The May Hit List: Shaffa, Tokyo Lamington, Re, Caysorn, and More

At Re, everything has been upcycled. Those coasters? Used to be shampoo bottles. Those banquette covers? Once were pineapple leaves. It’s the same for the drinks. Matt Whiley (Scout) and team are aiming for the bar to hit zero-waste status one day, so they’re flavouring drinks with spent coffee grounds from a nearby café and leftover apricots and banana peels from the markets. On paper, it might sound questionable, in your cocktail glass, it’s convincingly delicious. Also on the menu: ‘research’ cocktails inspired by space and an eggplant snack that pays tribute to Momofuku Seiobo’s Paul Carmichael.

Dining status: open for walk-ins and bookings

Min Chai and Ed Stewart have said goodbye to Haymarket and recently opened a permanent spot for Tokyo Lamington in Newtown. It’s especially meaningful for Stewart (it’s Black Star Pastry’s original site, where Stewart worked for half a decade). The remixed lamingtons are still on the menu, including a Neapolitan special inspired by those multi-coloured tubs of ice-cream, but don’t miss the made-to-order onigiri and other dishes inspired by the owners’ experiences in Japan (like furikake toast with vegan cream cheese or black sesame and rum canelés).

Dining status: open for takeaway, delivery and walk-ins.

Shaffa’s walls were carved by English convicts in the 1850s and the restaurant’s neighbours include a 120-year-old church and 19th-century inn. This might not immediately evoke the markets of Tel Aviv, but that’s what Shaffa is aiming for. Chef Artur​ Bilder previously worked in the Israeli city, at 2C, and his menu focuses on flavours from the Middle East: think saffron and yoghurt chicken shawarma, burnt eggplant labne with harissa oil and sumac, basbousa cake with grilled figs and Tel Aviv knafeh with goat cheese and Iranian pistachios.

Dining status: open for walk-ins and bookings.

You may know Anna Ugarte-Carral for various achievements. She won the 2020 Josephine Pignolet Young Chef Award during her time at Momofuku Seiobo. She’s part of Ten Hats Bistro, which stages one-night-only restaurant experiences. And now she’s getting great notices as head chef of The Old Fitzroy Hotel. Currently, she’s plating up baked Spanish rice with crab, Moonacres pears with Roquefort

cheese, honey bug bisque with Sardinian fregola and other flavours inspired by the Mediterranean.

Dining status: open for walk-ins and bookings.

It’s natural to associate Morgan McGlone with comfort food, given his many years running Belles Hot Chicken. His restaurant Sunday also projects the same food-as-hugs warmth. Yes, there’s chicken (off the rotisserie with roast vegetables and gravy, as a schnitzel burger and as Creole wings with lime), but there’s also choripàn (Argentinian hot dogs) and chip butty sandwiches spiced with Madas mayo and curry leaves for vegetarians.

Dining status: open for takeaway, deliveries, walk-ins and bookings.

Ryo Horii was born in Fukuoka, Japan, the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen. Long before #ramenislife became a hashtag, he was boiling bones for his stock and establishing himself as one of the forefathers to Sydney’s ramen scene. Nearly two decades later, his noodles still attracts queues outside his bright-orange shopfront. Diners aren’t just waiting for his pork-rich broth, his menu also includes other ramen types (including tsukemen and a solid vegetarian option), onigiri and Japanese curry.

Dining status: open for takeaway, deliveries, and walk-ins.

Like its sister restaurants (Taqiza, Carbon and Calita), Sonora has a Mexican focus. It’s named after the northwestern Mexican state, where the tortillas are made from wheat, not corn. Here, they’re served with barbecued eggplant and Oaxaca cheese or market fish with spiced pasilla butter. Your sweet tooth is taken care of, thanks to Mexican flan and grilled pineapple with agave syrup and coconut ice-cream. Thirsty? The bar specialises in mezcal (including wild-harvested varieties), and there’s always hibiscus agua fresca if you’re skipping the booze.

Dining status: open for takeaway, walk-ins and bookings.

This beloved Southern Thai restaurant has been making people cry for a decade – for good reasons. The menu is serious about its spice levels, but also features other dishes to try if you prefer less firepower, like the bai-leng pad kai (these ultra-savoury greens sautéed with egg and garlic often sell out, so act quickly; missing out might also elicit tears). The khanom jeen (fermented noodles with curry) is a signature speciality and there are plenty of icy drinks (flavoured with pandan leaf, longan and lime) if you need help cooling your tastebuds.

Dining status: open for takeaway, deliveries, walk-ins and bookings.

Looking for a taste of Liguria? You’ll find it at ReccoLab. The northwest Italian region is famous for its pesto, so you’ll see the ultra-green basil sauce brightening thick stretches of trofie pasta – or better yet, adding a herbal hit to the focaccia col formaggio, a signature snack from the Ligurian town of Recco. The thin, crisp dough layers are filled with rich, stretchy stracchino cheese – and are a delight to eat.

Dining status: open for takeaway, deliveries, walk-ins and bookings.

The past year in the CBD has been quiet, given COVID-19 work-from-home orders, but City of Sydney is helping revive the main streets and hidden alleys again. It’s supporting the YCK Laneways Block Party in the city’s small bar district, and Prince of York is joining the action. Its Queen of Arts program runs until mid-May and features DJ sets, comedy acts, Drag Queen Bingo and a $40 set menu with barbecued octopus and spanner crab spaghetti with blistered tomatoes.

Dining status: open for takeaway, deliveries, walk-ins and bookings.