Food in Sydney: 9 Quintessentially Aussie Dishes and Where To Eat Them

Available year-round—thanks to the wide range of climates in which they’re farmed—Sydney rock oysters are one of the city’s signature treats. Moist, soft, and creamy with that indefinable iodine tang of the sea, they’re decadent and delicious served raw, on the half shell, with mignonette dressing.

And, while upscale dining options are legion—you can even visit an oyster farm for a tasting—you needn’t sell a kidney to afford them.

Where to try Sydney rock oysters in Sydney: Fine dining fans should run, not walk, to the bar at Saint Peter, one of the best restaurants in Sydney, where oysters lead the menu of seafood delights. Morrison’s Oyster Bar & Grill is a contemporary classic choice, while The Cosmopolitan Double Bay is a great option for foodies on a budget, but you’ll find oysters at many Sydney seafood spots.

Although New Zealanders also claim it as their own, the pavlova—a textural feast of crispy yet gooey meringue, smooth cream, and tangy fresh fruit supposedly named for a famed ballerina—is Australia’s signature dessert, particularly around Christmastime.

The family-size original is hard to find in stores—locals buy the components separately and assemble their pavs at home—but plenty of eateries serve up miniature versions as dessert.

Where to try pavlova in Sydney: For an Instagram-friendly Sydney classic, head to Bennelong in the Sydney Opera House, where the pavlova dessert comes decked with operatic sails. Rockpool Bar & Grill’s passion fruit pavlova, meanwhile, has been a menu staple for years.

While folk from the US to Chile have paired bread with mashed avocado since time immemorial, we have Sydney café culture to thank for making smashed avocado on toast a breakfast staple.

In 1993, art school dropout Bill Granger smashed up avo with herbs, served it on sourdough toast, and slapped it on the menu at his Darlinghurst café, bills. He sparked a culinary revolution.

Where to try avocado toast in Sydney: Go to the source at bills in Darlinghurst, where the sourdough features fenugreek and sesame and the avo has both lime and coriander—or brave the lines at Pina Potts Point.

Barbecue is as much a part of the Australian way of life as the South African braai, and Aussies love a barbie so much that free-to-use grills are scattered around public parks.

Just don’t expect traditional Australian barbecue to match the long, slow, smoky cooking methods of its American equivalent: It’s more about slapping meat, shrimp, and, particularly, sausages on the grill and cooking it fast.

Where to try barbecue in Sydney: While Sydney offers American barbecue (try Surly’s American Tavern), Brazilian barbecue (try Braza Churrascaria), and Korean barbecue (try Bornga Original Korean Taste), homestyle Aussie barbecue restaurants are thin on the ground. Fine dining fans flock to Firedoor for its fire-only kitchen, but for a really authentic experience head to Coles and DIY.

As with the pavlova (and, indeed, the upcoming lamington), Aussies and Kiwis dispute ownership of the flat white, but this modern coffee classic is firmly associated with Australian café culture.

More caffeinated, more structured, less milky, and less foamy than a latte, it’s a sweet, smooth coffee with a rich blend of steamed milk and espresso.

Where to try a flat white in Sydney: In Chippendale, Toby’s Estate has been crowned the world’s best coffee shop and pours a mean flat white; or try MCA Cafe at Tallawoladah for a flat white with a Sydney Harbour view.

A slab of flaky pastry packed full of tender beef and moist gravy, the unfussily named meat pie is Australia’s answer to Britain’s pork pie or Argentina’s empanada—a go-anywhere snack that’s as happy in the pub as it is on the road.

Aussies have been eating meat pies since the first British settlers arrived in the late 18th century and they remain one of the local favorites in Sydney.

Where to try a meat pie in Sydney: Go to Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, a pie cart with heritage. Otherwise, the Pie Shack out in Cronulla is a surfer favorite; Bondi’s Funky Pies brings the pie tradition to vegans; or for gourmet, edgy creations, seek out Blood’s Bakery on Instagram.

Whether you call it a parma or a parmi (aka parmy or parmie), chicken parmigiana is Australian comfort food par excellence: meaty, calorie-dense, and with bags of flavor.

The origins of the dish are cloudy, although Italy features somewhere in its DNA, but the combo of melted cheese, crumbed chicken, tomato sauce, and ham, served with fries, is a staple on pub menus and trying it is one of the quintessential Sydney food experiences.

Where to try chicken parmigiana in Sydney: Out in the wilds of Ramsgate, The Goni’s Schnitzelria Bistro is notorious for its jumbo parmies. Or stay central and classic at The Glenmore, a heritage pub with views over Sydney Harbour: Theirs even comes with salad.

So much of an Australian institution that they have their own day—National Lamington Day on July 21—lamingtons are an Aussie original, named for a Queensland governor, Lord Lamington (although they may have originated in New Zealand).

Cubes of sponge cake, dipped in chocolate and coconut, they’re often filled with cream and/or jam. Inventive bakers add everything from color to fruit to the mix, serving up “glamingtons.”

Where to try lamingtons in Sydney: Upscale bakery Flour and Stone has made a name for itself with its panna cotta lamingtons, and many consider them the country’s best. However, out-of-the-way Tokyo Lamington offers lamingtons in flavors ranging from the classic original to pandan and tiramisu.

Named in honor of Australia’s World War I fighters, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac), Anzac biscuits are confections of rolled oats, golden syrup, butter, and sugar—although many recipes also include coconut.

It's said that Australian women first made them to send out to men serving in the trenches, although the story may be more complicated than that.

Where to try Anzac biscuits in Sydney: Expect to find Anzac biscuits in bakeries in the run-up to Anzac Day (April 25): Try Berkelo in Manly, Bourke Street Bakery, or Flour and Stone. Or pick up a packet at any supermarket: Irrewarra is a great brand.