There’s a wide variety and mix of culinary delights to experience in Sydney. And while visitors to the city can’t tick every must-eat off the ever-expanding list, they can sample some of the best while they’re in town. Why would you settle for anything less on holiday?

If you want to tuck into some expert grub that’s a little more fine-dine than you’re used to, here’s where you should go.

Nour

Where: Shop 3, 490 Crown Street, Surry Hills

If you’re looking for traditional Middle Eastern food with a modern spin, Nour is the place to go. The food is new-age but familiar and ridiculously delicious, much like the impeccably designed interiors.

Eastside Grill

Where: Level 1, 2-10 Kensington Street, Chippendale

Eastside Grill is many things at once: A trendy New York grill, a Japanese fusion restaurant, a bona fide dessert bar. You’re guaranteed to find something you adore — like delectable kingfish sashimi or New York-style cheesecake — on the menu, and while it certainly ticks the fancy box, it won’t completely break the bank.

NOLA Smokehouse And Bar

Where: Level 1, International Tower 1, 100 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo South

You’ll find Southern hospitality, charm and maybe the best mac ‘n’ cheese in the city at Barangaroo’s NOLA Smokehouse and Bar. The best thing about NOLA is you can go for fine-dining or keep it casual, with everything form steak tartare and lobster to plain ol’ burgers and, yep, mac ‘n’ cheese making an appearance on the menu. As an added bonus, you’ll be treated to an impressive, quintessentially Sydney view.

Cha Li Boi

Where: Level 1, 13/9 Bronte Road, Bondi Junction

Cha Li Boi operates on a belief in yum cha for all. Vegan, gluten free, meat-eaters, everybody’s welcome to stuff their face ’round the restaurant’s big gathering tables in Bondi Junction. Also, it has a bubble tea machine, in case you weren’t already sold.

The Grounds Of The City

Where: The Galleries, 500 George Street, Sydney

Visitors to the city have probably already heard of Sydney institution The Grounds of Alexandria. Now, the Grounds have opened up shop closer to the centre of things, and it’s as much a must-do as the original Alexandria spot. At the Grounds of the City, expect shoeshines, speakeasy vibes and all the 1920s drama, darling, with very good restaurant-style food to boot.

Bar Brosé

Where: 231A Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

Yes, it’s a bar, but the food at Brosé is restaurant-serious. You can go in for a casual drink, or you can tuck into an intensely good meal of kohlrabi, apple and brown butter or turnip dumplings with celeriac and native lime. It’s kind of like a real life Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, but way more delicious.

Restaurant Hubert

Where: 15 Bligh Street, Sydney

Stop by Hubert, a French restaurant hidden beneath the streets of the Sydney CBD, boasting spacious bar, restaurant and mezzanine levels. Melodies from a baby grand piano give the whole place a sexy speakeasy vibe, while the extensive menu will make you wonder why nobody eats entire sticks of butter on their own.

Mjølner

Where: 267 Cleveland Street, Redfern

Mjolner is an actual viking bar is Syney’s up-and-coming Redfern neighbourhood. Inspired by Thor (the mythical Norse version, not the Chris Hemsworth version), it’s a unique culinary experience boasting rotisserie meats and traditional Nordic eats like Gravlax. I like it! Another!

Molo At Manta

Where: 6 Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo

We all think we know good Italian food. But once you go to Molo at Manta, you’ll realise you’ve known nothing all this time. Fresh, rich and simple, the food at this restaurant is bonkers in flavour and breezy in vibes.

Stanbuli

Where: 135 Enmore Road, Enmore

Stanbuli, from the uber-cool owners of vintage haven Porteno, is fast becoming an inner-west institution. And while relatively new, it blends in with the rest of Enmore Road seamlessly thanks to its kitschy hair-salon facade. Once inside, it’s Istanbul all the way with immaculately prepared Turkish dishes like cicek dolma (stuffed and lightly fried zucchini flowers) and adna kebap (minced and seasoned lamb’s belly and shoulder).

(Lead image: The Grounds of the City/Facebook)