Signature Dishes of Sydney

Must-try dishes

Sydney Rock Oyster

The Sydney rock oyster is the native bivalve of the Hawkesbury and Wallis Lake estuaries, sweeter and creamier than the Pacific oyster.

History: Commercially harvested from NSW estuaries since the 1880s, the Sydney rock oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) is endemic to Australia's eastern seaboard. The Hawkesbury and Wallis Lake leases produce the majority of the modern Sydney supply. Native to the country before colonisation, the species fed the Eora and Cadigal people for tens of thousands of years before the first commercial leases were granted in 1872. The Royal Society of NSW patented refrigerated transport in the 1890s, allowing Sydney rocks to travel inland for the first time.

Where to try it: Saint Peter, Bennelong, Icebergs Dining Room, Le Foote

Watch out for: Shellfish

Flat White

A double-shot espresso with steamed milk and a thin layer of micro-foam, served in a 5oz cup.

History: The flat white emerged in Sydney and Auckland in the mid-1980s as a refinement of the cappuccino: less foam, more milk integration, served in a smaller cup. Sydney's Single Origin Roasters (Reservoir Street, 2003) and Toby's Estate (Pyrmont, 1997) refined the modern Australian espresso style around it. Howard Schultz adopted the flat white at Starbucks in 2015, sealing its global travel. The drink remains the morning anchor of every Sydney cafe.

Where to try it: Single O Surry Hills, Reuben Hills, Paramount Coffee Project, Mecca Coffee

Watch out for: Dairy

Lamington

A square of sponge cake dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut.

History: The lamington is widely credited to Queensland Premier Lord Lamington's household in the 1890s, but Sydney's CWA halls and church fetes built the modern recipe. By the 1920s it was standard across NSW bakeries and a staple of school fundraising days. Pierre Roelofs (Cumulus alumnus) and Black Star Pastry have run modern Sydney revivals; the simple sponge-cake square remains the country's most-recognised baked good.

Where to try it: Flour and Stone, Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills, Black Star Pastry

Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Tree nuts (coconut)

Australian Meat Pie

A hand-sized pie of slow-cooked beef in thick gravy, sealed in shortcrust and puff pastry. The canonical Australian footy-and-meat-pie pairing.

History: The Australian meat pie traces to the British colonial era but became the country's identity dish by the 1940s. Harry's Cafe de Wheels (Cowper Wharf, 1938) popularised the Tiger pie (with mash, peas and gravy) for late-night Sydney. Sargents and Four'N Twenty industrialised it for the post-war footy crowd; modern Sydney bakeries (Bourke Street, Lode Pies) reclaim the pie as an artisan product.

Where to try it: Harry's Cafe de Wheels, Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills, Lode Pies and Pastries

Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Sausage Roll

Pork (or lamb) sausage meat seasoned with fennel, herbs or harissa, rolled in puff pastry and baked golden. The canonical Sydney bakery counter savoury.

History: Sausage rolls travelled from England with the First Fleet but became distinctly Australian by the early 20th century: longer, more peppery, served with tomato sauce. Paul Allam and David McGuinness's Bourke Street Bakery (Surry Hills, 2004) reinvented the genre with lamb and harissa and pork-and-fennel versions. The format is now standard across modern Sydney bakeries from Lode Pies to Tarts Anon.

Where to try it: Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills, Brickfields, Lode Pies and Pastries

Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Egg

Anzac Biscuit

An oat, golden syrup and coconut biscuit, crisp at the edges and chewy in the middle.

History: The Anzac biscuit was created during WW1 as a long-keeping, egg-free biscuit that wives and mothers could send to soldiers on the front. The recipe relies on oats, coconut, golden syrup and butter; no eggs to spoil over the long sea journey. The name 'Anzac' is protected by Australian law and can only be used on the original recipe. Modern Sydney bakeries from Iggy's to Bourke Street keep the version current.

Where to try it: Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills, Flour and Stone, Iggy's Bread of the World

Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Tree nuts (coconut)

Pavlova

A meringue dessert with a crisp shell and marshmallow-soft centre, topped with whipped cream, fresh strawberries, passionfruit and kiwi.

History: The pavlova is named for Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured Australia and New Zealand in 1926. Both countries claim the original; the cookbook trail puts the modern recipe in Perth's Esplanade Hotel in 1935. Australian summer pavlovas use a layer of whipped cream and fresh stone fruit, passionfruit and strawberries; Sydney bakeries serve them by the slice at Christmas.

Where to try it: Flour and Stone, Bourke Street Bakery Surry Hills, Iggy's Bread of the World

Watch out for: Egg, Dairy

Fish and Chips, Sydney-style

Fresh-caught NSW flathead or snapper in light batter, fried with thick-cut chips and a lemon wedge. Sydney's beach-and-harbour lunch staple.

