If you’re not quite ready for dine-in, remember that these restaurants are all still doing great take away. Other favourites already reopening (and doing fabulous take away) include Lucio’s (1-sitting lunches or dinners for exclusive-use table of 10, what fun!!) ~ Yellow (vegetarian like never before) ~ Pilu at Freshwater ~ Don’t Tell Aunty ~ Anason & Efendy ~ Red Lantern ~ Maybe Frank, Buffalo Dining & Marta. Dine-in, take away, market boxes, gift vouchers … if you want a restaurant industry to enjoy post-Covid19, support them in whichever way you can. Use it or Lose it! Sydney restaurants closed on 23 March to help control the Covid19 pandemic. Eight weeks later, as social distancing regulations began to ease, hungry diners started celebrating Sydney restaurants reopening (initially just for 10 guests at a time). We’re hungry for more than just good food though, most of us have had plenty of that thanks to awesome market boxes and delicious take away from many of Sydney’s finest. We’re hungry to be back at our favourite restaurant counters, debating the merits of interesting wines with our fave sommeliers and enjoying the latest creations from our favourite chefs. It’s time to celebrate our hospitality industry and help them rebuild the places we love to visit. Here are five of the Sydney restaurants reopening that I can’t wait to celebrate!
Bibo Wine Bar Portuguese/Mod Oz
www.bibowinebar.com.au
The bright young crew at my fave wine bar, including sommelier Louella Mathews (ex-Rockpool) and chef Jose Silva (ex-Guillaume), has turned their upstairs dining room into a 10-seater restaurant to remember. 8-course degustation for just $100, including aperitif, and don’t miss Louella’s superb wine matches for an extra $55.
Chiosco Italian
www.chiosco.com.au
Alessandro Pavoni has reopened his trattoria on gorgeous Middle Harbour with a $75 greatest-hits sharing menu including vitello tonnato, calamari fritti, spaghetti with prawns & bottarga and much more. Preorder your Aperol spritz to get things started, or nab the Ormeggio deck for you and 9 friends with a bespoke food and wine menu.
Nilgiri’s Indian
www.nilgiris.com.au
Ajoy and Meera Joshi have reopened Nilgiri’s dine-in with the same generous spirit that’s seen them offering free meals to those in need for the past 8 weeks. They’re serving a la carte and tasting menus and have just 2 seatings a night so regulars can take their time and relax out of their homes for a while.
Macleay Street Bistro French
www.macleaystbistro.com.au
The snails in garlic butter, moules marinières and chateaubriand Béarnaise have stood the test of time at this cosy bistro (over 30 years in fact). They’ve now reopened 7 days for lunch (from 1pm) and dinner (6pm or 8pm). Plus the Sunday roast chook for 2 is back at just $76 with roast veg and free BYO.
Long Chim Thai
www.longchimsydney.com
Great Thai food is a balance of flavours and textures across a range of shared dishes. Forget iso-take-away now Long Chim dine-in is back! Grab some mates to share a few snacks before a spicy curry, refreshing salad and comforting stir-fry … and something sweet to finish (ahhh! mango sticky rice). All for just $68/person starting today.
