Great outdoors: Six of Sydney's best al fresco and open-air dining precincts
Out and about in Sydney lately? You might have noticed a few subtle changes to the local dining landscape. All over the city, a quiet revolution has been going on. Oversized umbrellas and Parisian bistro chairs have been popping up all over town, and diners and drinkers spilling onto footpaths and streets.
While Sydneysiders have always enjoyed a sunny perch in summer, the al fresco trend only seriously took off over the course of the pandemic. It's been spurred on by a string of council and government revitalisation projects designed to entice customers to open-air public spaces and re-energise the city's streets. Now that the rainy weather is subsiding, customers are taking full advantage, too.
From street dining in the city centre to pocket parks across the suburbs, many of these areas now seem set to stay. And hundreds of individual venues across the CBD and inner suburbs have gone al fresco, likely for good.
In the City of Sydney, more than 500 businesses have now installed outdoor dining, while in the inner west more than 280 businesses have footpath dining permits and another 11 roadway dining permits.
In November, Lord Mayor Clover Moore announced the City of Sydney would waive outdoor dining fees until at least mid-2025 at a cost of $4 million, effectively making footpath dining free for the foreseeable future.
"Waiving outdoor dining fees was one of the first things we did when the pandemic hit Sydney," Moore says.
"People have really embraced it, with participating businesses telling us they've taken on extra staff and seen increased patronage – a crucial aid to staying afloat in these difficult times."
In December, Cities Minister Rob Stokes named "the supremacy of street food" as the No. 1 trend to watch as CBDs "bound forward" in 2023.
"Relaxing outdoor alcohol and food laws in the wake of COVID has allowed a flourishing street food industry to emerge," he wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald. "Deregulating eating and drinking in public spaces will transform the way we celebrate our cities."
Developers have joined in on the action, too, with some of the city's biggest commercial projects now incorporating open-air venues, terraces and rooftops.
The waterfront Campbell's Stores development in The Rocks, spacious and sparkling Parramatta Square and Applejack hospitality group's 300-seater Rafi in North Sydney all include all-weather indoor-outdoor spaces.
Even the Opera House is jumping on the trend, with a retro fish and chippery pop-up running over January on the northern broadwalk.
In South Eveleigh, massive new $3.2 million brewpub BrewDog can fit more than 900 people across its sprawling indoor bar and outdoor beer garden.
"To make the most of the outdoors, you need a spot that's either very leafy ... or has a view of the water – and Sydney has plenty of those," says BrewDog's venue manager Ryan Adams.
"Outdoor dining spaces are trending because they feel more relaxed, but there's also a natural buzz to gathering outdoors."
Where to eat outdoors this summer
The Rocks
Once an international tourist trap, this historic precinct is now a bona fide dining destination thanks to new street dining and a flush of recent openings. Colourful outdoor seating has transformed the northern end of George Street, giving a new lease of life to Sydney's oldest pub The Fortune of War. But it's the tables at the covered dining terraces along Campbell's Stores that are in hot demand, with the strip looking directly onto the Opera House and Sydney Cove. Chef Peter Conistis' south Aegean restaurant Ploos arrived at the redeveloped dining strip 12 months ago, joining 6HEAD steakhouse, Harbourfront Seafood Restaurant and nearby brewhouse The Squire's Landing. Contemporary Asian venue Luna Lu and cocktail bar Bar Lulu landed not long after. A street behind, Hickson House Distilling Co. is serving up kerbside G&Ts under fairy lights at its leafy front beer garden.
Sydney CBD and surrounds
A little further south from The Rocks, the rest of Sydney's CBD and surrounds are also bustling with business. Across the City of Sydney, more than 4460 square metres in footpath space has been approved for outdoor dining (such as at new hotspots Nomidokoro Indigo, Mama's Boy and Bar Copains) but some of the most exciting ventures aren't necessarily found on the wayside. A rash of new rooftops have opened across town, and hot new venues such as Chippendale's revamped Abercrombie, A.P. House, Arturo's Rooftop at the refurbished Woolly Bay Hotel, and Shell House near Wynyard Station feature open-air balconies and flexible all-weather features such as large sliding doors and windows. Chef Clayton Wells' MOD. Dining at the new Sydney Modern wing of the Art Gallery of NSW seats 80 diners outside and, on a sunny day, the retracting ceiling transforms Mitch Orr's Kiln restaurant and bar at the top of the new Ace Hotel in Surry Hills into an open-air venue. South Eveleigh's BrewDog is a relaxed family-friendly spot, welcoming all and sundry to its expansive grounds (even dogs). Or for city-centre oases, seek out Ibrahim Moubadder and Jorge Farah's ambitious Middle Eastern venue Aalia at Martin Place, or pre-pandemic arrival Babylon Rooftop, whose wide balcony bar overlooks Pitt Street Mall.
