Young Henrys is the household name of Sydney craft breweries, an impressive feat for the staunchly independent brew house that has been operating for over a decade. These guys went from being one of Sydney's first in craft to a nationally celebrated company — and they've somehow managed this feat without selling out. The YH brews aren't only well-represented across Sydney's craft brew pubs but are a regular facet of the beer scene across the country — including heaps of unassuming pubs that otherwise only have the likes of Tooheys and Carlton on draught. From launching their very own festival to their endless artistic collaborations to sponsoring events like NourishTalks, Young Henrys just seems to be everywhere these days. The story has worked out well for the Newtowners, who almost set up shop in Surry Hills. Luckily, the space in Newtown saved Young Henrys from the lockout laws and put them smack dab in the middle of an incredibly creative community. Part brewery, part gallery space, the tasting bar is a super laidback (but always busy) hangout where music blares and beer's a-flowing. Young Henrys' collaboration game also remains strong — think chef-inspired beers, restaurant collaborations, promoting band tours and community contests and events. A lot has changed over the years — from going solar-powered to successfully trying its hand at distilling. Young Henrys has now expanded to ten brewers and is launching a dedicated brewer's tank that will allow the team to try out their own recipes. The Newtonian masterminds haven't just limited themselves to beer — their cider and spirits game is strong as well, with their Noble Cut Gin awarded the Gold Medal from the World Spirit Awards. Now both brewery and distillery, YH plans to continue to develop in the spirits direction. Young Henrys has been a driving force across the craft beer scene and opened the gates for many of the newer guys. It may be local craft, but YH is a big player in the Australian beer industry as a whole and we can't wait to see what's next. Images: Marissa Ciampi. Appears in: The Best Sydney Brewery Bars for 2023
Dining institution Mejico has been serving Sydney-siders some of the finest Mexican cuisine and tequila for over a decade now — and has been slinging some of the greatest tacos from its Melbourne restaurant since 2020. The Mejico space in Sydney remains much the same after so many years — lofty industrial ceiling, exposed brick walls and distressed concrete beams brightened by vivacious colours and bold geometric patterns. A sizeable bar that greets you upon entry is indicative of imminent revelry, and impressively offers one of the largest tequila selections in the city. The venue is buzzing with tables of young people in the mood for a fiesta of flavours and flowing tequila. The tequila at Mejico is all 100 per cent agave, with none of the nasty additives that give you a headache. We recommend treating the experience like you would a single malt whisky, where you sip, roll the tipple over the tongue and savour its unique flavour. For connoisseurs, a nip of the elite varieties, such as the Gran Centenario Gran Reserve, could set you back over $100. Choosing from over 250 tequila options is a daunting task. That's why Mejico introduced an ingenious invention: the Tequila Wheel. This nifty wooden contraption provides a tailored tequila recommendation as you turn the wheel to your preference for price, intensity and flavour. Let the fates decide what you'll be sipping on when visiting this haunt. But if shooting tequilas isn't your jam, there are a heap of variations on the classic margarita — with the team slinging $10 margaritas every Monday — as well as plenty of beers and wines. Food-wise, the signature guacamole adds some theatre to your meal, as the ingredients are smashed together tableside in a molcajete (Mexican pestle and mortar), with long, golden plantain chips as the perfect vehicle for dipping. Additional starters come in the form of corn ribs slathered in a chipotle lime glaze and dusted with pecorino cheese popcorn, as well as spicy jalapeño poppers. Regarding tacos, you can expect wagyu-, jackfruit-, tempura lobster- and salmon-filled delights alongside weekly specials. Larger dishes made to share include the lamb rump topped with gremolata salsa and yellow mole; barramundi with vera cruz salsa and capers; and succulent wagyu rump steak served with a guajillo puree and asparagus. The fresh, seasonal produce and modern yet authentic dishes at Mejico will challenge your expectations of Mexican food. And who knows, after experiencing tequila like a connoisseur, you might reconsider its wicked reputation.
Naming the ten best of anything can be a daunting task — especially when it comes to ranking something which we all, as Sydneysiders, take rather seriously: our beaches. Whether it's the season of carousing on the sand or just unseasonably warm, you can always justify a trip to one of the best beaches in Sydney. And because Sydney is the city with — let's not be coy — some of the best city beaches in the world, we've put together a list of our ultimate beachside playgrounds within the city limits. From napping under palms on the northern beaches to snorkelling in the turquoise waters of a protected marine reserve, these are the ten best beaches in Sydney. Recommended reads: The Best Ocean Pools in Sydney The Best Coastal Walks in Sydney The Best Beach Campsites Near Sydney The Best Beachside Bars and Restaurants in Sydney Tamarama Beach, Eastern Suburbs This narrow, 80-metre strip of sand between the headlands at Tamarama has an air of luxurious seclusion, rare for a city Sydney beach and especially surprising given its proximity to the busiest beach in the country. The glamorous gather here to sunbathe, and the left-hand reef break will have you contending with some of the city's best surfers and bodyboarders if you want to catch a wave. Be sure to take a break from the sun at the beachside cafe, where you can casually kick back with a fresh juice as you watch the Bondi-to-Bronte runners coast by. Or bring along those gourmet snags and take advantage of the nearby barbecue area by Tamarama Beach, one of the very best beaches in Sydney. [caption id="attachment_893470" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] Bigola Beach, Northern Beaches Named after the Indigenous word that means "swirling waters", Bilgola is hidden away at the bottom of a hill, behind a jungle of palm trees and lantana — if you're not paying attention, you'll miss this fabulous Sydney beach. For this reason, Bilgola is perhaps the most beautiful of the northern beaches in Sydney, and, incidentally, is a bastard to get to on public transport. But, the trek to this 500-metre-long strip of sand is worth it. Enjoy views of Newport Head while lounging on the shore, or go for a swim in the eight-lane ocean pool. You can also try your luck at fishing, with a designated area on offer. Freshwater Beach, Northern Beaches The first beach north of Manly, Freshwater is the official birthplace of surfing in Australia; the sport was first popularised here in 1915 by Duke Kahanamoku, a Hawaiian traveller who famously carved a surfboard from local timber and hypnotised crowds at the beach. A life-size statue of Kahanamoku still stands on the northern headland. Apart from the surf history, Freshwater is just a gorgeous Sydney beach to laze the day away on. It also boasts a 50-metre saltwater rockpool for lap swimming and is an easy coastal walk to Curl Curl. For lunch, we suggest splurging on a meal at the lauded Pilu restaurant — you won't regret dropping that extra cash. Or, for a more casual affair, head to Harbord Hotel. Bondi Beach, Eastern Suburbs When you're pulling together a list of the best beaches in Sydney, it's hard to go past the classics. While Bondi may be Australia's best known (and therefore most over-populated) beach, it still holds a place for locals and shouldn't be left entirely to the mercy of tourists. If you go mid-week, you can really appreciate Bondi for all it's worth. Either way, head to North Bondi for the best swimming spots — and to avoid the crowds of novice surfers further down the beach. If you're looking for a spot to dine, drink or get caffeinated before or after you swim, explore our list of the best restaurants, bars and cafes in Bondi. Some of our favourites include Sean's Panorama, Lola's Level 1 and the new Curly Lewis Brewing Co. Manly Beach, Northern Beaches Another stunning stretch of Sydney sand, Manly Beach is hard to beat in charm — from the ferry ride over from the city to the busy promenade, the tree-lined Sydney beach and the clear blue waves. While it may not be as convenient as, say, Bondi for south-of-the-bridge dwellers, it is certainly still one of Sydney's best beaches. Plus a trip to Manly on the ferry is a rite of passage for anyone born and bred in Sydney. If you want to snag a fresh pastry and cuppa on the way to the beach, stop off at Rollers Bakehouse. Later in the day, grab a bottle of natural wine at Winona Wine. Once you're done with the sun for the day, finish off with a drink at Manly's speakeasy-style bar The Cumberland (one of Sydney's 20 best bars) or some top-notch Mexican at Chica Bonita. Bronte Beach, Eastern Suburbs Hugged by the headlands and surrounded by a perfect picnicking park, Bronte is one of the loveliest and most accessible city beaches in Sydney. Set at the end of the famed, one-kilometre coastal walk, the quiet and unpretentious beach is the perfect place to dive into the water post-walk from Bondi. If it's too hot, you can always nap under the rock ledge too. Those rocks also create a sheltered natural pool for leisurely swimming with minimal waves, or enjoy some laps in the saltwater pool. At the same time, the southern headland is a favourite among advanced surfers. For lunch, head to the park behind the beach and enjoy fish and chips from one of the local takeaway joints or a freshly grilled barbecue on one of the picnic tables. Avalon Beach, Northern Beaches Located near the tip of the northern beaches in Sydney, Avalon is a destination for wave chasers, with a large surf community based in the area. Even if you don't surf, it's a great place to watch the pros in action. Baywatch even wanted to relocate its filming to Avalon during the 90s. Other highlights include the 25-metre ocean pool, located at North Avalon near a triangle-shaped sandbank. Meanwhile, along the south cliff (known as Little Avalon), surfers can enjoy fast-barrelling tube rides, thanks to a shallow rock shelf. Behind the beach is a shaded park with barbecue facilities, picnic areas and a skate park — helping it get on this list of the best beaches in Sydney. Shelly Beach, Northern Beaches Shelly Beach is pristine for a reason — it's part of a protected marine reserve called Cabbage Tree Bay, and so boasts especially clean, turquoise waters filled with exotic fish. For this reason, the beloved Sydney beach is specifically popular among scuba divers and snorkelers. If you're looking for surf, head to the Fairy Bower side, which offers one of Sydney's best breaks. The beach also forms part of the annual Cole Classic, Australia's longest ocean swim. And bushwalkers will enjoy the headland track with views over North Head and across the northern beaches. This secluded cove is also convenient to get to by ferry and is just a short walk south along Manly's main street. Palm Beach, Northern Beaches It's no surprise Palm Beach stars in a television show — this Home & Away beach is one of the most beautiful places Sydney has to offer. It's privileged to be surrounded by water on three sides: east is the Pacific Ocean, west is Pittwater and north is Broken Bay (which the Hawkesbury River flows into). Get there early to enjoy it without the crowds, and visiting on a weekday is an even better idea. If a staycation is in the cards, you can book out a summer house and feel like one of the millionaire locals for a few nights. While you're at one of the best beaches in Sydney, grab breakfast or lunch at the The Boathouse. Clovelly Beach, Eastern Suburbs Sometimes you just want to pack the esky, haul your umbrella to the beach and set up camp for a whole day by the waves. Other days, you just want a quick dip without getting sand in your togs. Clovelly is a local favourite because you have the luxury of doing both. The cove has a small, peaceful beach for tranquil wading, along with a 25-metre saltwater pool down the southern side. But it's also flanked by two concrete platforms, which are used for both sunbathing and cannonballing. Clovelly is popular among snorkelers as well, with the diverse marine life including an extra-large blue groper named Bluey. The grouper even features on the bright new mural that now adorns the surf club at this brilliant Sydney beach. Has this round-up of the best beaches in Sydney left you craving a sandy, sun-soaked holiday? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of adventures curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips to destinations all over the world. Top image: Shelly Beach by Fabio Santo (Unsplash).
Brasserie 1930, a lavish European-influenced brasserie swung open its doors in Sydney's CBD in early 2023, calling the luxury hotel Capella Sydney home. The acclaimed hospitality crew behind Bentley Restaurant and Bar, Monopole, Yellow and Cirrus have brought an elegant dining room, next-level eats and a meticulously curated wine program to the expansive inner-city hotel. Named after the year the Young Street section of the building was completed, Brasserie 1930 takes the idea of an elevated French diner and injects it with local Australian produce and Sydney-favourite dishes. Kick off your meal with Sydney rock or Tasmanian pacific oysters as well as prawns paired with fermented chilli mayonnaise. Highlights from the starters section of the menu include a seasonal veg tart, bluefin tuna with buttermilk and horseradish and spanner crab alla chitarra with sea urchin sauce. Then there's the mains. This portion of the offerings is full of no-holds-barred luxury. The seafood selections, for example, include raw snapper with blackberry, almond and oxalis, woodfired rainbow trout with trout roe and pepperberry, and crumbed swordfish with pistachio, brown butter and black olives. There are three steaks on offer, if that's what you're craving. Take your pick from the Black Opal rump cap, O'Connor's bone-in sirloin or Coppertree Farms 600-gram rib eye. And rounding out the mains is the whole-roasted duck, which you can order for the table. This shared dish comes accompanied by duck-neck sausage, baby beetroot, fennel and spinach. Bentley Restaurant Group's co-owner and sommelier, Nick Hildebrandt, has pulled together a massive wine list to complement the elegant menu. Hundreds of producers from across Australia and Europe are on show, with the by-the-glass menu set to evolve and change over time, spotlighting picks from the hospitality group's wine vault. All of this is housed within an equally grand dining space. Original architectural features of the nearly century-old building have been restored, then complemented with sleek modern furnishings and light fixtures. Brasserie 1930 joins the McRae Bar in the 192-room, eight-storey Capella Sydney hotel. The luxury accommodation is Australia's first Capella, offering guests an elevated inner-city stay featuring swimming and vitality pools, a fitness centre and a spa alongside the impressive dining options. Images: Kris Paulsen Appears in: Where to Find the Best Steaks in Sydney
Fancy spending some time in Latin America? Don't we all. It's not quite the same as a holiday but, thanks to the brand new Cine Latino Film Festival, getting immersed in the sights, sounds and stories of everywhere from Mexico to Puerto Rico is as easy as heading to the movies. Throughout August, the latest addition to Palace Cinemas' ever-growing festival calendar brings the best films from the region to Australian screens, celebrating not just excellence but variety. Come for cinematic poetry from master filmmakers and stay for Peruvian horror efforts — they're just a few of our five must-see pics of the festival. Plus, if you scroll down to the bottom, you can go in the draw to win a double pass to see one of them. NERUDA Curbing one's excitement for Pablo Larraín's latest feature is close to impossible. The Chilean filmmaker hasn't even reached the age of 40 yet, and he already has a number of features under his belt that any writer/director would be envious of. After wowing the Aussie festival circuit with his first collaboration with Gael Garcia Bernal in 2012's political drama No, Larraín tasks the charismatic actor with once again exploring the difficulties of restrictive societies — this time through an examination of the life the poet that gives the movie its name. That Neruda has been called gripping won't surprise anyone, in yet another stellar work from a director on the rise. ENDLESS POETRY When it comes to Endless Poetry, knowing that it is directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky should be more than enough motivation to send you rushing towards your nearest Palace Cinema. After breaking a 23-year directing drought with 2013's The Dance of Reality, the 87-year-old filmmaker behind such brazen, mind-bending cult classics as El Topo and The Holy Mountain offers up another cinematic memoir. In the second of a planned five-feature series, he moves from his youth to the formative experiences of his 20s, chronicling his efforts to become a poet against the wishes of his family. THE WOMB If sitting in a darkened room, staring at a big screen and getting scared is your idea of a good time at the movies, then The Womb should be your type of film. If the fact that it is being billed as Peru's first bona fide horror flick doesn't get your pulse racing, then perhaps its unsettling tale of several layers of motherhood struggles will. Sure, you've probably seen plenty of frightening fare about being a parent lately, but there's a reason filmmakers keep returning to this tried and tested topic. HOW TO WIN ENEMIES You can never have too many offbeat comedies, right? Finding amusement in the quirks of everyday life is always going to strike a chord, with How to Win Enemies the latest Argentinian effort to give it a shot. Focusing on a young lawyer with a fondness for detective stories, it's a love story, a family drama and a mystery all in one. Yes, the sleuthing angle has seen Gabriel Lichtmann's film compared to TV's Bored to Death — so if you're a fan of that show, it can only be a good thing. I PROMISE YOU EVERYTHING Combine a skater film, a crime drama and a queer love story all into one, and the result is I Promise You Everything. Weaving through the streets of modern-day Mexico City, the feature tells the tale of Miguel and Johnny, their stumbling upon a get-rich-quick scheme supplying blood to drug traffickers, and the tumultuous results. If it sounds a little like the early work of Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu, that's not a bad thing. One review has even mentioned the film in the same breath as The Godfather — and while they're awfully big shoes to fill, discovering how it tries to achieve that feat should be intriguing at the very least. The Cine Latino Film Festival screens at Sydney's Palace Norton Street and Verona from August 9 to 24, Brisbane's Palace Centro and Barracks from August 11 to 24, and Melbourne's Palace Como and Westgarth from August 17 to 31. For more information, visit the festival website. [competition]583085[/competition]
The '70s are back, complete with one-cent lollies, malted milkshakes and pinball machines. At least, they are in Mortdale, where the nostalgia-filled Milk Bar Cafe 2223 opened last month. Owner Tony Fitzgerald has taken the '70s theme to extremes at his suburban cafe with vinyl seating, metal-legged tables and chequered flooring. Then there's the paraphernalia, from the Mouse Trap board game and Bex ad hanging on the wall, to the sign advertising Leberwurst sandwiches for 20 cents and the red pay phone. If you're looking for something to do, grab a newspaper out of the old-school delivery barrow or have a crack at the high score on the pinball machine. And, yes — the one-cent lolly thing is for real. Line up at the counter with your coin purse, prop open your little white paper bag and grab as many bullets, cobbers, teeth, bananas or freckles as you can afford. There's complete freedom to pick and mix. Milkshakes are done the old way, in big, aluminium cups, with malt and Streets Blue Ribbon ice cream, and old-school sundaes are on the menu too. Plus, there are spiders. (For anyone whose childhood was deprived of them, they're a disgustingly/fantastically sweet beverage made of ice cream and soft drink.) You can sit down and eat too. For brekkie and lunch, you can expect oversized portions, with basic offerings of burgers, big brekkies and steak sandwiches. But in true Sydney style, a couple of not-so-traditional dishes have crept onto the menu, including Sonoma honey spiced granola and — you guessed it — smashed avo. Milk Bar Cafe 2223 is located at 38 Balmoral Road, Mortdale. It's open Tuesday to Friday from 7am till 6pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 7am till 4pm. For more info, visit their Facebook page. Images: Katje Ford.
