The 3 Hottest Restaurants in Sydney Australia in 2013

I don’t know about you but there is nothing that irks me more than handing over a wad of my hard earned cash for what can only be described as a crummy meal. Add a dollop of bad service to that and it’s enough to almost ruin your night out. So in an effort to spare you the pain of an appalling experience I have put together this list of what can only be described as THE Hottest Restaurants in Sydney this year.

Porteño

Dining Argentinian style. This Surry Hills restaurant is the one that is hot on everyone’s lips. It is pretty new on the foodie scene and has made a big splash with about a gazillion awards. We’re talking 2 hats (when even one is good) from the SMH 2013 Good Food Guide AND SMH 2013 Good Food Guide’s Chefs of the Year, plus number 20 in Australia Gourmet Traveller’s Top 100 Restaurants for 2013 and the People’s Choice Award for the 2012 Time Out Food Awards.  Not a bad line up eh?

So it is popular. You will wait. And if you are going to get all cranky pants about that sort of thing then maybe go somewhere else. They have a gorgeous bar upstairs that you can pass your time in. Some suggest the ambience in the bar is even better than the restaurant itself. There is a great array of bar snacks available so if you look to be waiting for awhile then why not order a bunch of those and treat them as your entree. Just a suggestion.

With 2 hats this restaurant is not super cheap so this is one for a special night out. You are looking at a budget of approximately $52 per person for an entree and main.

The house speciality is slow cooked meat dishes – how very South American. Do not go past the eight hour suckling pig. Cheesy polenta and fennel salad make great side choices. And wait for it…some amazing brussell sprouts

The restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm so that’s for dinner only folks. There are 2 sittings: 6pm – 8:30pm or 9pm to close and the restaurant will only take bookings for parties of 5 or more.

Momofuku Seiobo

Image Courtesy of Momofoku.com

Momofuku Seiobo is the first Momofuku restaurant outside of New York City. Damn this place is quite a find despite its Pyrmont (read Casino) location. This baby was awarded 3 well deserved and very prestigious hats in the SMH Good Food Guide.

The restaurant offers a tasting menu only at a set price.  You need to allow a minimum of 2 hours for the 14 courses so it is a real dining experience.  You can opt for beverage pairing with your meal but it doesn’t come cheap at $95 for dinner and $60 for lunch. It is well worth doing if you can afford it though.

You must book in advance. The bar has 5 seats and a limited bar menu so if you want to rock up unannounced this is your only option.

Dinner is offered Mon – Sat from 7pm and lunch Fri and Sat only from 12:15pm.

Three Blue Ducks

Photo courtesy of ThreeBlueDucks.com

This place is a simple little (but trendy) Bronte cafe by day and a restaurant delight at night.  Here we have a trio of former Tetsuya’s chefs taking over the kitchen and by golly, you can tell. There is a risk of a too many cooks situation coming to pass here but it is not the case at all.  Instead it is rather like the whole is more than the sum of its (3) parts.

Meals are in the form of tasting plates and you can order as many as you please. The restaurant recommends allowing 4-5 per person.  Dining is more laid back than fine (even though the price suggests otherwise) and the location suits this perfectly.

A restaurant special and certainly a highlight is the blood pudding. I dare you to give it a try. It is a taste sensation.

There are two dinner sittings for the evening: 6/630pm – 8:30/9pm and then 9pm to 11pm.