Iberian bar snacks, Mexican cocktails and a café with a conscience are among the new hot spots in the ‘hood to check out this summer.
Best new Thai restaurant: Viand
41 Crown Street, Woolloomooloo
Opened in March of this year, this bold Thai restaurant is redefining modern Thai food. Its chef Annita Potter got the gong for the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide’s ‘Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year’ for 2022. Book an eight-course tasting menu and surrender to her southeast Asian magic.
Best bar opening: El Primo Sanchez
27-33 Oxford Street, Paddington
Slated to open in December, El Primo Sanchez will take over the ground floor of Paddington’s Rose Shamrock and Thistle Hotel. This fun new Mexican-inspired bar will be dishing up tacos, beers, cocktails, and mezcal and agave spirits in a laid-back pub setting. It’s right by Oxford House (21 Oxford Street), which is bound to be pumping too this summer, with its boutique hotel, restaurant, and stylish poolside bar that’s open to the public.
Best place to sit, sip and chat: Parlar
Shop 1, 81 Macleay Street, Potts Point
Parlar (pronounced ‘parlour’) means “to talk” in Catalan and this modern upscale fine diner makes a very civilized place for cosy chats over Iberian bar snacks, share plates and the fortified wines the region is known for. It’s an intimate 55-seater so book ahead. Or check out its French sister restaurant next door, Franca Brasserie.
Best pint-sized eatery: Restaurant Ka
13B Burton Street, Darlinghurst
Restaurant Ka’s owner-chef, Zac Ng, has an impressive culinary background, including 10 years at the award-winning Sepia, as well as time spent rattling the pans at Flying Fish and XOPP. His diminutive new Darlo restaurant offers an eight-course contemporary Australian degustation menu that’s big on flavour.
Best bakehouse: Tenacious Bakehouse
101 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
Pastry lovers are already spoiled for choice in Potts Point, but here’s another reason to celebrate; master baker Yeongjin Park has opened Tenacious Bakehouse in a hole-in-the-wall on Oxford Street. Well worth checking out for its delicious creations from strawberry and Portuguese tarts to moreish black garlic pastry crowns.
Best for the soul: Two Good Co
262 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst
Eat and shop with a clear conscience. Social enterprise Two Good Co has opened a café in the Yirranma Place building. Open weekdays only, the Two Good Co café is a sleek space stocked with gifts and goodies that hopes to also be a community hub. The changing café menu will showcase local artisans and seasonal produce from like-minded producers and social enterprises such as The Bread & Butter Project, Kua Coffee and T Totaler.
If you’d like to make one of these eateries your local, talk to our team today.
