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Overview
Do you enjoy a glass of wine with your dinner but find the mark-up a little hard to swallow? Perhaps you’ve been saving a special bottle in your cellar (aka laundry). Or maybe you just have an appetite for good value. Either way, who doesn’t love a bit of bring-your-own. Here are Sydney’s best restaurants to come armed with a bottle.
CHAT THAI
Chat Thai is one of Sydney’s worst kept secrets. Join the inevitable queue for sizzling satays, coconut curries and zesty salads, which hail from the steamy streets of Bangkok. With 26 syrupy and sticky sweets on the menu, there’s no excuse for skipping desserts. We recommend the flash-fried dough sticks smothered in pandan custard ($6.90) and the young coconut ice-cream with sticky rice, candied palm seeds and roasted peanuts ($6.90). All five Chat Thai branches are BYO, as well as their offshoots Boon Cafe, Assamm and Samosorn.
BYO wine only (corkage $3 per person). 20 Campbell Street, Haymarket.
DIN TAI FUNG
Welcome to dumpling heaven. Taipei based global chain Din Tai Fung is famous for their silky-skinned and hot-bellied xiao long bao ($10.80) as well as their shao mai parcels ($10.80) and colourful dumpling gems ($15.80). Din Tai Fung pride themselves on their strict quality control, with each disc of pastry measuring exactly 6cm, with an acceptable total weight of 4.8 – 5.2 grams. Beer and dumplings have been friends since time immemorial, so pair with a floral and herbaceous pilsener, such as James Squire’s Four Wives.
BYO wine and beer (corkage $10 per wine bottle, $2.50 per beer bottle). 644 George Street, Sydney and other locations.
NEW SHANGHAI
New Shanghai’s pan-fried pork buns have attained a certain level of notoriety in Sydney. These puffy dumplings with lovely burnished bottoms are served alongside Shanghai classics including braised garlic eggplant ($13.80), drunken chicken ($8.80) and shallot pancake ($5.80), which make a good match for a bottle of crisp, dry white. The dark woods, deep reds and warm lighting will have you back in 1930s Shanghai, while at the front window, dumplings are handmade with mesmerising precision and speed.
BYO wine only (corkage $2 per person); 273 Liverpool Road, Ashfield and other locations.
YEN FOR VIET
Serving traditional Vietnamese cuisine in a smart, modern setting, Yen for Viet takes the title for Sydney’s most pho-nomenal pho. Alongside this herb-filled rice noodle soup, you can order slow-cooked pork belly in young coconut ($15); clay pot caramelised fish ($16); and banh xeo, a crispy pancake stuffed with beansprouts, mungbeans, prawns and duck ($18). Mmm Viet-noms. Bring a citrusy, fresh-tasting semillon with you, which should marry well with the fresh herbs and salad.
BYO wine only (corkage $2 per person), 296 Illawarra Road, Marrickville
KEPOS STREET KITCHEN
We’re not advocating a bottle of burgundy with breakfast (well, maybe on a weekend) but there’s nothing stopping you from making a toast with your toast at this all-day cafe. Kepos Street Kitchen is a charming corner cafe in Redfern that boasts a Middle Eastern-inspired menu. Here you can feast upon Tel Aviv falafel with green tahini ($12) and traditional Moroccan lamb and pine nut cigars ($17), and who can honestly say no to salted caramel churros ($12)?
BYO wine only (corkage $8 per bottle). 96 Kepos Street, Redfern.
SULTAN'S TABLE
This Turkish delight in Enmore serves mezze fit for a king. Come for the delicious suckling lamb ($20), sizzling adana kebab grilled over charcoal ($14) and authentic woodfired pide. Start the meal with an assortment of dips in a rainbow of flavours ($22), which includes parsley, jajik (garlic), chilli, beetroot, carrot, spinach, humous and baba ganoush, accompanied by a slab of oven-baked Turkish bread. Finish with a strong, aromatic Turkish coffee and a syrupy baklava ($3) or head next door for arguably the world’s best gelato at Cow and Moon.
BYO wine and beer (corkage $0). 179 Enmore Road, Enmore.
BAR REGGIO
For not much dough, you can score a supremely good pizza at Bar Reggio. This loud and lively family ristorante serves hillocks of spaghetti, whole baked fish, veal scallopine and pizza. Oh, and don’t forget to leave room for gelato and tiramisu. Their Tuscan-themed courtyard makes a perfect place for group get-togethers, and it’s well-placed on Crown Street if you feel like kicking on afterwards.
BYO wine and beer (corkage $2 per person). 135 Crown Street, Darlinghurst.
MAMAK
Serving exceptional Malaysian hawker food, Mamak is famous for its feather-light, flaky roti canai, which is theatrically folded and flipped out front to the delight of onlookers. Use your roti to mop up tangy fish curry with okra ($17) and spicy samba tiger prawns ($19), or wrap it around charcoal satay ($9) and Malaysian-style fried chicken ($14). You can even order sweet roti ($8) filled with sliced banana or pandan and coconut, topped with ice-cream. Try a clean-finishing craft brew like James Squire Fifty Lashes, which will complement the fiery, feisty flavours.
BYO wine and beer (corkage $2 per person). 15 Goulburn Street, Haymarket.
CHIOSCO BY ORMEGGIO
Located side by side on a Mosman jetty, Chiosco is mere metres from the water’s edge, with spectacular 300 degree views of luxury yachts and sparkling sea. While parent restaurant Ormeggio 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. Bring a bottle of champagne or a six pack of golden ales with you.
BYO wine and beer (corkage $10 corkage per bottle for wine and $2 per bottle of beer). The Jetty, d'Albora Marina The Spit, Spit Rd. Mosman.
TETSUYA'S
This stalwart of Sydney’s luxury dining scene marries the Japanese philosophy of natural, seasonal flavours with French culinary expertise. Their ten-course degustation ($220) has been updated with new offerings, including the inspired pairing of New Zealand scampi tail with chicken liver parfait; however, the one dish that never changes is the impeccable confit of petuna ocean trout, which is renowned the world over. Not exactly the most budget-conscious evening out, but a great opportunity to borrow a special bottle from your parents' stash. With matching wines rounding out at $110 per person, you may also save yourself a pretty penny too.
BYO wine only (corkage $25 for the first bottle, $45 each bottle after). 529 Kent Street, Sydney.