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Sydney's best clean-eating food and drink experiences 2016

This summer, celebrate food that's good in every sense of the word at these top healthy eateries.

Callan Boys
Callan Boys

Beetroot, rhubarb and buckwheat at the Bentley.
Beetroot, rhubarb and buckwheat at the Bentley. Edwina Pickles

This year, let's ditch the words "post-Christmas diet" in favour of wholesome eating and not leave ourselves open to shattered New Year's resolutions. We're spoilt for choice when it comes to all things vegetarian, vegan, cold-pressed and paleo, but the following establishments don't compromise flavour for nutrition – and neither should you. Here are the top 10 clean living food and drink experiences to have in Sydney this summer.

A marinara in Camperdown Memorial

Raw tuna with avocado, brown rice and sesame at Bills Bondi Beach.
Raw tuna with avocado, brown rice and sesame at Bills Bondi Beach.Jennifer Soo
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Plant-based pizza can be a hard thing to comprehend. No pepperoni is one thing, but no cheese? Gadzooks. That's the route Newtown's Gigi Pizzeria took in September, however, and Sydney's vegan community has been lining up en masse for marinaras ever since. Pick up one of the Neapolitan-style pizzas with san marzano​ tomato, garlic and fresh oregano, head down to Camperdown Memorial Rest Park and eat alfresco with the happiest dogs of the inner west.

379 King Street, Newtown, 02 9557 2224, gigipizzeria.com.au

Morning yoga and a spritz on the Old Clare rooftop

The rooftop pool of the Old Clare Hotel is one of summer's must-visit destinations and there's plenty of reasons for clean-living fans be excited about it. Not only is there a swell selection of fresh juices and booze-free spritzers, but locals and hotel guests can partake in rooftop yoga, cardio boxing, circuit classes and personal training. Happy Monday!

1 Kensington Street, Chippendale, 02 8277 8277, theoldclarehotel.com.au

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Sunset deliciousness at Bennelong

Skip chef Peter Gilmore's five cheese truffle toastie at Bennelong's Cured and Cultured Bar if you're working on your beach bod and enjoy something raw from the sea instead. Kingfish with artichokes, capers and ice plant, for example, or Mooloolaba yellowfin tuna with mushroom soy, sesame oil and pickled white radish. When the afternoon sun lights up that Opera House dining room and Australia's best produce is on the plate in front of you, where else would you rather be?

Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, 02 9240 8000, bennelong.com.au

A green juice from bills, Bondi, and a dip at Bronte beach

Bill Granger has been Sydney's poster boy for light and breezy since forever and it doesn't get lighter and breezier than the Bondi outpost of his cafe mini-empire. Inject yourself with a nutritious and delicious juice of spinach, cucumber, green apple, ginger, celery, chia and coconut water. Follow up with a coastal walk and a swim at Bronte to right all those lifestyle wrongs of the season.

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79 Hall Street, Bondi, 02 8412 0700, bills.com.au

Vegetarian tasting menu at Bentley Restaurant and Bar

Chef Brent Savage creates vegetarian tasting menus that go blow for blow with his omnivorous offerings any day of the week. Bentley's cool, brooding room is ideal for escaping the holiday heat and hoeing into heirloom zucchini with peas, roast pepitas and green rice, say, or carrots with purple daikon and riberry.

Corner of Pitt and Hunter streets, Sydney, 02 8214 0505, thebentley.com.au

Superfood salad at Jamie's Trattoria

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Jamie Oliver's Parramatta trattoria (Parra-tratta?) springs to life in summer when Centenary Square is at its greenest and most ideal for a lazy long lunch. There are a lot of carbs on the menu, sure, but there's also a filling superfood salad of grilled avocado, candied beets, pulses, grains, sprouting broccoli, pomegranate, smashed nuts, seeds and harissa. Pick up a copy of the Oliver's new Everyday Super Food cookbook on the way out and continue the clean living at home.

Centenary Square, Church Street, Parramatta, 02 8624 6800, jamieoliver.com

The Manly ferry for soba at Sunset Sabi

Skipping over the harbour on the bow of a ferry is one of Sydney's great joys, made even better when there's good food at the end. Sunset Sabi is Manly's hot new izakaya-style eatery and will sort you out for raw fish presented with minimal intervention. Our pick of the healthy eats is tea-smoked trout with buckwheat soba noodles, edamame, pickled cucumber, mint, sesame and tamari. (And if you live in Manly and are keen for a ferry fling, all you have to do is replace Sabi with Bennelong above).

26-28 Pittwater Road, Manly, 02 9977 7461, sunsetsabi.com

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Oysters and live music at Shucked

Oysters are loaded with nutrients, high in protein and low in kilojoules. They are also their healthiest and most delicious when eaten natural so bypass the bivalves crowned with toppings at Cronulla's new Shucked Oyster Bar and order a dozen of the little guys in their naked state. Eat in with sides of lemon and local acoustic music at the weekend.

45 Gerrale Street, Cronulla, 0416 588 450

Good mates and a pub meal at the Paddington

Pretty much everyone you know will already be at the Paddington or planning to be there over summer and you should definitely join them. The bright, white Oxford Street pub is another win for Merivale and among all the chicken and beef on the French rotisseries, executive chef Ben Greeno​ is also slow-turning king trout and serving it with mushrooms, asparagus and spinach. There's no shortage of guilt-free salads, either. Healthy pub food that tastes terrific? We have arrived.

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380 Oxford Street, Paddington, 02 9240 3000, merivale.com/thepaddington

Fuss-free picnic at the Royal National Park

Pack the car with beach towels and an esky. Head over to Bread and Circus Wholefoods Canteen. Order a few of the organic and biodynamic sandwich boxes, and a cold-pressed juice or two. Throw the sandwich boxes in the esky, drive down to Wattamolla cove at the Royal National Park and enjoy one of the easiest picnics you ever did have.

21 Fountain Street, Alexandria, 0418 214 425, breadandcircus.com.au

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Callan BoysCallan Boys is editor of SMH Good Food Guide, restaurant critic for Good Weekend and Good Food writer.

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