Eating and Drinking Our Way Around Sydney, Australia

 

Dolphin Hotel (Delfino Pizzeria)

Our daughter took us to the stylish suburb of Surry Hills - funky boutiques, art galleries, and lively pubs - to the very happening Dolphin Hotel. We ate at the Delfino Pizzeria, inside the hotel, a bright, open spot that specializes in wood oven pizza with several of their own creations including the Mare E Monti pizza with king prawns and fermented chilis. We stuck to the tried and true and it was very good.

We walked the streets of Surry Hills after dinner to check out some of the street art and popular places to hang out - and live. Probably a bit pricey for my budget but it's always fun to see the hip places.

Paperboy Concord

We headed to the suburb of Concord for a coffee and brunch at Paperboy Concord. I went with the old school Ham and Cheese Toastie - it hit the spot! - and the others in our group got varying degrees of breakfast/brunch/lunch. It's not a big coffee shop but there is outdoor seating if you're lucky enough to be there on one of Sydney's sunny days. (Parking is on the street in the residential area of Concord)

Felix

Our daughter took us to this French restaurant in the Sydney CBD to celebrate both of our birthdays since  she is in Australia and we are in the US on our birthdays. Felix is feeling like "you've stumbled into the streets of Paris." It serves classic French food or as the chef says "honest, simple food." 

We had reservations so we were led to our table and then the fine dining began. The decision was to order many different things for the table so we could all try each dish. On the menu for our table was: oysters, the cheese platter, roast chicken, minute steak, mashed potatoes (they were so good and we still don't know why or what they added to them to make them so delicious) and of course, birthday cake (or in this case, banofee pie) The food was delicious, sumptious, fantastic, out of this world - I guess, you get my meaning that it was an incredible meal.( And it should have been as the prices were, also, out of this world) It was a fun birthday celebration and someplace I never would have gone unless my daughter planned it. My recommendation, if you're in the market for a big time celebration, and you like French food, go to Felix. It's fantastic!

Opera Bar

The most iconic symbol for all of Australia is the Sydney Opera House. (Along with Crocodile Dundee, Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock and the Great Barrier Reef) Sitting on the Sydney Harbor, it has an incredible view of the harbor and the Sydney Harbor Bridge (also known as the Coat Hanger) If you visit the Opera House, you can enjoy the views along with a drink or meal at the Opera Bar. It's the most picturesque spot in all of Sydney, day or night, to celebrate big and little things. Just be careful of the birds! And no, I'm not kidding. The birds have been a menace for decades and now the Opera Bar has hired two seagull chasing superstars - Muffin and Tauzer - who have been " trained to understand the behavior of the seagulls"

A funny aside - the last time we were at the Opera Bar we saw a 20 something year old Australian wearing a University of South Carolina t-shirt. My daughter is an alumni of that school so we struck up a conversation and found out that he had spent a semester there. Small world, small world.

High Tea at the QVB

The Queen Victoria Building is one of the most famous in Sydney. It's a five level shopping center located in the heart of Sydney's CBD, or Central Business District. It was first opened in 1898 and was designed by George McRae, a Scotsman who emigrated to Sydney and designed some of her most famous buildings. It was build to honor Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and replaced the original Sydney Markets.

We headed to the QVB for a Traditional High Tea in the original ballroom under two very  impressive chandeliers. Our menu for the High Tea was as follows: a selection of sweet and savory pastries, finger sandwiches, scones with preserves and tea or coffee. It was quite the experience -and for the price it was probably a once in a lifetime experience - but I really enjoyed it. How many times do you get to enjoy High Tea in Sydney?

Manly Grill

Manly is a beach suburb of Sydney that's known as the birthplace of surfing - it hosted the first ever World Surfing Championships in 1964. It's known for its stunning beach and its beachside dining. Which is exactly what we did for our visit to Manly Grill Steakhouse. (Taking the Manly ferry is quite popular but we drove as it was a dinner visit)

Located directly across the street from the beach, Manly Grill is known for its steaks and ribs, it has an open front (in good weather) and kids eat free policy on weekdays. We had a delicious meal - some of us had steak and some had seafood- but no one got the char grilled kangaroo topped with crocodile tail! - with very good service. (There is some street parking but we parked in a nearby garage)

Then we took a stroll over to the beach to experience the famous Manly Beach and its promenade for the first time. The surf was quite rough and the sky was darkening so we just did a quick visit before heading to Four Pines Brewing around the corner. It was our last night in Oz and we had a celebratory beer for a good vacation and then headed back to our hotel for our flight back to the States.

Sydney is such a fun and chill city. And it's always so much fun to try new restaurants and cuisines. I'm thankful that I have been able to experience it twice now - and I hope for more opportunities to explore Sydney. (And eat my way around it!)

How about you? Have you been to Sydney?

Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand!