Sydney Eat Street: 10 places to try at Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay
As new precincts pop up along Sydney Harbour, take some time to revisit the places that first made Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour a popular dining destination.
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As new precincts pop up along Sydney Harbour, take some time to revisit the places that first made Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour a popular dining destination.
Take a tour of the area’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram.
For a chance to feature your food picture in The Sunday Telegraph, tag #SydneyEatStreet.
NICK’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
Premium fish and seafood are as Australian as the green and gold, and Nick’s Seafood Restaurant has an Olympic-sized reputation at Darling Harbour.
Nick’s was brought in as an anchor tenant in 1998 when the area was still a full-blown construction site prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
A fishmonger at heart, and patriarch of the family’s dining business, Nick Manettas began working at age 14 in the 1950s with his father, who ran a wholesale business at the Sydney Fish Market in nearby Pyrmont.
It was a big business but Nick saw potential for more, opening two successful restaurants while continuing to develop a reputation as a prominent seafood operator.
The impressive menu centres on his passion for the freshest of seafood. It’s sourced daily from local suppliers, often with Nick going to the fish markets and choosing ingredients himself.
The dishes such as the crab ravioli, grilled calamari and their signature seafood platter with lobster, as well as their elegant dining area plus alfresco seating, has won it a loyal following from the nearby corporate buildings and offices as well as tourists and Sydney foodies.
As the restaurant approaches its 21st anniversary, Nick notes how the whole Darling Harbour area has grown from when he first opened his doors amid a construction site along Cockle Bay to the expansive precinct that now surrounds the bay.
“No two days have been the same,” he says, adding that the most notable change he’s seen over the years has been “the diverse nationalities, from all over the globe”.
One thing that hasn’t changed and which Nick insists never will “is the simplicity and quality of products”.
After all, it’s what has made this venue a Sydney favourite and true destination for more than 20 years.
— 17 Wheat Rd, The Promenade, Cockle Bay Wharf; nicksgroup.com.au
PLANAR RESTAURANT
Every morning at the Planar Restaurant is much like a mini convention — this restaurant probably has one of the most diverse ranges of customers in all of Sydney.
Open from 7am and connected to the ICC Sydney, it’s clearly a destination for convention attendees and close to the residential areas of Pyrmont and Haymarket.
It’s an easy spot for breakfast or late-night drinks, not to mention those just visiting Darling Harbour.
Planar’s marketing manager Natalie Hughes explains how important it is to have not only a range of offerings for breakfast, lunch and dinner but also staff that are able to understand and accommodate the needs of different types of customers — from the morning coffee rush before dashing off to the show floors, to office workers after a quick bite (thus Planar’s Express Menu) or a quieter space for business lunches.
Add to that the tourists and locals that are content relaxing on one of the outdoor lounges, watching the world go by as they linger over coffee or cocktails and you’ve got a go-to spot for any occasion.
— Shop C08, Ground Floor, ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour; planarrestaurant.com.au
I’M ANGUS
A self-confessed lover of food, Nick Manettas took his experience as a restaurateur and close relationship with quality product suppliers and set out to feature one of his other favourite foods — top tier steak. More specifically, Angus beef.
Nick has brought in specialised chefs who are able to give each cut the attention and skills needed to prepare meats such as the coveted Australian wagyu rump and grass-fed T-bone steak.
Included in that list is kangaroo loin, notoriously difficult to perfect because of its gamey taste and tough texture, yet here head chef Bronson Nurzello has made it marvellous with careful prepping and a red wine jus.
While the steaks are the featured offering, they also have a variety of fish, chicken and pasta dishes, including the unmissable prawn toast.
— 31 Wheat Rd, The Promenade, Cockle Bay Wharf; nicksgroup.com.au
WALKER’S DOUGHNUTS HARBOURSIDE
Two worlds collide at Walker’s Doughnuts. Co-owner Martin Oosthuizen has gone from fitness franchises to selling doughnuts and hot dogs.
It may seem an odd leap but as he explains it, running a fitness centre had become too routine and he, along with fiancee Jana Elmer, were craving a change.
