I came here with my uni friend and her wife for a catch up dinner when I was back in Sydney. I'd…read morenever heard of it but they live in Chippendale and recommended it. My friend's wife and I are both vegetarian so I knew they were guaranteed to have a reasonable number of options. Note: not really anything here for vegans. My first impression of the restaurant was that it was absolutely huge - high ceilings, a lot of space between tables and very open plan. The tables were low, long wood - really chic, sturdy and comfortable. Our waitress was excellent, very professional and attentive. It was a nice surprised as I'm not used to being 'served' in restaurants the same way I am in North America. Australia doesn't have a tipping culture so often service is lacklustre depending on the individual. Definitely not the case here. After perusing the menu for a while we decided to share the truffle pizza, potatos, squash, broccolini and beet/goat cheese salad. Everything was delicious and really decent portions. My favourites were the potatos and the broccolini but everything was good. I was definitely satisfied - could barely finish and no room for dessert. It came out at around $30pp. We didn't order alcohol or dessert but got sparking water, they offer it unlimited for $5. Really good value for a such a nice dining experience. I'd be happy to visit again.

Amazing! Came here…read morewith a few foodie friends to celebrate my birthday and it was sensational! Arrived just around 6pm on a Sunday and it wasn't too busy yet. The interior for this place somewhat reminds me of New York! High ceilings with an open kitchen that extends for most of the length of the restaurant. Still or sparking water is $2 per person either way so go for the sparkling and get some fizz in your life! ;) Items we ordered form the snacks section were: -Squid ink crackers, trout roe, cucumber $8 -English breakfast tea & toast, wild mushroom tea, gentlemens relish and bone marrow toast (for two) $14 -Tongue and cheek croquettes, picallilli $15 -'Social dog' pork and fennel sausage, green apple, black pudding, cheddar, mustard $15 From the vegetables: -Kale, chilli, garlic, corella pear, bottarga $15 From the raw & cured: -Tataki hiramasa, kingfish, dill, kahlrabi, togorashi $19 - Grass fed veal tartar, egg yolk jam, radish salad with sourdough $19 From the sourdough flatbreads: -QLD blue pumpkin, oyster & portabella mushrooms, blue cheese, walnut $16 -Lartisan 'mountain man' washed rind, white onion, smoked potato, bacon thyme $16 All this was to share among four people. All dishes were small to med servings so we got to sample everything! Loved everything that was brought out to the table. The english breakfast tea for two come out on a stand which you got to pour the mushroom tea into little tea cups - very nice. Service was excellent and very attentive. We all agreed that we would indeed be back as everything was spectacular!

Lunch at Glebe Point Diner is flawless…read more I've long been hearing rave reviews about this restaurant and finally made it there recently for lunch with my family. The dining room itself was a lot more casual than expected, but modern and inviting nonetheless with green leather banquettes, high ceilings and an open kitchen. Service was efficient yet friendly, our waitress describing their specials in detail and encouraging a shared starter of twice-baked gruyere soufflé with rocket side salad (great tip!). Main courses were just as delicious - I sampled a grilled snapper fillet atop finely sliced fennel, sautéed down into a slightly sweet yet aniseed sauce with fresh peas and baby steamed clams, while the scotch fillet also came to the table smothered in creamy caramelised onion, a million layered potato galette and well-seasoned witled silverbeet. Dessert was simple but offered pretty generous portion sizes - we tried the rhubarb frangipane tart and chocolate parfait with macerated strawberries - but I liked that their menu also offered petit fours at $2.50 a pop if you only felt like a little mouthful of something sweet (the spiced marshmallow, a particularly tempting offer).

The staff at this lovely little establishment are not only unobtrusively efficient, they give new…read moremeaning to the term hospitality. The food does not disappoint, with the finest and freshest ingredients being used in an eclectic fusion of flavours. The gnocchi, spun so light, it melted onto the tongue, left a smouldering film of deliciousness. The special, a corned beef sandwich, was a unique take on what is in my estimation only ever attainable in New York or some of the eastern states of America and was a delectable surprise! Desert, accompanied by perfect coffees, was the perfect end, to a seamlessly delicious meal.

