Our Sydney: Here Are Our Readers' Favourite Spots to Visit in Surry Hills

There was a time when getting your hands on international labels was a near-impossible feat, but boutiques like The Standard Store have made it much easier. When giving this Crown Street retail shop a shout-out, CP reader @emmajoy_e said, “The Standard Store is where I wish I could shop every day — budget allowing”. The retail space, owned by Orlando and Nicola Reindorf, offers a carefully curated and constantly evolving selection of high-end clothes, accessories, shoes and homewares from around the world. You could lose hours sifting through the racks filled with Sessun shirts, Apiece Apart jumpsuits, Bellerose t-shirts and Universal Works jackets. Elsewhere, you’ll find unisex fragrances by Heeley, Maison Balzac glassware and Masterpiece Bags backpacks.

Image: Cassandra Hannagan

Some of Surry Hills’ (and Sydney’s best venues) are the ones you won’t easily stumble across. Case in point: Suzie Q Coffee and Records, which is tucked into a former loading dock in Hutchinson Street. CP reader Chris Jamieson called Suzie Q “a real hidden gem”, and they’re not wrong.

Described by the venue as a “celebration of the finer things in life”, Suzie Q is where locals go for an espresso (it currently has small-batch roaster Madding Crowd‘s brews running through the machines) with a side of Black Sabbath. As its name suggests, the folks at Suzie Q are as serious about tunes as they are caffeine. Expect an excellent playlist (which you’re encouraged to add to) and, once you’re done eating and drinking, spend a few minutes thumbing through the selection of preloved records for sale.

The menu is a tight list of all-day eats with music-inspired names, like Make The Morning Last (tapioca and chia pudding with confit lemon and native honey), Through The Never (zucchini and macadamia burger) and Too Good To Be True (slow-cooked eggplant, tahini cream, labneh and apple and chilli sambal). And, alongside the aforementioned coffee, it serves locally produced wines, Young Henrys beers and a handful of cocktails.

What’s a perfect day look like in Surry Hills? For Samantha Teague, it involves a visit to Ziggy’s Barber Salon. “It is the greatest! Get your hair done, go get Shwarmama,” they told us. Based inside Oxford Village shopping centre, Ziggy’s describes itself as a “modern old-school barbershop” and welcomes both guys and gals to visit for a cut, colour or shave.

Whether you’re after a classic look or are ready for something a little wilder, the team of experienced stylists and barbers will sort you out. A cut and style starts at $58 for guys and $95 for ladies, with keratin and conditioning treatments, extensions and cut-throat face shaves all on offer, too.

Image: Cassandra Hannagan

Mama’s Got You. That’s one of the first things you’ll see, emblazoned on the lineup of merch, when you step into Shwarmama’s hole-in-the-wall space on Commonwealth Street. And no matter what has inspired the visit, Mama certainly has ‘got’ you. Opened in 2019, Shwarmama is an all-day kebab joint serving all the marinated, slow-cooked, garlic sauce-slathered eats to cure the most extreme hangovers or hangers (or both).

The succinct menu consists of an Israeli-style brekkie sandwich (a pita pocket stuffed with fried eggplant, boiled egg and condiments), a falafel pita, a salad bowl and the NHSP (non-halal snack pack), with chips and chicken doused in tahini and garlic sauce. And, of course, the main event: the shawarma. Here, it consists of chewy laffa flatbread stuffed with marinated chicken (sliced off the rotating spit to order), hummus, chips and pickled vegetables. Wash it down with a soda, beer or wine, and make sure you grab a salted choc-chip tahini cookie to go.

Image: Kitti Gould

When was the last time you had eggs benedict for brunch? A few years ago, you’d have seen it on just about every cafe menu but the trend seems to have died down. We — along with CP reader Tim Chapman, who recommended it — are here to remind you of a spot that still serves a very excellent and very OTT version of eggs benedict for when you’re in need of a nostalgia fix: Waterloo Street’s Orto Trading Co. The light and airy cafe’s take on the dish subs bacon with two pieces of fried chicken, making for a very decadent start to the day indeed.

Elsewhere on the menu, you’ll find blueberry and ricotta hotcakes, truffled scrambled eggs and house-smoked salmon bruschetta. Alongside coffee, fresh juices and smoothies, the cafe also serves cocktail jugs, beer and cider, should you really wish to take this brunch to the next level.

Image: Cassandra Hannagan

The Dolphin Hotel, recommended by CP readers Kathleen Carpenter and Natalie Ratcliffe, is an ultra-chic take on the classic Aussie pub. Instead of meat raffles, sticky carpets and super cheap happy hours, there are eye-catching interiors (with swathes of fabric and graffiti motifs), an upmarket dining room, an openair terrace and classy events featuring Sydney hospo legends.

The food menu offers elevated pub fare with pizza, burgers and steak sitting alongside pappardelle brisket, pork cotoletta and grilled octopus with salsa verde. Of course, there are nods to tradition in the pool tables and wine list, which even features a boxed wine. But it’s an orange wine made exclusively for the venue in Victoria’s Pyrenees wine region so, you know, it’s only bending the rules a little.

Image: Elise Hassey