The Most Popular Sydney Restaurants of 2021
These are the Sydney restaurant's you gravitated towards in 2021 — and the one's that you need to add to your must-visit list in 2022.
Whether you're craving a steaming-hot bowl of ramen, a comforting serve of pasta or a perfectly medium-rare steak, Sydney has just what you're looking for. And, in a year that threw everything it could at us (yes, again), good food was often a much-needed respite from the day-to-day chaos.
You were constantly searching for new and exciting places to try in 2021 — and these are the results. Our most-viewed restaurants of the year provide a snapshot of your recent faves and a roadmap of places to visit (either for the first time or the fifth).
Use this list as a look back on some of your favourite eats of the year — and as a guide to planning your first meal of 2022.
-
RestaurantEsteban
1 Temperance Lane, Sydney
The Tequila Mockingbird team's two-storey Mexican restaurant is home to a massive collection of premium tequila and mezcal and a mariachi band.
-
RestaurantMamasan
57-59 Beach Rd, Bondi Beach
A tempting fusion of Taiwanese street food and Japanese deliciousness.
-
RestaurantSushi Jones Japanese Bistro
2–10 Fountain Street, Alexandria
An affordable, unassuming Japanese eatery that will let you bring you four-legged friend with you.
-
RestaurantBabylon Rooftop & Garden Bar
Level 7, Westfield, Pitt Street, Sydney
A luxe kingdom of meze, cocktails, slow-cooked meats and 300 wines atop Westfield Sydney.
-
RestaurantLilymu
153 Macquarie Street, Parramatta
This neon-lit Parramatta restaurant is whipping up tom yum dumplings and black garlic mie goreng.
-
RestaurantStix - CLOSED
20 Chapel Street, Marrickville
A farm-to-table cafe inside a Marrickville loading dock.
-
RestaurantZushi Surry Hills
Shop 2A, 285A Crown Street, Surry Hills
Sushi as it should be, and so much more.
-
RestaurantThe Fenwick
2–8 Weston Street, Balmain East
Balmain's historic Fenwick building is now a harbourside cafe and gallery space.
-
RestaurantOsaka Trading Co.
Shop 18,1 Dalgal Way, Forest Lodge
From sake and chicken karaage to whisky and edamame, this izakaya has all your Japanese cravings covered.
-
RestaurantKuro
368 Kent Street, Sydney
A hatted Japanese bar and restaurant inside a historic CBD sandstone building.
-
RestaurantPoly
74-76 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills
The Ester team's still-very-elegant take on a casual restaurant and wine bar.
-
RestaurantGrana
5-7 Young Street, Sydney
This all-day Italian restaurant inside a new four-storey Circular Quay venue bakes its own bread at its on-site mill.
-
RestaurantIkaria
70 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach
Roll into this eastern suburbs meze bar for Mediterranean share snacks, holiday-worthy cocktails and sparkling ocean views.
-
RestaurantTokki
44a Foveaux Street, Surry Hills
This Surry Hills izakaya combines Korean and Japanese flavours with minimal-intervention Aussie wines.
-
RestaurantIl Baretto
338 Oxford Street, Paddington
The Surry Hills institution has relocated to Oxford Street.
-
RestaurantRagazzi Wine and Pasta
2-12 Angel Place, Sydney
A CBD wine and pasta bar from the Love, Tilly Devine crew.
-
RestaurantPepito's
276 Illawarra Road, Marrickville
You'll find pisco cocktails and Peruvian street food at this Illawarra Road restaurant.
-
BarSake Restaurant and Bar Manly
Level One, Manly Wharf, West Esplanade, Manly
A breezy indoor-outdoor Japanese restaurant in Sydney with views out over Manly Cove.
-
RestaurantPasadena Sydney
1858 Pittwater Road, Church Point
A 1930s waterfront restaurant, bar and hotel.
-
RestaurantGram Cafe & Pancakes The Galeries
500 George Street, Sydney
This beloved Japanese cafe has brought its signature soufflé pancakes to Sydney's CBD with a new 80-seat flagship store.
