The Best Places to Eat and Drink Around the SXSW Sydney Precinct — For Every Budget

Since its opening in 2022, the cosy Italian restaurant — by the team behind Bistrot 916 and now Clam Bar — has remained one of the most popular restaurants in Sydney. The buzzy trattoria is conveniently located around the corner from the Hollywood Hotel, which will play host to music acts such as FRIDAY*, Paige and Baby Cool during the festival.

Start with focaccia, crudo di mare and fritto misto before moving on to more substantial plates such as spaghetti alla chitarra with bay bugs, ravioli with prawns and brown butter and veal alla parmigiana. The delicate crema caramello, presented with a tower of banana-infused whipped cream, is a surefire way to round off your meal and get you rallied for a night of live music and dancing.

Tables are usually booked out weeks in advance, but you can try to walk in for a very early or late meal, or you might get lucky with a last-minute cancellation.

The sister to acclaimed Sydney restaurant Ester, Poly serves modern Australian fare and natural wines in a charming pocket of Surry Hills — a short walk from SXSW venues like the Soda Factory, Hollywood Hotel, Event Cinemas George Street, Tumbalong Park and the ICC Sydney.

Helmed by notable chef Mat Lindsay, Poly’s menu updates seasonally but includes dishes like fermented potato bread with whipped sesame, Moreton Bay bug with fermented hot sauce, barbecue spatchcock and a dry-aged ribeye cooked on the kitchen’s custom hearth. If you don’t know where to start, go for the set menu with all the favourites for $95 per head.

For a more low-maintenance option when you’re running between shows, City Oltra has you covered with huge pizzas available whole or by the slice. The casual eatery is situated by Central Station, so you can grab a bite after a gaming session at the EDDY Multi Space or on your way home from the SXSW precinct.

During the day, City Oltra slings lunch specials like two pizza slices and a can of Poor Tom’s or tap beer for $20, along with sandwiches and salads. For dinner, there are starters like cold cuts and antipasti to enjoy before you dig into their round or square pizzas. Pizza options include Poor Tom’s gin sauce with cheese and basil, hot pepperoni with cool ranch, fried eggplant with cheese and pangrattato and changing specials. Drinks-wise, there are craft beers, Poor Tom’s cans, aperitivos such as a strawberry gin and grapefruit highball or Baba’s rakija and tonic and a selection of fun wines.

A fairly recent addition to the Sydney dining scene, Porkfat was opened by Chef Narin Kulasai, who grew up in Central Thailand and previously cut his teeth at Long Chim. Nestled in a corner of Haymarket, the intimate Thai restaurant is in the centre of the SXSW action.

Porkfat strives to be as authentic as possible to the flavours of Thailand’s Saraburi province, so you’ll be hard-pressed to find a generic pad thai or stir-fry on the menu. Instead, there is papaya salad with salted duck egg, baked tiger prawn with vermicelli, green curry with grilled pork jowl and lychee and a deep-fried whole barramundi with crispy garlic, Thai basil and a rich three-flavour sauce.

A Sydney institution, Mamak is known for its hand-stretched roti and affordable hawker-style food. Open until 10pm or midnight, the Malaysian joint is an ideal spot for a quick bite after a long day of back-to-back conferences at the ICC Sydney, a screening at Event Cinemas George Street or live music at the Civic Underground.

The kitchen slings casual Malaysian classics such as savoury and sweet roti, chicken and beef satay, chicken and fish curries, nasi lemak, mee goreng and nasi goreng. It gets even better — the venue is BYO, so you can crack open a cold one or enjoy a bottle of your favourite wine.

Be warned: lines can stretch around the block depending on the time, but tables are turned over fairly quickly.

If you want a low-key pub feed, look no further than Darling Pavilion. The new addition to Darling Harbour sits adjacent to Tumbalong Park, so you can go straight from a free show to a chicken schnitty.

The multimillion-dollar venue has an extensive menu of pub faves from burgers and sandwiches to steaks, pizzas and, of course, three types of schnitzels. There are also a few Mediterranean-inspired twists, such as the grilled haloumi with watermelon and mint, grilled lamb skewers with cumin and honey yoghurt, pastitsio, pulled lamb burger with tomato, garlic and cucumber yoghurt and slow-cooked pork shoulder with cous cous.

Italian-inspired restaurant Kindred is a beloved local gem in the Darlington community. Stop by for hearty plates of pasta and organic, biodynamic and natural wines after non-stop tunes in neighbouring Chippendale.

The rustic trattoria is a neighbourhood favourite for a reason — not only is the food consistently delivered to a high standard (even six years after opening), but the sourdough bread, cultured butter and pasta are all made in-house and the produce is sourced from local suppliers. 

Seating is limited in the cosy space, so bookings are highly encouraged.

Spice Alley is smack-dab in the heart of the SXSW gaming and music festivals. Open from 11am until 9.30pm or 10pm, it’s the ideal place to grab a quick bite between game showcases at Mercure Sydney and demos at Fortress Sydney, or when you’re heading home from a night of music and dancing.

The lively pocket is home to six affordable Asian eateries, from Japanese to Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai. There’s even the option to BYO wine or beer, so drop by the cellar door at Handpicked Wines for a recommendation to pair with your meal, or head to Lil Sis for a bottle of natty wine.

For a pre-gig dinner near the APRA AMCOS, Knox Street Bar or the Powerhouse Museum, look no further than Nu’u. The new kid on the block in Glebe is by the Oaxaca-born team behind Nativo, so you can trust that the food will be just as flavour-packed.

You won’t find any Tex-Mex here — the two-storey restaurant stays true to its roots with Oaxacan-Mexican plates such as enmoladas (marinated chicken in rolled tortillas with queso fresco and a peanut and garlic crumble), the chef’s choice of tacos, tamal de la costa (a steamed maize cake stuffed with a grilled Moreton Bay bug) and crispy pork belly with cured mole, drunk peaches and mezcal molasses. Complement your meal with a cocktail from the mezcal-forward drinks list.

What was formerly humble CBD boozer The Bristol Arms Hotel is now unrecognisable following a no-expense-spared renovation that has transformed the 126-year-old corner pub into a five-level, six-venue nightlife hotspot, just a stone’s throw from Darling Harbour on Sussex Street. On the ground floor, the smart yet laidback Public Bar and Brewery still caters to the casual pub crowd while a state-of-the-art Sports Bar one floor down, with massive screens ensuring there isn’t a duff seat in the house, offers the perfect spot to watch a match.

Also on the ground floor is Ela Ela, a refined Greek diner from ex-Alpha chef Peter Conistis, who has conceived dining options for every space in The Bristol. Calypso, a classy nightclub complete with 200 disco balls, a next-gen sound system and cutting-edge soundproofing to keep the doof-doofs from invading other floors, takes over the first level. Above this is Midtown, an opulent cocktail lounge and jazz bar with one of the most luxurious fitouts of any new venue to open in Sydney this year. Finally, the jewel in The Bristol’s crown is The Rooftop, a sunny, Mediterranean-styled bar with a menu of Greek street eats, three leafy al fresco terraces and a pretty pastel interior that wouldn’t look out of place on the shores of Saint Tropez.