Where To Eat in February: Giuls, Alibi, Bar Copains, Fauna and More

For over 30 years, Golden Century famously kept diners well-fed in Sydney’s Chinatown – from late-night workers needing a Cantonese fix to foreign royalty and world leaders who turned up with their security entourage. After closing in 2021, it now has a new spin-off, Golden Century BBQ, which offers takeaway roast duck, pork belly and dumplings in Darling Square. The famous sauce from Golden Century’s signature XO pipis (which Momofuku’s David Chang called “the best dish in the world”) is available as a side. Not snagging an order to go? There’s nearby food court seating if you need it. If you want a step up from takeout, head upstairs for something more service-driven and slick – book in for XOPP. Here, you can order a proper serve of the XO pipis in the restaurant’s well-designed room, or splurge on abalone, barramundi, jumbo oysters and lobsters from the seafood tanks (a legacy from the Golden Century days). XOPP’s vegetarian highlights include the typhoon shelter cauliflower and potato wedges with salted duck egg yolk.

Shannon Martinez’s vegan cooking has long inspired truly dedicated fandom: out-of-town diners would head to her Melbourne venues (Smith & Daughters, Smith & Deli) with containers and order dishes to ferry back to their interstate homes. Some people even transported her food on long-haul flights with them. Now Sydney guests needn’t resort to such extreme antics, because the chef’s hype-worthy food is finally available here. Martinez has taken over the menu at Alibi Bar & Dining and it will be executed by Jiwon Do (of Wellington’s two-hatted restaurant, Hippopotamus Dining). So yes, you can try her much-loved vegan cacio e pepe and chamomile spaghettini with summer squash, saffron and ricotta, while her plant-based paella and crème Catalana hint at her Spanish roots.

Call (02) 9331 9000 for booking information.

You might have heard of Harry, the new pizza-showcasing joint by Giulia Treuner, which recently opened on Stanley Street, Darlinghurst, aka Sydney’s original Little Italy. But don’t overlook her previous restaurant, Giuls, located on another much-recognised dining strip – Crown Street, Surry Hills. Pasta is the star here, thanks to Esmeralda Perez’s menu of orecchiette with ‘nduja sauce, rigatoni with grass-fed lamb ragu and Parmesan shavings, and spaghetti brightened with roasted capsicum and topped with a cloud-burst of burrata. The in-house focaccia, seasoned with black salt and smoked thyme is worth taking note of, as is the proudly women-led team behind Giuls.

Clayton Wells’ Automata closed its doors last year, so we’re thankful for Mod Dining. The new restaurant at the Art Gallery of NSW’s Sydney Modern extension offers us a chance to enjoy his food again. His mortadella and fried eggs rolls and wild rice bowls (topped with kimchi, glazed pumpkin and pickled wood-ear mushrooms) echo his brunch-friendly menus at his much-missed A1 Canteen, while the freeze-dried plum and black sesame squiggles over coconut sorbet will inspire happy flashbacks to his Automata days. The restaurant’s outdoor deck is an excellent spot to dine on a sunny day, and is a short walk from the gallery’s hyper-bright Yayoi Kusama installation.

Walk-ins only.

There’s a neon quote on the wall of Kafe Kooks that riffs on a quote that director Duncan Jones made when accepting a posthumous award for his father David Bowie. “This award is for all the kooks and all the people who make the kooks,” he said, in honour of his pop star father. Kafe Kooks also pays tribute to Bowie in many ways – via the décor choices, playlist and the Ziggy Stardust shirts that the staff wear. The menu, though, is fixated with roti and offers it in many shapeshifting forms, from Malaysian-style roti canai to dessert versions inspired by Thai beach carts and Singapore-influenced roti soldiers with soy sauce and white pepper.

Call 0480 336 869 for booking information.

Chef Ryota Kumasaka doesn’t just think about the ramen he serves at his Shinmachi izakaya, he also considers the bowl it comes in. He uses his hands to shape individual tableware pieces from clay – so you’ll see his literal fingerprints on each vessel he finishes, fires and glazes. The potter considers the ideal size and depth for the noodles and broth – fashioning each one to hold 500 mls of Hokkaido scallop tonkotsu miso butter ramen, spiced curry broth or tantan black ramen made for vegans. Kumasaka grew up in Fukuoka, Japan, with a mum for a pottery artist – which hints at his long-running interest in the craft. The food on the menu, like the warabi mochi dessert and eggplant katsu, will inspire thoughts of Japan, too.

Josh Niland continues his mission to highlight sustainable seafood through his new Petermen restaurant, which is scheduled to open in late February. As with his other venues, his wife Julie Niland also plays a key role. You’ll find her influence in the thoughtful décor and in Petermen’s desserts (like the black forest tiramisu). For Sunday brunch, there are the sea urchin crumpets you probably first heard about via their acclaimed Saint Peter restaurant, and the menu showcases line-caught fish (coral trout, John Dory) and Indigenous ingredients (saltbush empanadas and an epic yellowfin tuna Chateaubriand with garlic Warrigal greens and Diane sauce for four).

Call (02) 8387 4386 for booking information.

Bar Copains is aptly named for a venture between two mates: chefs Nathan Sasi and Morgan McGlone. Sasi rules the kitchen, and has come up with some highly snackable dishes to go with the wine list – like the choux bun with an oozy fondant-style Comté custard, the potato scallops with sour cream and chives (which taste like upscale Pringles) or fried eggplant and tomato jam with a snowfall of salted ricotta. You’ll need the tomato salad with pickled watermelon rind to balance out all the crispy appetisers. McGlone’s contribution can also be found on every table – he hand-crafted everything from the water bottles to the large platters.

Email hello@barcopains.com for booking information.

Srian Perera doesn’t want you to think that his restaurant is just a place to take a first date. He’s been running Radio Cairo for more than 30 years and its ambitious menu incorporates many ideas. There are not many places in Sydney where you can find limpopo crocodile wings with African peach dipping sauce, Maldivian roshi bread and sambar, Oaxacan guacamole, Egyptian fattoush salad and West Indian fried chicken. His menu aims for a diversity that’s reflected in his own wide-ranging roots and is a thought-provoking reflection of how colonialism has impacted how we eat.

At Fauna, head chef Ace Espiritu turns the spotlight on local ingredients – think Hornsby Shire spatchcock with lime ponzu and pickled slaw, or Bass Strait grass-fed rib-eye with a rich hit of confit garlic and a comforting flourish of rosemary. Native ingredients are deployed, too – finger lime caviar is made to go with Appellation rock oysters and kangaroo is presented with tartare chips, nori and miso aioli. The menu also circles the globe, with piadina, arrabbiata and carbonara channelling Italy, while Asian accents add some firepower to the menu, via yuzu-kosho aioli (with school prawns) and Szechuan pepper (used to spice charred broccolini).