Overview
Here at Concrete Playground, we've made no secret of our deep infatuation with this spectacular city. From Sydney's best picnic spots to her most beckoning harbourside bars, the city offers limitless hidden corners from which to appreciate and adore her. Today, we bring you ten vantage points that show off Sydney at her finest, and boast the added bonus of delectable feasts to engage your other senses while your eyes are fixed firmly on the horizon.
Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, Watsons Bay
With summer peeping just around the corner, it’s hard to imagine a more pleasant place to while away a Sunday afternoon than the new waterfront deck at the Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel. Featuring cheeky beach club decor and creative pub food with lots of sociable sharing options, the recently refurbished beer garden is an ideal setting for a long, liquid lunch with friends. Menu favourites include DIY fish tacos with just the right hidden chilli kick ($21) and a colossal serving of fried market fish with house-made tartar and chips that are crunchy and smooth in all the right places ($24). The bar hops happily from boutique beers to Marlborough sav blancs to the finest French champagnes, ensuring a tipple for every taste. The picnic-style tables tend to be jam packed with merry beach-goers, so you'll need to wait patiently for your jug of pale ale or bucket of marinated prawns. But with a killer view that unfolds from the sandy shore over the frolicking sailboats and into the city skyline, you'll be more than content to do so.
Mon - Sat 10am – midnight, Sun 10am – 10pm; 1 Military Road, Watsons Bay; (02) 9337 5444; www.watsonsbayhotel.com.au
Botanic Gardens Restaurant, Royal Botanic Gardens
Tucked away within the picturesque Royal Botanic Gardens, the Botanic Gardens Restaurant is a hidden sanctuary you need to know to look for, as you would never guess it could exist so close to the bustling CBD. Head chef Todd Hunt recreates the garden on the plate, with efflorescent dishes that draw inspiration from their magical surroundings. Plump seared scallops rest atop a pool of smooth celeriac puree ($22), a delicate zucchini flower salad pairs velvety goat’s cheese with rich baby beetroots ($18) and a rustic house-made spaghettini is layered with earthy Swiss mushrooms, cavolo nero, duxelle and dill ($24). Zesty spring ingredients like peeled mandarin segments, seared kiwi fruit, liquorice sorbet and candied apples make for fresh, light desserts, which are accompanied by an impressive selection of teas and aperitifs. Quiet birdsong and the trickling of a nearby stream provide the perfect soundtrack to complete this whimsical garden dining experience.
Breakfast Sat - Sun 9.30am - 11.30am, Lunch Mon - Sun noon - 3pm; Mrs Macquarie’s Road, Sydney; (02) 9241 2419; www.trippaswhitegroup.com.au/our-venues/Botanic-Gardens-Restaurant/3
Altitude, Sydney CBD
Altitude is no ordinary restaurant. Commanding a regal view over the historic buildings of The Rocks, the gleaming sails of the Opera House and right across the bustling Bridge to the sparkling lights of Sydney’s northern suburbs, the setting is romantic and impressive and promises an extraordinary dining experience from the moment you take your seat. Momentum builds with impeccable service and your choice from an assortment of soft house-baked rolls with creamy ricotta, sea salt and honey butter. Starters include a carefully balanced cauliflower veloute ($28), poured at the table over a garden of delicate mushrooms and chopped hazelnuts and drizzled with truffle oil. The mains feature unexpected combinations that dazzle the tastebuds, like Wagyu beef with an oxtail croquette, liquorice, potato and onion ash ($47). Desserts are multi-textured and bursting with flavour, with our pick being a deconstructed cheesecake that you need to taste to believe ($19). With an encyclopaedically knowledgeable sommelier, scrumptious little palate cleansers between courses and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the city, Altitude is special occasion dining epitomised.
Mon - Sat 6.30pm - 10.30pm; Level 36, Shangri-La Hotel, 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks; (02) 9250 6123; www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/restaurants/altitude-restaurant/
Sydney Fish Market, Blackwattle Bay
The largest market of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sydney Fish Market offers an outing and a meal in one, all set against the gorgeous backdrop of Blackwattle Bay and the twin spires of the Anzac Bridge. Wander through the various shops that make up the market and gawk at the dazzling variety of fresh fish and other sea creatures on display. When the time comes for lunch, you’ll be hard pressed to choose between the immaculate sliced sashimi, crispy fish and chips, the overflowing fisherman’s baskets and what are likely to be Sydney’s most reasonably priced lobsters. Devour your piscine feast at a picnic table by the harbour or stake out a spot on the astroturf just nearby. Either way, you’ll need to be able to hold your own against the circling seagulls; with seafood this fresh, it’s no wonder they too want a piece of the action.
Sun - Mon 7am - 4pm; Pyrmont Bridge Road, Pyrmont; (02) 9004 1100; www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au
Ormeggio, The Spit
Don’t be fooled by the clean, simple lines of Ormeggio’s rustic wharf-end decor: this is anything but a normal dining experience. With an explosively innovative menu that harnesses creative techniques and unique combinations to reinvent Italian cuisine, you’ll be surprised and delighted by Alessandro Pavoni’s challenging, interesting take on food that is as much art as gastronomy. Begin with an intriguing wallaby battuta, Pavoni’s answer to steak tartare, peppered with pickled watermelon rind and amaranth and sprinkled with fine chorizo powder. Follow this with luscious burnt eggplant tortellini with spicy pistachio and Pyengana cheddar foam, ideally matched with a 2012 Mazzolino Pinot Nero, from Pavoni’s own home region of Lombardy. The dessert that is simply labelled as “carrot” is served with fennel seed ice cream, farro cream and vinegar caramel and will leave you scraping your plate in search of just one more morsel of its complex and enchanting flavours. Nestled into the outrageously gorgeous Spit marina and offering a range of special packages that make Pavoni’s two-hatted cuisine accessible (like two courses and a glass of wine for $49, Wednesday – Saturday), Ormeggio is an exciting offering for the curious foodie.