Putting all those spin classes and weight machines behind them, now they get to spend part of their day creating colourful and delicious doughnuts in the onsite kitchen.
There are more than 40 versions available at any time including the popular PB&J, Maple Bacon, Nutella and practically anything with their housemade custard.
Every three months they release and rotate in 26 new flavours.
While their creativity may lean toward the sweet side, you can also appease your savoury craving with a range of hot dogs (www.walkersdoughnuts.com.au)
— Harbourside Shopping Centre, 205/2-10 Darling Dr, Darling Harbour; walkersdoughnuts.com.au
CAFE DEL MAR
Taste cocktails at hand, a selection of tapas on the table, ambient house music in the background and a vibrant sunset over the water — while it sounds like an ideal Mediterranean holiday, it’s actually a stone’s throw from the CBD on a rooftop terrace above Cockle Bay Wharf.
The setting, however, is intentional as it is modelled on the famous club in Ibiza, Cafe del Mar.
So renowned is the experience there that they even have their own chill-out house music label by the same name.
It’s memories like this that inspired John Zappia to pursue the licensing right for Australia and open its flagship venue in Sydney in 2013.
Specific to its cosmopolitan location, this unique space has an open-air rooftop terrace, restaurant dining, bars and area for special events and of course DJs. The music and view may draw you in but it’s the fabulous food and drinks that will have you lingering for hours.
Start off sharing some of the seared scallops before moving on to the Mediterranean pulled pork ravioli before finishing off in grand style with their Golden Moon dessert, a handpainted moon of house-made white chocolate, frozen with liquid nitrogen at your table.
Encased within is mascarpone cream, raspberry jelly, chocolate crumb, with coffee sauce. You can almost hear the waves along the shore.
— 35 Wheat Rd, Rooftop Terrace, Cockle Bay Wharf; cafedelmar.com.au
MUST TRY
HUNTER & BARREL RESTAURANT
Walking into what looks like a rustic yet refined hunting lodge, carnivores the world over will rejoice as wooden boards stacked with meats of all sorts emerge from the kitchen.
Following “the hunter’s way” they have slow-cooked meats and spit rotisseries.
For a grand selection try the Hunter’s Feast — served on a large wooden meat board, you get a beef skewer, pork kransky sausage, with chicken thigh skewer and crisp pork belly. And if that’s not enough, you also get thick cut chips, a salad and grilled flatbread.
— Tenancy 303, Wheat Rd, Cockle Bay Wharf; hunterandbarrel.com
CYREN BAR GRILL SEAFOOD
A sun-drenched venue with pale wood tables and white finishings reminiscent of a chic beach house, it offers everything from mussels, oysters, lamb cutlets and pasta.
(www.nicksgroup.com.au)
— Harbourside Shopping Centre, Level 1, 2-10 Darling Dr, Darling Harbour; nicksgroup.com.au
PARISI
For more than 60 years and three generations, Parisi has been known for offering only the freshest of hand-picked fruit. Now, however, they have taken those delicious strawberries, pineapples and more to a decadent level adding a chocolate coating.
Gift them by the box or simply treat yourself with a few for dessert or even an afternoon snack.
— Harbourside Shopping Centre; Level 1, 2-10 Darling Dr, Darling Harbour
GOZLEME KING
Sydneysiders have long been flocking to weekend food markets for Gozleme King’s savoury cheese, meat and veggie filled flatbreads but thankful for those after a weekday fix, they’ve brought their authentic Turkish street food indoors.
While they’re known for their tasty gozleme, don’t forget to grab some of their sweets including traditional and contemporary takes on baklavas and Turkish delight.
— Harbourside Shopping Centre; Level 1, 2-10 Darling Dr, Darling Harbour; gozlemeking.com.au
HARBOUR BAR AND KITCHEN
Seafood is great and all but when the unmistakeable smell of barbecue hits you, all you want are some tender pork ribs or a good ol’ fashion burger.
Casual dining, harbour view and a vast array of barbecue options make this the perfect solution for those chargrilled cravings.
— 447 Harbourside Shopping Centre, Level 2, 2-10 Darling Dr, Darling Harbour
Originally published as Sydney Eat Street: 10 places to try at Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay
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