Crows Nest Plaza must be the saddest and dingiest looking spot in the suburb, but don't go holding…read morethat against the Bayleaf Brasserie. Actually, the sorry location would probably stop me going and eating in, but I am a big fan of their takeaway! I've sampled the Dahl, 'Rogan-josh' and Shahi Murg (Breast fillets of chicken stuffed with sultanas and paneer served in cashew, almond and saffron flavored sauce), all of which went down very well with their addictively good rice. The flavours are delicious, not oily and they were happy to make it more mild for my horridly lame pallet. The Bayleaf Brasserie also offers lunch specials and a banquet menu - now if only they'd renovate the plaza and make it a more appealing place to visit!

Great service. Great food. Pity about the location. Could do so much better out on the street…read more Would come back again!!! For 29 this was a absolute Bargain!! Bought this as a voucher deal! Would do many times over.

Ok there's a very good reason to come to this hole-in-the-wall joint. The set menus here are…read morephenomenal value and offer an authenticity rarely seen in this part of Sydney. Pictures of food with Engrish descriptions adorn the walls here. The menu too is extensive and offers the usual complements of a Chinese eaterie with some extras. It's not the most sublime environment but it is what it is - a value-for-money Chinese eaterie in a working class suburb and all the trappings of noise and curt service that comes with it. We had a set meal for 2 people costing approximately $33. Tea and rice is complimentary. Basically we got 2 dishes consisting of Fried Pork Ribs and a Steamed Fish with a side dish of vegetables. The pork ribs were alright albeit pedestrian. The real kicker here is the Steamed Fish. It is gloriously cooked and seasoned without a hint of fishiness. I look around and notice that my fellow dining compatriots have discovered the secret of this too and most have this steamed fish on their tables. I haven't gone through the entire menu but I've also tried some of their seafood dishes which are still pretty good value for things like crab or abalone. Their eggplant in hotpot is also done very well. This has become my go to when I want a no-fuss and relatively cheapish dinner with quality food and cooking.

I really enjoyed eating at this restaurant, the food was and I will definitely recommend it to my…read morefriends and I will return. The food was the excellent and it wasn't expensive, the prices are great and affordable. I ordered a beef noodle soup and it's completely different from other restaurant, other restaurants had so much oil in it that you couldn't even see the noodles and the soup wasn't salty like the other restaurants.

We were on a voucher for lunch. The restaurant is on a corner (as the name suggests) and is a very…read morepleasant location especially if you like to watch the passersby. The service was good. The voucher meal started with a garlic crust pizza. It was OK; a bit like a big sao. The pasta and salad came out together. The salad was a bit of a disappointment as the tomatoes were not ripe enough. The chicken risotto was nice but the Italian sausage and fennel was the pick. I paid extra for a macchiato and that was good. My dessert eating friend wanted to try the Crepes Suzette and was disappointed as it was really thin pancakes with an orange sauce....not surprising really.

I love alfreco dining on a beautiful sunny day. Top Ryde provides the perfect setting for this…read moreaway from the car fume infested devlin st and black and road. There are quite a few restaurants here but the lucky choice for today was Bar Angolo. FOOD If you were to ask me what the 3 basic ingredients to pizza were I'd say dough, tomato sauce and cheese. I was a bit confused then when there was a section of the menu dedicated to non tomato based pizza's. I enquired about this to find out these were white sauce based pizza's. Makes sense seeing as you get the same deal with pastas. Opted for the Pollo pizza ($21 - white sauce pesto base) and Crab penne ($26). Pizza trumped the Pasta but I still felt the chicken was a little too dry but the pesto sauce made up for this to give it good flavour OVERALL The alfresco setting creates a great atmosphere for relaxed dining. Good way to waste away an afternoon. Oh and recycling (http://www.yelp.com.au/biz_photos/zAQvp2YX6xuTABKYn0lGMQ#Sw_0L16UCvsgDfkV4emFOw) I like it!

A tornado smashed Bondi just as a burger tornado was smashing my face. That's a terrible analogy,…read morebut hey, any port in a storm. So. The Cowboy Burger. It's big, it's bad, it's got fried onion rings and smoky tasting bacon and a patty that you want to lay down on a bearskin rug and make sweet sweet Barry White love to and not with. They also do this super cool thing where they run a special limited edition burger of the week from recipes given to them by their customers. By the people, for the people. Sweet idea. Now. The Chilli Cheese Fries. What a delightful surprise. A bowl of shoestring fries drenched -swimming! - in chilli con carne chock full of tender chunks of brisket, piled with bubbling melted cheese. Look at my photos to see what I mean. Mind. Blown. Wide. Open. Have a chat to Gaudi the owner, he's a rad guy, and real friendly. This place has been open about 12 weeks or so and hopefully will be open for another 12 years, the food + service is bang on.