Lunch Wed - Sun noon - 3pm, Dinner Wed - Sat 6pm - 11pm, Sun 6pm - 10pm; D’Albora Marinas, The Spit, Mosman; (02) 9969 4088; www.ormeggio.com.au
Harbourside Indian, North Sydney
On an unassuming street corner in North Sydney you’ll find Harbourside Indian, a treat of a night out overlooking Sydney’s sweetheart, the Harbour Bridge. The friendly staff will guide you toward the mixed entree platter, a mouth-watering assortment of aromatic chicken tikka, lamb seekh kebab and samosas ($10.90). A comprehensive array of delicious curries makes decision-making difficult; we particularly enjoyed the tangy mango chicken with mustard seeds ($18.90) and a traditional Rogan Josh, slow-cooked in Kashmiri spices and fresh coriander ($19.90). Soak it all up with one of seven types of naan, our favourite of which was the Peshwari version ($4), jam-packed with dried fruit, coconut and ground nuts. Ask for a table by the windows and while away an evening admiring the harbour and ordering round after round of the addictive pappadums with mint chutney ($2.90).
Mon - Sun Lunch noon - 3pm and Dinner 5pm - 10.30pm; 5 Walker Street, North Sydney; (02) 9922 2787; www.harboursideindian.com.au
Ripples, Chowder Bay
From any table on the breezy waterside deck at Ripples Chowder Bay, spectacular views extend as far as the eye can see. Watsons Bay and Nielsen Park decorate one horizon, the northern headlands cradle the harbour on the other, while the foreground boasts the pretty greenery of Clifton Gardens. The food is simple, traditional and entirely delectable. Begin with a wild mushroom bruschetta with sous vide egg ($18) and continue your feast with house-made pappardelle with braised duck ragu ($28) or perfectly cooked beef tenderloins with marrow butter, potatoes, truffle cream, cherry tomatoes and jus ($32). Complete your meal with a wickedly rich flourless chocolate cake drenched in salted caramel sauce ($15) or a punchy espresso with petit fours. Seamlessly executed food, friendly service and astonishingly gorgeous surroundings make Ripples an inimitable location for a long weekend lunch.
Breakfast Sat - Sun 8am - 10.30am, Lunch Mon - Sun from noon, Dinner Fri - Sat 6pm - late; Building 7, Deck C, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman; (02) 9964 9998; www.rippleschowderbay.com.au
The Bathers' Pavilion
Gazing out over the rim of your perfect cappuccino and across Balmoral Beach to the ocean's calm, outstretched horizon is the definition of relaxation. Add to that a breakfast spread that explodes with creativity and flavour and there are few places you'd rather spend a sunny Sunday morning than at the Bathers' Pavilion Cafe. Poached rhubarb with orange and mandarin, sheep's milk yoghurt and pistachio ($18) sets the scene for Serge Dansereau's innovative approach to the most important meal of the day. From this Middle Eastern-inspired beginning, Dansereau roams to other culinary hubs around the world: a twice cooked manchego souffle is served with sauteed Swiss brown mushrooms ($22), while Filipino-style breakfast chicken is served with rice, poached egg, shallots and chilli ($23). Wash it down with a cranberry juice laced with crushed watermelon and pineapple ($7) and you'll be set for an afternoon exploring the dramatic headlands and jumping into the waves that have been tempting you endlessly while you eat.
Daily noon - 5pm and 6.30 - midnight; 4 The Esplanade, Balmoral; (02) 9969 5050; www.batherspavilion.com.au
Little Manly Beach Kiosk
A tiny kiosk not too far from Manly's main stretch, Little Manly Beach Kiosk is one of those secret powerhouses guaranteed to induce a 'where have you been all my life' moment upon discovery by any Sydneysider. With a handful of tables scattered through a tiny deck that seems like it must literally be in the water, the kiosk offers a spectacular vista over the bay, a sparkling sheltered swimming area, and an unbeatable place to unfold a broadsheet newspaper and enjoy an espresso and a bacon and egg roll. The staff are laidback and friendly, characterised perfectly by their opening hours policy: "We are open most days from about 9am-ish, occasionally earlier, or sometimes later, we close around 3-ish in winter and are open as late as 10-ish in daylight savings ... but lately we’ve been here just about all the time.” Arrive close to 9am-ish or expect a well-worthwhile wait for your table, and bring plenty of sunscreen because, once you’re here, you’re unlikely to be leaving gorgeous Little Manly Beach in a hurry.
42 Stuart Street, Manly; (02) 9977 7104; www.littlemanlybeach.com.au
Bondi Icebergs
Bar food has never been more decadent, nor a view more iconic, than what's on offer at the bar at Icebergs. Whet your appetite with a frittata of black truffle, taleggio cheese and chives ($12), creamy, thick-cut polenta chips ($14) or a plate of delicate wagyu bresaola with pickled mushrooms and truffle aioli ($17). The drinks list will satisfy you irrespective of your particular poison: an elegant, international wine list hits all the right notes, the boutique beers play hopscotch across the globe from Bangkok to Piedmont, and an impressive suite of spirits has you covered from Ardbeg to Zubrowka. The vista over the saltwater pool, through the Bondi sand and out to the sprawling Pacific is a synonym for Sydney. Not just for tourists, the Icebergs Bar is the place to take a break from the grind and fall back in love with the enchantress we call home.
Tue - Sat noon - midnight; Sun noon - 10pm; Level 3/1 Notts Ave, Bondi Beach; (02) 9365 9000; icebergs.com.au