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The Fenwick in Balmain.

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Our summer dining hit list: the best new places to eat and drink in Sydney

It's holiday season, which means long lunches, late-night catchups, and ice-cold drinks under the sun. Here are 40 of the best new restaurants, bars and cafes of 2019 where you can do all of the above.

40 stories
Go-to dish: a reimagined bouillabaisse.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Look out to beachside bliss at the reinvented Bathers' Pavilion

  • Terry Durack
Puttanesca works as well on pizza as it does with pasta.
Good Food hat15/20

Follow the cool-kids to Bondi's hot new trattoria, CicciaBella

  • Terry Durack
Go-to dish: Chicken liver Paris-Brest with onion jam.
Good Food hat15.5/20

Visit the next generation of Cafe Paci in Newtown

  • Terry Durack
Burrata, broad beans, prawn oil.
Good Food hat15/20

Book your pasta date-night at tiny little wine bar Ragazzi

  • Terry Durack
Totti's Neapolitan ice-cream sandwich.
14.5/20

Soak up the sunshine at Totti's in Bondi

  • Terry Durack
The antipasti list sweeps from sardines to scallop crudo, prosciutto to baked tomino and marinated peppers.

... or check out its sister venue, Bar Totti's on George Street

  • Scott Bolles
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Go-to dish: the Chaco six – assorted skewers of chicken crackling, thigh and heart, shiitake, pork belly and lamb shoulder.
Good Food hat15/20

Follow the smoke at new yakitori bar Chaco in Potts Point

  • Terry Durack

Celebrate with Mexican and mezcal at The George in Waterloo

  • Callan Boys
Go-to dish: Prime rib roast, English cut, rare.
Good Food hat15/20

Enter a cave for carnivores at the Gidley in the CBD

  • Terry Durack
Go-to drink: Haymarket cocktail served with a sherbet-coated kaffir lime leaf.

Say cheers at Scout bar in the Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills

  • Callan Boys
Soft, squishy, and saucy: Dan Hong's cheeseburger makes a comeback.
14.5/20

See the return of Lotus in Elizabeth Bay

  • Terry Durack
Spiced pork sausage, kale, cannellini beans, daikon, criolls.
14/20

Try Japanese-Peruvian fusion at Nikkei in Surry Hills

  • Terry Durack
On the menu: Tsukune, egg yolk ($6).

End your beach day at 'non-traditional' izakaya Isabel Bondi

  • Scott Bolles
Good Food. Bar Clementine, in Pyrmont. Steak frites 30th May 2019. Photo: Edwina Pickles.

Step right up for a two-punch lunch at Bar Clementine in Pyrmont

  • Callan Boys
Cherry Moon's counter brims with baked treats.

Cherry Moon General Store is your new inner west brunch spot

  • Jill Dupleix
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Southern calamari with saltbush and sriracha mayo.
14.5/20

Easy, breezy does it at Dunes Palm Beach

  • Terry Durack
Journey to the dark side: Kuro fried chicken, ume, bonito.
14.5/20

Japanese inspiration at Kuro on Kent Street

  • Terry Durack
The Stinger with a side of Goldfish crackers.

Slick drinks and hijinks at Double Deuce Lounge

  • Callan Boys
A single-serve puck of ricotta and pear cheesecake from Pari Pasticceria.

Eat cheesecake at the bar at The Rocks' Maybe Sammy

  • Callan Boys
Curd nerds are well serviced with a large selection of French and Swiss cheese.

It's cocktail hour at French-inspired small bar Little Felix

  • Callan Boys
Go-to dish: Stir-fried pipis with XO sauce.
14/20

A new place for pipis at XOPP in Darling Square

  • Terry Durack
The Darling Square cafe follows the success of the Rhodes original.

...plus check out pretty cafe Auvers also at the Haymarket precinct

  • Scott Bolles
Go-to dish: Ground wagyu with thin egg noodles is like a Vietnamesed spag bol.
14/20

...and the new spot for the Hello Auntie crew

  • Terry Durack
Coogee Wine Room's ground floor is somewhere you'd slink in for pitstop drink en route from beach to home.

Browse the 400-bottle wine list at Coogee Wine Room

  • Scott Bolles
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Go-to dish: Pappardelle with lamb shoulder and pecorino.
14/20

...and while you're there go for Italian at Osteria Coogee

  • Terry Durack
Must-order toasty: Mozzarella in carrozza.
14/20

See more water views at The Fenwick in Balmain

  • Terry Durack
Tartine with figs and honey at Alala's.

Book a garden party at Alala's, in revamped The Oaks in Neutral Bay

  • Scott Bolles
New movement on the way: cafe congee.

Join the cafe crowd in Pyrmont with brunch at Quick Brown Fox Eatery

  • Scott Bolles
Passionfruit souffle.
14.5/20

Book in at Franca for French-style brasserie food in Potts Point

  • Terry Durack
Beef and Guinness pie with buttered cabbage and silverbeet and mashed potato ticks all the pie boxes.
12.5/20

Go for a pub meal at Stables Bar & Grill in Glebe

  • Terry Durack
Pork and prawn wontons.

Make a trip to Barangaroo for Bund's east-west menu

  • Scott Bolles
Ballina king prawns, roasted capsicum, chilli dressing, mango, avocado, fresh coconut, coconut jelly, baby cos lettuce and muoccham dressing.

Head to Burwood to try the new Onyx Grill at Marsden Hotel

  • Scott Bolles
Daily Greens' Fun Guy, Funghi, with roasted mushrooms, shredded cabbage, coriander and corn chips.

Start the new year light and lean at Paddington's Daily Greens

  • Scott Bolles
The restaurant marries Sydney's seemingly insatiable taste for Sri Lankan food and social enterprise start-ups.

Try Sri Lankan food at Colombo Social on Enmore Road

  • Scott Bolles
The team behind Bondi's Taqiza and Carbon restaurants has opened the doors of a new venue in Potts Point.

Heat to Potts Point for a Mexican-inspired meal at Sonora

  • Scott Bolles
The venue has its own craft distillery and is knocking out Italian classics.

If you're in the Hills District, check out Sarino's in Baulkham Hills

  • Scott Bolles
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