Under current COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, you can't go on a holiday (locally or overseas). But, you can start dreaming. Bookmark this for when you can explore once again. Winter is (almost) here. You could sit about, piling on jumpers, moaning and crying into your hot chocolate. Or you could calmly pack your bubble bath and your pyjamas, then drive to an irresistibly cosy winter cabin to soak in a spa bath and drink your favourite bottle of wine by an open fireplace. Ultimately, the choice is yours. But just in case you're opting for the latter, here are seven getaways that will have you daydreaming about frosty mornings and reading books by the fire. We've got an an off-grid log cabin, a dog-friendly tiny house and a farmstay with donkeys for petting — all of which offer a soaking tub and/or a fireplace. Is that the sound of you collecting your things? Go on. [caption id="attachment_717175" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kirk Richards[/caption] HEE HAW HUT, GOULBURN VALLEY, VICTORIA Located in remote farmland just two hours northeast of Melbourne, Hee Haw Hut is a rustic one bedroom cabin built from upcycled materials. Its homey interior features a wood-burning fireplace and a fully equipped kitchen. Outside, there's a deck and double hammock overlooking the barbecue and outdoor fire pit area. If the winter weather gets especially blustery while you're here, there are plenty of board games, books and videos to keep you occupied while you keep warm by the blazing fire. Plus, you have the added (and rare) benefit of snuggling up with the many donkeys that are raised on the adjacent Hee Haw Farm. How much? From $180 a night. [caption id="attachment_717178" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alexandra Adoncello[/caption] KOOKAWOOD FARM, BLUE MOUNTAINS, NSW This 200-acre property in Rydal offers breathtaking views of the Blue Mountains. Kookawood Farm is a stone farmhouse that took ten years to build, and its interiors house antiques from years gone by. The space boasts both a large open fireplace inside and a fire pit outside, so you'll never feel the winter chill here. If the temperature isn't too low, you can even enjoy a hot bath in the outdoor bathtub, which offers views aplenty. Plus, the indoor bathroom features underfloor heating and yet another claw-foot tub for soaking in. And, as it's a two bedroom cabin, this getaway is suitable for groups, too. It's on the expensive end, but, if you've got it, so worth the extra cash. How much? From $390 a night. FOREST VIEW BUSH CABINS, CRADLE MOUNTAIN, TASMANIA Highlanders Cottages offers self-contained cabins right smack in the middle of Cradle Mountain National Park — which is, coincidentally, where one of the ten Australian mountains you should climb at least once in you life is located. Each Forest View cabin has been hand-built using local Tasmania timber. It offers two bedrooms, den lounges and a log fireplace, plus a private deck and a fully stocked kitchen. The bathroom features both a soaking tub and a shower, too. It's an ideal spot to unwind after your gruelling 13-kilometre hike up to the pristine views at Cradle Mountain Lake. How much? From $215 a night. MOONBAH HUT, SNOWY MOUNTAINS, NSW This requires some extra driving, but the stunning rewards are well worth it. Moonbah Hut is located on private frontage on the Moonbah River, the Snowy Mountains' cleanest, most unspoilt home for trout. Give your fishing muscle a flex from your front doorstep, while keeping an eye out for wildlife, from wombats to deer to brumbies. Or bunker down inside, with a huge, open stone fireplace for company. Previous guests have taken the experience next level and even invited personal chefs along for an evening. How much? From $245 a night. [caption id="attachment_717182" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cameron Watts[/caption] THE SIMPLE LIFE CABIN, MOUNT TOOLEBEWONG, VICTORIA This off-grid log cabin is as rustic as it gets — and it's a great budget option, too. At The Simple Life Cabin, there's no television or wifi to speak of. Instead, expect an old-school record player and vinyl collection, a wood-fire heater to keep you warm and a cast iron bath to while your afternoons away in. The cabin was created as a ceramicist's studio and remnants of this past life can be seen in the kitchen tableware and the polished concrete workbench that's been converted into a dining table. Set within four-aces of forest, the cabin is completely secluded and lets you forget all the woes of that cold, wintery city life — for a few days, anyway. How much? From $130 a night. THE BOWER, SUNSHINE COAST HINTERLAND, QUEENSLAND It might not get that cold in Queensland, but this little wood-panelled cabin in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland will have you hoping for chilly days and nights. That's because The Bower — located near the little township of Maleny, about an hour north of Brisbane — has lots of wintry amenities that you'll most definitely want to make the most of. Like the antique claw food bath, the fireplace and the fairy light-lit deck that's prime for stargazing with a glass of wine and a blanket. It's secluded and surrounded by trees — in other words, it's the perfect Queensland winter escape. How much? From $120 per night. CABN, KANGAROO VALLEY, NSW Sydney locals have their own off-grid retreat to look forward to, and it's luxurious as. Despite some of the connotations the term 'off-grid' may have, Cabn is a far cry from roughing it. This solar-powered tiny house sits on 140-acres of bushland, on the site of a former dairy farm in the Cambewarra Range, just a 15-minute drive from Kangaroo Valley and about three hours south of Sydney. The secluded location is perched high above the valley and overlooks a sea of endless clouds on the right day. The cleverly designed timber fit-out includes a loft with king bed, a fully stocked kitchen and indoor gas heater. A big wintertime draw is the glass-walled, 'outdoor' soaking tub, which is set in the bush adjacent to the house and offers a rare occasion to (sort of) bathe in the great outdoors — with all of the warmth of bathing inside. Outdoor amenities include a gas barbecue and picnic area, as well as an adjacent fire pit. And it's dog-friendly to boot. How much? From $289 a night.
Bars where you can do more than just sit around and drink are really having a moment in Brisbane, and specifically in Fortitude Valley. In no small part, it's thanks to the ever-expanding empire of Funlab. The company is in charge of the ever-popular Strike, Holey Moley and Hijinx Hotel. But despite all of these different venues being so successful, B. Lucky & Sons remains incredibly popular. It's a kidult-friendly bar-meets-arcade with some actually good pawn-shop prizes, instead of the usual plastic crap you get. Think vintage Chanel bags, classic cameras and rare vinyls, plus Playstation 4s. Yup, they've gone real old school-meets-new school with this one. The bar is open in the Valley's TCB Building — and it's hidden behind the facade of an old pawn shop, so expect something a little bit different. Like its Melbourne counterpart, the venue is also decked out with eclectic furnishings, from old-world casino chandeliers to neon-lit red octagonal booths. This East-meets-West fit-out extends to the food, where pizzas are topped with the likes of crispy wonton wrappers and bonito flakes or sausage, gravy and potato crisps. For drinks, B. Lucky & Sons' bar slings canned cocktails, alcoholic bubble teas and other creative concoctions — like the Passion Crackle (vodka, passion fruit and peach teas with apple flavoured pearls and jellies). The bar's games are clear throwbacks for the millennial generation — featuring everything from Mario Kart and Daytona to NBA Hoops. And although the venue is open to littluns during the day, it's strictly adults-only at night, so you don't have to worry about being laughed at by a ten-year-old when you fall off Rainbow Road for the 14th time.
If you like coffee and love beer, allow me to introduce you to nitro cold brew, a sparkling, nitrogen-charged coffee with the foamy head of a beer. It's going to be your coffee of choice come summer, and to get it, you'll need to visit Mecca's latest temple of coffee, in Alexandria. Located in an industrial warehouse, Mecca is perhaps the most impressive fit-out yet by designers Smith and Carmody, who are also responsible for styling much-loved cafes Excelsior Jones, Brickfields and Cornersmith. Inside, there's also an art-deco tiled floor and a striking wrought iron railing which wraps around the concourse and extends up to the mezzanine. Several large vases display a tangle of branches which look sculptural and brilliant; to hell with flowers. Even the minimalist chairs will have you tilting them this way and that, admiring them and speculating on the cost. Mecca serves a wholesome menu of bowls, rolls, plates and salads that brim with fresh, colourful ingredients. Sydney has been binging on American barbecue and burgers for far too long, and I, for one, want to fit into my jeans again. Mecca takes an ordinary bacon and egg roll and upcycles it to a pasture-raised ham off-the-bone and fried egg roll with choko and onion jam and dill mayonnaise ($12). If you usually order muesli at a cafe, try their elegant coconut black rice with house-cultured buttermilk, amaranth (a nutritious grain), yoghurt, seasonal fruits, pistachios and mint ($14). It simply radiates good health. The menu is all-day, so go ahead and order the brisket ($18) first thing. It's so tender it melts apart when you approach it with a spoon. Accompanied by crispy smashed kifler potatoes, sauerkraut which has been lacto-fermented in-house and a lemony white bean puree ($18), it is a clever balance of creamy, crunchy and briny. Welcome to hipster heaven. What stands out on every dish are the high-quality ingredients. The table butter is homemade, fruits and vegetables are seasonal, plus all the meat and eggs are ethically sourced from Feather and Bone. You'll pick up on the difference straight away. We know Mecca can do great coffee as we've been drinking it for ten years at their Circular Quay, CBD and Pyrmont branches. At the Alexandria store, they use their Darkhorse blend, which is roasted out back and brewed out front for a fresh, creamy taste with hints of chocolate, peach and wine ($4). Now that's what a coffee is supposed to taste like. Nitro cold brew ($6) is poured straight from the tap, which must be a nice change for the baristas, and they also serve a selection of teas and natural sodas.
File this one under news that probably won't happen, but damn would it be cool if it did: Italian architect Piero Lissoni has won a competition to design New York City's new aquarium, and it's easy to see why. The proposed 'Aquatrium' would be situated at Long Island City's Anable Basin, and would consist of two circular elements submerged in the East River. Picture the underwater lair of a '70s era James Bond villain, and you probably won't be too far off the mark. The plans feature an open-air basin sitting just below water level, boasting eight clear 'biomes' that would house aquatic creatures from the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Southern oceans along with the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Red and Tasman seas. An iceberg in the centre would represent the poles, while at night the space would be covered by a sliding domed roof, transforming it into a planetarium (casually). You can't accuse this guy of having a lack of imagination. "Having the water level define the starting point of the project, the site is excavated to become a spacious and innovative water basin," Lissoni's team told Dezeen. "The main idea is to generate an environment whereby visitors feel that they themselves are entering the water to discover the beauty of the marine life on display." Sadly, the design competition isn't anything official, so don't expect to be walking through Lissoni's futuristic aqua-dome any time soon. But feel free to stare longingly at the pretty pictures. Via Dezeen.
City workers, theatre-goers and general pasta-lovers should all have this romantic Italian spot at the very top of their Sydney hit list. Ragazzi comes from the duo behind Love, Tilly Devine and Dear Sainte Éloise — Matthew Swieboda and Nathanial Hatwell — who teamed up with chef Scott Williams (Bacco Osteria e Espresso, MoVida) and front-of-house star Felix Colman (Dear Sainte Éloise) to open the Angel Place pasta joint and minimal-intervention wine bar in 2019. Just as Love, Tilly Devine champions Aussie drops and Dear Sainte Éloise focuses more on the French, Ragazzi does the same for Italian varieties — showcasing small Italian producers and Australian wineries that use Italian grapes. Though classic Australian and French wines are also up for grabs here. The 38-seat wine bar features textured concrete walls, leather banquette seating and a ten-seat, wraparound brass bar. It serves up daily-changing wines by the glass, along with a whopping 250 by the bottle — so there really is a heap to choose from. To round it all out (or kick-start it all), there are also more than 20 different amari and aperitifs. Alongside the natural wines is a succinct food menu that changes regularly and showcases regional Italian pasta dishes. Expect the likes of spaghetti cacio e pepe, and conchiglie with mussels, white beans, fennel and saffron. A focus on no-waste and nose-to-tail eating is present throughout the menu, with Williams sourcing fresh local seafood or whole cuts of meat and breaking them down to create a range of dishes. When in season, expect sea urchin to be a regular feature on the menu, too, with Ragazzi receiving deliveries from a south Sydney diver. While pasta is the star of the food show at Ragazzi, Williams also showcases the Spanish cooking techniques he learned in the kitchens of Madrid and Barcelona. So, expect to dig into Spanish-inflected bar snacks, such as pork croquettes and Cantabrian anchovies on sourdough, on the regular. A few simple salads make the cut, too, along with a chocolate and coffee tart or daily-churned gelato for dessert. Can't make up your mind? You can let the Ragazzi team pull together a set menu for you for $75 a head. The restaurant is constantly bustling, so do yourself a favour and make a booking here. Images: Nikki To for Buffet Appears in: The Best Restaurants in Sydney The Best Italian Restaurants in Sydney for 2023
The team behind Love, Tilly Devine have been bringing life into Lankelly Place in Potts Point with their warmly-lit wine bar Dear Sainte Éloise. It's a well-oiled machine aglow with patrons and staff bustling around precisely. The sophisticated venue is still inviting and peeks out onto the charming laneway, perfect for an afternoon of snacks, wine and people-watching. The long, copper bar is the main feature, adorned with racks upon racks upon racks of wine that showcase the bar's huge selection — all up, there's over 350 plus bottles, which have been plucked from all over the world, from Austria to Portugal, South Africa and Georgia, as well as the requisite Australian and New Zealand bottles. The team somehow manages them all with ease and, unless you're an expert, you'll need him to help navigate their extensive wine bible. While this is a wine bar above all else, the succinct selection of dishes serve well as wine nibbles or a full meal. If you're in for the whole hog, Dear Sainte Éloise's main dining room has sit-down tables — but for us, the front-of-house stools are where it's at. Sit at the bar to watch the restaurant in action or grab a seat at the window for street views. The menu is printed daily and features wine bar staples like fresh oysters and burrata. But it's so much more than that. Think swordfish with caviar beurre blanc or their fan-favourite an anchovy brioche with whipped ricotta and red pepper. For something other than wine, their six-drink cocktail list includes a premium Negroni and a deliciously refreshing Yuzushu Lemon Spritz. The menu changes regularly but expect the classics with a creative twist, and all things supremely well-balanced – much like Dear Sainte Éloise itself. Simply put, this Potts Point wine bar is knowledgeable without being wanky, sleek without being overdone. Plus, we're all for any place where you can dine at the bar. Images: Nikki To.
Potts Point has seen many restaurants and bars come and go in its time, with upscale digs moving into sites previously home to the dives of The Cross's colourful yesteryear. Taking over the former home of Fratelli Fresh, Franca arrived with the area's move towards becoming more residential (and increasingly affluent). It's one of the many elegant-yet-casual eateries (see: Cho Cho San, Ms.G's and Ezra) that has sprung up in the area since its vast transformation — and certainly one of its best. With its moniker derived from lingua franca — a common language adopted by those whose native languages are different, historically a mix of Italian, French, Greek, Arabic and Spanish — Franca takes cues from all corners of the Mediterranean, though it leans heavily on France. The menu features reinvented French classics, be it a niçoise salad with sashimi-style tuna or duck a l'Orange. For entrees, expect king crab rolls with cocktail sauce, heirloom beetroot and stracciatella tarts and pan-fried mushroom and goats cheese gnocchi. For mains, there are seasonal dishes alongside 250-gram sirloin steak frites, Murray cod with crispy potatoes and kmbu crumb and more extravagant sharing plates like whole rock lobster or a lamb rack with roasted eggplant, pistachio caramel and mint jus. Dessert includes silky chocolate and caramel brulée with Little Marionette coffee ice cream, pillowy passionfruit soufflé with popcorn ice cream and a fresh lemon tart with creme fraiche. As well as the a la carte menus, the restaurant also has a dedicated vegan offering, with lunch options like the Franca wagyu burger and two set menus: Signature and L'Aristocrate. The cocktail list features European classics made with local ingredients, such as the Spring Bellini made with Chandon Blanc de Blancs NV, strawberry and pear puree and sage; or the Noble Cut Negroni combining Young Henrys Noble Cut Gin, Campari, strawberry dolin blanc and lemon myrtle. A 250-strong wine list focuses on labels from across France, Australia and New Zealand. Located on the ground floor of Macleay Street's Ikon building, Franca looks wildly different to its predecessor Fratelli Fresh. Extensive renovations in the lead-up to its opening were led by Steel and Stitch, the design firm behind some of Sydney's top hospo fit-outs, including Potts Point's Chula and the city's Havana-inspired Lobo Plantation, with the space home to spacious leather booths, red velvet chairs, an open wine cellar and lots of marble details. Franca Brasserie has been named in Concrete Playground's Best Restaurants in Sydney. Check out the full list for 15 Sydney spots that should be at the top of your must-try list. Venue images: Jennifer Soo Updated Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Appears in: The Best Restaurants in Sydney
An all-day diner and aperitivo bar opened in Bondi in 2022 from the team behind The Shire's beloved eatery Blackwood Pantry. Blackwood Bondi is open for breakfast through to dinner seven days a week, just a short walk from Bondi Beach and a few doors down from Beach Road Hotel. The venue welcomes you in with a gentle green and grey fit-out. The food and drink menu changes throughout the day and has been created by co-owner and Executive Chef Rob Lechowicz who honed his skills at Michelin-starred establishments in London and Paris. The brunch menu is available from 7am until 4pm daily and spans from breakfast classics to more hearty options for the lunchtime crowd. Blackwood's version of smashed avo comes with lemon olive oil, goat's cheese, pickled beetroot and chilli on sourdough with za'atar, while the spicy bacon and egg roll is topped with sriracha and lime mayo as well as crispy shallots. If you had your morning Weet-Bix hours ago and you're looking for more of a midday spread, there's zucchini and corn fritters, a chicken schnitzel sandwich featuring mustard seed aioli, and a seared tuna burger with fried capers. Once the weekend rolls in, dinner is served until late. The curried cauliflower makes the cut for the night-time menu, placed alongside confit blue-eyed cod, pecorino-crumbed veal cotoletta and roasted corn-fed chicken with lemon stuffing and white wine. There's also a host of snacks for those looking to dip in and for a drink and a nibble. Oysters, warm olives, San Daniele prosciutto, wagyu bresaola and a chef's selection of cheese are all on hand to accompany the drink menu headlined by an array of signature cocktails. Spritzes features heavily across the drinks list. For example, the You Be Crazy Spritz combines yuzu marmalade, orange bitters, gin and prosecco. You can also opt for a banoffee espresso martini with spiced rum, creme de banane, salted caramel and Licor43 or the Blackwood Margarita which introduces watermelon and Tio Pepe to the classic combination of tequila and agave. Appears in: Where to Find the Best breakfast in Sydney
The modern world can be very demanding. Whether it’s the stress of dealing with an impossible letter lineup in Words with Friends or never feeling you're truly free from your work email, life's day-to-day pressures and our inability to switch off from screens and stimulus has led to a rise in mental health problems among young professionals. Luckily, the easiest way to counter stress and poor mental health (apart from jogging, which is the worst) is through meditation, which is what the good folk at Centred Mediation in Sydney’s CBD can help you with. Though it’s not the first modern meditation centre to crop up, but it’s Australia's first guided meditation drop-in studio. This means it's one of the best for busy people and full-time workers as their 30-minute guided meditation session are designed to chill you out on your lunchbreak and don’t even require you to sit cross-legged on the floor in your ironed suit pants. The centre is set up with comfortable armchairs, where you repose with a cup of tea and allow your brain to stop worrying about quarterly fiscal doodads and synergy feelings. Sounds pretty dreamy. Studies indicate that even a small amount of meditation is incredibly effective in preventing stress in the long term. Science folks in cool white coats will tell you that stress, the release of adrenaline and other fight-or-flight hormones in response to threatening stimuli, has a compounding effect. Those who are chronically stressed may develop an overactive amygdala (the part of the brain responsible for instinctive survival reactions) and beat neural pathways into the brains that take a fair bit of work to reprogram. So meditation, far from being a stereotypically hippy pursuit, is technically a life hack to help reduce your current stress levels and prevent stress from spiralling out of control in the future. Centred Meditation offers these bite-sized classes at optimally convenient times for workers, from Monday to Friday with sessions running in the morning, around lunchtime and after work. Classes start at $16 for a casual class, $14.50 per class with a ten-class pass, or they offer great value monthly passes for $139. Consider this your investment in a gym for your mind and remember: healthy bodies and healthy minds are never mutually exclusive. Find Centred Meditation inside the City Mutual Building, Level 10, 66 Hunter Street. Call (02) 8006 1403 or visit www.centredmeditation.com.au to reserve an armchair. Images: Dollar Photo Club and Centred Meditation.