History: Sydney fish-and-chip shops emerged with European migration in the 1920s and 30s, on every beach and inside the central food courts. Doyles on the Beach at Watsons Bay (1885) is the heritage anchor; modern Sydney chips-shops use NSW-caught flathead, snapper or whiting, often in beer batter. Sydney Fish Market at Pyrmont sells over 1 million paper-boats of fish and chips per year.

Where to try it: Fishermans Wharf Seafoods, North Bondi Fish, Saint Peter

Watch out for: Gluten, Fish

Sydney Banh Mi

Vietnamese baguette filled with pork, pate, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, fresh coriander, chilli and a slick of mayo.

History: Vietnamese refugees brought the banh mi to Sydney from the late 1970s, with the first banh mi shops opening on John Street, Cabramatta. The Marrickville Vietnamese diaspora extended the canon into the inner west from the 1990s; Marrickville Pork Roll on Illawarra Road became the iconic A$5 lunch. Sydney's banh mi tradition is now the deepest of any non-Vietnamese city in the world, with KK Bakery's chicken Maryland roll and Phu Cuong's Maggi-heavy classic representing two ends of the style.

Where to try it: Marrickville Pork Roll, Phu Cuong, KK Bakery, Viet Bling

Watch out for: Gluten, Egg, Soy

Sydney Pho

Vietnamese beef-bone broth with rice noodles, rare beef, brisket, herbs and chilli.

History: Pho arrived in Sydney with Vietnamese refugees from the late 1970s and 1980s. John Street, Cabramatta, has been the canonical pho address since the 1980s; the Marrickville diaspora extended it into the inner west from the 1990s. Pho Tau Bay's brisket bowl and Pho Pasteur's CBD broth set the benchmark. Sydney pho leans into deep, clear broth with a strong star anise and clove backbone; the classic order is pho dac biet (special beef) with rare, brisket and tendon.

Where to try it: Pho Tau Bay, Pho Pasteur, Saigon Things

Watch out for: Soy, Gluten (some hoisin)

Modern Australian Tasting Menu

Multi-course menu of native and seasonal Australian ingredients: finger lime, wattleseed, kangaroo, saltbush, native pepperberry, Sydney rock oysters.

History: The Modern Australian (Mod-Oz) movement emerged in the 1980s with Phillip Searle, Christine Manfield and Tetsuya Wakuda; it took its current native-ingredient form under Peter Gilmore at Quay (closed 2026) and Josh Niland at Saint Peter (Paddington, 2016). The vocabulary now spans Bennelong, Sixpenny, Margaret, Cafe Paci and Ester. Each tasting menu draws on producers who supply nothing else: Hawkesbury oysters, Manjimup truffles, Mulwarra lamb, finger lime from northern NSW.

Where to try it: Saint Peter, Sixpenny, Bennelong, Margaret

Watch out for: Various (per menu)

Sydney Charcoal Chicken with Toum

Lebanese-Australian charcoal-roasted chicken, served whole or quartered with garlic toum, chips, pickled turnip and Lebanese bread.

History: Lebanese immigration to Sydney from the 1970s built the country's charcoal chicken culture. El Jannah on South Street, Granville (founded 1998) defined the modern Sydney format: whole chicken cooked over charcoal, served with house garlic toum (a fluffy whipped garlic-and-oil emulsion), thin chips and pickled turnip. The format spread across western Sydney and into the eastern suburbs through Charcoal Charlies, Charcoal Chicken Co and dozens of family-run shops. The whole bird with a tub of toum is now the canonical Sydney family takeaway.

Where to try it: El Jannah, Jasmin Lebanese Restaurant

Watch out for: Dairy (some toum recipes)

Sydney Yum Cha

Cantonese small-plate breakfast and lunch tradition: steamed dumplings, baked buns, rice noodle rolls and dessert plates served from rolling trolleys.

History: Cantonese yum cha arrived in Sydney with the 1850s gold rush Chinese community and the post-1970s Hong Kong diaspora. Marigold Restaurant on Sussex Street and East Ocean on Dixon Street ran the canonical large-room trolley yum cha through the 1980s and 1990s. The format remains the weekend ritual for Sydney families across Cantonese, Hong Kong and Vietnamese-Chinese communities; modern rooms (Mr Wong, Spice Temple, Yellow's vegan yum cha) extend the canon.

Where to try it: Mr Wong, Spice Temple

Watch out for: Gluten, Shellfish, Soy, Egg, Sesame

Ricotta Hotcakes

Bill Granger's ricotta-and-egg hotcakes, served with banana and honeycomb butter.

History: Bill Granger opened the original Bills in Darlinghurst in 1993 with ricotta hotcakes on the menu. The recipe is now in 5 cookbooks, on the menu at every Bills location worldwide (Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Bondi, Tokyo, Honolulu, Seoul, London) and is the canonical Sydney breakfast dish. Bill Granger died in late 2023; the recipe lives on through his family's continuing operation of the Bills brand.

Where to try it: Bills Darlinghurst, Bills Bondi

Watch out for: Gluten, Dairy, Egg