Sydney Eat Street: Darling Quarter’s best restaurants, cafes
A stone’s throw from the CBD and bookended by the Chinese Garden of Friendship and Cockle Bay, the established precinct of Darling Quarter offers a variety of restaurants all diners can enjoy.
Eat Street
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UMI SUSHI + UDON
After a long and stressful day in the office, a chat with friends over cocktails should get you settled, or if you really need to let it all out, grab a mic and belt out a tune on stage in front of strangers.
For Jessie Xiao, restaurateur and Umi’s owner, she took it one step further and left a promising career in finance to open her own karaoke bar followed then by a Japanese restaurant.
That was 15 years ago, and Jessie has been adding eateries to her portfolio ever since.
“At the time, we saw a niche in the market for good sushi with reasonable prices,” Xiao says.
“The choices back then were limited to very basic sushi trains or very expensive up-market places. We wanted something in between. Something affordable.”
Besides recognising an opportunity, she says much of it just came down to relevance.
“The things we started, we did so because we could relate to them,” Xiao says.
“I love Japanese food. I love the culture and traditions. And I love dining out anyway.”
While she admits to loving the simplicity and detail reflective of Japanese cuisine, she also likes to have a bit of fun with the menu, working together with the chefs to come up with fun and innovative takes on classic items – be it a month’s worth of Mexican-influenced offerings such as sushi rolls with jalapeños, or a foray into Mango Madness with the summer fruit featured throughout the menu.
While those are always fun (and yummy) for variety, you can’t go past the revered sashimi boat. It’s as grand as it sounds and comes with a variety of premium seafood including, scallops and fatty tuna.
If you’re after a winter warmer, the wagyu udon is a must, plus to feed the littlies, Umi also offers a variety of petite bento boxes, after all, with kids of her own, those cute meals that keep her kids happy – well, it’s all relevant.
— 10/1-25 Harbour St, Sydney; umisushi.com.au
BRAZA CHURRASCARIA
Carnivores rejoice as the holy grail of all things meat is located right here in Darling Harbour.
There’s no chance of missing it either – just follow the sound of lively chatter, Samba music and the intoxicating smell of grilled steaks, chicken and more.
There is a constant flurry of activity, with passadoros moving from table to table with trolleys of beef ribs and metre-long skewers of grilled meats, sausage and prawn.
There are more than 20 different proteins making the rounds including scotch fillet, pork belly, lamb rump and marinated chicken breast wrapped in bacon, a recipe owner Andre Felicio picked up from his mother. And of course the churrasco staple is the picanha (rump cap).
“If you went to a churrascaria in Brazil and there was no picanha, you’d turn your back and go home,” Felicio says.
“It’s just part of the Brazilian culture and everyone grows up eating it and cooking it.”
But when it comes to the actual grilling, he laughs and says: “Everybody is a master. Everybody has their own opinion and way of doing things.”
For Felicio, his secret is quality; sourcing the best possible meats from NSW, Queensland and Victoria. After that, it’s just a bit of rock salt and a whole lot patience as you watch it slowly roast on the rotisserie – each different cut in a different place depending on the amount of heat required.
The last item, a grilled pineapple covered in cinnamon and brown sugar – it’s both delicious and practical and as Felicio says it “cleanses the palette and helps break down proteins”.
As it is an all-you-can-eat service, which includes traditional sides such as tomato salsa, black beans and cassava chips, there are two-hour seatings throughout the evening giving you plenty of time to enjoy one of Brazil’s favourite meals before rolling yourself out the door.
— Darling Quarter, Shop 18-19/1-25 Harbour St, Sydney; braza.com.au
NOK NOK THAI EATING HOUSE
For Norma Taouk, co-owner of Nok Nok Thai Eat House, years of experience in the hospitality industry has taught her that good relationships, be it with customers, vendors or staff, are the key to success.
Taouk notes that at their previous venue “we had such a nice network. Everyone was our friend – even our delivery drivers”.
So when the opportunity came about to take over this popular Thai restaurant, even though their exposure to Thai food at this point had been limited to takeaway and dining out, she knew that with the right people, anything was possible.
With that, she reached back to that network and quickly found a Thai chef, Ai Patteni, through a friend of a friend of a friend.
It’s been just over a year since they opened, and Taouk has come to rely on Patteni, who brings with a wealth of knowledge having grown up in her parents’ restaurants back in Thailand.
Together, they’ve paired down the previously encyclopaedic menu.
“Now we just have the popular things that people like to eat, like Pad Thai and laksas but then we have four to five weekly specials,” Taouk says, adding that she leaves those up to Patteni who’ll prepare dishes based on seasonal ingredients.
“We’ve also added desserts. Before, those were limited to sticky rice options,” she says.
Now though, there are other options, such as fried ice cream, Nutella puffs and Taouk’s own creation — banana and walnut spring rolls.
So definitely save room to finish off dinner on a sweet note.
— Shop 9/1-25 Harbour St, Sydney; noknok.com.au
TASTE BAR & GRILL
This lively bar and grill with a vintage Indochine decor take a cue from its sister venue next door, Taste Baguette, a bakery featuring French-Vietnamese bread, sandwiches, salads and more.
It also shares the kitchen between the two, which means that head chef, Krishna Kumar has the advantage of using their house-made hamburger buns and pizza base for the bar’s menu.
A double win is that the Cheah family, both the founders and owner of this multi-chain establishment, also own their own produce market which gives them prime pickings for market-fresh ingredients, and an abundance of options for Kumar’s restaurant menu.