They say daylight savings stole an hour, but it feels like it robbed us of three months because it's already October and the Night Noodle Markets are back for another year. If you haven't already marked it in your diary, the markets will run for a whopping 18 nights from Thursday, October 5. Over 40 stalls will converge on Hyde Park, bringing all manner of noodles, dumplings and other delights with them. Favourites like Mr Bao, House of Crabs and Gelato Messina will be among the diverse team of chefs, restaurateurs and entrepreneurial cooks setting up shop every weeknight from 5pm and 4pm on weekends. And just in case you're starting to get palpitations remembering the huge array of choice (and crowds) from last year, fear not. We've put together our top picks of the eats pushing conventional flavour boundaries — in addition to suggested drink pairings from Beer The Beautiful Truth — to make your Night Noodle Markets trip simply spectacular. Prepare yourself for deep-fried panko-crumbed ice cream 'katsu' sandwiches and cheesy waffle cones filled with bulgogi beef. GELATO MESSINA'S KAMIKAZE KATSU WITH HAHN SUPERDRY Just when you thought Gelato Messina couldn't possibly think up another weird and wacky flavour combo they come out with the Kamikaze Katsu. This deep-fried gelato creation is posing as a savoury sandwich, but is indeed a mish-mash of sweet flavours. Sudachi lime gelato is coated in red velvet cake and panko crumbs before being sandwiched in fluffy white bread with yuzu sauce and deep fried for a truly unique dessert. This sticky, sweet exploding mess will dribble down your chin and get stuck between your fingers so we suggest cleaning it up with a Hahn Superdry. The crisp beer will reset your tastebuds — so you're free to take a second bite/lick/slurp of your erupting Kamikaze Katsu. POKLOL'S CHICHI FRIES WITH LITTLE CREATURES PILSNER Who knew that when the original snack-pack came into the Australian food encyclopedia it would transform into such a versatile cuisine? Poklol has been a frontrunner of this trend with its Chichi fries, which will be served up at the Night Noodle Markets. The team has perfected the art of making their beer-battered fries super crunchy and are topping them with cheese, kimchi, shallots, Japanese mayo and sweet Korean BBQ sauce to fuse what seems like an uncountable number of cuisines into one beautiful bowl of goodness. Just to make sure you cover every taste category, grab a Little Creatures Pilsner. Its crisp bitterness and lightness pairs well with the explosion of flavours in the fries. LITTLE KYOTO'S PHORRITO WITH XXXX GOLD Two of the freshest summer go-to cuisines — Vietnamese and Mexican — have been combined to produce a knockout creation: the 'phorrito'. As the name suggests, classic flour tortillas are stuffed with thinly-sliced rib eye, bean sprouts, cilantro, onion, Thai basil, jalapeño, lime juice and pho noodles and served with Sriracha and hoisin. You'll be able to get your little mitts around this happy (albeit unusual) union from the team behind Little Kyoto. To make a meal out of it, we suggest you go for a XXXX GOLD. The mild hoppy taste with the subtly sweet flavour of the beer works well with the fresh basil and lime without overpowering the crisp pho flavours. PUFFLE'S BULGOGI BEEF AND PHILLY CHEESESTEAK WITH TOOHEYS NEW Before this week, if someone had asked us what a puffle was, we would have said a bird. Turns out it's a kind of waffle cone made from cheese and the guys behind it are educating the masses about their namesake's deliciousness. They'll be showcasing this indulgent savoury cone at the markets by filling the cheesy waffle with Korean marinated bulgogi beef and Philly cheesesteak, topping it with Japanese mayo and shallots. This is sure to be a messy handful of crunchy, gooey goodness, so it'd be best to opt for an easy-drinking, smooth malt lager to help wash it down. Tooheys New is the one, as its balanced body will cut through the cheesy, meaty mess of the puffle so you can lick every finger clean and even think about seconds. ONE TEA LOUNGE'S SLIDER SET WITH JAMES SQUIRE ONE FIFTY LASHES Sometimes choosing what to eat at the Night Noodle Markets is the hardest task you'll face all week — and it only gets harder when there is a toss-up between two types of mini burgers. One Tea Lounge has taken action to remedy this issue by creating a slider set. Instead of choosing between the ramen burger (with a noodle bun and beef patty) and a pillowy matcha 'boager', One Tea Lounge has combined the two in a three-slider set. And if you have an obsession with making things even, you can ask for miso tofu in the third slider — just so you have one of each. With these burgs waiting to meet your lips, don't opt for a boring beer. Go for James Squire One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale — its fruity tones and crisp finish makes this beverage a cracking refreshment to pair with your sliders. INDU'S SMOKED GOAT DOSA WITH JAMES SQUIRE ONE FIFTY LASHES We know Sydney's Asian food like the back of our hands, but on rare occasions someone will present a dish that stands out from the rest. Indu is one such restaurant and their smoked goat's leg dosa is one such dish. An increasingly popular offering at the Night Noodle Markets, the morsel involves a pancake-style dosa loaded with marinated smoked goat, zucchini ribbon raita, pomegranate, chilli and bacon jam. Smoky, sweet, tangy, smooth and crunchy with a little bit of heat, you'd be best to pair this morsel with a James Squire One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale. The light fruitiness and crisp finish will balance the complexity of the dosa's rich filling. HOUSE OF CRABS' LOADED FRIES WITH JAMES SQUIRE ONE FIFTY LASHES Chippies, fries, crisps, wedges — there are many names attributed to the stalwart favourite of the cooked potato category. But when 'loaded' is the chosen adjective to describe the House of Crabs chip offering, you know you're in for a good time. The House of Crabs version is a conglomeration of crunchy-on-the-outside, pillowy-on-the-inside potato fries topped with crispy bacon, gooey cheese, sweet corn and rich lobster gravy. A mouthful of adjectives never sounds so appetising. Crack open a cold James Squire One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale and let the citrus and passionfruit flavours complete your contentedness. WATERMAN'S LOBSTER CO.'S WASA-BAE WITH KIRIN MEGUMI Ahh the versatility of 'bae'. Spanning across cuisines the enigmatic 'bae' has found a home at Waterman's Lobster Co. The Wasa-Bae is a brioche roll filled with lobster, wasabi, mayo, celery, pickled ginger and black sesame. The team will be serving this up at the markets and we suggest setting it up with another bae: Kirin Megumi. This Japanese lager is made with a unique brewing method called First Press which ensures only the purest liquid is extracted from the malt and that the lager complements the Wasa-Bae in the way all good partners do. Plus, Waterman's closed its Potts Point shop in May, so it'll be a good chance to get your hands on one of their lobster rolls. POKLOL'S KOREAN BARBECUE TACOS WITH JAMES SQUIRE ONE FIFTY LASHES All good things come in threes, right? In the case of Poklol's barbecue tacos that is certainly the case. The Poklol team will be offering an almighty trio of bulgogi beef, chilli chicken and chilli pork tacos with pickled carrots, kimchi slaw, cucumbers, shallots topped with their secret Pokky sauce at this year's markets. To make things clear, bulgogi means 'fire meat' and is a style of Korean cooking in which the meat is marinated and then barbecued. Not everything has to be clear though, and that's why we suggest you pair this trio with a cloudy James Squire One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale. The mild bitterness and fruity aroma works well with the smokiness of the meat. HARAJUKU GYOZA'S RAINDROP CAKE WITH HAHN SUPERDRY It took Sydney's Asian dessert scene a little while to catch up to it's savoury counterpart but, boy, is it making up for it now. The raindrop cake is a famed Japanese dessert and Harajuku Gyoza will be championing the little blob of sweet clear jelly at this year's markets. This gelatin-like cake will be served with soybean powder, black sugar syrup, and green tea cream. An interesting mix of flavours to say the least, but we suggest you add just one more: Hahn Superdry. The sticky sweetness of the dessert benefits from the crisp lightness of the easy-drinking beer. And don't worry, Hahn Superdry has a long fermentation process that breaks down natural sugars so you won't be getting a sugar high from this duo. Hungry for more? Feed all your cravings at the Sydney Night Noodle Markets with expert beer pairings presented by Beer The Beautiful Truth from October 5–22. It will be open Monday and Tuesday 5–9pm, Wednesday and Thursday 5–10pm, Friday 5–11pm, Saturday 4–10pm, and Sunday 4–9pm. Entry is free.
There are baths, and then there are baths. And, we're sorry to say, your questionably clean five-foot bath with a view into your neighbour's backyard just isn't going to cut it after you've been exposed to the beauty of Japan's many bathing houses — no matter how many 'winter forest'-scented candles you burn. The ritual of visiting an onsen is one that's intrinsic to Japanese culture. As well as the healing and meditative qualities of the baths, it's pretty special to be able to sink into a hot body of water (naked, of course) with nothing but a view of a snowy Mount Fuji to distract you. People have been bathing naked in the natural hot springs of Japan since way back, and while it's basically second nature for its inhabitants, tourists are welcome to jump on board (as long as you can respect and adhere to their customs). There are over 2000 onsen in Japan, and Steve Wilde and Michelle Mackintosh visited a whole heap of them as 'research' for their new book, Onsen of Japan. While they've collected handy information about 140 onsen across the country, we've pulled out ten of the more secluded, snow-surrounded, totally idyllic spots that you should pencil in for your next trip to Japan. GOTENBASHI ONSEN KAIKAN, GOTEMBA Day or night and in any season, Gotemba offers you a knockout view of Mount Fuji that you don't have to shell out the big yen for. At around one‑and‑a‑half hours from Toyko, Gotemba makes for an excellent day trip. A shuttle bus from Gotemba Station will whisk you to an onsen where, for a rock‑bottom price, you can get the full Fuji‑san view that would cost a bomb at a ryokan or designer hotel. KAWAYU ONSEN, WAKAYAMA One of the three onsen to make up the Hongu onsen-kyo area, Kawayu stands alone due to its popular Oto-gawa River bathing. Deep in the forest, this remote, majestic river bath was discovered in the mid-1600s when a local was tipped off to its existence by an enigmatic stranger. Fast forward hundreds of years later to a township that now has actual roads and hotels, but somehow manages to maintain its reputation as an esoteric and remote haven. SHIMA TAMURA, SHIMA ONSEN Founded in 1563, Shima Tamura is a ryokan experience that shows you just how the Japanese have elevated hospitality into the realm of an art form. The building itself is beautiful, with a traditional and inviting wood–entrance and sliding doorway under a thatched peaked triangle roof that looks almost like it has grown organically from the mountain slopes around it. Shima Tamura features an outdoor bath by a waterfall and seven hot-spring baths nestled in the forest; if you've dreamed of an onsen girded by foliage, hidden from the world and touched with the scent of forested glades with woodland creatures flitting among the cypress, Shima Tamura exists to make your dreams a reality. ZAO ONSEN, YAMAGATA In winter, Zao Onsen (a 40-minute bus ride from Yamagata station) is one of Japan's top ski resorts and the trees become pudgy with snow, so much so that they are known as 'ice monsters', snow-smothered conifers that take on the appearance of a crowd of glacial goblins that huddle together on the mountains as if plotting to take over civilisation (don't worry, they're way too cold to bother). In other seasons, the abundance of nature, greenery and the changing hues of the foliage make Zao popular with lovers of the great outdoors. TSURUNOYU, NYUTO ONSEN A fairytale onsen village hidden beneath low-lying clouds among mountains thick with beech trees, Nyuto Onsen is famous throughout Japan, and the seven hidden onsen all have something magical to offer. Catch the onsen bus (it has a model onsen bath on the roof) that ferries you around to each different hot spring. We've featured Tsurunoyu, Taenoyu and Kuroyu, but everything here is something special. Ogama Onsen is housed in a picturesque old wooden building that was once a school. Ganiba Onsen dates back to 1846 and has a beautiful outdoor unisex bath hidden in a beech forest. HOSHI ONSEN CHOJUKAN, MINAKAMI Hidden in the depths of the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park, Hoshi's dreamily beautiful building with a stunning dark wooden exterior accented by flecks of green foliage, flowers, leaves or snow, will transport you to simpler, quieter times. Inside you'll find winding corridors with low ceilings showing faded photographs of times gone by, taxidermied local fauna and small mementos of the building's past – all in glass cases. The 140-year-old Hoshi is a Meiji-period onsen featuring six baths of equal size under an awe-inspiring vaulted wooden ceiling. The architecture echoes the waiting rooms and stations of the railway boom of the 19th century and its beauty has earned it status as a protected 'cultural property'. MANZA PRINCE HOTEL, MANZA ONSEN With more than a hint of the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's horror flick The Shining, the Manza Prince, set along an alpine ridge, is a sprawling hotel that has acquired the well-deserved description of 'grand' over the years. The world surrounding the Manza Prince is a snow-dressed highland in winter (skiers flock here), an ocean of rusty gold in autumn, and intense greenery in spring and summer. Like the lord of the peaks, the Manza Prince perches serenely among the clouds surveying all before it. The hotel has a memorable bathhouse alongside its labyrinthine corridors and abundant rooms, and they happily throw their doors open to day visitors. TAKARAGAWA ONSEN, MINAKAMI Takaragawa means 'treasure river'. Legend has it that the Yamato-dynasty prince Takeru fell ill on his journey east and a hawk led him to this hidden spring where he was miraculously healed. Today you can heal your metaphysical wounds in this hidden forest retreat. Sheltered in deep, wooded groves, Takaragawa's outdoor mixed baths are perched on the banks of the Takara River and encompassed by hewn rock, weathered wood, stone monoliths and a vista of charming traditional Japanese buildings. SATONOYU-WARAKU, KUROKAWA ONSEN Kurokawa Onsen is Kyushu's heart, a 300-year-old onsen town, lost in the mountains, barely touched by modern life and channeling the true spirit of the Edo era. Twenty-four inns line the Chikugo River, housed on winding lanes with small bridges, narrow pathways, moss covered stones and lazily spinning waterwheels. It's here you'll find the onsen, as most of these ryokan open their doors to day bathers. Many of the inns have private baths for an extra cost, giving you choices usually reserved for ryokan guests. HAKONE YURYO, HAKONE The free shuttle bus from Hakone‑Yumoto Station takes you on a steep winding ride into the mountains, delivering you to this contemporary, ultra‑stylish onsen nestled among some of Hakone's most beautiful mountainside foliage. This is the perfect city day escape, a bath in a forest, surrounded by Japanese nature at its finest. The range and quality of the outdoor baths is excellent, the pinnacle being the cypress bath that extends out over the forested glade. The many spacious rock baths are perfect for lying back and gazing at trees towering into the sky while you listen to insects as they lazily drone by. Solo baths give you your own space, and well‑spaced‑out benches allow you to kick back and be nude in nature. This is an edited extract from Onsen Of Japan by Steve Wide and Michelle Mackintosh published by Hardie Grant Travel, RRP $29.99. The book is available in stores nationally and online.
Doused in gravy or hot sauce. Sustainably-sourced or gluten-free. Taiwanese, Korean, or American. Fried chicken is the epitome of soul food in any language, and Sydney's restaurant scene brings you this heavenly bird done every way imaginable. These Sydney joints combine nationalities, styles, and environmental consciousness to champion the fried side of chicken. Best paired with a crisp pale ale, golden ale or pilsener, fried chicken's one of life's little warm, crunchy constants — especially in the cold, cold heart of winter. JOHNNY LOBSTER Opened barely six months, this joint is already making waves — but those waves are less about the sea than you'd expect. The owners joke that 'Johnny Chicken' is a more accurate name, but their free-range fried chicken is no joke. Boneless and skinless, the chicken breast is marinated overnight and heavily spiced for a juicy, peppery finished product. Served two ways, on an incredibly buttery roll or classic plate ($10.80 each), the homemade hot sauce makes these standout dishes. The fresh lemon slice and vinegar slaw add acidity and lighten the heavy dish, while the bright colours pop well against the red and yellow interior of the restaurant. With their focus on sustainable and locally-sourced meat and produce, this is guilt-free eating at its best. 48 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest MARY'S Mary's, the Newtown institution and new favourite to the CBD lunch crowd, is a true beer and burger joint. But they're no less infamous for their headbanging fried chicken — marinaded in buttermilk, hot sauce and maple syrup, this succulent dish has a real American kick, served with extra hot sauce in their Jack Daniel's bottles. While the wise go for the half or whole bird ($16 and $28), you'll be tempted to go for the Larry Bird ($50), two whole chickens. And since the love affair between fried chicken and beer is timeless, this dimly-lit bar is the perfect rendezvous point for the two. 6 Mary Street, Newtown REUBEN HILLS It's quite the boast to call your dish 'Really fucking great fried chicken' ($18.50), but at Reuben Hills they're not just talking smack. Brined and soaked in buttermilk overnight, the gluten-free recipe hasn't changed much since opening. The boneless, massive chicken thighs have a thin crust and a very simple breading, while the large sides of homemade sauces give it that Central American flare — a cooling chipotle aioli and spicy salsa roja that hints of Moroccan flavours. The pickled green chillies give the dish another kick, balancing the fried component with a vinegary tang. With a menu inspired by the team's coffee-buying trips to Central and South America, best to enjoy this fried goodness with their cold drip coffee ($5). 61 Albion Street, Surry Hills HARTSYARD If you're looking for that truly American-style fried chicken in Sydney, Hartsyard is second to none. Their deep south fried bird ($28) is served with buttermilk biscuits and sausage gravy; a true nod to the southern comfort food that gives real legitimacy to the menu. This dish doesn't try to lighten the eating experience, but rather embraces the heaviness that is southern cooking. And if the battered chicken and thick, creamy gravy isn't enough, you can finish your trip down Gluttony Road with the fluffy biscuits, all topped with optional homemade hot sauce. 33 Enmore Road, Newtown MOON PARK Moon Park takes fried chicken to fine dining level. Their organic, free range dish ($14) is no secret recipe. Thickly coated in buttermilk and shrimp paste and twice-fried, the batter has a distinct taste and an extra crunch. Frying at two temperatures maintains the chicken's moisture, with the white meat nearly as juicy as the dark. As far as topping goes, there's no spice here — the soy and maple syrup sauce gives the entire dish a sweet and salty profile, and the perfect cubes of pickled radish add a fresh crunch of their own. This dish is signature on the menu, a staple since opening and a clear favourite of patrons. The bad news is that Moon Park is set to close permanently in September — so much sure you pop by for a bit of bird while you still can. 34 Redfern Street, Redfern FAT RUPERT'S The buttermilk-battered and 'secretly spiced' fried chicken ($24) at Fat Rupert's has become a thing of legend. The unbeatable creaminess of Pepe Saya, coupled with the honey butter topping, adds to the richness, while the fennel puree and cabbage slaw sides give a fresh aspect to the dish. This balance is nicely mimicked throughout the menu, which is American-influenced but focuses on modern Australian cooking. And if the chicken itself isn't enough for you, head to Bondi over the weekend when the chicken and waffles will be back on the menu ($25). A favourite from their Rupert & Ruby pop-up, this is an indulgence you won't regret. 249 Bondi Road, Bondi THE CHICKEN INSTITUTE This Surry Hills restaurant seems to be constantly bustling with jovial groups chatting away while plate after plate of modern Korean barbecue is ushered out. Their friendly banter is not hard to understand once you've tasted the namesake dishes. The four distinct chook options are all "damn good", but a true crowd pleaser is the fried garlic chicken ($24); sweetly glazed in caramel, the juicy yet crispy chicken is perfectly balanced by the sour pickled radish side. The spot is still BYO (wine only), and the sweetness of the glazed chicken actually goes quite well with a dry white. 61 Fitzroy Street, Surry Hills BUTTER Hungry? Or need a new pair of sneakers? Solve one or both of these dilemmas at Butter, Sydney's utterly ridiculous and totally amazing palace of fried chicken, Champagne and sneakers. The dish to order is the Size 13's, a generous party pack of fried chicken thighs, chicken tenders, pickles, slaw and sauces — all served in a size 13 shoebox. The first thing you'll notice is the lack of bones, just buttery soft chicken flesh all the way through. This is achieved by brining the chicken in buttermilk then dipping it in a cayenne and cumin-spiced batter to seal in all those precious juices. Oh, and did we mention their boozy slushies topped with soft serve? 6 Hunt Street, Surry Hills. THIRSTY BIRD Like Mr. Crackle, from which it spun off, Thirsty Bird in Potts Point is a mono-meat venue – not pork, but rather a whole lot of chicken. Trust us though, you won't want anything else. The menu here has a classic American diner vibe, with buffalo wings, chicken piece meals and four chicken burgers to choose from, with waffle fries, chicken crackling and mac and cheese on the side. Shop 3, 2-14 Bayswater Road, Potts Point BELLE'S HOT CHICKEN The brainchild of renowned Australian chef and former Nashville resident Morgan McGlone, Belle's has been combining spicy, spicy fried chicken with cool, cool natural wine and a bunch of hip hop since opening in Melbourne a few years back. They've toyed with us in Sydney a number of times, most recently in the form of a pop-up at The Streets of Barangaroo that's set to be made a permanent restaurant by the end of the year. Looks like pretty soon you'll be feasting on "really fucking hot chicken" whenever you damn well please. Wulugul Walk, The Streets of Barangaroo HOT STAR LARGE FRIED CHICKEN You aren't looking for atmosphere here, but the small and gaudy takeaway shop doesn't need to do much to live up to its name. Cranking out some delicious fried chicken at ridiculously cheap prices, it is easy to see why Sydneysiders are happy to welcome the Taiwanese chain store. Pounded out to super thin and as big as your face, the two flavours (original and spicy, $7.90 each) are simple, distinct, and impressively juicy. 96 Liverpool Street, Sydney Words by Imogen Baker, Marissa Ciampi, Tom Clift, Shannon Connellan and Erina Starkey. Images: Dollar Photo Club (top), Johnny Lobster and Reuben Hills by Marissa Ciampi.
