Where to eat, drink in Surry Hills, Sydney’s special suburb at centre of creative cuisine

It is a perfect spring day in Sydney, and the wooden roof panels of Kiln restaurant have been slid back to let a gentle breeze into the dining room. Framed by the open wood-fired kitchen, chefs Mitch Orr, Rosheen Kaul and Trisha Greentree are a flurry of activity as they pump out tiny platefuls of bite-sized treats to a full house of diners. We are poured elegant cups of “before the rain harvest” white peony tea as the first few courses arrive. First come Sydney rock oysters, here licked by flames and topped with a nutty XO brown butter; then Vietnamese-adjacent grilled beef patties swaddled with waxy betel leaves and served with a punchy pineapple sauce. We are also served pork wontons, plump and swimming in a glistening puddle of black bean sauce, and spinach and crab dumplings – whose pearlescent skins obscure the vibrant green and orange fillings. This is dim sum, but not as you know it – it is an entirely new interpretation by the three chefs, each with a diverse background but united by their connection to Australia. The brunch is part of Kiln’s “Taste Buds” programme, a series of creative collaborations between chef friends. September’s theme was yum cha – the Chinese tradition of eating dim sum and drinking tea. The trio’s creative dim sum offerings included a dense, meaty Sichuan-spiced pork sausage in a spring roll with a cooling green relish , and charred rice noodles with sweet scallops and spring greens rather than the more conventional lap mei (preserved meats) and bean sprouts. The brunch epitomised the freewheeling creativity that has come to define modern Australian cuisine, and by extension was a solid introduction to the current state of Sydney’s gastronomic scene. Kiln is the signature restaurant at the offbeat Ace Hotel Sydney in Surry Hills, an area that has over the course of a century evolved from a criminal haven into one of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. Surry Hills’ reinvention began in the 1960s, thanks to savvy young students and families who were drawn to the neighbourhood for its proximity to the city centre and relatively more affordable housing. By the 1980s, Surry Hills terrace houses – which were originally built as cheap workers’ rentals and many of which still stand today – had been taken over by young and upwardly mobile professionals, who in turn helped shape the cultural and creative landscape of their adopted neighbourhood. Like Shoreditch in London or Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong, Surry Hills is popular with travelling trend chasers visiting Sydney. Visitors are often attracted by the community’s independent restaurants, bars and cafes, and boutique shops. I last visited Sydney more than a decade ago, and even back then the area was a hotspot for gastro-tourists. This was thanks to destinations such as Reuben Hills coffee shop, and grill restaurant Porteno, both opened in 2010, joining neighbourhood stalwarts such as Bourke Street Bakery, which opened in 2004, and Single O, which opened in 2003 and is considered the OG of Sydney’s third-wave coffee shops. Returning to the area in 2024, it is both gratifying and intriguing to see how Surry Hills has grown with an even greater assortment of food and drink. Over the years, numerous boutique hotels have cropped up around the neighbourhood, including Paramount House Hotel – which houses the incredible AP House bakery on its rooftop as well as the casual wine bar Poly at its base – and the Crystalbrook Albion, which both opened in 2018. This time, my home base would be Ace Hotel Sydney, which opened in May 2022 as the lauded American boutique hotel brand’s first outpost in the Southern Hemisphere. The 264-room hotel is housed in the former Tyne brick factory building on Wentworth Avenue, which was home to one of Australia’s first ceramic kilns. Today the hotel, which has interiors designed by Melbourne agency Flack Studio, feels like the kind of place for renegades and creatives, who one might expect to see constantly slouching on the leather sofas of the lobby sipping stiff martinis. They would feel right at home with all the vibrant artworks peppered throughout the property, from Australian artist Tony Albert’s collaborations with Western Australia’s indigenous Warakurna community to Jason Phu’s playful graffiti works depicting icons and fables from Chinese culture. The hotel also has sheet music available, and there are acoustic guitars in the guestrooms. It proved to be the ideal base to explore the nooks and crannies of Surry Hills on foot, with most of the places on our hit list within a 20-minute walk from the hotel. Heading further afield, Central railway station – Sydney’s largest – is less than 10 minutes’ walk away, while the Sydney Opera House is a 35-minute walk north. Here are our food and drink recommendations according to ease of access when walking from Ace Hotel Sydney (47-53 Wentworth Avenue, Surry