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The Best Asian Restaurants in Sydney for a Flavoursome Feast
Whether you're craving dumplings or noodles, sushi or short soup, these are the best Asian restaurants in Sydney to hit up.
The best Asian restaurants in Sydney right now span fine dining fusion at Itō, decades-old favourites like Golden Century’s revived Yum Cha, and Bangkok-style heat at Spice I Am in Surry Hills. We’ve done a little digging, a little tasting and a whole lot of sipping to help you decide where to pop in next. From traditional food to fancy fusion fare, there’s a restaurant to cover every taste.
This guide covers Sydney’s standout Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese dining, from harbour-view banquets to intimate neighbourhood spots. Read on for our picks.
In This Guide:
Best Asian Restaurants in Sydney for a Special Occasion
Itō
Head Chef Erik Ortolani has combined his Italian heritage and passion for Japanese cooking to craft something truly unique here. Dishes like yellowfin tuna served on bonito bread with shaved bottarga and Wagyu mafaldine paired with white shimeji and miso grace the menu and will give you a whole new appreciation for fusion cuisine.
Key to the Itō experience is the drinks menu which features Japanese-inspired classic cocktails, a quirky selection of wines from Japan and an extensive sake selection. The pared-back interiors with fun pops of colour set the scene for the perfect night out.
Suburb: Surry Hills
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Cocktail lovers, Wine lovers
Mr Wong
If you’re ready to feast on dim sum, dumplings, and the juiciest Peking duck you’ve ever tasted, treat yourself to dinner at Mr Wong. The CBD space is lavish and spread over two levels, but it feels intimate thanks to its décor and dim lighting. Chef Dan Hong’s menu is modern and fresh (just wait till you try the house-made XO sauce), with a sophisticated wine list to match.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Chinese
Best For: Group dining, Special occasion, Wine lovers
Spice Temple
Spice Temple is a sensory experience from start to finish. The dining room is striking: picture silk curtains, rich red carpets and black furnishings. Order a banquet of crispy dry Wagyu, spice fried chicken with ‘heaven facing chillies’, spiced eggplant, rice noodles with spanner crab, and fragrant prawns. The dishes are hot, but the zodiac-themed cocktails will cool you down.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Chinese
Best For: Special occasion, Group dining, Cocktail lovers
Best Yum Cha and Chinese in Sydney
Golden Century
A decades long favourite, Golden Century 2.0 has revived favourites from the original menu including the legendary pipis in XO sauce. To sample a bit of everything, head in on for the Yum Cha offering that boasts over 80 dishes available to nibble on. The new location delivers sweeping views out across the harbour from level 3 of Crown Sydney.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Chinese
Best For: Group dining, Special occasion, Waterfront
Grandfather’s
Grandfather’s, from the iconic team behind Pellegrino 2000, is named after restaurant co-owner Michael Clift’s inspiring Grandfather, focuses on the regions of Guangdong and Sichuan. A huge wine list with a Riesling focus dominates the drinks offering, whilst the yum cha service offers a fun way to sample some of the menu’s most-beloved dishes.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Cuisine: Chinese
Price Guide: $$
Best For: Group dining, Wine lovers, Special occasion
Best Japanese Restaurants in Sydney
Cho Cho San
Stepping into Cho Cho San is an interior design lover’s dream, complete with a lightbox on the ceiling that can alter the ambience of the place. It’s Nordic chic, but the menu is Japanese. The raw bar and pork tonkatsu are not to be missed whilst the matcha soft serve and black sesame mochi have you covered for delish desserts.
Suburb: Potts Point
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Date night, Special occasion, Cocktail lovers
Sokyo
Take your time dining on delectable Japanese-inspired dishes at Sokyo, as you listen to the chilled-out beats from their resident DJ. If you’re up for something extra special, book in to Sokyo’s popular omakase experience which will have you feasting on 23 perfectly plated morsels.
Suburb: Pyrmont
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Late night
Best Vietnamese and South-East Asian Fusion in Sydney
Annamese
Located right by the water down at Barangaroo, Annamese is helmed by Executive Chef Andy Pruksa (Muum Maam). Combining the fresh flavours of Vietnam, Thailand and wider Asia with a dash of modern Australian influence, the menu at Annamese is super fresh, boasting the likes of wok-tossed Australian king prawns, slow-cooked lamb shoulder with peanut coconut curry and Sydney Rock oyster with nuoc cham haisan dressing, green chili, lime & black caviar.