There are just two certainties in life, so the saying goes. However, David Spanton — Kings Cross hospo maven and owner of The Hook — would argue that there are actually three: death, taxes … and oysters. It's a shrewd observation. Found in shallow seas all over the world, the ubiquity of bivalves once made them a dietary staple for countless cultures, from the Romans and native Americans to Australia's First Nations. But it's not just the deep past that has inspired Spanton's love of the oyster — more recent history has been an equally potent muse. Kings Cross was once famed for the calibre of its oyster bars. Notably, The Bayswater Brasserie shucked endless supplies of the briny morsels for Sydney's glitterati between the early 80s and its closure in 2010. "It was the hottest cocktail bar and restaurant in Australia, with a dedicated oyster bar right in the middle of the dining room,'' Spanton says, gesturing through The Hook's front window towards The Bayz's former address, 50 metres down the street. "That's why I knew I had to open an oyster bar here." The Hook — a delightfully kitsch, nautically themed oyster and piano bar in the former digs of the Izgara Turkish grill — is at once an homage to Bayswater Road's former glory, a love letter to the eternal oyster and a trip down Spanton's personal memory lane. His decades of travel across the United States, including to San Francisco's Swan Oyster Depot ("the greatest seafood diner in the world," according to Spanton) and the oyster restaurants of New Orleans and Boston, have been distilled into The Hook's quirky personality and yesteryear menu. To realise the venue's singular style, Spanton once again tapped Michael Delany, the artist and designer who oversaw Spanton's restoration of Kings Cross stalwart Piccolo Bar in 2021 and his refit of Cafe Hernandez, rebooted as Vermuteria in 2023. Much like those two venues, there's a whimsy to The Hook that somehow magically summons a sense of nostalgia for an era you've never lived in. Almost cartoonish with its tropes, there are maritime winks aplenty, such as the oyster shell-clad bar, the mooring ropes and sailor trinkets hung from the walls, and a shucking station styled to look like the bow of a fishing trawler. If a salty sea dog with a peg leg and a sou'wester were to walk through the door, he wouldn't look out of place. Far from feeling gimmicky, however, this immersive decor provides the ideal stage for Spanton's retro high-low dining and beverage concept. Of course, oysters are the star attraction — the variety depends on the best available at the fish market week to week. Heavy rain on the New South Wales coast might take Merimbula's Sydney rocks off the menu but Pacifics from South Australia will still do nicely. Shucked to order, you can enjoy them fresh on the half shell, served with a classic shallot vinaigrette or with a few drops of ten-year-old Laphroaig single malt, supplied via a handy pipette. The French 75 — a sprightly mix of champagne, gin, lemon juice and sugar — makes for the perfect chaser, as the sharp-edged sweetness of the cocktail teases the tip of the tongue before the earthy smoke and salt of the whisky-spiked oyster blooms at the hilt of the throat. Or you can slurp your shuck like they do in the Big Easy: with a slug of house-made sazerac, aged in a port barrel for a pleasantly fruity finish. Purists may wince, but the grilled oysters are just as moreish. There are four different spins to sample: kilpatrick, with crispy hunks of bacon and a punch of tabasco; mornay, with a bubbly topping of cheese sourced from Potts Point's legendary Penny's Cheese Shop; French Quarter, Spanton's take on escargot, served in a slick of garlic butter; and Rockefeller, with a toasted hat of breadcrumbs and an aniseed lick of Pernod liqueur. In these times of tightened belts and soaring living costs, oysters and cocktails may not seem like a fiscally responsible dinner choice. However, while The Hook's vibe may hail from another time, its menu has today's economics in mind. Humble bar snacks and cheap eats for $30 or less share the spotlight with their luxury counterparts, including an excellent smashed cheeseburger, a classic Frankfurt dive dog by Marrickville's LP's Quality Meats and even a Golden Gaytime, just like the ones from the servo freezer. Plus, the jazz piano music that drifts through the room from the baby grand at the front of the bar comes at no extra charge. Spanton has already proved himself a serial saviour, after rescuing two Kings Cross icons — Piccolo Bar and Cafe Hernandez, aka Vermuteria — from closure. Now, he's also out to save your wallet. Images: Christopher Pearce.
And now, the end is near. And so we face the final curtain... My, what a ride it's been. 22 films, more than a dozen TV series, 80-odd main characters, $4 billion spent and close to $20 billion made. But as Tony Stark, the man whose original Iron Man film kicked this whole crazy thing off, says: "part of the journey is the end". In Avengers: Endgame, we're given an end worthy of that extraordinary journey. In the simplest sense, Endgame is a sequel to 2018's Infinity War, and the 22nd film in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe. And yet, there's very little that's simple about this picture, marking as it does the extraordinary culmination of several dozen intricate and intertwined story arcs that extend all the way back to 2008. It's also, if you'll forgive the pun, a stark counterpoint in both style and content to Infinity War, presenting very much like an out-and-out drama instead of the traditional comic book spectacle. Where Infinity War was all bombast, Endgame offers reserve. Where Infinity War wrought intergalactic devastation and destruction, Endgame delivers intimacy and an examination of grief, loss and very private regret. It's comfortably the Marvel film in which the least happens, yet it never for one moment feels dull or lags — even with its 3 hour run time. Despite Disney's best efforts, spoilers are abounding online, so in the interests of preserving secrecy for those who've managed to silo themselves away from revelations, we'll keep any plot discussion to a minimum. The shock of Infinity War's conclusion, in which 50 per cent of all living things in the universe were snapped into dust by Thanos (Josh Brolin), looms large over those left behind. Survivor guilt affects everyone, most notably the remaining superheroes burdened with the additional feelings of failure, blame and empty vengeance. In one of the film's best scenes, Captain America (Chris Evans) sits in an AA-style support group, telling those in attendance it's up to them to move on, rebuild and make something of earth again. It's a beautiful speech and entirely true, but the hollowness behind Cap's eyes betrays his own failure to practice what he preaches. So too the rest of the Avengers. Thanks to the trailers, it's safe to say Ant Man (the ever-appealing Paul Rudd) plays a pivotol role in kick-starting Endgame's plan to rectify the devastation of Thanos's genocide, employing what he playfully terms "a time heist". Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely gleefully unpack some of the persistent myths of that particular device, ripping apart the plotholes of iconic chrono-cinema stories like Back to the Future and The Terminator. In Endgame, there's some impressive backtracking through the MCU's own history, which doubles as the launch pad for most of the film's lighter moments (a discussion about Cap's butt being chief amongst them). The humour, though, doesn't always land, and the main offender in Endgame, we're sad to say, is Chris Hemsworth's Thor. He's taken the failure to prevent Thanos' snap particularly badly, but save for a solid sight gag early on, Hemsworth's performance feels at odds with everything else in the film. Only when he abandons the attempted comedy does he again sizzle on screen, be it in one of the rare moments of action or in a tender moment with a key character from his past. And there are a lot of those, with Endgame drawing its cast list from the entire MCU catalogue. Most appearances are fleeting, but rather than feel like mere fan service, they serve to reinforce the scale of the franchise's achievement. With each new face we're reminded of another moment within another film from somewhere in our own past; an opportunity to engage in some time-travelling of our own as we revisit the experience of watching these films throughout the last decade. When the inevitable culmination arrives at the film's conclusion, it's so much more than a roll call. It's at once a reunion, a rectification, a resurgence and a cathartic, tearful farewell. Yes, tearful. There are deaths here, and having spent so long in the company of these characters, the emotional resonance of their departures isn't easily absorbed. Technically, the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home is pegged as the official end to Phase 3 of the MCU, but emotionally there's no question Endgame lives up to its name. When the dust finally (and literally) settles, the payoff is thoroughly earned and the emotions are heartfelt and raw. But goodbye doesn't necessarily mean gone here, and in certain cases a character's departure simply means their baton is passed on to others. A few of these are shown; others, merely hinted at. Phase 4 will mark a significant reset for Marvel, and with the recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the path now lies open for drawing in the X-Men franchise to the growing MCU roster. According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, however, it'll be a while before we see the likes of Magneto and Professor X alongside Captain America. Til then, Marvel's challenge will be to build, develop and deliver the same level of complexity and pathos into its next generation of heroes as with those we've just farewelled. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA6hldpSTF8
You've got two days off and the weather is set to be stunning — clearly, the travel gods are calling you away for an epic day trip from Sydney. And when your starting location is Sydney, you've got a wealth of places to visit within a few hours' drive. Whether you fancy lounging the afternoon away at a pool, working up an appetite on a countryside cycle trail or seeking out the freshest seafood on the coast, there are plenty of spots calling out. It's time to load up the car, book a GoGet or hop on the train and escape the big city. Read on to find ten of the best outposts that deliver everything you want from a day trip out of Sydney. Recommended reads: The Best Out-of-Town Ocean Pools Near Sydney The Best Glamping Spots in NSW The Best Places to Stay on the Central Coast A Weekender's Guide to Jervis Bay [caption id="attachment_695928" align="alignnone" width="1920"] ANZAC Memorial Walk, Destination NSW[/caption] FOR ART AND SURFING: NEWCASTLE Downtown Newcastle is brimming with culture and it's only a stone's throw from the sea. The CBD has independent retailers, small bars and restaurants that rival the likes of most Australian capital cities. If you arrive early, settle among the bright tiles, artworks and plants of Ground Up Espresso in Carrington, a waterfront suburb on Newcastle Harbour's north shore — or save yourself for a five-course meal at hatted restaurant Subo. Booze your afternoon away at Newie's local brewery, The Foghorn, or soak up some sun at one of the beachside pubs, like Mereweather Surfhouse. Or if you want to experience spectacular locally sourced produce with an unbeatable view over Newcastle, try the Roundhouse. Wherever you end up during your day trip, the waterfront is never more than a nip away, with the tranquil stillness of Newcastle Harbour on one side and surf beaches on the other. Go for a dip at the famed Newcastle Ocean Baths and, if you're able to hang around until sunset, finish your day with a stroll along the spectacular ANZAC Memorial Walk. Newcastle is two hours drive or three hours by train north of Sydney. [caption id="attachment_677929" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] FOR SEAFOOD AND SWIMS: WOY WOY When you want to get out of Sydney for a coastal day trip — but don't want to drive too far — the Central Coast is your best bet. And, just 75 minutes in a car or the train will get you to the quaint seaside town of Woy Woy. Here, you can have a seaside feast at Woy Woy Fisherman's Wharf then head over to Frankie's Rooftop for a spritz. Or, if you're more into pasta than seafood, you can head to Young Barons for lunch — it's an absolute win. If you've got a car, make a detour to the nearby Bouddi Coastal Trail — the eight-kilometre hike winds past plenty of lookouts and beaches. Pack your snorkelling gear, too — we recommend heading to the sheltered Lobster Beach, keeping an eye out for dolphins. Woy Woy is a 75-minute drive or 80-minute train ride from Sydney. [caption id="attachment_692016" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bannisters Port Stephens[/caption] FOR POOLSIDE RELAXING: PORT STEPHENS Port Stephens lucked out when Bannisters arrived back in 2018, bringing a luxurious hotel and, most importantly, a Rick Stein restaurant. And what better way to shake off the big smoke than by sitting in a breezy space, overlooking still water, and working your way through Coffs Harbour prawns, or Singapore chilli blue swimmer crab? Beyond that, Port Stephens offers plenty of outdoor escapades, from its 26 beaches to camel riding and sandboarding down the Southern Hemisphere's biggest sand dunes. We also highly recommend a stay at the Hampton-style boutique hotel, Anchorage Port Stephens, where waterfront decadence is the name of the game. Port Stephens is a three-hour drive north of Sydney. [caption id="attachment_774139" align="alignnone" width="1920"] John Yurasek/DPIE[/caption] FOR BOATING AND BUSHWALKING: BEROWRA The stunning hamlet of Berowra is literally encircled by natural beauty — it's within Berowra Valley National Park, with Cowan Creek and Berowra Creek running either side of the suburb. If you're driving, get your bearings with a stop at Barnetts Lookout. After a wander around Berowra Village, head to Berowra Waters for ferry rides, a spot of kayaking, nature walks and some lazy riverside reading. If you're looking to add a dose of luxury to your stay, make a booking for a hatted feast at Berowra Waters Inn. Berowra is a 45-minute drive or an hour-long train journey from Sydney CBD. [caption id="attachment_697582" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Boathouse Hotel Patonga[/caption] FOR HIKES AND BRUNCH: PEARL BEACH AND PATONGA Unlike so many coastal areas, Pearl Beach is fiercely protected from development. Just 500 or so residents live here and, because the village is National Trust-listed, further construction is banned. It truly is a world of its own, perched on a picturesque beach and surrounded by bushland. You can spend your days dissolving into sand and sea, or, if you want a work out, take on the Pearl Beach to Patonga walk. At the other end, you'll find the Boathouse Hotel, where you can tuck into seafood plates, crumbed dory burgers and buckets of prawns (and even stay the night if you don't feel like driving home after all that). Meanwhile, back in Pearl Beach, there's hatted restaurant Pearls on the Beach and, for more casual fare, the Pearl Beach Cafe and General Store. Pearl Beach is a 90-minute drive north of Sydney. [caption id="attachment_743309" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Liam Forster[/caption] FOR CASCADES AND BLOSSOMS: LEURA AND KATOOMBA If Katoomba is the busiest village in the Blue Mountains, Leura is the prettiest — making the neighbouring towns the perfect places to visit on a day trip out of Sydney. For great coffee, head to Frankly My Dear on Katoomba's main drag. A little later on, you can treat yourself at 8 Things — a small restaurant with a capacity of just 10 people and just eight dishes on the menu, each one representing a different country. You've got to see the sights, too — the fairy-like Leura Cascades are lovely for cooling off on a warm day, and be sure to take a final peek of the Three Sisters at sunset. Leura is a 90-minute drive or two-hour train ride from Sydney. [caption id="attachment_770408" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] FOR A COOL COUNTRY CHANGE: BOWRAL When you fancy a cooler climate, jump on the highway to Bowral. Found in the Southern Highlands — 600 metres above sea level — this pretty country town is usually a few degrees cooler than Sydney. Over the past few years, several new eateries have opened up, including The Mill Cafe, set inside an 1885 building shared with start-ups and small businesses; and Harry's on Green Lane, a welcoming bar, where you can sit in a citrus grove, while sipping on local cool-climate wines and sharing fancy plates. Another culinary highlight of the town is idyllic cafe The Press Shop, which is located right next to the mega antique store Dirty Janes. This expansive warehouse is an emporium of vintage fashion, homewares and collectables. You'll discover something new-to-you on every visit. Bowral is a 90-minute drive southwest of Sydney. FOR LOOKOUTS AND CYCLING: WOLLONGONG If diverse, sandy adventures are crucial to your day-tripping joy, Wollongong's your destination. No fewer than 17 beaches line the coast. To get some invigorating perspective, visit one or all of the six local lookouts. If you're keen to work up a sweat, the waterfront Thirroul to Port Kembla cycle path will keep you busy (and you can have a swim at the end), or take on the Mount Kembla hike. When you're ready to eat and drink, head to the North Wollongong Hotel's leafy beer garden or Five Barrel Brewing for a cold one, Babyface Kitchen for a fancy feed and finish your night at one of the city's many live music venues like La La La's. Novotel Wollongong Northbeach is a great place to stay, too. Wollongong is a 90-minute drive or a two-hour train ride directly south of Sydney. [caption id="attachment_749647" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] FOR BLOWHOLES AND ROCK POOLS: KIAMA When the southeast wind is blowing strong, Kiama's blowhole is at its most powerful. The wind sends waves into the rock aperture, compressing air and sending a spectacular spout into the air. Few people know there's a second, albeit smaller, blowhole found a few minutes drive south, in Tingira Crescent, aptly named Little Blowhole. Swimmers and surfers, you have your decision-making cut out for you, from one of Kiama's ocean pools or pick a spot along the long, wild stretch of Bombo Beach. Kiama's main street is laden with cafes, ice creameries and restaurants and, if you have enough time, side trips to the satellite villages of Gerringong (to the south) and Jamberoo (inland) are worthwhile. Kiama is clearly one of our favourite day trip destinations out of Sydney, but we recommend you stay longer — if you can get the time off. Kiama is a two-hour drive or a nearly three hour train ride from Sydney. [caption id="attachment_772899" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tinkler Wines by Destination NSW[/caption] FOR WINE AND RIVERSIDE PICNICS: POKOLBIN For a day trip that involves wine tasting, rolling paddocks and maybe some cycling, make tracks to Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley. The locality is dotted with cellar doors, vineyards and restaurants. If you're keen to get on two wheels as soon as possible, hire an e-bike from Sutton Estate and conquer the Hunter Valley Cycleway, which tours a dozen wineries and a microbrewery. Alternatively, just settle in for a long lunch at the wine lover's playground, Brokenwood Wines, or linger over a salumi and cheese platter in a converted church at Usher Tinkler Wines. Pokolbin is a two-hour drive northwest of Sydney. Next time you're looking to head out of Sydney, head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world. Top image: Patonga Boathouse.
Sydney sunrises and sunsets are pretty damn special. You'll see Instagram lose its collective mind every time there's a clear day with a marmaladey sunset to be snapped. But you've never seen a sunset like the panoramic mindbender from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, one only accessible by personally climbing the bridge itself. Luckily, the adventure-seeking crew at BridgeClimb will happily take you all the way to the top, with their extra pretty dawn and twilight climbs. Like many Sydneysiders, we hadn't climbed the Harbour Bridge before (except the time we sent CP's Tom Glasson up the bridge for a special Vivid climb). But we can't stress this enough: it's something all locals should try to do at least once — it makes a damn great Christmas present too. You'll see your city from a completely different angle, and remember why we're lucky jerks to live here. You'll find the BridgeClimb centre just up the road from the Glenmore Hotel in The Rocks — and you'll want to remember that libation-happy location for when you come back down to earth. Twilight climbs run for around three hours, so make sure you snack before you start. After using the bathroom about twenty times, we're headed into the pre-climb area. You'll be breathalysed — don't go on a bender and decide to climb the bridge — and if you pass, you'll be given your slammin' BridgeClimb onesie to change into. If you wear spectacles, you'll get to wear a super groove-o glasses attachment (suck it, jocks, we cool). Then it's time to meet your Climb Leader. We had the pleasure of climbing with wildly funny and incredibly knowledgable climber Brett, who has been climbing for 13 years. He hasn't counted, but reckons it's anywhere between 2000 and 3000 climbs. Your Climb Leader will help you suit up with a radio headset, heaps cool cap, handkerchief, fleece, headlamp and importantly, hair ties. Then you're off for a quick trial climb indoors and we're headed for the bridge. Not going to lie, this editor was bloody scared to be climbing this colossal bridge. But your team has your back and your Climb Leader is there to keep you going (and to tell you not to look down). Only three people have ever turned back on Brett's climbs — over 13 years. You'll make your way along underneath the Bradfield Highway, as trains roar above you and the Park Hyatt guests swan around beneath you. Give a high five to the hand-chipped granite pylons and head up the ladders, past zooming cars, to the main bridge climb. Once you're past the initial stage of the climb, the actual ascent to the summit is super, super easy and straight-up one of the most beautiful views in the world. Brett weaves stories about the history of The Rocks, the poorly designed nature of Fort Denison and the origins of White Australia in Campbell's Cove. He'll tell you the origins of Kirribilli as an Aboriginal fishing spot of choice (derived from the Aboriginal word Kiarabilli, which means 'good fishing spot'). Fun facts: Sydney Harbour's shoreline is 317kms around. Another fun fact: There have been 4000 proposals on the bridge, and 26 weddings (they give the bride a little mini-veil). One more fun fact: Paul Hogan used to be a worker on the bridge (without any kind of rope support) and his mates dared him to enter a talent quest, which he won. One more? The granite pylons are unnecessary — the bridge could actually stand up without them. Being a twilight climb, the whole ascent and descent is timed around the sunset — climb up with the sun on the Opera House, climb down as the sun sets behind Western Sydney, behind Anzac Bridge. There's something incredibly pride-instilling about being on the top of such a feat of modern engineering and problem-solving as the sun goes down (before the bridge was built, it took a whole day to horse and cart from Sydney's CBD to North Sydney, over five bridges). Heading back to solid ground, with our headlamps necessary for the last little section, you can't deny this newfound adoration for this crazily clean, beautiful, peaceful city we very often take for granted (and rather enjoy complaining about tiny things like coffee prices over). Although climbing during the day or nighttime would have an undoubtedly similar jaw-dropping effect, adding a little bit more dosh to your ticket and climbing the bridge at dawn or twilight adds that extra gobsmacking element you could need to stop yearning for Sydney to be anything else but Sydney. BridgeClimb runs day, night, dawn and twilight tours every day. Book in your climb from BridgeClimb's website — they also make an excellent Christmas pressie.