Barangaroo and Darling Square
Darling Harbour's iconic Harbourside shopping centre may be going the way of the monorail, but across the pond its sparkling younger sibling Barangaroo attracts hordes of ferry-goers and families. Matt Moran's three-level Barangaroo House, one-hatted fine-diner Cirrus and Hamish Ingham and Rebecca Lines' fun Mexican-inspired eatery Tequila Daisy are among the plentiful choices of partially open-air options, or enjoy sweeping views over Pyrmont Bay from the broad, shady terrace at Ross and Sunny Lusted's Woodcut at the Crown Sydney tower. If you're after a quick refuel, pick up a pocket bread to-go from Efendy group's newly arrived upmarket Barangaroo kebab bar Tombik. Or take the 10-minute stroll down to Darling Square to try contemporary Vietnamese cooking at Hello Auntie or laneway bites in Steam Mill Lane.
Inner west
It's a similar story across Inner West Council, which mayor Darcy Byrne says is working to become "the al fresco dining destination for Sydney". Outdoor dining permits have been free since 2017, but the trend really ticked up in the past year or so as diners sought out open-air venues. "After three years of being isolated you can feel a real buzz amongst people on our main streets and people are wanting to come back together," Byrne says. Summer Hill's dining strip, Balmain waterfront eatery The Fenwick and The London Hotel on Darling Street are three al fresco picks for summer.
Parramatta
It's all about indoor-outdoor dining at the spacious new Parramatta Square, with Brendan Fong's contemporary and colourful Asian restaurant Lilymu and the brand-new Mamak offering open-air undercover tables and Ruse Bar & Brasserie opening straight onto the plaza. Phillip Lane was recently transformed with lights, music and seating as part of a successful council trial, and in October the smart and stylish 300-seat restaurant Misc. opened with al fresco tables at Parramatta Park.
Bondi
Refurbished oceanside icon Icebergs Dining Room and Bar's new undercover terrace is the party spot du jour in Bondi. The spectacular space looks over the ocean and is the result of years of effort for restaurateur Maurice Terzini to get the development application approved. Other coveted spots include the standing stools outside Greek bar and restaurant Topikos, breezy balcony tables at Lola's Level 1 and the outdoor terrace at Promenade Bondi Beach, the soon-to-open mega venue at the revamped beachfront institution Bondi Pavilion, where Cali-style hot spot Glory Days opened in December. Bondi too busy? Try the outdoor umbrella tables at Coogee Pavilion instead, or the family-friendly open lawn at Coogee Beach Club.
Your local neighbourhood
If you don't want to make the trek to the CBD or inner suburbs, take a look around your local neighbourhood. Chances are the local council has been quietly making over al fresco spots and installing mobile parklets thanks to a stream of state grants and other funding. On the Northern Beaches, for example, more than 150 cafes, restaurants and pubs have applied for NSW Government rebates to upgrade their al fresco facilities. So have hundreds more in Sydney's outer suburbs and up and down the coast. In Burwood, the Deane Street precinct is now a vibrant pedestrian hub with seating, plants and public art, while in Canada Bay tables have been installed outside dining strips on Coranto Street, Wareemba and Currawong Lane, Concord. Over the bridge, North Sydney Council is working on designs for a permanent al fresco zone on Burton Street in Kirribilli and other nearby shared spaces. And if the weather turns? No problem: cosy up at a fire-table on the terrace at the made-over Manly Pavilion. "Even on a grey and blustery day, [it's] a spiffing place to be," Terry Durack writes.
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