Where We Drink
Maybe Sammy
BAR115 Harrington Street, The Rocks, NSW 2000, Australia · The RocksWorld's #42 in 2025. Stefano Catino, Andrea Gualdi, and the Italian-Sydney cocktail glamour in The Rocks. Pink leather banquettes, a martini trolley, a program built on classic technique with a Roman-Italian sense of style. Best for someone who is obsessed with martinis.
Cantina OK!
BARCouncil Place, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia · Downtown Sydney (laneway)A laneway mezcal and agave bar in downtown Sydney from the Maybe Sammy team, tiny format, no signage. Tight focused list, a back bar that leans hard on small Mexican producers. Best for a quick stop before dinner or a late-night drink standing up.
The Baxter Inn
BAR152-156 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia · Downtown SydneyA basement whisky bar in downtown Sydney, World's 50 Best Bars alumnus across most of the last decade. Over 900 whiskies on the back bar, low light, the kind of room where the bartender pours and you listen. Best for a long evening with someone who wants to taste through Scotland or Japan.
Old Mate's Place
BARLevel 4, 199 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia · Sydney CBDA hidden Clarence Street rooftop in the Sydney CBD, four floors up an unmarked stairwell. Two formats inside one venue: the indoor library bar with leather booths and Victorian bookcases, and the planted rooftop terrace with city views. Cocktails lean experimental and the kitchen runs an unfancy cheesesteak program through to 2am.
Where We Eat
Saint Peter
RESTAURANT161 Underwood Street, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia · Paddington (The Grand National Hotel)World's 50 Best longlist 2024; Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year 2025. Josh and Julie Niland's pescatarian fine-dining room, relocated in 2024 from a 20-seat Oxford Street box into the heritage Grand National Hotel in Paddington (40-seat dining room, 20-seat bar, 15-seat private dining). Niland is the global authority on whole-fish butchery and dry-aging, and the kitchen builds menus around cuts most rooms throw away.
Sean's
RESTAURANT270 Campbell Parade, North Bondi NSW 2026, Australia · BondiSean Moran's small dining room at the beach end of Bondi's Campbell Parade. A daily-changing handwritten menu, a real wine list, and a chef cooking for forty seats. Best for a long Sunday lunch before walking the coastal track to Bronte.
Where We Stay
Capella Sydney
HOTEL24 Loftus Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia · Sydney CBD (Farrer Place)World's 50 Best Hotels #12 in 2025; Best Hotel in Oceania. The heritage 1912 Department of Education building on Farrer Place, sandstone and arched windows, converted in 2023 by hospitality group Capella. Aperture rooftop bar, McRae dining room, and a spa that occupies what was once Sydney's largest sandstone office building.
Park Hyatt Sydney
HOTEL7 Hickson Road, The Rocks NSW 2000, Australia · The RocksThe Rocks, on Hickson Road, with the most photographed view in Sydney. The Opera House on one side, the Harbour Bridge on the other, the Living Room bar pulling guests for sunset every night of the year. The address-restaurant of Sydney hospitality.
Where the Chapter Begins
Click through for what to drink between flights.