Romance has a lot to answer for. We're big fans of love, but when it comes to getaways for two, the chilled champers, heart-shaped chocolate and rose petal-strewn room combo isn't the only exciting activity a couple can get up to. In fact, if you're visiting somewhere as scenic, celebrated and overflowing with things to see, do, eat and experience as the Blue Mountains, holing up in a cabin in the woods means that you're missing out on half the fun. Whether you and your favourite are foodies, art and design lovers, history buffs, outdoorsy types or unashamedly enthusiastic tourists, we've come up with five jam-packed itineraries for your next couples trip to the Blueys. [caption id="attachment_574818" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Darley's.[/caption] FOR FOODIES We're not just talking about food — we're talking about food with a killer view. So you'd best make sure Scenic World's EATS270 is on your agenda, because who doesn't want to devour a lunch of angus beef burgers while perched 270 metres above the ground and looking out over the Jamison Valley? Grabbing brekkie on the verandah at The Conservation Hut, tucking into Vesta's rustic mountain menu, and going casual at Leura Garage are also a must, particularly if you're after hearty, tasty comfort dishes. So is dropping by The Hydro Majestic, where you'll find high tea served in the Wintergarden, yum cha and cocktails at Salon Du, and pizza and pasta at The Boiler House. And as for washing it all down — well, that's where dinner and drinks at Silk's Brasserie and Native Kitchen and Bar comes in. Then, as far as holing of up for the night is concerned, you can't go past Echoes Boutique Hotel and Restaurant. The fact that it boasts award-winning fine dining establishment Darley's on the premises isn't a coincidence. FOR OUTDOORSY TYPES Seriously, where do we start? Bushwalks, waterfalls, big batches of pretty plant life — the Blue Mountains have it all, plus abseiling and Segway tours as well. First, why not get your feet pumping by moseying along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, Furber Stairs, the Great Round Walk or the Scenic Walkway (2.4 kilometres of elevated boardwalk through pristine rainforest), all of which start at Scenic World (which has free all-day parking). Or, even if the weather isn't too warm, you can stare at the majesty of Leura Cascades, Minnehaha Falls and Wentworth Falls. Anyone after something a bit more vertical and adventurous should get in touch with the Katoomba-based Australian School of Mountaineering, who run courses and trips all year round. And those keen on a dose of Indigenous culture can tour cave painting and rock carving sites — either as part of a group, or by heading to Blue Mountains National Park. After all that active fun, well, there's only one place to stay. We know we said that these itineraries weren't just above love — but who can pass up the chance to get up close to nature and sleep in a Love Cabins treehouse or teepee with their significant other? [caption id="attachment_574828" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The Carrington.[/caption] FOR HISTORY BUFFS Every Aussie school kid learned about Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth crossing the Blue Mountains back in 1813, but there's more history in these towering rock formations than that. In fact, following in their footsteps via coach is just one of many history tours on offer. Why not head out on an authentic Aboriginal walkabout, enjoy a heritage and art walk, or visit the more mysterious and even ghostly hotspots in the area? Diving into the region's past at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre is also a great way to get acquainted with the ol' Blueys. Check out the Into the Blue exhibition, a treasure trove of info for newcomers. Or, perhaps you'd like an old school experience of the entertaining kind, like catching a movie at Mount Vic Flicks. They really don't make cinemas like this back in the city. Of course, even bunking down for the night is a historical affair if you stay in the right place. Given that The Carrington first opened back in 1883, avoiding the past there is impossible (even if you spend too long in their new craft brewery, which is due to open in late 2016). [caption id="attachment_575541" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Gary P Hayes.[/caption] FOR CLASSIC SIGHTSEERS Never met a tourist attraction — be it a wildlife park or a historical village — that you haven't wanted to take a selfie at? Then the Blue Mountains is the place for you. Soon, your Facebook profile can boast snaps taken from the steepest railway incline in the world, as well as pics inside the most spectacular caves in Australia. C'mon, you know that's exactly what you want to do. For the former, Scenic World is your must-visit destination — and for gliding on the glass-bottomed Skyway, descending down Jamison Valley via the Scenic Railway, and meandering along a rainforest walkway. As for the latter, we're talking about the Jenolan Caves, of course. They're one of the area's most popular spots for a reason. And no visit up the mountains would be complete without a trip to the Three Sisters. Indeed, checking out their floodlit expanses at night is a bucket list moment. In fact, staying at the nearby Lillianfels Resort and Spa and making an evening of it is highly recommended. [caption id="attachment_574827" align="alignnone" width="1280"] BMCC.[/caption] FOR ART AND DESIGN LOVERS If the Blue Mountains seem like the kind of place that artists would flock to, that's because it is. Iconic Aussie artist Norman Lindsay was one of the area's most famous residents, with the Norman Lindsay Galley and Museum showcasing his work. If you've seen the Elle Macpherson and Hugh Grant-starring flick Sirens, you'll know that there's more to his output than The Magic Pudding. First stop, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre. Then explore Australian art history at one of the many Indigenous arts centres, and grab a few gifts to take home from the Waradah Aboriginal Gallery. Elsewhere, you'll find ace fashion courtesy of Leura's Mrs Peel and Little Wing Clothing — and Glenbrook's Late September, as well. Expect antiques aplenty at Macarthur's Arcade in Katoomba and the Victory Theatre Antique Centre in Blackheath, contemporary art at the Blue Mountains City Art Galley, and even a street art walk through the Beverly Place precinct. Oh, and there's a teapot museum too, if that's your kind of thing. Then, spend the evening in a Heritage Room at The Hydro Majestic. With their art deco fitouts, they're practically works of art themselves. Top image: Gary P Hayes.
The grass is always greener on the other side, especially inside Aria chef Matt Moran's glasshouse-inspired Woollahra space — Chiswick. On one side, there's the artfully manicured gardens in front of the former Pruniers restaurant. Through the other windows, there's Moran's cute little kitchen garden. So it's up to diners whether they stare out at the beetroot, rhubarb and leeks that will adorn their plates, or at the French plantation-style interiors. Moran has enlisted the help of Head Chef Daniel Cooper to curate the Ocean Street restaurant's menu, maintaining its commitment to hyper-local produce and hearty meals. Begin your meal with the crispy zucchini served with monteforte and anchovy, or roasted carrots with black garlic and sea herbs. If you feel like splashing the cash, try the skillet prawns topped with fermented chilli. The Bannockburn chicken and the slow-roasted lamb shoulder are both must-try classics on the Chiswick menu — or if you're feeling adventurous, mix things up with spanner crab gnocchi. If you're headed to Chiswick with a group, the sharing menu is designed just for you. The banquet changes with the seasons but will always offer up a mix of highlights from the a la carte menu including a few of the restaurant's renowned mainstays. The desserts are simple but effective. If you're looking for a slight indulgence, the Chiswick lamington is a simple delight, while the seasonal fruit galette is the perfect way to bring a continual Sunday meal to a satisfying end. Makes Monday seem far away ... If you're booking a private event then the private dining room is a fantastic option. Separated from the main restaurant by frosted glass doors, you'll enjoy uninterrupted views of the manicured gardens. The room is able to accommodate up to forty, with event planners able to customise the room and menu to your liking. [caption id="attachment_806854" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption]
Uncle Ming's is almost undetectable from the street — only a hastily scrawled chalk sign gives this basement bar away. Once you descend down a narrow flight of steps and enter, don't be surprised if your senses are momentarily stunned. The soft red glow of caged light blubs, vintage glamour shots on the walls and delicate wisps of incense perfuming the air invite revellers into the enticing debauchery of a 1920's Chinese speakeasy. Unsurprisingly, Asian flavours abound on the extensive cocktail menu, with cute takes on classics like Uncle Ming's version of a negroni — dubbed Wax On, Wax Off, made with gin, whisky umeshu and cynar. Leaning into the kitsch, you can also order cocktails to share, which are served in traditional teapots. Or keep things simple and go for one of The Favourites — Uncle's is whisky and fresh apple juice, while Auntie's is house-spiced rum and fresh apple juice. Both are delightful. There are beers from Japan to Singapore, sake, soju, umeshu and a heap of Japanese whisky to savour, although you can also go local with one of the many Aussie wines on offer. And if you're on the wagon, there are plenty of mocktails to choose from that are equally packed with Asian flare. Uncle Ming's may be a bar first but it's also a dumpling house. Choose from classic combos, from pork and chive to chicken and mushrooms. Also worth a try are the barbecue buns, spring rolls, takoyaki octopus balls and Ming's Wings — chicken wings stuffed with pork mince, cabbage and leek. Appears in: Sydney's Best Underground Bars for 2023
Elegance is something that's impossible to achieve if someone doesn't own it. It's not something that can be purchased; it just is. A restaurant can buy elegance through pricy interior designers and architects, bizarrely shaped spoons and snappy uniforms — the "ooooooh" factor. The trick is to do it effortlessly. Difficult in a casino. Yet Sokyo does elegance extraordinarily well. The credit has to go to the floor staff that meets and greets diners and guides them through what is initially a daunting menu of strange creations. The décor subtly pushes the sushi motif of fish scales on the walls, and the bar is what you would expect from a Star child, all matching uniforms and slick haircuts. Yet the Sokyo chefs have concocted something more substantial, a Japanese smorgasbord of beautiful Frankenstein creations, throwing scallop ravioli together with scampi butter and yuzu foam, for example. Amazingly, the emphasis is on clean lines when the results could have been messy. The wagyu flank steak with shio koji marinade, wasabi and garlic ponzu could have been, potentially, a prolonged tussle on the plate between different textures and tastes, but it snaps together. The Sokyo menu is divided between sashimi, tempura, robata, mains, soups, nigiri and sushi. Where to begin? Ok, the kingfish miso cerviche with green chilli and crispy potato shreds and prawn san choy bow with bean sprouts and butter lettuce to start. They're clean and refreshing, confusing enough to be interesting. The tempura? The Moreton Bay Bug with spicy mayo, green papaya and pomelo salad. The robata? Probably the king brown mushroom with lime, asparagus and truffle soy. For a main, don't let your finger scroll past the dry-aged pork belly with apple wasabi and pork jus, and the aforementioned wagyu. Sokyo actually offers more than on first appearance. Sydney can do stylish well, but substance is harder won. Here you get both. This is a highly recommended part of the Star's canon, and Sydney's.
If ever there were proof of the benefits of giving rent-free spaces to artists, it's Newcastle. A decade ago, the city centre was haunted by more than 150 empty shops — largely thanks to the 1999 closure of BHP's steelworks, which pushed unemployment to 12 percent. Fast-forward ten or so years. You could be mistaken for thinking you were in an inner suburb of Melbourne. Café seating spills onto pavements, where Novocastrians chat over blends roasted just a few blocks away. A sprawling microbrewery buzzes near old Tower Cinema. Brunchers lazily make their way through brekkie bowls. Shoppers browse windows crowded with homemade sculptures and jewellery and millinery. Locals lead visitors through laneways plastered with street art. Luckily, most chain stores are hidden away in big, loud shopping malls. This creative explosion is the work of local Marcus Westbury. In 2008, he returned home to a city that "felt like it was not merely slipping, but accelerating into decay". So, he persuaded a bunch of landlords to lend their vacant buildings to artists, thereby launching a nonprofit called Renew Newcastle. By 2011, Sydney's underrated sister city was one of Lonely Planet's top ten destinations in the world. Not only is it home to a thriving arts scene, it's also surrounded by water. On the northern side, there's the still beauty of the Hunter River and, on the southern, surf beaches and ocean pools and coastal walks — with plenty of shaded picnic tables and beach cabanas to keep locals sun safe. EAT AND DRINK In 2009, a self-described "rogue collective" of Novocastrian caffeine-obsessives dropped their day jobs to pursue a common goal: Newcastle's best and most environmentally-friendly coffee. They nabbed a heritage-listed building, where mad scientist John Winter built a revolutionary, waste-powered roaster, while law grad Chelsea Daoust got busy sourcing Rainforest Alliance certified beans. And so, Sprocket Roasters was born (68 Hunter Street; (02) 4009 1237). Many other premium coffee joints have opened since then, but this idiosyncratic, couch-dotted cafe is still serving some of the finest in town, as well as running a coffee school. In the West End, Silverchair's bassist, Chris Joannou, and barista Chris Johnston, have turned the warehouse that was Joannou's parents' laundry business into The Edwards (148 Parry St; (02) 4965 3845) It's a fun, unpretentious cafe-bar, with beer taps made from steam presses, lights made from tumble dryers and loads of space for ping pong matches, art exhibitions, live music and night markets. Generous, creative dishes are served nearly all day. For breakfast, we tuck into wood-smoked ocean trout with poached egg, zucchini and asparagus salad, labna and toasted quinoa; and French toast with berry compote, ricotta, passionfruit curd and pistachio chocolate crumble. The most summery views in the area are at Merewether Surfhouse (Henderson Parade; (02) 4918 0000). Perched on absolute waterfront, with floor-to-ceiling-windows, this architect-designed masterpiece looks over panoramas of Merewether Beach and beyond. Executive chef Ryan Baird has made fresh seafood king in the top-floor restaurant - from oyster samplers to a posh version of surf and turf (chargrilled pork cutlet, apple and thyme butter, half-lobster mornay, steamed greens, lemon) to pan-fried Daintree barramundi with panzanella salad and chargrilled sourdough. This joint has stolen a bit of thunder from neighbour and longtime rowdy local The Beach Hotel, but for now, the two seem to be enjoying symbiotic success with post-ocean-thirsty locals. Come evening, the buzzing Darby Street Village Precinct gives you a diverse choice of small bars and offbeat restaurants. At The Bowery Boys, executive chef Steven Zielke (Buffalo Dining Club, Chester White, Table for 20) and bartenders Ryan Hawthorne and Ethan Ortlipp (The Ivy, Sticky Bar, Coal & Cedar) are bringing a dose of 19th century New York City to 21st century Newcastle. Named after the notorious 1840s gang who, when not feuding in the streets, worked as butchers, the eatery specialises in all things pickled, smoked and cured. Photographs of New York City line the walls. Sweeney Todd-style cleavers hang alongside meaty delicacies. Cloudy brown bottles hide their contents (hint: top-shelf liquor). Pickles, olives, charcuterie, cheeses, spanner crab with chilli green mango coconut, spiced dutch carrots and ricotta gnocchi arrive on abundant share plates, matched with small-batch cocktails and exotic wines, like rioja, malbec and zinfandel. Also worth visiting if you've got the time: Darby Street's One Two Seven Darby for a kickass brekkie, 5 Sawyers for a tipple, Parry Street Garage for a damn good dinner, MoneyPenny for cocktails, The Lass for a bloody good beer garden, The Happy Wombat for craft beer, The Grain Store for drinks and nibbles, One Penny Black for insane pourovers, Roladoor for vintage-clad brunch, Goldberg's for a tried and true local, and Foghorn Brewhouse for locally-brewed beer. Or just take a picnic to Nobby's or Bar Beach — remember to slip, slop, slap y'all. SEE AND DO Despite having inspired Lonely Planet's admiration, Newcastle is yet to be detected by the mass tourism radar. You won't see glazed-eyed groups straggling behind flag-waving guides and you needn't fear overwhelming crowds — even on weekends. But, if you do want an insider's perspective, there's a handful of quirky tours to choose from. We meet Neroli Foster for an Underground Epicurean adventure. "There are so many great places for foodies in Newcastle," she says. "But they're not always easy to find." Rather than following a box-ticking itinerary, she takes a casual approach - we feel more like we're with a local friend than a tour guide. We sample gourmet doughnuts at Doughheads (where flavours include citrus cheesecake, Turkish rose and caramel toast); work our way through a wine flight curated from hundreds of bottles cellared beneath Reserve Wine Bar; and dessert on gelato overlooking the water at Estabar, among numerous other delicious stops. My favourite is The Tea Project, where tea expert Becci Fowler pours me the finest cuppa I've ever tasted. More than 70 teas are on the menu and they're all premium quality and beautifully blended. Beer and comfort food more your thing? Let One For the Road be your guide. When I say beer and comfort food, I mean a four-hour stroll through town, taking in ten craft beers and ten moreish, moreish bites. At Chook and Broosky, we discover the many ways in which beer and fried chicken can dance together; at Foghorn, we watch Newcastle's only onsite brewery in action, while feasting on pizza; and, at The Hop Factory, we explore a few of the 20 beers on tap, paired with mini-burgers. Along the way, our easy-going, funny guide fills us in on Newcastle's history — from the convicts who dug out the Bogey Hole (New South Wales's first ocean pool) to current disputes over the railway, which, by the way, has been cut at Hamilton for the time-being. Once you're fuelled up (or, in my case, thoroughly stuffed), you'll be ready to work it off. Slip a hat, slop on some sunscreen and meet Simone Sheridan for a street art tour. Former director of This Is Not Art (TINA) and passionate place maker, Simone shows us painting and drawings in the most unexpected of spots, as well as telling us stories behind the city's best known pieces, such as Adnate's portrait of an indigenous boy in Wickham, which was horrifically graffitied with a racist slur just a month after being completed in November 2013. Simone's tours run by foot or bicycle. We save the Newcastle Memorial Walk (aka ANZAC Walk) for sunset. If you're keen to tackle it by day, don't forget some skin-saving protection — the sun can get mighty hot. $4.5 million and 64 tonnes of steel went into this 450-metre-long walkway, which opened in April 2015 and spans the cliff tops between Strzelecki Lookout and Bar Beach, affording 360-degree views. For a more epic journey, make it just one part of a six-kilometre trek, from Merewether Ocean Pools to Nobbys Beach. Speaking of beaches, a trip to Newy's not complete without diving into the ocean. Closer to the city, Newcastle Beach is where you'll find the annual Surfest and the stunningly preserved Ocean Baths, while Nobby's is the big postcard-perfect beach (and home to Horseshoe Beach, the dog-friendly beach). Bar, Dixon and Merewether Beach is one long ocean crawl worth doing to the historic Merewether Baths, and you can even follow this line along to Glenrock Lagoon if you're feeling energetic. Burwood Beach is unpatrolled but great for surfing. If you're keen to venture out of the city centre a little, Redhead Beach is worth the trek, and even further is Caves Beach (which has literal caves on the beach). Meanwhile, for indoor escapades, there's the lively Newcastle Museum. Should you visit before 28 February, you'll find yourself face-to-face with ten tyrannosaurs. And, between 2014 and 2018, the First World War effort is being explored in Shadows of Sacrifice, an exhibition that changes every six months, reflecting how life in Newcastle changed as the war wore on. To check out the latest creations from the city's vibrant arts community, take a wander through the former David Jones store in the CBD, which is now partitioned into independent pop-up shops, or along aforementioned Darby Street (by day, rather than night). STAY After six years hiding behind a facade, The Lucky Country Hotel reemerged in 2014 like a rock star making a glamorous come-back jazz album. The (albeit controversial, ask a Novocastrian) McCloy Group poured six million bucks into giving it a good gutting, but kept the bits that worked, like the raw iron beams and warm, red brick work, and dropped the middle name. These days, the hotel is referred to on a first name basis, as The Lucky. What you notice first will depend on which way you enter. Head into the Drum Bar and an enormous chandelier made of an actual drum kit will be dangling over you. Peer into the courtyard and you'll be mesmerised by vast, dreamy light projections across the back wall, filled with flying birds and dancing figures. Wherever you sit in the 428-capacity pub, you can get stuck into a hearty serving of American barbecue, cooked slow over hickory wood for up to 14 hours; craft beers; and cocktails based on seasonally available ingredients. Upstairs, forty en-suite rooms spread over two floors. We catch the lift to a deluxe suite with a sofa. Ironically, for a hotel where the menu's pretty meaty, the wall art reads: "A rabbit's foot may bring you good luck, but it brought none to the rabbit", a quotation from American satirist Ambrose Bierce's 'Epigrams'. Each room shares a different philosophy on luck and fortune. Large windows let in plenty of sun, making the most of the bright, white walls. They're softened by dark carpet and furnishings in muted tones: gentle greys, charcoals, mustards, beiges and browns. The straight-forward, white-tiled bathroom is sparkling clean and the l'Occitane toiletries are a luxurious touch. Despite the positioning, close to the main road, sound proofing keeps out traffic noise. All in all, The Lucky makes for a comfortable sleep, in a neatly composed, refreshing space — just what you need before another day of sun, surf, art and feasting in Newcastle. LET'S DO THIS; GIVE ME THE DETAILS By car: Newcastle is about 160 kilometres, or two hours' drive, along the Pacific Motorway north of Sydney, or about ten hours' drive from Melbourne. By plane: Rex flies to Newcastle from Sydney at least once a day, with the flight taking 45 minutes. Both Jetstar and Virgin fly from Melbourne, taking 90 minutes. By bus/train: Sydney Trains travel direct from Sydney to Broadmeadow, taking about 2 1/2 hours. From Broadmeadow, connecting buses take you to Newcastle central. From Melbourne, it's a 14 1/2 hour ride. Jasmine Crittenden travelled to Newcastle as a guest of Destination NSW. Top image: Flickr. All other images Peter Saw.
