Where To Enjoy Outstanding Seafood in Sydney

This Palm Beach beach bungalow restaurant boasts interiors pulled straight from the pages of a luxe homes magazine – plants, flowers and fruit bowls styled to the nines – while the menu beholds plenty of banging seafood numbers. A recently refreshed menu includes saffron-infused lobster risotto, rare tuna linguine dotted with capers and green chilli, and seared barramundi with a buttery macadamia dressing.

Snacking on blue swimmer crab tostadas and moreish tuna ceviche is made that little bit sweeter by the views of the ocean at this North Bondi marisqueria (seafood restaurant). You’ll also find tacos that are as texturally interesting as they are tasty, be it slow-cooked soft octopus with chorizo and potato; or Tecate beer-battered flathead with fries and salsa tartara.

Much loved chef Matt Moran’s art gallery dwelling restaurant subtly weaves seafood throughout the menu. Kick off with Sydney rock oysters, then move onto some crab sliders, before choosing between salt-baked salmon, grilled swordfish or lightly battered flathead for the main event.

With freshly painted white tables, festoon lighting above, flowering magnolia trees and wide umbrellas, this Palm Beach eatery channels a Hamptons look all with a uniquely Northern Beaches feel. Just shucked oysters, tiger prawns served on ice and saltbush calamari are all ideal eats for this Northern beaches outpost.

This affable neighbourhood fish and chipper goes beyond beer batter (though they do a great crisp-coated ling and thick-cut chips), slinging solid salads, shared dishes (including saucy sobrasada-spiked mussels with grilled bread; or spiced shish fish with served with flatbread, radish, dill pickles and garlic sauce) and snacks. Add more of the ocean’s greatest hits like just shucked oysters or bright king prawns ready to dip in housemade cocktail sauce and you’ll see why Fich sets the standard for seafood in the inner west.

You’ll spy a marble-lined seafood-showcasing countertop at this dazzling Potts Point diner, which is the first sign they do seafood well. The second is the menu, where you’ll find a dedicated de la mer section, replete with king prawns with cocktail dressing; caviar with buckwheat and chive waffles and crème fraîche; and Sydney rock oysters with mignonette. Along with raw seafood, you’ll also find gently cooked whole Western rock lobster with rich but refined beurre blanc; and glacier toothfish with plump escabèche clams. It’s seafood scene to be seen at, a glitzy, glamorous and delicious time at Franca.

Bondi doesn’t have much in the way of Greek restaurants, which is in part what makes Ikaria stand out. Along with its plum Campbell Parade position, the Mediterranean bites – including calamari with yoghurt aioli; taramasalata; and grilled snapper with pippies and roasted peppers  – at this taverna channel a little bit of the Aegean Islands to Bondi beach.

Chef Sean Moran has built his name over 25-plus years, becoming one of Bondi and Australia’s most beloved chefs, thanks largely to Seans Pararoma, his honest, unfussy but always excellent beachside diner. Some of Sydney’s most astute waitstaff serve an ever-changing set menu, which often includes a piece of beautifully grilled fish with farm-to-table veggies and just shucked oysters.

This spiffy Japanese spot set just back from Manly beach dials up the fun with left-of-centre takes on izakaya and sushi snacks. A ‘fish and chip’ sushi roll with kingfish, asparagus, avocado, tartare sauce and crunchy potato batter; buttery grilled scallops with yuzu kosho and wasabi crumb; or kingfish sashimi daubed with truffle kewpie will be sure to impress.

This upscale Surry Hills izakaya treats seafood with care, be it delicately sliced sashimi, fried tempura Moreton bay bug or flame-grilled smoked miso king salmon. You’ll find both dedicated robata and sushi sections on the menu, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights you can book in for omakase (a chef’s choice set menu).

Named after Golden Century’s most adored signature dish – the XO pippies  – it’s no surprise that this clam dish and other seafood hits dominate the menu at this Darling Square restaurant. Dive into the salty, slosh of stir-fried pippies atop crisp vermicelli noodles, alongside live seafood cooked-to-order (including whole green lip abalone steamed or coral trout) and Cantonese mainstays, like salt and pepper squid and garlicky stir-fried prawns.

Chef Josh Niland has reimagined how Australia cooks with seafood, and his restaurant Saint Peter is like no other in the country, a masterclass in Niland’s signature use-the-whole fish approach. Tuna dry-aged like a great steak; fish fat morphed into caramel; or kingfish pastrami, Saint Peter’s gill-to-tail menu will have you rethinking the role of seafood in cooking.

Considering it’s got lox in the name – the Israeli term for cured salmon – it’s not surprising that this Bondi bolthole beholds excellent bagels with layers of delicate smoked salmon, onion, capers, rocket and cream cheese by day; and kingfish ceviche and pan-fried mulloway in the evenings.

While this Darlinghurst Sri Lankan restaurant pleases carnivores as much as it does pescatarians, the aromatic fish curry here will linger in your mind for a long time after eating it. They also do crab curry Sundays, which sees tables book out on the last Sunday of each month for a crustacean feast.