Our top five favourite Sydney seafood restaurants

With such close proximity to the beach, sunny seafood lunches show off Sydney's best assets. From mixed platters to fresh sashimi to enviable water views, here are our favourite seafood restaurants in the city.

Mary's Underground

Good Food rating: 15/20

The menu at the dark, dimly lit, split-level Mary's Undergound is extravagant, laden with caviar and lobster and well-sourced produce. In spite of the same kitchen turning out burgers for Mary's upstairs, there's real cooking happening here from exec chef Jimmy Garside and head chef Joel Wootten, not just plonking-on-a-plate. From the Clam Bar, raw scallops from the Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia are simply served in the shell with a high tide of punchy macadamia ajo blanco and tiny dice of Christmas melon. Or go for broke with an EOFY lobster and golden duck fat chips, the warm tail meat tossed with the sweet acidity of a bush tomato butter under a roof of gentle herbs. The bill isn't going to be pleasant, but you have to factor in that there's no cover charge, either – and what price supporting live music in Sydney and being able to eat at the same time?

Try this: Go large with the Seafood Tower ($300) or Lobster Australienne served with duck fat chips ($120).

7 Macquarie Pl, Sydney; marys69.com

Cirrus

Good Food rating: 15.5/20

Like the casino growing alongside, Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt's airy Barangaroo restaurant invites high-roller-style splurges: on caviar, lobster, shucked-to-order oysters, the celebrated seafood platter, and $200-a-kilo mud crabs. Rewards are rich in entrees like charry twice-cooked Fremantle octopus on piquant salsa verde, or grilled prawns drizzled with lush koji butter sauce. Anything from the charcoal grill is a safe bet, while crumbed flathead with chips is a menu fixture. Gentle handling delivers steamed kingfish fillet on vivid minted oil, buttermilk and perky relish, its softness and subtlety a siren call to a side of lightly battered fries with aioli. Bare, well-spaced tables, and savvy denim-aproned staff add to a chilled-out vibe, while wines from the stellar 500-strong list match the menu like fish go with chips.

Try this: The Cirrus Platter ($160) comes with oysters, scallop ceviche, pickled clams, king prawn, kingfish sashimi, crumbed Kinkawooka mussels and poached honey bugs.

23 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney; cirrusdining.com.au

Jonah's

Good Food rating: 15/20

The view to Whale Beach was a natural wonder for Sydney's day-tripping set when the restaurant opened in 1929, and the luxe bolthole continues to be a hotspot for weekend long lunches and no-expense-spared weddings. Chef Matteo Zamboni's heritage is on display in Italian-ish dishes such as gnocchi, rich with confit duck and shiitake, while Mooloolaba king prawns are simply grilled to enhance a natural sweetness balanced by green tomato. Crisp- skinned John Dory fillet is served with only brown butter, lemon and parsley to let the wild-caught fish flavours shine, and blushing pink lamb rump is enhanced by traditional mint jelly in a nod to Australian roadhouse menus of Jonah's past. Request to take dessert on the terrace with the sun above and the beach below – apple tarte Tatin is soft and chewy in all the right places.

Try this: Jonah's Frutti di Mare for two ($260), a three-tier selection of the freshest seafood haul plus seasonal sides and condiments.

69 Bynya Road, Whale Beach; jonahs.com.au

Regatta

Good Food rating: 14/20

For more than 60 years, generations of Easties have flocked to the restaurant on this wharf for seafood. The harbour view is still stunning and the seafood still rigorously fresh, but much has changed. Some may miss the fish and chips from the Doyles era and others the king salmon pastrami from the Pier days. Regardless, Regatta brings professional and friendly service and the sense of being in a grand restaurant, even if many diners arrive in shorts. Logan Campbell brings an Italian accent thanks to his training at Lucio's. His gnocchi are surreally light, with Moreton Bay bugs and zucchini flowers swimming in a perfectly balanced saffron broth. A prawn cocktail is a nod to the past, thankfully not served in a glass. Vitello tonnato sees top-quality poached veal napped in a white tuna-infused mayonnaise – strong, but well-balanced. Blue-eye fillet is served Amalfi Coast-style in tomato-infused acqua pazza. And to finish, passionfruit creme caramel hits the sweet spot.

Try this: Pretend you're on the Riviera, and splash out on the Frutti di Mare set menu ($210) for two to four people, including Sydney Rock oysters, ceviche, salmon remoulade, grilled WA marron, seasonal fish, seared Atlantic scallops, prawns, and assorted condiments and sides.

594 New South Head Road, Rose Bay; regattarosebay.com

Catalina

Good Food rating: 15/20

It's a rare Saturday night that Michael and Judy McMahon's waterside restaurant isn't hosting a wedding. And on those occasions when the restaurant's free, diners still party like the knot's been freshly tied. Everyone dresses for dinner here, and their famously impressive (and expensive) 50-page wine list gets hit hard. The food offering gives prime position to seafood, like a little West Australian marron, served with its claws on like gloves at the opera. It's ably supported but never overshadowed by fresh radish, finger lime, orange and dill. Seared scallops and octopus are a briny counterpoint to the sweet earthiness of romesco, while rare tuna joins a textural spectrum that spans creamy avocado all the way up to the freshness and crunch of compressed watermelon, puffed rice and edamame. Expect highly curated plating and elaborate desserts, such as a personal peach Melba bombe Alaska. It doesn't arrive on fire, but after all that wine it's probably safer that way. Time your booking to catch views to Shark Island, followed by moonlight on the harbour after sunset.

Try this: In the dining room, order the oysters opened to oyster ($6 each) and the poached WA marron ($40). If you're at the bar, the large antipasto seafood platter ($78) is perfect for aperitivo hour.

Lyne Park, Rose Bay; catalinarosebay.com.au