Whether you're heading to the cinema with friends or curling up on the couch with your significant other, a night watching movies remains a fantastic source of entertainment, enjoyment and escapism. Sitting in the dark, switching your mind away from your regular worries and slipping into another world — if you're catching the right flick, few things can top it. Cinema-wise, 2018 has thrown up plenty of films that tick all of the above boxes — and now we're just past the halfway mark, it's time to look back. Maybe you missed one of this year's hits when it was in theatres. Perhaps it's still showing and you haven't made it yet. Or, there could be a few gems that just slipped your attention. Of course, there's always the ace movies you saw, loved and want to see again. Whichever category fits, here's 12 films from 2018 that you you need to catch up on. Head to the cinema and grab a choc top or organise your streaming queue and cook up some popcorn, as we've sorted out your viewing for the near future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQH3jqetJoY THE SHAPE OF WATER What our critic said: A sea of perfectly assembled elements, The Shape of Water truly feels like a film that no one else could have made. Working from a script co-written with Vanessa Taylor (Divergent), director Guillermo del Toro is operating at the top of his game, and his fingerprints can be seen in every exquisitely detailed image. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKbjnLpxv70 FACES PLACES What our critic said: If everyone looked at strangers in the same way as French New Wave icon Agnes Varda (Cléo from 5 to 7, Vagabond), the world would be a much kinder place. Roaming through small yet lively villages, Varda makes new memories while reminiscing about older ones — about love, work, times passed, friends lost and past moments immortalised in earlier photos. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCYB28iknIM PHANTOM THREAD What our critic said: Every textile metaphor you can think of applies to Phantom Thread. It's a film that's carefully woven from the fabric of human urges, teeming with hidden layers and positively bursting at the seams with emotional detail. It's also one made by the finest possible craftspeople, with Anderson and his three stars fashioning the cinematic equivalent of haute couture. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzgTHyEv5Ng LADY BIRD What our critic said: As impressive a list of plaudits as Lady Bird has amassed, they pale in comparison to the movie itself. While it can seem like high school coming-of-age films are more common than actual high schoolers, Greta Gerwig gets everything right with her entry into the genre. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJHex4ZitgA A FANTASTIC WOMAN What our critic said: It can't be overstated how wonderful it is to see transgender representation on the big screen (no offence Eddie Redmayne, but this is how it should be). Vega's performance as Marina feels authentic, in no small part because it is authentic. Every movement, every delivery is subtle, considered and real. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNtLIcyjsnI GAME NIGHT What our critic said: At its best, Game Night is laugh out loud funny, subverting some classic comedy tropes and delivering scores of killer one-liners. It's probably one of the better Hollywood black comedies we've seen in the last few years, and ultimately entertains enough to justify the price of admission. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqy27Bk0Vw0 A QUIET PLACE What our critic said: John Krasinski's stripped-back use of sound reflects his entire approach, crafting a masterfully sparse movie from start to finish — and a downright masterful one too. Forget questions about why the monsters are there and where everyone else is: they couldn't matter less in this taut, fast-paced thriller, and they shouldn't even cross your mind. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9iVra2kdD4 TULLY What our critic said: Tully's motherhood scenario inspires rich performances from a particularly raw Charlize Theron and a suitably sparkling Mackenzie Davis — the former committed to conveying the hardships of maternity in all of its unglamorous glory, the latter calm and kind as Tully brings Marlo back from the brink of desperation. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4_79dnJeNU BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) What our critic said: Set to a soundtrack that flits from electronic beats to sorrowful piano, to the pleading chants of ACT UP taking to the streets, what emerges is a movie that's both intimate and expansive. Just as BPM's first scenes leave a definite imprint, so does the cumulative effect of its 143 minutes, weaving personal tales into a sprawling snapshot of a real-life movement. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__y-uPwbe8 HEREDITARY What our critic said: Ari Aster plagues the movie's protagonists with weird occurrences, including strange words etched into walls, odd flashes of light, upsetting strangers and alarming seances. He is making a horror film, after all. But more than that, the writer-director doubles down on tragedy, stretches the characters' emotional limits and heightens their psychological strain, Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEnRNIvEKu8 UPGRADE What our critic said: Bone-crunching, blood-splattered revenge is a dish best-served with an AI sidekick in Upgrade. Although the concept might sound more tired than wired on paper, it makes for a sharp, sleek and savage wander into genre territory. Read the full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6o5WPcCgT0 FOXTROT What our critic said: Foxtrot asks the audience to stare at its main cast harder than most films; to feel their aching hearts, to dive into their despairing minds, and to experience their unshakeable sorrow. Writer-director Samuel Maoz doesn't just call upon his actors to attract attention, though, but ensures that every meticulous shot reflects the characters' internal states. Read the full review.
Set within luxurious surrounds, BLACK Bar & Grill is the Star's steak in shining armour. A favourite amongst the casino's high-rolling gamblers, BLACK is a beef fiend's haven. BLACK's interior might present itself in blatant contrast to Sydney's favour of casual dining, but for that we hail it as an indulgence. Bunk down in one of the wood and copper-panelled booths, at the sultry bar or book ahead to secure a private room. And to go with the decadent decor? Celebrity chefs and inspiring food. Start with some freshly shucked oysters to awaken the buds; they come with a cucumber vinaigrette and sesame dressing. BLACK Bar & Grill's crudo of silver trevally, persimmon and burnt mandarin is another quality choice if after something light to whet one's appetite. And if we're honest, we're here for the beef. The 300g scotch fillet, grain-fed angus has a marble rating of 5+ and is suited to those after a hefty slab of meat. Add a side of burnt BBQ tomato sauce, mashed potato with chives, and some butternut pumpkin with sesame, lentil, and mint. Most likely, you'll be adjusting your notches. For something a little more refined, the flat iron, ration-fed wagyu with a +9 marble rating can only be described as a tender god. A porcini mushroom and veal sauce is a better fit for the wagyu. And for those who are game, there's always dessert. The cream cheesecake with mugwort ice cream, lavender crystal and perilla is a fun and rich indulgence, while the seasonal fruit sorbet is a tad lighter. BLACK Bar & Grill is expensive, yes, and not for everyone. But if you're around the casino traps and so happen to get lucky, you should call it all or nothing. For indulgence at its best, BLACK's the winning bet. [caption id="attachment_759153" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Blackbird Bar and Grill[/caption] Top image: Anna Kucera Appears in: Where to Find the Best Steak in Sydney
The National Gallery of Victoria's 2019 program continues to pull in the big guns, with an ever-growing lineup of internationally acclaimed artists — including Keith Haring and Jean-Michael Basquiat — heading to the gallery. And from Friday, September 20, that list will include Brooklyn-based Kaws (aka Brian Donnelly), who's bringing his instantly recognisable pop-culture sculptures to Aus. Kaws is best known for his large-scale sculptures, vivid murals and distinctive, pop culture-inspired characters. You're probably familiar with his reinterpretations of iconic figures like Mickey Mouse, Snoopy and The Smurfs, all reworked with those signature Xs over the eyes. While it's a stable of work that's laced with a healthy dose of humour, this NGV exhibition, entitled Kaws: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness, focuses on the rest of those underlying emotions. You'll get a glimpse at how KAWS celebrates generosity and explores our need for companionship, offering up an antidote to the world's current 'Age of Loneliness'. Off the back of solo exhibitions at the Yuz Museum Shanghai and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis in 2017, as well as the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Foundation earlier this year, Kaws' NGV presentation has plenty of never-before-seen goodies. It features a sprawling collection of his pop culture reworkings, human-size figures and collaborative pieces, while a newly commissioned monumental work will be the artist's largest bronze sculpture to date: Gone (2019), a seven-metre-tall bronze sculpture standing imposingly in the NGV's Federation Court. The main event is be backed by Kaws: Playtime – an interactive, touch-focused installation centred around Kaws' bright blue BFF character, complete with soft sculptures and a hands-on multimedia game. While it's created for 'children', we'll sure you'll find a few kidults exploring it, too. Top images: Kaws, Gone (2019); Kaws, What Party (2019); Kaws, Kawsbob (2007); and installation views of Kaws: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness at the NGV International. All photos by Tom Ross.
Two fast food staples, both alike in dignity, in fair Hong Kong where we lay our scene. An unlikely pair of greasy star-cross'd lovers have been fused by the world's biggest chicken specialist — KFC has created the unholy union of pizza and fried chicken. Found only in Hong Kong for now, KFC's new Napoli Crispy Pizza Chicken sees the chain's immortal fried chicken breaded with marinara, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese. It's pure, horrifying genius. They've even got some slightly freaky children's choir in on the local ad. We thought things would settle down after KFC decided to replace their buns with chicken, but no. This mighty fast food hybrid proves our suspicions that the global trend toward fusing unlikely food friends is getting more messed up by the day. Just go with it, we guess? Via Gizmodo.
Sonoma sourdough may be a staple on breakfast menus throughout the city, but if you want to try its signature miche loaf, slow fermented baguettes or flaky pastries you'll need to head straight to the source. Of the nine outposts in the Sonoma family (and five market stalls), the Alexandria one remains the most impressive. Set within a converted warehouse, the shopfront boasts high, slanted ceilings and a sleek monochrome fit-out, with shelves stocked with loaves like a gallery for gluten. If you need more than just a loaf of bread, Sonoma also offers up a range of pies which have earned a reputation right across the state. The beer braised chicken leak and potato pie is perfectly spiced while the chunky beef pie is exactly the classic pie you're after and goes well drenched in tomato sauce. For vegetarians there's an eggplant parmi pie or a verde quiche, and if you're just after a humble sausage roll its pork option is everything you could ask for and more.
Parts of a Lady, Gronk, Day Planner and Ali G Goes to Chicago aren't going to win any shiny trophies this year, because none of them exist. But, after getting a shoutout in Amy Poehler and Tina Fey's very amusing opening monologue at the 2021 Golden Globes, you'll wish these fictional flicks were either showing at a cinema near you or streaming on your platform of choice. They might be an improvement on some of the movies and TV shows that were nominated this year, after all. Poehler and Fey noted that "a lot of flashy garbage" was vying for a gong and, well, they're not wrong. It's always best to remember two things whenever entertainment awards roll around. Firstly, great movies and television shows, and the talents behind them, always remain that way whether they have the silverware to go with it or not. Secondly, finally valuing the exceptional work of women and people of colour in the entertainment industry after so long spent focusing on white men will always remain important. And, while the Golden Globes ceremony this year looked a little different to usual — it was held across both Los Angeles and New York, with Poehler and Fey split across the two cities; nominees called in via video from home in all their finery, rather than attending in person; and winners didn't physically put their hands on a statuette — it did give a heap of recognition to some very deserving folks. Seeing three women contending for Best Director, with Chloe Zhao emerging victorious for Nomadland, really was something special. So was the fact that the first two gongs of the night went to Daniel Kaluuya and John Boyega, two of the best actors working today. Chadwick Boseman's posthumous award was always going to be an emotional moment and, winning special accolades, both Norman Lear and Jane Fonda made moving speeches about their careers and the current state of the industry. Plenty of top-notch talents missed out as well, though, because that's the way these congratulatory proceedings always go — but from everything that emerged victorious, we've picked 12 films and TV shows for you to feast your eyes on as soon as possible. MOVIE MUST-SEES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSFpK34lfv0&feature=youtu.be NOMADLAND Frances McDormand is a gift of an actor. Point a camera her way, and a performance so rich that it feels not just believable but tangible floats across the screen. That's the case in Nomadland, which will earn her another Oscar nomination and could even see her win a third shiny statuette just three years after she nabbed her last for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Here, leading a cast that also includes real people experiencing the existence that's fictionalised within the narrative, she plays the widowed, van-dwelling Fern — a woman who takes to the road, and to the nomad life, after the small middle-America spot she spent her married life in turns into a ghost town when the local mine is shuttered due to the global financial crisis. Following her travels over the course of more than a year, this humanist drama serves up an observational portrait of those that society happily overlooks. It's both deeply intimate and almost disarmingly empathetic in the process, as every movie made by Chloe Zhao is. This is only the writer/director's third, slotting in after 2015's Songs My Brothers Taught Me and 2017's The Rider but before 2021's Marvel flick Eternals, but it's a feature of contemplative and authentic insights into the concepts of home, identity and community. Meticulously crafted, shot and performed, it's also Zhao's best work yet, and the best film of 2020 as well. GLOBES Won: Best Motion Picture — Drama, Best Director — Motion Picture (Chloe Zhao) Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama (Frances McDormand), Best Screenplay — Motion Picture (Chloe Zhao) Nomadland returns to cinemas from March 4, after a sneak preview season in late December and early January. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbE96sCJEjo MINARI Remember the name Lee Isaac Chung. Minari isn't the writer/director's first feature — with 2007's Munyurangabo, 2010's Lucky Life and 2012's Abigail Harm already on his resume — but it's the kind of intimate, heartfelt and resonant movie that cements its filmmaker as a top cinematic talent to watch. Remember the name Alan S Kim, too. The child actor makes his film debut here, but he steals every scene he's in. Considering that he's acting opposite Steven Yeun (Burning), who turns in his latest excellent performance and will hopefully nab an Oscar nomination for his efforts, that's no minor feat. Remembering Minari in general is a given, actually. It's so detailed, vivid and honest, and yet also so universal at the same time. Based on Chung's own upbringing, this tender drama follows the Yi family (which also includes My Unfamiliar Family's Yeri Han and first-timer Noel Cho) as they move to Arkansas to start their own farm. It's a movie about chasing the American Dream, but don't go thinking that you've seen this tale before, or seen any similar story told with such feeling either. The film's overall story can be summarised neatly, but Minari's many deep and thoughtful charms and triumphs aren't ever simplistic. Indeed, as features influenced by personal real-life tales can be at their best, this is a gorgeously and thoughtfully detailed picture, with Chung realising that trading in specific minutiae is far more compelling and relatable than opting for sweeping generalisations. GLOBES Won: Best Motion Picture — Foreign Language Minari is currently screening in cinemas. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSjtGqRXQ9Y JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH The last time that Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield appeared in the same film, Get Out was the end result. Their shared scene in Jordan Peele's Oscar-winning horror movie isn't easily forgotten — if you've seen the feature, it will have instantly popped into your head while you're reading this — and neither is Judas and the Black Messiah, their next collaboration. With Kaluuya starring as the Black Panther Party's Illinois Chairman Fred Hampton and Stanfield playing William O'Neal, the man who infiltrated his inner circle as an informer for the FBI, the pair is still tackling race relations. Here, though, the duo does so in a ferocious historical drama set in the late 60s. The fact that O'Neal betrays Hampton definitely isn't a spoiler here; it's a matter of fact, and the lens through which writer/director Shaka King (Newlyweeds) and his co-scribes Kenneth Lucas, Keith Lucas (actors on Lady Dynamite) and Will Berson (Scrubs) view the last period of Hampton's life. Anchored by two fierce performances that stand out in their own ways — with Kaluuya commanding the screen during every single one of his real-life character's speeches, and Stanfield playing conflicted with a raw, nervy air — Judas and the Black Messiah does what only the best movies that look back at the past and its many problems manage. It roves its eyes over events gone by, shines a spotlight the rampant oppression and the struggle against it, and condenses a wealth of information into a gripping feature. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Daniel Kaluuya) Nominated: Best Original Song — Motion Picture (Tiara Thomas, HER and D'Mile, 'Fight for You') Judas and the Black Messiah opens in cinemas on March 11 — check back for our full review then. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ord7gP151vk MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM Chadwick Boseman, Oscar-winner. That combination of words is very likely to become a posthumous reality for the late, great actor, thanks to his last screen role. Boseman is just that phenomenal in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. He has earned that term before in Get on Up, Black Panther and Da 5 Bloods, but his performance in this stage-to-screen production is such a powerhouse effort that it's like watching a cascading waterfall drown out almost everything around it. He plays trumpeter Levee Green, who is part of the eponymous Ma Rainey's (Viola Davis, Widows) band. On a 1920s day, the always-nattering, big-dreaming musician joins Ma — who isn't just a fictional character, and was known as the Mother of Blues — and the rest of his colleagues for a recording session. Temperatures and tempers rise in tandem in the Chicago studio, with Levee and Ma rarely seeing eye to eye on any topic. Davis is in thundering, hot-blooded form, while Colman Domingo (If Beale Street Could Talk) and Glynn Turman (Fargo) also leave a firm impression. It's impossible take your eyes off of the slinkily magnetic Boseman though, as would prove the case even if he was still alive to see the film's release. Adapting the play of the same name by August Wilson (Fences), director George C Wolfe (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) lets Boseman farewell the screen with one helluva bang. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama (Chadwick Boseman) Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama (Viola Davis) Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs--6c7Hn_A SOUL Released early in 2020, Onward definitely wasn't Pixar's best film — but Soul, its straight-to-streaming latest movie that capped off the past year, instantly contends for the title. The beloved animation studio has always excelled when it takes big leaps. Especially now, a quarter-century into its filmmaking tenure, its features prove particularly enchanting when they're filled with surprises (viewers have become accustomed to seeing toys, fish, rats and robots have feelings, after all). On paper, Soul initially seems similar to Inside Out, but switching in souls for emotions. It swaps in voice work by Tina Fey for Amy Poehler, too, and both movies are helmed by director Peter Docter, so there's more than one reason for the comparison. But to the delight of viewers of all ages, Soul is a smart, tender and contemplative piece of stunning filmmaking all on its own terms. It's Pixar at its most existential, and with a strikingly percussive score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross to further help it stand out. At its centre sits aspiring jazz musician-turned-music teacher Joe (Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy). Just as he's about to get his big break, he falls down a manhole, his soul leaves his body, and he's desperate to get back to chase his dreams. Alas, that's not how things work, and he's saddled with mentoring apathetic and cynical soul 22 (the always hilarious Fey) in his quest to reclaim his life. GLOBES Won: Best Motion Picture — Animated, Best Original Score — Motion Picture (Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste) Soul is available to stream via Disney+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lkCCo63nhM I CARE A LOT Last month, we said that Rosamund Pike may not end up with many shiny statuettes for her efforts in I Care a Lot. We also said that her Golden Globe nomination was thoroughly well-deserved. The Radioactive and Gone Girl star is stellar in a tricky part in a thorny film — because this dark comic-thriller isn't here to play nice. Pike plays Marla Grayson, a legal guardian to as many elderly Americans as she can convince the courts to send her way. She's more interested in the cash that comes with the job, however, rather than actually looking after her charges. Indeed, with her girlfriend and business partner Fran (Eiza González, Bloodshot), plus an unscrupulous doctor on her payroll, she specifically targets wealthy senior citizens with no family, gets them committed to her care, packs them off to retirement facilities and plunders their bank accounts. Then one such ploy catches the attention of gangster Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones), who dispatches his minions to nudge Marla in a different direction. She isn't willing to acquiesce, though, sparking both a game of cat and mouse and a showdown. Dinklage makes the most of his role, too, but I Care a Lot is always the icy Pike's movie. Well, hers and writer/director J Blakeson's (The Disappearance of Alice Creed), with the latter crafting a takedown of capitalism that's savagely blunt but also viciously entertaining. