Make Concrete Playground yours with My Playground. Save and share your favourite picks and make plans to go out with friends. Registration is fast and free.
Make Concrete Playground yours with My Playground. Save and share your favourite picks and make plans to go out with friends. Registration is fast and free.
Make Concrete Playground yours with My Playground. Save and share your favourite picks and make plans to go out with friends. Registration is fast and free.
Make Concrete Playground yours with My Playground. Save and share your favourite picks and make plans to go out with friends. Registration is fast and free.
Here, you’ll find new restaurants celebrating myriad cuisines, niche bars perfecting both classic and crazy cocktails, independent boutiques boasting vintage collections, and second-hand bookstores with obscure titles and that beloved old-book scent.
We’ve teamed up with American Express to sift through the vast collection of stores spanning Sydney’s inner west and find the creme de la creme to shop small at. These local gems will no doubt become your new favourites — and they all welcome you (and your American Express Card) with a grin.
If you feel like stretching your legs, Glebe is a short walk from Central Station — but if you aren’t up for the trek, hop on the light rail. For Newtown, take the T2 line from Central. Enmore is a six-minute walk from Newtown Station. The most scenic way to reach Balmain is by ferry, but if you’re prone to seasickness, the 442 bus from the QVB will get you there promptly.
If you’re yet to jump on the e-book bandwagon, the inner west will certainly deliver all your physical literary needs. Sappho Books‘ huge collection may take a while to trawl through so, fortunately, there is a wine bar attached. Newtown’s Better Read Than Dead hosts regular author talks and book clubs, while specialist bookstore and gift shop Pentimento is the place to head for hard-to-find titles, candles and stationery.
Cream on King in Newtown is one of the largest vintage stores in all of Sydney. Dedicated to the concept of upcycling, each item of clothing is refurbished, resized and redesigned, taking a preloved item and making it new again. Glebe Point Road is the main thoroughfare in Glebe — after walking the length and taking in the stores, stop for a drink at Staves Brewery.
Connoisseurs of craft brews, organic wines and bespoke spirits are well catered to in this area. From the cosy bars like Earl’s Juke Joint, The Little Guy and Where’s Nick to the specialty booze shops like Bucket Boys and P&V Wine and Liquor, the inner west is the spot to track down, or discover, a rare tipple or two.
Surry Hills' longstanding vintage store has started a new chapter in Newtown.
Stop by for health foods, supplements and eco-friendly products — or just a turmeric shot and a vegan cake.
Here you'll find a tight collection of Scandi-style furniture, homewares and clothing.
You'll find everything you need to pamper yourself at this inner west bathhouse and spa.
Pick up organic treats and healthy ingredients at this waste-free corner store.
This Darlington cafe has all-you-can-drink batch and cold brew coffee for all.
Your one-stop inner west shop for all the supplies you need to get arty.
This Balmain florist is a local go-to for fresh flowers and bespoke bouquets.
This is where you can finally get that life-sized Spider-Man print framed and mounted for your wall.
This millennial pink-hued Glebe eatery is inspired by the coastal towns of South Carolina.
The award-winning Canberra coffee roaster has opened its first Sydney cafe in the inner west.
This Newtown gem is serving up banoffee pancakes and slow-cooked lamb ragu with heaps of hospitality.
Thriving since 1996; keeping the independent bookshop spirit alive.
A boutique bottle-o stocking organic wine, beer and spirits, as well as its own pre-batch cocktails.
An authentic pasta bar serving up some of the best pappardelle in Sydney.
This simple Concord joint keeps the focus on making great burgers.
This iconic South King Street watering hole has been revamped by The Lord Gladstone team.
A local hang for Erko residents with standard pub grub — and plenty of space for your pooch.
Uncover some buried fashion treasures at this expertly curated, second-hand shop on Enmore Road.
There's no such thing as too much of a gelato-flavoured good thing, Messina is proving just that its move into Tramsheds.
The traditional tastes of Jerusalem have come to Newtown.
This Rozelle chocolate shop makes its own a truffles, pralines and caramels.
From sake and chicken karaage to whisky and edamame, this izakaya has all your Japanese cravings covered.
A modern mixed Mediterranean menu hits Addison Road's culinary black hole.
A Forest Lodge pastry palace from Bourke Street Bakery alumni.
This Glebe pub straddles old and new with great pub grub and a mixed crowd.
A cute Camperdown cafe reminiscent of your grandma's living room.
An inspired Middle Eastern restaurant and bar with a cracking vegetarian feast.
A challenger to Messina and N2 comes from the Greeks and their watermelon feta gelato.
The End of King is another reason why we should be exploring the less trodden paths in life.
After 17 years on Leichhardt's Norton Street, this authentic pizzeria is still at the top of Sydney's Italian game.
Have tea in the sci-fi section at this long-loved bookstore cafe.
The Annandale is all grown up and British-inspired, with not a sticky square of carpet in sight.
The Apollo and Alpha may have put the sexy back into saganaki, but Zeus is taking it smart-casual.
The location is great, the atmosphere is just what you want and the food? More than worth the journey.
Marrickville is good for more than just a damn fine pork roll, with this cosy jazz bar keeping the inner-west party going late into the night.
Turkish food icon Somer Sivrioglu offers both casual meze and a formal Turkish feast in Balmain.
It's the cafe trifecta: expert coffee, a fresh, seasonal menu and conversation-worthy decor.
The Bridge Room's John Saxby dishes up Italian food that's not like your mama used to make.
The West End Hotel is reborn as The Balmain, complete with Flamingo Room and a transcontinental menu.
Where every night is the dinner party you've dreamed of one day throwing.
A tiny seven-table restaurant in culinary ghost town Stanmore is turning heads.
Cantina Bar makes the grade as a watering hole alone, but additional casual grazing amps up the experience.
Erskineville's long-loved home of hearty shakshuka and insanely good pastries.
A true local bar, the Hive is one of the best spots on the Erskineville Road strip.
Undeniably Sydney's most beautiful theatre, the Enmore maintains an antique, old-world feel inside a contemporary venue.
Black Star Pastry offers world-class pastry with an atmosphere (and prices) to make you feel right at home.
A neighbourhood wine bar pouring whatever's open and dishing out a world of flavours.
Whether you have a green thumb or not, these gardening specialists have got you covered.
