatta, part of new-and-improved Cabravale Club Resort - is leading that charge.

And with the exception of the location, nothing has changed. The menu is replete with outstanding cuts of meats - from Blackmore wagyu to Hereford tenderloin - Karam is best known for. Seared on open fires and accompanied with other stand-out dishes - buttermilk fried spatchcock, Mooloolaba king prawns and lamb cutlets with gremolata - it's a feast you won't forget for a long time, with the stylish, buzzing dining room adding to the experience.

It's hard to put a finger on the cuisine of The Bungalow Petersham. There are duck spring rolls among the small plates, Mediterranean lamb skewers among the medium plates and Baja-style fish tacos among the large plates. Indeed, you can go on a tour around the world right here in this neighbourhood restaurant with gorgeous camel-hued booths, warm lighting and just-as-warm service.

The crisp rice and seafood tartare is a must-have entree - it's a stunning mix of textures and flavours, with crunchy sushi rice biscuits loaded with fresh seafood and avocado, and a dash of wasabi mayo. Follow it with the more substantial dish of prawns, served in a silky coconut Sri Lankan-style sauce with roti. And the finishing touch? A rich and creamy tiramisu, of course.

Word spreads fast in the city of Sydney. The brand-new Eve Hotel in Redfern hadn't even opened fully when big crowds of hungry punters started making their way to its rooftop restaurant. Somehow all of them knew the Liquid & Larder group - best known for outstanding restaurants like Bistecca and The Gidley - had opened the Mexican eatery, Lottie, at the hotel's top floor. And it was not just locals. On the table next to us were a couple from Lennox Head, NSW. Did the restaurant live up to their expectations? Absolutely, they said, and we can vouch that everything about the hot new eatery - from affable, well-informed staff to delicious morsels - was a hit. Don't miss sweetcorn leche de tigre (charred corn in a citrus-based marinade) or pastel Azteca, which the waiter described as Mexican lasagne. With layers of cornships, sour cream, cheese, corn and poblano chilli sauce, it's actually better than lasagne.

While not technically new, the glamorous haunt at Hilton Sydney, with mesmerising views of the Queen Victoria Building, has just received a new lease of life. Chef Natalie Murphy, who started in this very kitchen as an apprentice 10 years ago, has taken the reins from outgoing stalwart Luke Mangan, with a menu that's borderline obsessed with regional seasonal produce. And the proof is in the ... persimmons.

Notorious for having an extremely short season and hard to source, the fruit appeared in our sumac-laced goat's cheese tart. One of the best ways to experience Murphy's penchant for fresh produce is to settle down for the ever-changing Glass Banquet, which may kick off with freshly baked sourdough from Pioik bakery in Pyrmont (just across the footbridge from the CBD hotel) and end with a luscious dark chocolate tart with lashings of pineapple and caramel.

Dating back to 1898, the Bristol Arms Hotel in the CBD has just been zhuzhed up. The historic boozer behind the building's stunning Heritage-listed facade has been replaced by six different venues - from the casual Bristol Sports bar and Calypso Nightclub to the uber-chic Midtown Lounge cocktail bar. The indisputable star of the five-storey, multi-venue establishment, however, is Ela Ela, where chef Peter Conistis is regaling punters with Greek fare that's downright delicious.

Kick off with veal keftedes in a flavoursome roast-tomato saltsa, before feasting on wood-grilled lamb chops. The dish of the night, however, is bound to be the beef cheek, slow-cooked and served in a rich caramelised-onion and mushroom sauce. Don't forget to leave room for rizogalo - traditional Greek rice pudding with sour cherries and orange blossom ice-cream. Attentive service and a buzzing dining room with bright-golden and olive accents round off the experience.

Top-notch dining is no longer just limited to inner-city suburbs; world-class foodie precincts are sprouting up all over the city. A case in point? Meriton Dining Precinct, which has just opened in Pagewood, with a spate of new eateries - from Japanese haunt Kokoroya, which does a fine trade in ocean-fresh sushis and sashimis, to Leaf Cafe, which is perfect for a laidback breakfast or lazy long brunch.

But if you can only try one place, head to Al Aseel, which specialises in Lebanese cuisine, with an encyclopedic menu of dips, skewers and shawarmas. Comprising hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara, the Trilogy dips entre is a great place to start, before heading into hot mezes like fried eggplant and zucchini in a lemon, garlic and coriander salsa. Just don't forget to have the Mansaf lamb - butter-soft braised lamb shank, served on a bed of spiced rice with mint and cucumber laban (or Lebanese home-style yoghurt).

After launching a couple of standout restaurants in Melbourne - including the hatted Farmer's Daughters - Peru-born Alejandro Saravia is turning heads in Sydney with Morena. Housed in the 150-year-old GPO Building at 1 Martin Place in the CBD, the restaurant is dishing up lip-smacking Latin American favourites - from snapper ceviches to ox tongue skewers laced with serrano chili.

Nab a table in the dining room proper, in the outdoor terrace, or - better still - in the building's atrium, under the grand glass roof. morenarestaurant.com.au

The Gantry restaurant at Pier One Sydney Harbour hotel near the Rocks was a hit with both critics and diners alike, but it was time for a refresh. And Pier Dining is exactly that.

French chef Dimitri Damman has zhuzhed up the menu with something for everyone: seafood fans will love the Skull Island prawns doused in romesco, David Blackmore wagyu with chimichurri will satisfy meat-lovers, while pumpkin and pistachio ravioli with sage and lemon gin will keep the vegans happy. pierdining.com

Good food doesn't have to cost a bomb. Case in point? Chef Alejandro Huerta's Mexican restaurant, Comedor, where a three-course prix fixe lunch costs just $39 per person. The ever-changing menu can include mushroom empanadas as entree, tortillas with slow-cooked meat as main and madeleines dunked in Mexican chocolate as dessert. A similar dinner menu ($79 per person) will be launched in August. What a great excuse to visit always-buzzing inner-west Newtown. comedor.sydney

When it comes to intimate dining, it doesn't get any more exciting than Korean omakase restaurant Matkim, on George Street in the CBD, where there's room for just eight diners who enjoy 18 courses prepared right in front of their eyes.

The menu - inspired by the four trigrams of the Korean flag (air, water, earth and fire) - is whipped up at the last minute, and showcases ocean-fresh seafood and timeless Korean cooking techniques. Take your appetite - and wallet: the Chef's Table menu costs $259 per person. And, oh, they can't cater to dietary requirements. matkim.com.au

The light and airy Sydney Common - with a high-ceilinged central bar with park views - is another new hotel-based restaurant in the city drawing crowds. Located on the first floor of Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park, it has an impressive wine list, with drops from both old and new worlds, and a food menu to match.

Memorable meals include spanner crab crumpet with a yuzu-based sauce, king prawns with shiso butter and beef tongue skewers with Sichuan pepper. Get there early for the aperitivo hours (4.30pm-6.30pm, Tuesday-Friday) for $6 wines, beers, and gin and tonics. sydneycommon.com.au

French-Australian celebrity chef Manu Feildel is back in a restaurant kitchen for the first time in four years, with the opening of Bistro Red Lion by Manu. Located in the historic Red Lion pub in Sydney's inner-west Rozelle, the bistro fuses classic French interiors with contemporary Australian flourishes. But at the end of the day, it's all about the food here. Feildel is a sixth-generation chef and happy to share some of his top family favourites: from twice-baked comte souffle to pate. redlionrozelle.com.au