The seasonal menu offers a daily rotation of salads and popular items such the stunningly beautiful and tasty sausage stuffed zucchini flowers and a delicate but filling crab linguine.
There’s a nice range of wine and cocktails, but the true winner is the eight craft beers on tap often including such faves as Marrickville’s Batch Brewery and unique drops from Perth’s Feral Brewery. Looks like the weekend is sorted.
— 11/1 Harbour St, Sydney
VESTA CAFFE & RISTORANTE
To test the waters of the cafe business, Vesta Caffe & Ristorante’s owner, Renee Zhang, bought an established one many years ago and quickly learned that this was her calling.
“I like this industry because it requires dedication. And it’s challenging,” she says.
That was followed by a few other entrepreneurial endeavours, but hospitality lured her back and together with her sister, they bought this Darling Harbour eatery, which quickly became a breakfast favourite for both locals and visitors, specifically because of its diverse offerings.
For something decadent, try the blueberry ricotta hot cakes with mascarpone and maple syrup, or for heartier appetites tuck into the baked eggs and Italian sausage.
There’s also plenty of lighter option on the menu such as the smashed avocado and poached egg on toast for heading into lunch, the halloumi salad.
The lunch and dinner menu features a modern take on Italian classics such as the popular Orrechetti lamb ragu or mixed mushroom risotto, and of course, there’s no getting past their award-winning pizzas with house-made dough.
— Darling Quarter 15/1, 25 Harbour St, Sydney; vestaitalian.com.au
TASTE BAGUETTE
The delicious baguettes, made fresh throughout the day, have travelled a long way to get to Darling Quarter — or at least the man behind the bread itself, Hieu Cheah, has had his fair share of worldly adventures.
Commencing his baking career at the tender age of 13 in Vietnam, he has since honed his skills in New York, Los Angeles and France, which is where he was gifted a 100-year-old sourdough starter, perfectly suited to Taste’s Baguette’s avocado on toast.
The baguette menu ranges from chicken schnitzel to the classic Vietnamese banh mi with pate and pork with the option of adding a fried egg.
There is also a daily rotation of salads plus scrumptious meat-pies and sausage rolls. Be sure to try the latest addition to the menu, individual serves of focaccia, all of which go wonderfully with a great cup of coffee.
— 11/1 Harbour St, Sydney; tastebaguette.com
THE SOCIAL QUARTER
After leaving school, Anwar Shalala could have worked at his family’s successful club and restaurant, but instead, he tested the waters of a different career path and pursued interior design.
But barely two years on, the buzz of the hospitality industry lured him back in, and with his brothers, he went on to co-own and operate 15 cafes, the latest being a popular takeaway shop he now owns with his wife.
While Shalala can brew up a mean cup of coffee, his true skill is in the delivery — not only does he know his customers’ orders, he’s given them endearing nicknames such as ‘Skinny Jimmy’ who always orders his with skim milk or Mr Grumpy, who he says is anything but dower and always smiling.
It’s those little touches that have made The Social Quarter a favourite spot for locals — be it the lighter sandwiches preferred by office workers or the huge chicken schnitzel and Angus burgers coveted by hungry tradies. And then of course that 3pm cuppa with a sweet treat.
— 16/1-25 Harbour St, Sydney; darlingquarter.com/eat-drink/the-social-quarter
WOK N BOWL
Some people redecorate or get a new haircut, but for Lily Li, her version of change was to buy a restaurant.
“We were thinking about to running a small business, and we found the takeaway shop might be a good choice,” she says noting that the deciding factor was its location.
“It’s in the heart of CBD, close to Chinatown, Town Hall”, says continues, as well as many other Darling Harbour attractions that attract both tourists and Sydneysiders.
And with plenty of places to sit outside, it’s a great spot to enjoy their popular Thai takeaway dishes such as Pad Thai, Pad See Sew and Kana Mor Korb, a traditional Thai stir-fried dish made with Chinese broccoli and crispy pork.
— Shop 17/1-25 Harbour St, Sydney; facebook.com/WokNbowl
THE NAKED DUCK
Champagne Tsui, The Naked Duck’s store manager, isn’t one to mince words when it comes to pre-work rituals.
“Do you know how important a cup of coffee is in the morning? It’s not just a coffee, it’s a cure.”
It’s that soulful insight that has endeared her to the cafe’s regulars. And it’s not just a cuppa that motivates her.
“I love cooking, love making coffee, love sharing stories, love eating, love developing myself every single day.”
With all that passion, just imagine how much effort goes into the individual sandwiches and salads that fill the glass cases, breakfast dishes ranging from eggs Florentine to house-made granola and lunch plates with a choice of a main such as pulled pork or 12-hour braised lamb, and two sides.
Oh, and they have catering too, which makes the office’s working lunch a bit more palatable.
— 24 Campbell St, Haymarket; thenakedduck.com.au
GELATISSIMO
Hot or cold, the weather is always perfect when it comes to gelato, but this winter, Gelatissimo has brought out a flavour that channels the season with the popular texture of bubble tea pearls.
Available in a cup, cone or as a shake, the brown sugar bubble milk tea gelato is sure to be a hit well into the warmer months.
— 2/1-25 Harbour St, Sydney; gelatissimo.com.au
GUYLIAN BELGIAN CHOCOLATE CAFE
Whether it’s stirred into hot milk or poured over waffles, this premium Belgian chocolate is a treat any time of day.
But there’s more than cacao to be had here as they also breakfast items such as smashed avocado with smoked salmon on toast or bacon and egg rolls so you can get both your sweet and savoury fix
— 5-6/1-25 Harbour St, Sydney; guyliancafe.com.au