Kings of the North: Ten New North Shore Spots Making Their Mark

With a name that nods to the classic ’80s action flick The Karate Kid, Manly’s bustling Daniel San is a world away from the quiet contemplation of a traditional dojo. Instead, this beachside “chow down bar” is a noisy, neon-drenched mega-restaurant with a massive room full of rock and roll pinball machines out the back. Think of it as a room for young flowers, not old prunes. Fitting its seaside locale, it’s an informal spot where you can drop in for cocktails which include a refreshing Daniel San Bellini ($15), made for summer with blood peach, Calpis and sparkling wine. Drop by on Sundays for Sushi Roulette.

Sharing is caring at Kirribili’s new contemporary Mediterranean eatery, where the salmon and scallop ravioli comes homemade, second cocktails are encouraged and polishing off a whole duck is commonplace. Sitting on Fitzroy Street in the middle of the lower north shore suburb, Fitzroy Food Co is the area’s newest lunch and dinner spot — with a particular focus on shared food. Smaller plates range from half-shell Queensland scallops with serrano and mango salsa ($9) to Szechuan calamari with coriander ($8), lime and aioli, and twice-baked three-cheese souffle ($12).

The guys at Johnny Lobster are all about the quality. The only shortcuts they’re into are from the end of a fillet of NZ Hoki. The fish and chip restaurant refuses frozen goods, only cooking with fresh and sustainably sourced fish as well as hand-cut, triple-cooked Aussie potatoes. And then there’s this: you can get a lobster here for $30. Lobster rolls ($20 each) are a given, and here come in both classic and ‘island’ (with coconut sambol) varieties. With a liquor licence on the horizon, Johnny Lobster is about to become your go to fish ‘n’ chips, beer ‘n’ fried chicken all-rounder. If it wasn’t already.

The latest place you for street food-inspired cuisine is at Harry Phat’s, upstairs at Manly’s Hotel Steyne. Offering dishes from Vietnam, Thailand, China, Indonesia and Japan, the Harry Phat’s menu boasts freshness and flavour, with dishes cooked by chefs from their respective countries. Look out for whole BBQ squid, soft shell chilli crab, bo ssam braised short beef ribs and steamed buns. The interior features a mixture of original and street art, while the exterior is not too shabby either: it boasts those beautiful Manly harbour views. So whether you want to down a cold Bintang of an afternoon or finish off a three-course dinner, Harry Phat’s is calling your name.

What was once a daggy bowlo has been transformed into a lush, summertime garden bar with million-dollar Sydney skyline views. Inside The Greens, floor-to-ceiling glass doors allow sunlight to stream into a plant-filled brasserie which is fitted out with curved booths and long communal tables. If it’s a sunny day, head outside to the rustic garden, where you’ll find a plenitude of daybeds and picnic settings adjacent to the lawns. The bar is run by Matt Le Rade (Ex Pelicano, Palmer & Co), and you simply can’t ignore the fun and frivolous cocktails that everyone is holding, including Watermelon Keggers ($32), a hollowed out half-watermelon filled with vodka, juice and bitters.

Joining the local foodie strip of Miller Street in the space where Belgian Beer Cafe sat for 15 years, The Public is a big, breezy, modern space made for long lazy brunches and intimate catch-ups alike. Think marine-grade plywood, aquas, blues, whites, and 3D installation art. The brainchild of North shore brothers James and Will Christopher, The Public is nothing short of a labour of love. The Christopher brothers have brought over Ms Miller head chef James Featherstone to create pub classic-meets-Euro-style dishes for the venue. Think Greek and Mediterranean food with housemade olive butter, taramasolata and hummus, with family-style platters of lamb kleftiko and barbecued chicken.

Sydney’s two-hatted restaurant Ormeggio at the Spit has given birth to a new venue, Chiosco. Located side by side on a Mosman jetty, Ormeggio and Chiosco are mere metres from the water’s edge, with spectacular 300 degree views of luxury yachts and sparkling sea. While Ormeggio (which is Italian for ‘berth’ or ‘moor’) is a fine-dining affair, Chiosco (which is Italian for ‘kiosk’) has adopted a casual approach, serving Italian street food and takeaway with a ‘barefoot and BYO’ ethos. With cheaper prices and executive chef Alessandro Pavoni at the helm, it’s a good excuse to go a little overboard.

The Australian cuisine has always been mysterious, but occasionally we get a glimpse into what it might be or what it could be. Kin by Us is one those glimpses. It’s an unpretentious mix of cuisines and cultures coming from My Kitchen Rules contestants Shannelle and Uel Lim. The Waffle Belly ($17), two succulent strips of caramel soy pork belly served with slaw, shiitake mushrooms and an onsen egg atop a crunchy potato waffle, is a creative take on Uel’s memory of his Singaporean grandma. Onsen eggs, almost liquid-soft poached eggs, burst somewhat pornographically onto many of the couple’s dishes.

The world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant has landed in Sydney, which surely can’t be news to you by now. Tim Ho Wan, which means to ‘add good luck,’ is certainly a spot of fortune for the Chatswood community (who already have a Din Tai Fung and a Mamak, mind you). Their budget-friendly menu features yum cha classics such as vermicelli rolls, sticky ribs, pork buns and dumplings, although you’ll need a lot of ‘ho wan’ if you want to score a table. There are 25 menu items to choose from, classified as either steamed, deep-fried, rice, vegetables, dessert or the ‘big 4 heavenly kings’. The first big king is their famous baked bun with BBQ pork ($6.80), which features sweet and salty caramelised meat encased in crumbly pastry.

Named after a notoriously bad-ass New York neighbourhood, Five Points brings some serious American attitude to the Sydney burger scene. This translates to soft, glossy Brasserie milk buns, liquefied cheese, American mustard, salty pickles and medium-rare patties cooked smash-style on the grill. Consulting chef on Five Points is Sydney’s renowned Tomislav Martinovic of three-hatted Tomislav fame, who gained his experience under Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck. Now just imagine what this guy can do with a meat sandwich.