Hills, Sydney). Less than 5 minutes away Kiln The three food and drink outlets at Ace Hotel Sydney are destinations in themselves, but Kiln – Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2023’s restaurant of the year – is packed every night thanks to Mitch Orr’s “Italian-ish” cuisine peppered with Japanese and Southeast Asian influences. His Jatz crackers with smoked butter and salty anchovies are a must-order. Parami View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐄 | 𝐒𝐘𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐄 🐷 (@angiefeasts) Located in a quiet side street, Parami is paradise for fans of onigiri (Japanese rice balls), quality Japanese teas and freshly-baked pastries and mochi muffins. Shop 101/21 Alberta Street, Surry Hills, Sydney AP House Some of Sydney’s best breads and pastries can be found here, and this original outpost on the rooftop of Paramount House Hotel is the perfect place to shoot the breeze over breakfast. Get the Aleppo pepper and Asiago cheese scrolls and the twice-baked macadamia, honey and thyme croissant filled with almond frangipane. A great tip is to try the newly opened weekend-only takeaway AP Supply (106 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, Sydney). It serves incredible Japanese-style puffs with salted pistachio or kumquat and Chantilly cream filling. L2/80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, Sydney Pellegrino 2000 This excellent Italian trattoria has two parts: the buzzing upstairs space and the intimate underground wine cellar dining room where Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter were seen sharing platefuls of pasta over candlelight earlier this year. Do not miss the bucatini all’Amatriciana. 80 Campbell Street, Surry Hills, Sydney Poly The Ester is 21 minutes walk away from Ace, but its sister restaurant Poly is only a stone’s throw away, and has the same convivial atmosphere, crushable wine list – name-checking small-scale producers rather than bigwigs – and a compact menu. Be quick to order the blue swimmer crab manti jazzed up with garlic and beurre noisette because dishes run out. 74-76 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, Sydney 10-15 minutes away View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bar Copains (@barcopains) Bar Copains With its intimate seating where patrons can drink pinot, and spaces on the pavement for smokers, there is definitely something Parisian about this tiny wine bar, but the food is contemporary and freewheeling. Dishes such as the bacon and Comté custard tart (so oozy) and the pig’s head fritti with sauce gribiche show the chefs’ solid technique. 67 Albion Street, Surry Hills, Sydney View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sydney Food Diaries | N & K (@sydappetites) Toei Toei is a cosy neighbourhood spot where chef Kevin Jeon’s Asian fusion plates balance fine-dining sensibilities with affordability. Sydney rock oysters might come topped with a Jeju mandarin granita, while a textbook potato pavé is given a taste of the East with cod cream, soy-cured roe and furikake. Do not miss the hot fried quail katsu with kungpao sauce and coriander. Shop 1&2, 185 Campbell Street, Surry Hills, Sydney Maido Artificer Coffee on Bourke Street is a wonderful spot for single-origin brews on a sunny day, and their follow-up cafe Maido is beautiful and Zen-like. It focuses more on house-made ceramics and expertly whisked matcha lattes. Keep an eye out for the store’s sassy mascot, Pocari the Shiba Inu, whose likeness adorns the frankly adorable tote bags for sale. 7-9 Flinders Street, Surry Hills, Sydney 15-20 minutes away White Horse You would never guess that this sleekly furnished, art-adorned restaurant used to be a sticky-floored pub. For his incredible food, chef Jed Gerrard focuses on ethically sourced, local ingredients many of which are native to Australia. One of the best bites of our trip was his roasted chicken skin with liver mousse, persimmon and Davidson’s plum. 381 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney Four Pillars Gin Laboratory Spirits aficionados certainly know Four Pillars, now one of Australia’s most sought after gin brands. Making a trip to its flagship bar and laboratory in Surry Hills is a worthwhile exercise. Book yourself in for one of the cocktail workshops and you will get to try your hand at bartending while snacking on charcuterie and mini pies. The entry fee includes a discount on a bottle or two at the store. 410 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney The writer was hosted by Ace Hotel Sydney during her stay.

Where to eat, drink in Surry Hills, Sydney’s special suburb at centre of creative cuisine

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Taylor Swift ate pasta in this area where Australian gastronomy thrives. We explore Surry Hills on foot from the artsy Ace Hotel Sydney

Taylor Swift ate pasta in this area where Australian gastronomy thrives. We explore Surry Hills on foot from the artsy Ace Hotel Sydney