Suburb: Barangaroo
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Best For: Long lunch, Waterfront, Date night, Group dining
Lua by Luke Nguyen
SBS favourite Luke Nguyen knows Vietnamese food better than almost anyone in this city, and Lua is where he gets to have fun with it. A woodfired hearth channels the streetside grills of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City which has given some inspiration, so expect plenty of char, smoke and serious flavour in every dish.
Suburb: Pyrmont
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Best For: Long lunch, Waterfront, Date night, Group dining
Best Contemporary Chinese in Sydney
Lee Ho Fook
A welcome addition to the city’s contemporary Chinese cuisine scene, Melbourne’s two-hatted Lee Ho Fook finally has a Sydney outpost. Diners can expect to be met by Lee Ho fook’s signature bare brick walls, ambient neon lighting and palette of red, black and brass, whilst on the food front, small and punchy plates like crispy eggplant with spiced red vinegar precede larger mains like Kung Pao Skull Island prawns, and steamed Glacier 51 Toothfish with silken tofu.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Date night, Group dining, Special occasion
Best Thai Restaurants in Sydney
Spice I Am
With a slew of awards to their name, you know the food at Spice I Am is bound to be good. Bringing the flavours of Bangkok to the Surry Hills foodie scene, all the dishes here are bursting with flavour and as their name suggests, they like their dishes with a bit of spice. The restaurant runs its own micro-farm that provides the ingredients for their homemade curry paste and more.
Suburb: Surry Hills
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Thai
Best For: Budget-friendly, Quick bite, Locals
Thai Pothong
A King Street fixture since the mid ’90s, Thai Pothong has fed generations of Newtown locals and shows no signs of slowing down. The menu runs deep on Thai classics like betel leaf prawns and prawns choo chee, and it’s one of the few spots in the area with a proper, separate gluten-free menu, so coeliac diners don’t have to miss out…win!
Suburb: Newtown
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Thai
Best For: Group Dining, Quick bite, Locals
FAQs
For a genuinely memorable night, Itō in Surry Hills is hard to beat, pairing Head Chef Erik Ortolani’s Italian-Japanese fusion menu with an extensive sake and Japanese wine list in a pared-back, colourful dining room. Spice Temple in the CBD is another strong option, with its striking silk-curtained dining room and a banquet-style menu built around bold Sichuan flavours. Both suit a night where the setting matters as much as the food, and bookings are recommended well in advance given their popularity with Sydney diners marking milestones.
Golden Century at Crown Sydney and Grandfather’s in Angel Place are two of the city’s standout yum cha experiences. Golden Century’s revived offering spans more than 80 dishes and comes with sweeping harbour views from level three, while Grandfather’s focuses on Guangdong and Sichuan classics alongside a Riesling-heavy wine list. Both are well suited to group dining where sharing a wide spread of dishes is part of the appeal, and both benefit from a booking rather than a walk-in visit.
Cho Cho San in Potts Point and Sokyo at The Star are two of Sydney’s most distinctive Japanese dining rooms. Cho Cho San pairs a Nordic-chic interior with a raw bar and pork tonkatsu worth ordering, while Sokyo offers a resident DJ alongside a well-regarded 23-course omakase experience for diners after something more immersive. Both suit a date night or a special dinner where atmosphere and food are equally considered.
Spice I Am in Surry Hills is one of Sydney’s most consistently well-regarded Thai restaurants, known for bringing genuine Bangkok flavours to its menu and running its own micro-farm to supply ingredients for its curry pastes. It suits diners after bold, authentic flavour over a refined fine-dining setting, and its long-standing reputation among Sydney’s Thai food scene makes it a reliable choice for a casual but flavour-packed meal.
Annamese in Barangaroo, led by Executive Chef Andy Pruksa, blends Vietnamese, Thai and wider Asian flavours with a modern Australian sensibility in a waterfront setting. Dishes like wok-tossed king prawns and slow-cooked lamb shoulder with peanut coconut curry make it a strong choice for a long lunch or dinner with water views, and it suits diners who want fresh, vibrant flavours without a strictly traditional format.
If you enjoyed this edit of the best Asian restaurants in Sydney and are keen to continue your culinary adventures around the city, be sure to take a peek at our set menus under $150 edit here and our round up of the best Italian restaurants in Sydney here.