Saw a new burger shop pop up and obviously had to go, and went so with a friend…read more Paradise Road Diner is a new Americana diner opened by Bondi Iceberg's David Owen. The menu has stuff from burgers, to fried chicken and waffles, to bagels, to omelettes, and even some braised beef. They also sport some staple sides like mac and cheese. Well I obviously came for the burger...and thankfully you can add extras to it. I got the Cheeseburger ($15) and added a 2nd patty plus bacon ($5, $3)...each patty is 180g so it's not a small burger even without extras. We also ordered the braised brisket. The burger is pretty good...the best way to describe it is although it's messy, it's a "clean" burger. You can eat this burger and not feel gross afterwards...but then sometimes I don't know if that's a good thing, as part of the experience of eating a burger is that greasy heart attack inducing grossness you feel eating it sometimes, like at Mary's. It's tasty but it's missing an extra kick, or the X factor that makes it completely stand out. It's an awesome new addition to the burger scene in Sydney, and especially out in Bondi. Bonditony's has some competition now, though Bonditony's bread still wins, the meat here wins over Bonditony's. The braised brisket is alright, it comes with a side of sweet BBQ sauce, pickles, and cornbread. Would have preferred smoked brisket but alas no smoker here...they're also BYO at the moment but will have a license soon enough. Would come again.

It's always nice when you get recognised by people who you don't expect to recognise you. Like the…read morestaff at a restaurant you haven't been to in a while. "Have you been away?" the owner of Asakusa asked my friend and I last time we went in. "I haven't seen you in a while." Yes, we had been away. And yes, we do go there a lot. Asakusa is fantastic for inexpensive and fresh Japanese food. From the $6 Taco Yaki (fried octopus balls) and Togarashi Tofu (deep fried tofu with chilli, garlic and dried shredded tuna) to my favourite, the Asagao Dinner Box (sushi, futomaki, green salad & tuna maki) for $14.50, you leave Asakusa feeling full, healthy and happy in the knowledge that you haven't spent most of this week's budget. If you've got time, grab an Asahi and some edamame beans while you peruse the menu. Also, avoid making changes to the meals if you don't want to cause confusion.

We had dinner here last night…read more Shabu Shabu is so much fun shared. I introduced my other half to it, even after explaining to him repeatedly that it's not soup! I'm yet to have a bad meal here. The food is always very yummy. The staff are lovely. The decor leaves much to be desired, but I'm not there to stare at their walls, I'm there to play with my food!!!

This place has real hip and trendy decor. It's got a great atmosphere to it. Giving off more of a…read morebar feel with the "order at the front then find a place to sit" structure, Deck bar tries to stand out in the sea of cafes and restaurants at Dee Why strip. Their service is friendly, efficient and enthusiastic (though after I ordered my food and shoved my change back into my wallet, the waitress dropped a F-bomb in front of me to her colleague whilst they were in conversation!). The food was really good. I would rate it well against the other restaurants too. It's not as pricey (they have plenty of lunch and dinner deals) and the portions are of a good size! I had the salt and pepper squid with salad ($16.50, included drink). The squid was tender and perfectly cooked. It had the right amount of batter and it wasn't overly oily. The salad was a bit ugh, it's a hit and miss and unfortunately the flavour combinations of watercress with cucumber and lychees didn't work for me. It looked appealing but didn't taste that great. My friend had the fish and chips ($16.50, drink included). They absolutely nailed the presentation. It looked fantastic. The fish had the right amount of batter and was fresh. Chips actually tasted like real potato and were well seasoned. Overall, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and give them 5 stars, just because I know I will return again.

Alfresco dining at its finest can be enjoyed here at Deck Bar & Dining with beautiful views of Dee…read moreWhy Beach, the Pacific Ocean and the Norfolk pines. Positioned over two levels, the ground floor has casual dining where you can order a pizza and have a drink, upstairs is more formal with fantastic seafood options. Try the 'Deck' Paella to share between two which has scallops, prawns, squid, barramundi and chorizo in coriander and lime rice with a nice Brokenwood Semillon. There is live music on some afternoon/evenings and the best day I think to be here is on a Sunday afternoon what a puuuurffect way to end a weekend.