What’s good in the neighbourhood?
The new light rail is the main artery to the heart of each neighbourhood. Get exploring and discover more along the light rail route
Circular Quay
Circular Quay has more than just a bloody beautiful harbour. Along the light rail on the waterfront you can find good food, excellent bars, markets and a terrifying ghost tour.
You can’t go past a delicious prawn aglio olio linguine for dinner right next to all the neighbourhood’s bustling action at Quay 1 & Co ( Shop G08-G09, Gateway Building, 1 Macquarie Pl). If nursing a single malt Scotch whisky surrounded by a beautiful wooden fitout is more your style, pull up a pew at 2 Grain Bar ( 199 George St). No matter where you go in Circular Quay the glittering harbour beckons for your attention, but if spotting spooks is more your thing, book a tour with
Lantern Ghost Tours ( 69 George St) for 3 a creepy crawl around the Rocks. Flesh out your Circular Quay itinerary every Saturday and Sunday with a leisurely browse of 4
The Rocks Markets ( Cnr Playfair & George Sts) – discover new and emerging talent in the designers’ and lifestyle section or follow the cobblestone laneways where even more stalls offer artisan and handmade products.
Wynyard
You’d be forgiven for thinking Sydney’s Central Business District is all work and no play. But take a closer look around and you’ll find delicious bites, unbeatable cocktails, and art in the shadows of skyscrapers. At 5 Bopp and Tone ( 60 Carrington St) the dining room has elegant eats to match their lavish and leathery interiors, such as octopus with romesco, pomegranate caramel and fennel, or a whopper one-kilo Bistecca alla Fiorentina. For daytime-appropriate drinks hit up Regiment ( 333 George St). Coffee is 6 king here, but also try a strawberry and rose organic soda. Among the many stellar public art installations the massive ‘Interloop’ 7 at the train station ( George St), a tangled 50 metres of repurposed wooden escalator, will have your eyes bulging. Walk through to Barangaroo and join the vital Barangaroo 8 Aboriginal Walking Tour ( Barangaroo Reserve, Hickson Rd), where you can learn about the fisherwoman whom the area is named after and the cultural significance of the land to its first people.
Haymarket
At the Chinatown light rail stop, it’s like stepping into a teeming haven for spicy noodles, exciting contemporary art, musical theatre and more. But where to start? Begin your culinary journey in Thailand with a fiery tom yum noodle bowl and melt-in-your-mouth crispy pork belly from Dodee Paidang 9
( 9/37 Ultimo Rd). Need a drink? Tr y a playful creation from Bear Bar ( Basement, Capitol 10 Square, 730 George St) such as their Lemon Meringue Pie cocktail or a garden-fresh concoction called ‘What Would Stephen Fry Drink’ consisting of cucumber, apple, ginger, elderflower liqueur, Tanqueray gin, Lillet blanc and grapefruit bitters. Save some time for a good perusal of the exhibitions at splitlevel gallery 4A Centre for Contemporary 11 Asian Art ( 181-187 Hay St) then wrap up your Haymarket adventure with a space-age stay at the Fifth Element- esque Capsule Hotel 12
( 3/640 George St).
Surry Hills
Sydney’s go-to suburb for hip bars, vintage finds and world-class dining, Surry Hills is an ever-evolving beast. Find local classic
Jazushi ( 145 Devonshire St), where you 13 can enjoy a plate of kangaroo tartare while you tap your fingers to some live jazz. Or get a scotch fillet and a $10 craft beer tasting paddle at one of Sydney’s best public houses, Dove and Olive ( 156 Devonshire 14 St). For more educational drinking, try your hand at the shakers at a cocktail-making workshop at Li’l Darlin ( 420 Elizabeth St). 15 But if you only do one thing in Suzza Huzza, check out the Brett Whiteley Studio ( 2 16 Raper St). It’s been converted into a stunning gallery showing revolving collections of the late artist’s work and has preserved some of his original quarters for a bit of sanctioned sticky beaking.