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy (Rosamund Pike) I Care a Lot is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rsa4U8mqkw BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM Of all the twists and turns that 2020 delivered, the arrival of a new Borat movie ranked among the most unexpected. Watching Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, however, it's obvious why the famed fictional Kazakh journalist made a comeback at that very moment — that is, just before the US election. Once again, Borat travels to America. Once again, he traverses the country, interviewing everyday people and exposing the abhorrent views that have become engrained in US society. Where its 2006 predecessor had everyone laughing along with it, though, there's also an uneasy and even angry undercurrent to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm that's reflective of these especially polarised times. It's worth noting that Sacha Baron Cohen's last project, 2018 TV series Who Is America?, also used the comedian's usual interview technique to paint a picture of the US today, and the results were as astute as they were horrifying. There are plenty of jokes in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which bases its narrative around Borat's attempt to gift his 15-year-old daughter (instant scene-stealer Maria Bakalova) to Vice President Mike Pence and then ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani to help get Kazakhstan's own leader into President Donald Trump's good graces, but this is the unflinching work of a star passionate about making a statement. GLOBES Won: Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy (Sacha Baron Cohen) Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy (Maria Bakalova) Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is available to stream now via Amazon Prime Video. SMALL SCREEN BINGES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcqItifbNUA SMALL AXE British filmmaker Steve McQueen hasn't directed a bad movie — and, even after dropping five new features as part of the Small Axe anthology, that hasn't changed. The director of Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave and Widows gifts viewers a quintet of films that are as exceptional as anything he's ever made, with every entry in this new series taking place in England, in the 60s, 70s and 80s, with London's West Indian community at its centre. The first, Mangrove, tells an infuriating true tale about a police campaign to target a Caribbean restaurant in Notting Hill. From there, Lovers Rock spends time at a house party as two attendees dance into each other's orbits, and Red, White and Blue follows a young forensic scientist who decides to join the force to change from the inside. Next, Alex Wheatle explores the life of the award-winning writer of the same name, while Education unpacks unofficial moves to segregate children of colour in schools. There's no weak link here — only stunning, stirring, standout cinema that tells blistering tales about Black London residents doing everything it takes to resist their racist treatment. Every film is sumptuously shot, too, thanks to cinematographer Shabier Kirchner (Bull), and the cast spans everyone from Lost in Space's Shaun Parkes and Black Panther's Letitia Wright to Star Wars' John Boyega. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Supporting Role (John Boyega) Nominated: Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television All five Small Axe films are available to stream via Binge. It's streaming soon in NZ. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U TED LASSO What do Parks and Recreation, Wellington Paranormal and Ted Lasso all have in common? They're all stellar examples of kind-hearted TV sitcoms that are an absolute delight to watch. By now, the first two aforementioned shows have already established a legion of fans, but the third series listed above — a 2020 newcomer — definitely belongs in the same company even just based on its ten episodes so far. Starring a gloriously optimistic Jason Sudeikis as the titular character, the comedy follows its main figure during a period of transition. A college-level American football coach, he's just been hired by struggling English Premier League team AFC Richmond, despite having zero knowledge of soccer. He's actually been recruited for the role by the club's new owner, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham, Game of Thrones), who received the organisation as part of her divorce settlement and is determined to tank it to spite her slimy ex (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Stewart Head). For much of his career, Sudeikis has excelled at playing thorny, jerkish characters (see: the terrific Colossal) who initially seem likeable. And yet, he's pitch-perfect here, and Ted Lasso as a whole proves just as spot-on. Also featuring excellent work from Brett Goldstein (Doctor Who) and Juno Temple (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) as an ageing player and a young hotshot's girlfriend, this is a smart, funny and warm gem. GLOBES Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy (Jason Sudeikis) Nominated: Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy Ted Lasso is available to stream via Apple TV+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0uWS6CnC2o SCHITT'S CREEK The idea behind Schitt's Creek is immensely straightforward, and also incredibly obvious. If one of the obscenely wealthy families that monopolises all those trashy reality TV shows was suddenly forced to live without their money, like the rest of us, how would they cope? If you're thinking "not well", you're right. If you're certain that seeing the results would be amusing, you're on the money again. As envisaged by father-son duo — and the program's stars — Eugene and Daniel Levy, that's the scenario the Rose crew finds itself in, including moving to the titular town that it happens to own as a last resort. Yes, as the name gives away, they're in a sticky situation. The adjustment process isn't easy, but it is very, very funny, and remained that way for the show's entire six-season run before wrapping up in 2020. And, although plenty of other credits on her resume have made this plain (such as Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, Waiting for Guffman and For Your Consideration, all also with Eugene Levy), the great Catherine O'Hara is an absolute comedy powerhouse as the Rose family matriarch. She now has both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performance here, too. GLOBES Won: Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy (Catherine O'Hara) Nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy (Eugene Levy), Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Supporting Role (Dan Levy), Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Supporting Role (Annie Murphy) Schitt's Creek is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiXEpminPms THE CROWN When we say that fans of The Crown had been particularly looking forward to the show's fourth season, that isn't meant as a criticism of anything that preceded it. No disrespect is directed towards the regal drama's previous episodes, or to the past cast that took on the program's main roles before an age-appropriate switch was made at the beginning of season three. But, now more than halfway through the program's planned six-season run, this latest chapter focuses on two big showdowns that changed the shape of the royal family in the 80s. Firstly, Queen Elizabeth II (Oscar-winner Olivia Colman) and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (The X-Files icon Gillian Anderson) don't quite see eye to eye, to put it mildly. Also, with Prince Charles' (God's Own Country's Josh O'Connor) marriage to Lady Diana Spencer (Pennyworth's Emma Corrin) a big plot point, the latter clashes with the entire royal establishment. Among a cast that also includes Helena Bonham Carter (Enola Holmes) and Tobias Menzies (Outlander), Colman, Anderson, O'Connor and Corrin are all exceptional — and in a show that's always been buoyed by its performances, that's saying something. GLOBES Won: Best Television Series — Drama, Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama (Emma Corrin), Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama (Josh O'Connor), Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Supporting Role (Gillian Anderson) Nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama (Olivia Colman), Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Supporting Role (Helena Bonham Carter) The Crown is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrieqwSdgI THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT In much of The Queen's Gambit, Beth Harmon sits at a chessboard. As a child (Isla Johnston), she demands that orphanage janitor Mr Shaibel (Bill Camp, The Outsider) teach her the game. As a teenager (Anya Taylor-Joy, Radioactive), she earns a reputation as a chess prodigy. As her confidence and fame grows, she demonstrates her prowess at tournaments around America and the globe, while also spending her spare time hunched over knights, rooks, bishops and pawns studying moves and tactics. None of the above sounds like innately thrilling television unless you're a chess grandmaster, but this seven-part miniseries proves that you should never judge a show by its brief description. Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, written and directed by Oscar-nominee Scott Frank (Out of Sight, Logan), and dripping with lavish 50s and 60s decor and costuming to reflect its period setting, The Queen's Gambit doesn't expect that all its viewers will be chess aficionados; however, it's made with a canny awareness that anything can be tense, suspenseful and involving — and that every different type of game there is says much about its players and devotees. The series doesn't lack in creative and inventive ways to depict chess on-screen. It knows when to hang on every single move of a pivotal game, and when to focus on the bigger story surrounding a particular match or Beth path through the chess world in general. And it's especially astute at illustrating how a pastime based on precision and strategy offers an orphaned girl a way to control one lone aspect of her tumultuous and constantly changing life. GLOBES Won: Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (Anya Taylor-Joy) The Queen's Gambit is available to stream via Netflix. Read our full review.
Sydney's most insanely Insta-famous café The Grounds of Alexandria has finally swung open the antique doors of its new sister venue inside The Galeries on George Street. This time around there's no luscious garden, no Kevin Bacon or Margoat Robbie. Instead, get ready for a 1920s dining experience so elaborate, so completely over-the-top that you'll swear you've walked onto the set of The Great Gatsby. Setting a new and impossibly high standard for themed dining in Sydney, The Grounds of the City has created a lavish 1920s coffeehouse complete with shoe shines, a tea lady and an impressive array of vintage glassware, art, crockery, books and silverware. It's essentially one big dine-in antiques store. As to be expected, the new venue is crazy busy at the moment, so a love of lines is essential should you choose to come on a weekend. However, despite the venue operating at maximum capacity pretty much all day every day, the staff appear to have no trouble keeping up and the operation runs like a well-oiled Singer sewing machine. Currently serving breakfast and lunch with dinner soon to follow, the food menu takes inspiration from the '20s and brings it up-to-date with contemporary ingredients and technique. Steak and eggs are given a new lease on life by way of a punchy chimichurri sauce and an expertly-cooked medium-rare fillet ($25), while fluffy homemade crumpets make the perfect base for a serve of poached eggs with citrus-cured ocean trout and a roasty pine nut hollandaise ($19). It's the bee's knees of the breakfast menu. The lunch menu follows the same vein with modern versions of old-hat classics, including Maine lobster with seaweed butter ($46) and lamb chops with buttered zucchini and chervil yoghurt ($28). Otherwise, make-your-own meat and three veg. Choose from rump cap ($34), rib eye ($42) or tenderloin ($36) and stock up on the knock-out sides, which include smashed potato with burnt onion and bone marrow ($10), minted heirloom tomatoes ($11) and cauliflower and almond mac 'n' cheese ($12). Good coffee is a non-negotiable in the CBD and The Grounds of the City doesn't disappoint. There's a dedicated barista's bar with a coffee sommelier (yes, really) as well as batch brews, cold brews, espresso, filter coffee and a killer affogato made with tiramisu ice-cream and popping candy. Those who prefer tea can order a bottomless cup ($8). Just signal the tea lady and she tootles over. Sadly there's not quite enough time to really savour the experience of The Grounds of the City, with tables being turned over every hour and a half. If you find your time cut short, head to the takeaway counter at the back for puffy cream cakes, fruit tarts and eclairs to-go. It's at least a little piece of The Grounds to take home with you. Images: Bodhi Liggett.
Looking for somewhere to sample share plates with friends or grab a quick bite before a Town Hall show? Tucked away down one of Sydney's hidden CBD laneways is the recently opened Galli Galli, a vibrant eatery slinging delicious street eats and colourful cocktails. A great spot to head with a crowd, this Asian-fusion eatery is mammoth, spanning three storeys. Those just popping in for a drink can park up at the downstairs bar, while those looking for a sit-down meal can dine on the second level — and enjoy some live tunes while they eat. The menu is just as eclectic as the interior fit out: it boasts everything from cheesy chilli chips ($15.90), to Tomyum chicken ($19.90) — or maybe you might opt for a classic Aussie fish'n'chips ($18.80). If you're a spice fan, you'll probably want to opt for Galli Galli's 'devil wings' which are tossed with house chilli and garlic sauce, or the Shya Phalle ($12.90), is a Tibetan puff pastry with chicken mince, green chutney and chilli oil. If you like your drinks on the sweet side, opt for one of the extremely aesthetic cocktails they're shaking down at the bar: the Vivaton ($20) is a heady mix of gin, elderflower, cucumber, mint and pepper, while the To Celebrate combines vodka, lychee liquor and passionfruit. For pudding, you might opt for the Toblerone cocktail ($20) which is packed with the good things: Baileys, Frangelico, honey — and ice cream and chocolate. But it's the opening deal that's sure to get punters through the doors in droves: until June 18, Galli Galli is serving up its famous Nepalese dumplings for just $1 apiece. Wash it down with a $6 beer during happy hour between 4pm-7pm. And yes, it's a three-minute walk (approx) to the Town Hall, making it the perfect stop for a quick pre-show bite — especially if you're running late to make curtain.
Bars where you can do more than just sit around and drink are really having a moment in Sydney. And, in no small part, it's thanks to the ever-expanding empire of Funlab, the company in charge of the ever-popular Holey Moley, Strike Bowling and Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq. Now, Funlab has brought its B. Lucky & Sons concept to Sydney. It's a bar-meets-arcade with some actually good pawn shop prizes, instead of the usual plastic crap you get. Think vintage Chanel bags, classic cameras and rare vinyls, plus a Nintendo 64 in its original box and Tune Squad swag from the 1996 cult classic, Space Jam. Yup, they're going real old-school with this one. The bar — which already has outposts in Melbourne and Brisbane — opens in Moore Park's Entertainment Quarter today, Friday, May 17. It's hidden behind the façade of a pawn shop, and decked out with eclectic furnishings, from old-world casino chandeliers to neon-lit red octagonal booths. This east-meets-west fit-out will extend to the food, too, where pizzas will be topped with the likes of crispy wonton wrappers, bonito flakes and Chinese sausage. You can also get bags of prawn crackers and pork bao buns. For drinks, the bar is slinging creative cocktails and alcoholic bubble teas, like the Taro Bang filled with rum, Malibu, taro, blueberry pearls and coconut jellies. If you prefer your cocktails shareable, you'll also be able to order punch bowls served with floral tea cups, too. As far as games go, expect throwbacks for the millennial generation — featuring everything from Mario Kart and Space Invaders to NBA Hoops and a Dance Dance Revolution knock-off. Head in on a Tuesday for half-price games, or on Wednesday when selected games will spit out double tickets. And although the venue will be open to littl'uns during the day, it'll be strictly adults-only at night, so you don't have to worry about being laughed at by a ten-year-old when you fall off Rainbow Road for the 14th time. B Lucky & Sons is now open at the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park. It's open from 11am–11pm Monday–Thursday, 11am–midnight Friday, 10am–midnight Saturday and 10am–11pm Sunday.
Cocktail Connoisseur hosted at the Loft is set to mix things up (no pun intended) with the final shakedown taking place on 1 November. The competition, aimed at bringing together expert mixologists and bona fide cocktail aficionados, is at grand final stage after grueling prelims around the country. The great thing about this comp? They've enlisted your help to judge signature creations from some of Australia's finest up and coming. Apparently, it's all about sharing the love at Cocktail Connoisseur. And hey, we're not complaining. Suntory Australia is inviting members of the public to rate bespoke cocktail creations whilst enjoying freebie cocktails and canapés. What's not to love? To get to this point, 550 entrants across Australia participated in initial rounds, which involved a series of blind tasting by judges according to aesthetic, taste and aroma of each entrant's signature cocktail. The result? A total of five entrants from each state, which were then whittled down to five overall champs. It is these five champs we're going to see in action on 1 November, and if you're anything like us you'll be doing the ring around to ensure it's a cracker of a night. RSVP to rsvp@theloftsydeny.com essential before 30 October for free entry. Places are limited.
Trent & Henry is a new design workshop and gallery in the heart of Sydney's oldest and most sandstoney district, and this week they're inviting people to come check them out for their official opening. Trent & Henry began as part of The Rocks Pop Up Project. By virtue of being regarded by most Sydney-siders as a bit of a tourist trap, the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority and Arts NSW attempted to mix it up and draw the locals back by launching the project earlier this year. The Rocks Pop Up project allowed emerging designers and creative groups to have short-term access to vacant sandstone buildings in The Rocks as pop-up shops, galleries and workspaces. Now, though, Trent & Henry have been given a longer lease and a free hand to create a unique platform from which to draw people into their creative process. Housed in an old sandstone warehouse at 47 George Street, the space has been transformed into a design workspace much like those in Berlin, where the culture of open studios encourages the public to go in, have a look around and check out the artisans at work. In addition, the studio will also be used as event space. If you feel like checking it out RSVP to info@trentjansen.com
Campos Coffee: it's a brand we've all come to love and know. And this is where the story started. This hole-in-the-wall spot just off buzzing King Street is easily recognisable — the building swathed in the brand's trademark green. Coffee is undeniably the main affair here, with a simple lineup of pastries on offer to accompany your brew. Swing by to sample from its extensive range of blends and single origin roasts.
On the former site of Spawn Point on Clarence Street, you will find the latest project from the Old Mates Place crew: Ginny's Canoe Club. The pop-up venue has proven to be a hit with locals heading there for post-work drinks in the cool basement bar. The menu is built around small plates, cocktails and wine. Chef Joey Astorgo (ex-Cho Cho San and Smalls Deli) has helped pull together the selection of delicious numbers, snacks and late-night eats. If you do arrive taco-ready, there are various flavours on offer — jerk mushroom and a fancy take on fish fingers. Accompanying the tacos are Sydney rock oysters with pineapple hot sauce, spanner crab sandwiches, pumpkin tostadas, potato and kimchi quesadillas, Albacore tuna with avocado and nori, and the house special Ginny's mini Cubano sandwich. There's also an after-hours menu that's only available from 10pm — helping to combat Sydney's severe lack of late-night restaurants. Here you'll find highlights from the pre-10pm menu like the mini Cubano, tostadas and quesadillas alongside chips with dip and olives. Ginny's accepts walk-ins but "strongly" recommends making a booking on their website.
After first closing its border with Victoria at the beginning of July, then warning residents against travel to and from regional towns in the area, New South Wales is implementing a strict new border zone between the two states. Announced on Sunday, July 19 and coming into effect from midnight on Tuesday, July 21, the border zone will start at the Murray River — placing tighter restrictions on residents of NSW border towns, as well as on Victorians looking to head north. As part of a new permit system — which will replace all currently issued permits, as well as any issued between now and the commencement of the border zone, with those needing permits required to reapply — folks living in NSW border towns will only be able to travel to the Victorian side of the border zone for a limited number of reasons. And, if they venture past the zone into the rest of Victoria, they'll be required to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return. Also, any other NSW resident who crosses the Murray River, otherwise enters Victoria or has been in the state in the past fortnight will be required to self-isolate for 14 days on their return to NSW. Residents of NSW border towns looking cross into the Victorian section of the zone will only be able to do so for three designated reasons: going to work or attending an education institution (if you can't do so from home), and to obtain medical care, supplies or health services. The same "extremely limited purposes" will apply to Victorian border town inhabitants looking to enter the NSW section of the zone. Victorians who receive a permit to enter NSW will also need to carry a copy of their permit with them, and produce it when directed — and abide by a number of other conditions. Those entering the state for child access or care arrangements, or freight workers, will need to have their own COVID Safety Plan; critical service workers will have to self-isolate when not providing their critical services; and Victorians will only be able to head to NSW for medical or hospital services if those services are not available in Victoria or can't be accessed remotely. [caption id="attachment_775275" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] A town near the NSW-Victorian border by Denisbin via Flickr.[/caption] Announcing the changes, the NSW government reiterated its standard current advice for the state's residents regarding visiting Victoria: "all NSW residents are strongly urged not to travel to Victoria". The tightened border restrictions were revealed on the same day that the NSW government urged the state's inhabitants to avoid non-essential travel in general, as well as non-essential gatherings. Until the start of July, New South Wales hadn't closed its borders to domestic travellers during the COVID-19 pandemic — and, when it did shut its border with Victoria, it was the first time in 100 years (since 1919 during the Spanish Flu), that the border between the two states has closed. For more information about the new border restrictions and the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Government website. Top image: Mulwala Bridge by Yun Huang Yong via Flickr.
