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Australia, Sydney Restaurants. Opinions on Barangaroo House

Posted by (Twin Cities of MN) on

I'm looking for recommendations for mid-range priced restaurants for Sydney. We had selected Barangaroo House, but when I went to reserve, the reviews are less than stellar. We have six nights in Sydney. A couple other restaurants I'm looking at are The Malaya, The Opera Bar (website indicates they also have food) and Mamak. We don't mind venturing out a bit from our hotel on the border of The Rocks and city center, for example, into Haymarket. In general, we like Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Chinese, but also interested in trying local offerings, except fish and chips and meat pies, which we had our fill of in England. My husband also is typically on the look out for lamb and duck.

I have done a search of the forum. Other than a previous post of my own, posts are quite old. Also we arrive on a Saturday, mid January. Are reservations generally recommended?

Posted by
11 posts

I can't comment on the others but, we really enjoyed a couple of great meals at The Malaya. With any popular restaurant I will always try to make a reservation.

Posted by
132 posts

Mr. Wongs is fantastic. Take public transportation to Chinatown. There’s several restaurants in the food mall by the harbor.

Posted by
63 posts

I normally go to the Chatswood branch of Mamak, which is presumably not the one you'd use, but I've always enjoyed the food - absolutely no flash, but very tasty.

Opera Bar is under (very) new management since my last visit, but the reviews are good (and the revised menu looks decent). Location is fantastic, which is built into the pricing. Two things to note: if you eat outdoors the seagulls can be aggressive at times, and there is often [live] music at sometimes considerable volume. I'd definitely at least stop for a drink if you're in the neighbourhood, though.

If you don't like the reviews for Barangaroo House, there are many other options down there at various price points. This list is quite comprehensive. Unfortunately my most recent personal rec is for Bottega Coco, which is, er, definitely not Asian. Oh, and Anita Gelato - recommended. As is Gelato Messina wherever you find one.

Neither Mamak nor Opera Bar take reservations. For other places, either reserve or go early. (In places like Haymarket, it depends - a lot of restaurants there don't take reservations either.) I'd reserve Mr Wong, though they do take walk-ins.

Both formal restaurants at the Art Gallery of NSW are interesting, but possibly special occasion pricing.

BTW, a lot of the most interesting food in Sydney is not in the CBD - here are some ideas for a food tour, but there are many options. (No specific recs - since I grew up in Sydney I've only ever DIY-ed that sort of thing.)

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