Four impossible-to-ignore trends in Sydney's 2022 food scene

• Sydney's 2022 half-year dining report card
• Sydney's most exciting restaurant openings of the year so far

Snails

Gastropods are on a (slow) march to world domination, crawling onto menus by dead of night. See the Burgundian snails in red wine sauce at Manon in the QVB, and Loulou's weekend-only escargot a la Bourguignonne, the usually sweet pastry layered with roasted snails, smoked speck, parsley and garlic. This silvery snail trail leads back to the brilliant snail-shaped lumache pasta with buttery, garlicky snail sauce at Potts Point's Bistro 916.

Buns, rolls and pies

Bakeries are on the rise, as chefs go back to basics to feed people with their daily bread. A.P. House is doing cult egg rolls stuffed with Japanese tamago on the rooftop of Surry Hills' Paramount House Hotel and has just opened A.P. Town, a tiny bakery in Newtown. Lode Pies is perfecting pithiviers in a tiny boutique bakery in Crown Street, and Humble Bakery has expanded like live yeast, now selling its pink-iced finger buns in Circular Quay.

Ramen redux

Ramen bars are on the take-over trail, with the all-new Bones Ramen in Rushcutters Bay, Umami Dojo Ramen Bar in Pyrmont, and Chase Kojima's upscale "world first" omakase, Senpai Ramen in Chatswood. Even Darlinghurst's tiny Chaco Ramen has opened in Bondi. Mashi no Mashi in Pyrmont failed to impress, but wait five minutes and another ramen bar will come along.

Caviar services

Interest rates and energy bills are on the up – and so are $300 caviar services. No, it doesn't make sense to us either, but it does show how restaurateurs are going to extremes (high and low) in order to give everyone the experience they want. Go to work on an egg at Parlar in Potts Point, Aalia and Botswana Butchery in Martin Place, and Whalebridge in Circular Quay.