Nestled into the sleepy suburb of south Sydney's Grays Point, Jack Gray is a cafe by day and a wine bar by night. Open for coffee seven days a week and drinks on Fridays and Sundays, the venue is an exciting opening for The Shire, with top-notch eats, an exciting wine list and live music all in one place. Jack Gray is the passion project of owner Ben Coombes who wanted to turn his neighbourhood cafe into a community hub for Grays Point. "Our focus is to bring people together, whether it be with coffee or wine," says Coombes. Located on the edge of the Royal National Park, the cafe is an ideal stop for breakfast for anyone heading towards local parks, hikes or the nearby Pork Hacking River, as well as a reliable pitstop for locals on the hunt for their morning coffee. The all-day menu features breakfast classics done well. There are scrambled eggs with caramelised leek, vintage cheddar and sourdough; bacon and egg rolls made with Ironbark bacon and house-made apple and tomato relish; or banana crepes with vanilla bean ricotta, maple toasted almonds and dulce de leche. There's also a selection of loaded deli rolls that won't set you back CBD prices. Pick up a takeaway ricotta, caramelised onion, manchego cheese and mushroom breaky roll or a smoked salmon bagel. Come wine bar afternoons every Friday and Sunday, the baristas transform into bartenders and the focus becomes cocktails. There's, of course, a wine list that balances crowd-pleasers and interesting varieties including regional NSW pét-nats and "funky" South Australian reds. Accompanying the drinks are share plates of bar snacks like hummus or a peach and burrata salad, and soft-shell tacos. Crafted on locally made corn torillas, the tacos feature toppings like barbecue chorizo with tomatillo chimi churi, and irresistible vegetarian option that combines roast pumpkin, spiced cauliflower, avocado, salsa and pickles. Appears in: The Best Cafes in Sydney
First, Melbourne Museum became the top spot right now, in this very galaxy, to see Star Wars come to life via Lego. Thanks to the world-premiering Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition, it's the only place to see life-sized recreations of the space saga's locations, characters, duels and moments as made out of eight-million-plus plastic bricks, in fact. Next, the same venue in the Victorian capital is welcoming another Australian debut: the nation's first-ever Star Wars cafe. Blue milk is definitely on offer, because it wouldn't be a Star Wars-themed spot for a snack and a sip without it. That's the only menu item that's been revealed so far. The full range will feature other dishes and selections inspired by the franchise, however — but it hasn't yet been confirmed if green milk, fruit platters, fish eggs or purple juice will be among them. While Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition opened on the appropriate date — May the fourth, of course — the Star Wars Galactic Cafe is launching on Saturday, June 7, 2025. The pop-up also promises an immersive eating and drinking experience beyond what you're consuming, taking you to a Corellian Star Cruiser to get feasting, as part of an Australian-first collaboration between Museums Victoria, Disney and Lucasfilm. "The Star Wars Galactic Cafe showcases Museums Victoria's expertise in creating rich, sensory experiences — taking visitors on a deliciously immersive, intergalactic journey. Combining world-class hospitality with the timeless appeal of the Star Wars galaxy, the Star Wars Galactic Cafe offers Melbourne Museum's visitors yet another way to engage with this premier exhibition, in a cosmically cool atmosphere," said Museums Victoria Chief Executive Officer and Director Lynley Crosswell. As for the Aussie-exclusive exhibition, aka the largest collection of life-sized Lego Star Wars models ever assembled and the biggest touring Lego showcase ever, the force is strong with this one — the Lego-building force, that is. The Millennium Falcon, Emperor Palpatine's throne flanked by two Royal Guards, a stormtrooper helmet, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader facing off, and the Mandalorian and Moff Gideon: they're all featured. Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition hails from Ryan McNaught aka Brickman, who has indeed been spending time turning plastic rectangles, squares and other shapes into a recreation of the smash-hit franchise that's been soaring across screens big and small — and beyond — for almost five decades now. To build, the showcase took more than 25,000 hours at McNaught's headquarters in Tullamarine. The Star Wars Galactic Cafe opens on Saturday, June 7, 2025 at Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton. Head to the museum's website for bookings and more details. Lego Star Wars: The Exhibition runs from Sunday, May 4, 2025–Monday, January 26, 2026 at Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton. Head to the exhibition's website for tickets and more details. Exhibition images: Eugene Hyland, Museums Victoria / The Brickman.
Summer's gig guide was a huge one, with one long-awaited show set to round out the season. That was supposed to be Belgian techno superstar Charlotte de Witte, who was meant to bring her high-octane bangers to Sydney's Hordern Pavilion this March. However, with travel disruption out of Europe preventing the superstar DJ from making the trip, this headline show was cancelled at the last moment, along with her top-billed appearance at Pitch Music & Arts Festival. On the bright side, Untitled Group has just revealed the rescheduled dates for one of the most sought-after names in electronic music today. Now appearing at Hordern Pavilion on Friday, December 12, 2026, Charlotte de Witte's enormous Australian fanbase will get the chance to welcome her back to our shores. Touring in support of the release of her debut album, expect this huge venue to be filled with the same thunderous, high-energy performance that captured massive attention at local and international festivals, from Beyond The Valley to Tomorrowland. And for those hanging out for news about a rescheduled Melbourne show, stay tuned as the Untitled crew is working behind the scenes to hammer out the details, with an announcement coming soon. Head to the website for new ticketing information.
That's it. December. It's summer now and there's no excuses for staying curled up inside, rain or no rain. Aside from that, Sydney's foodies and mixologists have been working hard: experimenting with ingredients, concocting new combinations and opening up a whole swathe of new places for you to visit. So get scampering around this town! Concrete Playground has your checklist ready to go. Here it is, Sydney's top new bars and restaurants for the summer season. Neild Avenue Where: 10 Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay Ahhh, Sydney, you can officially exhale. For all those who are desperately seeking an unpretentious dining/drinking experience that doesn’t involve having to choose between a wine bar the size of a studio apartment (in New York) with a shave of glorified ham and a lick of pâté masquerading as a meal, or a pub with sticky carpet and $10 steak: your search has ended. The duo that could turn battery acid into Beaujolais, Maurice Terzini and chef Robert Marchetti, recently unveiled their brand new slice of the Mediterranean-meets-Brooklyn, Neild Avenue. For full review and details, click here. Freda's Where: 107-109 Regent Street, Chippendale Finding Freda’s is like stepping through the back of a magic wardrobe. Walk down an unassuming, dingy alley behind Central, past the sashaying salsa dancers and through a black door with a small, hand-drawn placard and suddenly you’re in a softly lit room, easy music playing and a kindly man at your side ready to whisk you to a table. Once settled in, peruse the cocktail list, which is a pleasing mix of classics and reinventions. Of the former they do a perfectly balanced Midnight Negroni ($16) and I can imagine the Fresh Fruit Cocktail will be a sell-out this summer. The wine list has a good selection of up-and-comers, with a super smooth Pinot called Giant Steps from the Yarra and a full-bodied tempranillo/grenache called La Vendima ($10). I’m a big fan of the beer choices, which includes one of my favourites, Murrays, as well as two amber ales that are caramel flavoured and quite hoppy – choose the Sierra Nevada ($9.5) to have with food or Atomic ($9.5) for sipping solo. For full review and details, click here. Jester Seeds Where: 127 King St, Newtown 2024 Jester Seeds has only recently opened, and marks the last drinking establishment on King Street before you hit the no-man’s land of City Road and the University of Sydney campus. So a lot of people haven’t stumbled across Jester Seeds yet. It’s not especially noticeable from the street – just a collection of curious couches framing a doorway and the shadow of a bar behind. In fact, a man had to yell at me from the pavement to get my attention, but I’m very grateful that he did. The bar is a haven of recycled furniture, dark wood and shabby student chic. A room at the back is filled with sofas and intimate tables, and the couches at the front could easily keep you sitting there for hours. Essentially, it looks like they’ve transported the contents of a ramshackle vintage shop from the lower end of King Street then artfully rearranged it, and prettied it up with some lampshades and mood lighting. The staff are lovely, with many recommendations and plenty of chat, and were infinitely tolerant of my inability to make a decision. For full review and details, click here. Honeycomb Where: 354 Liverpool Street Darlinghurst 2010 Perched on a corner in Darlinghurst, Honeycomb has wide windows running down the length of one side so that from almost any seat you can see the street. It makes it feel as if you could lift the roof off and you’d have a little Italian piazza. However, it isn’t the best place for a date (eating at the 6.30pm, family-time sitting probably doesn’t help either) as the small tables are very close - it’s a little hard to be romantic while speaking to your dining partner as if they were hard of hearing. Saying that, when the sun sets and the lights dim, it definitely becomes more atmospheric. If you follow food news, you’ll know this is Andy Bunn’s (former chef at Café Sopra) project, and if you’re a regular at one of the Fratelli restaurants, don’t expect any surprises. This is far from being a criticism though: the Fratelli restaurants do some of the best relaxed, Italian food this side of Leichhardt. For full review and details, click here. Hemingway's Where: 48 North Steyne, Manly 2095 The atmosphere of a writer's den, insanely long opening hours, fun and flavorsome food, a drinks menu that will keep even the most inspired drinker guessing, and not even the slightest degree of pretension. In short, Hemingway's must be one of the best spots in town right now. And it's perhaps not where you would expect it to be. A far cry from the back lanes of Darlinghurst or even the fame of King Street, this bar is firmly situated on Manly's main strip, right across from the beach. Despite this, it's about as dissimilar from a tourist trap as you can imagine. For full review and details, click here. Dry Land Bar Where: 92 Redfern Street, Redfern 2016 The thing about Redfern is, although it has a reputation as being the ‘next big suburb’, there’s also not a lot there yet. Enter Dry Land Bar, the first small bar to open in Redfern. It possesses the kind of local, relaxed atmosphere that would make you seriously consider moving (unless of course you already live close by, in which case accept my jealous commendations). The lovely thing about Dry Land Bar is that they really know what they’re doing, bringing together folk who’ve done stints in Love, Tilly Devine and Grasshopper. On top of this, they serve the kind of drinks that cause me to do a kind of happy-wiggle dance in my chair and the best food I’ve had at any small bar in Sydney. It’s technically bar food, but I’d be quite happy to come here for dinner once a week: try the Mushroom, Jerusalem Artichoke and Fennel Tart or the Gruyere Cheeseburger. And if you’re in any way fond of after-dinner treats, the Chocolate Mousse with Poached Pear is enough to cause a very indelicate scramble for spoons. For full review and details, click here. Cantinero Where: 18 Sydney Road, Manly 2095 Something about Cantinero feels a little bit... illegal. It could be the fact that this is a coffee house by day, occupied by this underground crowd only in the late hours. Or it might be the makeshift film projector, which shows Mexican gangsters flickering across the back wall. Either way, we like it. The bunker atmosphere and a relaxed courtyard combine into something that feels like an Alice in Wonderland-style rabbit hole in the Manly landscape. That said, there's no chance of wandering in by accident. While Cantinero lies on the main strip, you need to know what you're looking for to find this dimly lit restaurant slash bar. And once you do, there's no going back. For full review and details, click here. Nourishing Quarter Where: 315 Cleveland Street, Redfern 2016 It all started with a group of friends, a handful of nutrition books and a collective desire to heal through food. Now Nourishing Quarter - barely in its second year - has attracted a serious cult following. NQ is a vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurant dedicated to the wheat, gluten and dairy intolerant among us. But it’s also much more than that. The affable owner Lam Dinh (banker turned restaurateur, following his own health scare) describes his team’s work as contributing to the growing awareness about the importance of diet for general health and well-being. ‘We’re not about preaching’ he explains, ‘we’re about producing consistently high-quality, healthy and tasty food that’s accessible to all.’ For full review and details, click here. The Island Bar Where: Cockatoo Island, Port Jackson 2090 Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go… When the Beach Boys penned those lyrics, they probably weren’t thinking of an industrial island smack-bang in the middle of an antipodean metropolis. Cockatoo Island may not have sandy beaches and swaying palm trees, but its newest resident, The Island Bar, is adding a touch of beach to Sydney Harbour. This brand new bar by renowned Sydney mixologist Marco Faraone surprises with its striped deckchairs and sunbrellas alongside the site’s antique shipbuilding machinery, a reminder of the island’s heritage past – over the years, it was an imperial prison, a shipbuilding yard, reformatory, Commonwealth naval base and industrial school. The design of the bar – it’s constructed from recycled shipping containers – picks up on this theme. For full review and details, click here. Former Glory Where: Corner of Liverpool and Palmer Streets, Darlinghurst 2010 Prostitutes and razor gangs seem to be all the rage in Darlinghurst right now. References to Tilly Devine abound. But Former Glory has a little something the other bars don't: a real dark and dirty history. Situated right across the road from what was once Devine's main brothel, this pub, formerly known as the Tradesman's Arms Hotel, was dubbed the Bloodhouse in honour of its violent scenes. Sounds like the kind of place I'd like to visit. You're likely to find that you're already familiar with the location of this pop-up bar. The East Village Hotel is, after all, a familiar marker on the Darlo drinking landscape. Duck inside and take the stairs, winding up two levels past the fading conviction notices on the walls. You'll emerge into a resuscitated space, filled with round wooden tables and white tablecloths, leather chesterfield armchairs and a tastefully subtle assortment of vintage paraphernalia. For full review and details, click here. Caffe Sicilia Where: 628 Crown Street, Surry Hills 2010 While Crown Street certainly has its attractions, it's a pleasure to duck into this slice of 1940s Sicily, take a deep breath and sip a coffee as you watch the crowds pass you by. The theme is clearly stated in the marble, tiles, polished wood and mirrors of the interior, as well as in the numerous references to Italian film icons. Relaxed Italian glamour is the order of the day. The menus are expansive, with breakfast, lunch and dinner - as well as drinks, desserts and takeaway - on offer. Opening hours are surprisingly long, stretching from 7 in the morning until midnight most days. We popped in for a lazy Sunday lunch, which is a great time to make the most of the outdoors seating. For full review and details, click here.
Gaming has been an integral part of SXSW history, making its first appearance at the festival all the way back in 2006. SXSW Sydney promises to be no different, with an enormous amount of gaming-focused events joining the lineup of musical performances, film screenings and fascinating panels. While it may not be dangerous to go alone, we'd still recommend you take this — our recommendations on the best gaming things to see and do during the festival. GAMES FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT PARTY This one is a no-brainer. There's going to be musical performances, a plethora of games to go hands-on with, and the best and brightest of the local industry rubbing shoulders and enjoying a drink or two. Come down and help set the tone for the rest of the festival. Catch the Games Festival Opening Night Party from 7–11pm on Tuesday, October 17, at The Tavern, Fortress Sydney. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7u6dnpEIvk[/embed] STRAY GODS IN CONCERT If you're not familiar with Stray Gods, you've still got time to play this musical RPG from Melbourne's Summerfall Studio. Then you'll be primed to hit this live performance of songs from the game, featuring voice-acting icons Troy Baker and Anjali Bhimani and singer-songwriter Montaigne. Prepare for goosebumps. Catch Stray Gods In Concert from 8–9pm on Tuesday, October 17 at the Alienware Arena, Fortress Sydney. MOCK AUDITIONS: VOICE ACTING FOR VIDEO GAMES A great voice performance can elevate a video game to incredible heights. At this event you'll get tips and tricks from voice actor Aimee Smith, then have the chance to put them into practice with audience members being called up to the mic for a mock script read. There's even prizes for the best performers, so warm up your pipes. Catch Mock Auditions: Voice Acting For Video Games from 1.30–2.30pm on Wednesday, October 18 at the Alienware Arena, Fortress Sydney. CRAB GAME SHOWCASE What more can we say? Crabs are having a moment in gaming in 2023, and this event gathers together some of the best digital crustaceans for you to interact with. Honestly, this may be the most important event of the entire SXSW festival, so make sure that you hastily scuttle on over. Catch the Crab Game Showcase from 5–11pm on Wednesday, October 18 at The Tavern, Fortress Sydney. GAMES FESTIVAL AWARDS NIGHT PRESENTED BY SUNTORY -196 The glitz, the glamour, the games – there's nothing like an awards night. Hosted by musical comedy genius Tom Cardy, this event is a chance to celebrate the crème de la crème of the games showcased during the festival. And, the fun doesn't stop once all the gongs have been got, with late-night karaoke following directly after. Catch the Games Festival Awards Night Presented By Suntory -196 from 7–11pm on Friday, October 20 at the Alienware Arena, Fortress Sydney. DAILY GAME SHOWCASES Each day of the festival there'll be a plethora of games from local and international developers to check out. Not only does it give you the chance to add a ton of variety to your gaming diet, but you can also chat with the people behind each title and gain an insight into what it takes to bring a game to life. With 150 titles to see you're sure to find something to love, but if you're after a steer, be sure to check out our list of most-anticipated demos. Catch the Daily Game Showcases running throughout the festival at the Eddy Multi Space and Grand Concourse, Mercury Central. Check out the full list of games here. SXSW Sydney runs from Sunday, October 15–Sunday, October 22, and SXSW Sydney Screen Festival from Sunday, October 15–Saturday, October 21. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details.
Arriving in the Blue Mountains village of Leura, the town's soundtrack normally consists of lorikeets and perhaps the distant trickle of cool-climate cascades. But with the opening of Little Sista, this historic commune and its picture-perfect shopping strip has scored a different kind of groove. Opened by Andrew and Dora Tsaroumis, this focaccia-first cafe is bringing plenty of flavour to the scene, with the family's Greek heritage informing its considered menu. Yet it goes deeper, too, drawing on the Hellenic philosophy of filoxenia — meaning "friend to strangers" — where every guest is embraced as part of the family. Besides this welcoming ideal, what gives Little Sista its edge is its love of vinyl tunes. Just a 90-minute drive from Sydney, daily-made focaccia takes centre stage, while the cafe setup you'd normally expect feels a little more like a 60s lounge room. Linger with your sanga, bopping your head to the rhythm of the day. Don't assume the vinyl setup plays second fiddle. Built into custom cabinetry, a curated record collection is proudly displayed, while a Rega Planar 6 record player, Wharfedale Linton speakers and a Marantz Model 40n amplifier deliver the warm and uncompromising sounds of wax. As for the food menu, the Med-leaning options satisfy from the first bite. Take the crowd favourite — the 'Everything She Wants' — featuring prosciutto, mortadella, sopressa and more, served with mozzarella, pesto and sundried tomatoes. Meanwhile, Little Sista builds on everyday cafe staples, serving up iced lattes and matcha alongside fresh juices, traditional tiramisu and playful stone-fruit cheesecake served in cans, ready for a windy cruise through the Blue Mountains. "Everything centres around the focaccia, made fresh and served the way we love to eat it — simple, generous and made to be shared," says Andrew Tsaroumis, a Leura hospitality veteran for over 20 years. "It's fresh, it's fun and it still feels like home." Little Sista is open daily from 8am–4pm at 4/130-138 Megalong St, Leura. Head to the website for more information. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.
