Fresh air, fresh food: Sydney's summertime dining

Sydney’s dining scene is a fusion of flavours, cultures, local ingredients and breathtaking scenery. In summer you're really spoilt for choice with award-winning restaurants, outdoor dining with stunning views of Sydney from every angle and an abundance of local, fresh produce cooked - and sometimes even grown - by a new breed of young, dynamic chefs.

Food with a view

Alfresco drinking and dining is an essential summertime experience in Sydney - always with a side order of amazing scenery.

Dining on wharves In Sydney, where there's a wharf there's most likely a great restaurant or bar on it. One of the newest is The Bar at the End of the Wharf , Sydney Theatre Company's recently opened bar at their Walsh Bay headquarters; and in Rose Bay another harbour wharf is home to The Sailor's Club , a Palm Springs-inspired celebration of delicious fresh local seafood with wraparound water views. Wharf dining is big in Palm Beach, too, at The Boathouse Palm Beach . Tuck into the famous beer battered flathead and chips while seaplanes land beside you on the clear blue Pittwater. Hugos Manly occupies a prime spot on Manly Wharf - the ferry takes you almost to the door. Woolloomooloo wharf is home to a strip of top class restaurants including Otto, Manta and China Doll , and the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay houses Quay , one of Australia's most awarded restaurants. New to Elizabeth Bay, Bird & Bear Boathouse on the wharf in pretty Beare Park has a killer breakfast menu to match the marina and harbour views.

On the beach The beach is steps away from your deckchair at The Bucket List in Bondi; breathe the fresh sea air and tuck into local fish carpaccio with a NSW Lisa McGuigan pinot gris from Orange. Right on the sand at Balmoral Beach on the north shore, The Bather’s Pavilion pairs beautiful harbour views with chef Serge Dansereau's passion for local seasonal produce. Pilu at Freshwater and the more casual Pilu Kiosk are just steps from the sand of picturesque Freshwater beach and a great vantage point to watch all the beach action over a glass of Pino Grigio and plate of zucchini flowers. Or purchase the infamous suckling pig panino from the Kiosk for a casual beach picnic.

Sailing Clubs Sydney Sailing Clubs are a well-kept locals’ secret and a great place for a budget-friendly waterside meal. If you’re ravenous after a day of sailing, or just want a cold drink with a wonderful harbour view, drop into one of these clubhouses dotted all over Sydney Harbour: Middle Harbour Yacht Club at The Spit, Mosman; CYCA at Rushcutters Bay; Manly 16ft Skiff Club , where you can dine right over the water in Manly Cove; Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club at Newport on Pittwater in the Northern Beaches, Drummoyne Sailing Club on the banks of the Parramatta River, and Mosman Rowers , which has a beautiful heritage timber building right on Mosman Bay.

Toast Sydney's summer outdoors Sipping delicious drinks outdoors in summer is an absolute must. Whether it’s a bar by the beach, on a rooftop in the city or overlooking a wide green space, there’s a bar to suit every mood.

On the water Bondi has plenty of drinking destinations dotted along its famous beach; there's The Bucket List , right beside the north sands, Bucklers Canteen , a rock n' roll hangout on the beach strip and The Anchor , a rum-soaked, cool pirate's layer further along the strip. Find further blockbusting ocean views in Manly from Hugos Manly, Bavarian Bier Cafe and Manly Wharf Hotel on the wharf, Hemingways , facing the ocean, and Manly Wine, where a horizon vista accompanies every glass. The Bar at the end of the Wharf in Walsh Bay brings a new angle on the inner harbour – sip a locally brewed Young Henrys beer and admire the Harbour Bridge form the west. And Kings Street Wharf at Darling Harbour has an impressive strip of outdoor, harbourside drinking choices from Cargo Bar at one end to the lively party spots Bungalow8 and The Loft at the other.

On the roof Sydney’s city rooftops come alive in summer with buzzing bars offering unique panoramas. Try the big rooftop space at the revamped Glenmore Hotel in The Rocks for amazing views across to Sydney Opera House, best enjoyed with a chilled glass of Kudos Chardonnay from Orange NSW, one of the highlights of the pub's new menu. Another exciting new rooftop development is Sweethearts , a new barbecue and bar on top of Kings Cross favourite Sugarmill. It has a backyard feel with eskies, grills and a classic Aussie playlist, surrounded by the eclectic Kings Cross skyline. Strawberry Hills Hotel in Surry Hills has another gloriously gritty view from its upstairs terrace.

Corridor in Newtown has a birds-eye view of Newtown’s lively backstreets, as does The Deck at The Marlborough; and it doesn't get more glam than the CBD's Ivy Pool Club , where Sydney's beautiful people frolic in a rooftop pool with DJ and cocktail bar; Zeta Bar at The Hilton hotel has a veranda which overlooks the lovely old Queen Victoria Building and The Terrace at the Woollahra Hotel looks onto Woollahra's genteel, leafy streets. Climb three floors to find Hotel Sweeney's great CBD views or head east and perch above pretty Paddington upstairs at the locals' favourite The London Hotel .

Urban gardens At ground level, Sydney's bars often come with enticing urban gardens attached – leafy spaces small and large. For the biggest of all, head to the Alexandria Hotel , in Alexandria, which boasts Sydney's biggest open-air garden bar. Double Bay's Mrs Sippy has a laid-back but glam garden cocktail bar, and Gazebo Wine Garden in Elizabeth Bay is a great spot to watch colourful Kings Cross life from a comfy lounge. Nearby, at hip hangout The Village , there's a garden oasis where you can sip a mojito and mingle with models. The Commons has gorgeous little front and back gardens in its Darlinghurst heritage farmhouse and a rustic menu based on a reverence for what's fresh and local.

Sydney's local bounty From land and sea, Sydney is blessed with an abundance of local produce and this summer there are more opportunities than ever to taste the finest foods and wines from NSW

Fresh food markets Growers' markets are a wonderful place to meet and talk to growers and producers and to sample the best of local and seasonal produce. They're more popular than ever before and you might even encounter a celebrity chef cooking up a storm; Billy Kwong's Kylie Kwong and Bird Cow Fish's Alex Herbert both man stalls at Eveleigh Markets and former Tetsuyas' Darren Robertson, now chef at Bronte's Three Blue Ducks, sells his pulled pork buns at Bondi Farmers Markets every Saturday. My Kitchen Rules winners, Sammy and Bella Jakubiak also have a stand there, selling burgers and lemonade.

One of the most local of all the markets is Sydney Sustainable Markets in Taylor Square, right in the inner city, every Saturday. This market supports growers so small that some are even local gardeners. Regular stallholders include Champion's Mountain Organics from the NSW Central Coast,

and NSW winery Old Inn Road.

In Sydney restaurants You'll find more of this amazing local produce on your plate in Sydney's best restaurants. Chefs are striving to source their ingredients as close to home as possible, creating delicious menus with NSW fare.

Glebe Point Diner is loved by locals for its small, ever-changing menu with delights such as Sydney rock oysters and a Hunter Valley Andrew Thomas 'Braemore' Semillon. Restaurant-of-the-moment, Neild Avenue in Rushcutters Bay, has a nearly all NSW wine list, with five varietals from Ross Hill, Orange, sourced directly in the barrel. Billy Kwong's chef/owner Kylie Kwong is passionate about sustainable food and serves only locally grown, organic and biodynamic produce at the Surry Hills restaurant. Many dishes are packed with local herbs and plants, such as Stir-Fried Organic Old Man Salt Bush Leaves with Young Ginger. Meanwhile, chef Sean Moran takes the concept of 'paddock to plate' so seriously he has his own farm in the Blue Mountains to supply meat, fruit and vegies to his Bondi restaurant Sean's Panaroma . Guests can pay to stay at the Farm Panaroma in Bilpin to witness the process. Some chefs are bringing their growing right to the restaurant doorstep – and even inside. Quay's award winning Peter Gilmore has a growing room for vegetables and herbs in the restaurant building at Circular Quay; at Chiswick , Matt Moran is proud of his 150 square metre kitchen garden and dedicated gardener who helps decide on the best seasonal plantings. It's picked in the morning and on your plate by lunchtime. At Three Blue Ducks in Bronte, which has just started opening for dinner this summer, produce-obsessed Darren Robertson and his fellow chef-owners have a permaculture garden in the backyard complete with chickens and a worm farm. They source their bread from Iggy's Bread, just four doors down from The Ducks, their short beer list consists of some of the finest boutique craft breweries from NSW and the wine list has a strong NSW focus. Bronte neighbour Swell has a great range of fine NSW wines by the glass, including a Young NSW ’09 Margan ‘Fordwich Sill’ Semillon; a Hunter Valley NSW '12 Lisa McGuigan Pinot Gris, and the Philip Shaw '11 ‘The Idiot’ Shiraz from Orange, NSW. At the stunning, just-opened bar and restaurant, Grain , at Four Seasons Hotel in The Rocks, Chef Hamish Ingham's menu is built around fresh local produce. He sources his oysters from Steve Feletti's Moonlight Flat oyster farm in Bateman's Bay, NSW, and his beef from Rangers Valley in Northern NSW. Bar manager David Ramos Hernandez has created a largely organic and biodynamic drinks list packed with NSW stars including a 2011 Ashbourne Pinot Gris (Mudgee) and a 2011 Gilbert Rose (Orange) by the glass. His impressive list of local craft beers includes a bespoke Grain lager.

Pop-up produce Here today, gone tomorrow- that's the nature of the freshest produce. Watch for these tastes popping up around town this summer:

Sydney's convoy of cool food trucks are all about fantastic local fare. Look out for the Veggie Patch Van (which runs off vegetable oil and is affectionately known as 'Spud') for sustainable veggie produce from local growers; Agape for organic pizzas, and Eat Art Truck , the popular art/street food combo on wheels from Stuart Mcgill, former sous chef of Tetsuya's and Brenton Balicki, former chef of Quay. Track them down at wherethetruck.at or follow them on Facebook and Twitter. One of the most enjoyable pop-ups around is the Caravan of Courage pop-up wine bar from the Hunter Valley's New Generation group of fun-loving winemakers who take to the road in a fifties bus with a big selection of their wines. You'll find the crew, David Hook, Andrew Thomas, Rhys Eather, Nick Paterson, Mike De Iuliis and Andrew Margan in Sydney laneways, at food festivals and throwing the odd backstreet party for summer. Don't miss Thommo's Kiss Shiraz (say it carefully) and Hookie's tasty Barbera. newgenerationhuntervalley.com.au Oysters at the House will bring the most awarded oysters from NSW to one of the city's most scenic spots on Sunday 18 November. Come and taste these local delicacies shucked to order, at Opera Kitchen on the lower Concourse of Sydney Opera House. iwannaticket.com.au

Join the Newtown Revolution This summer, grungy inner west Newtown is one of the hottest drinking and dining destinations, with a new wave of bars and restaurants leading the charge. The Newtown Hotel , a landmark old pub, has reopened after a nine-month restoration returning the 1885 building to its former glory – with an extra injection of 21st century rock n' roll. The old-school pub packs a surprise: a graffiti and mural decorated, Greek-inspired eatery, The Animal , with a private dining room in a funky retro caravan. There's karaoke too, and a generous balcony all along the first floor - a great outdoor space to eat, drink and watch King Street's colourful characters down below. Just along King Street, new small bar Jester Seeds is reworking Newtown's signature grunge with a dash of decadence. Creative cocktails include lavender martinis and a honey and malt whisky concoction called Penicillin.

Another newbie, The Midnight Special , is a sultry-lit small bar which mixes the underground Newtown vibe with new design. The bar area is a joyous mish-mash of sardine cans, vintage radios, vinyl records, rose bouquets and fifties hula girls. Tap beers from local craft brewery including the hyper-local 'Newtown Brown.' Entertainment is local too – Newtown houses several well-known musos and they often drop in here to spin vinyl classics. Hartsyard , a culinary creation from produce-lovers Gregory Llewellyn and Naomi Hart, is an "inner-city homestead" where Greg cooks seasonally with ingredients from his own garden and greenhouse and focuses on 'nose to tail' sustainable fare. Just about everything is made, baked, grown or built on premise and it's all delicious.

For more information go to Sydney.com. For images go to images.destinationnsw.com.au Twitter: #Sydney, @sydney_sider Facebook: Tag ‘SydneyAustralia’ Instagram: #Sydney, @seesydney Media information : Elissa Tyrrell A/Executive Manager, Media & Public Relations Destination NSW elissa.tyrrell@dnsw.com.au +61 2 9931 1426