From gelato to BYO: Sydney chefs reveal favourite late-night haunts

Some Sydney cooks clock off, head home, and sleep off the day. Others stay out and eat, slinking into the city’s best late-night spots to share a meal with some of their own – people who’ve also just spent several hours in plastic clogs, plating burrata and grilling well-done steaks for customers who complain at the sight of blood.

The city’s nightlife isn’t what it once was, but if you know where to look, you’ll find places where the lights are on, the gas is running, and the cooks are eating, well after midnight.

Old Town Hong Kong in Haymarket is one such restaurant. Sommeliers, cooks, and waitstaff have migrated here on a Wednesday night to feast on bao buns, fried rice, and roasted duck. It is loud, delicious, and humming with energy. And it is where some of Sydney’s best young chefs are meeting with Good Food to reveal their go-to late night spots, from an ice cream shop on Enmore Road to a small Thai bar in the CBD.

Mans Engberg, head chef of hatted Newtown restaurant Mister Grotto and next-door Joe’s Tavern, says Old Town is one of his favourites. It’s affordable, open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, and “their steamed Pacific oysters with vermicelli and XO sauce are elite”.

Around the corner, on Sussex Street, once stood the Aussie chef equivalent of the Vatican: 35-year-old Cantonese restaurant Golden Century, where big-name chefs and celebrities congregated until 6am, prior to its closure in 2021.

“It’s been really hard to find a new great spot,” says Stefano Marano, head chef and director of Darlinghurst restaurant Avia. “It was so much fun to go there for late-night supper and find half of Sydney’s hospitality industry busy smashing XO pipis.”

Golden Century did not resume post-midnight trade when it reopened at Crown in Barangaroo last year, but the late-night camaraderie has spread to other venues in Sydney, such as Korean restaurant Milliore (open until 6am on weekends) just off George Street and Royal Palace Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown.

“The seafood selection [at Royal Palace] is extensive,” says Marano, who usually orders Singapore chilli crab and Peking duck with pancakes.

“[But] Milliore is always busy, and their meat selection is one of the best in town.”

Thai restaurant Dodee Paidang in Haymarket is Marano’s pick “for something a bit spicy” (usually tom yum noodles) when he’s dining solo.

Head chef at Newtown’s Osteria Mucca, Janina Allende, hits up Capitol Square after a late shift. She starts at @Bangkok, ordering the special fried rice served in a pineapple, before finishing the night at Thai bar, Seri Bar, which closes at 4am.

If Allende clocks off earlier, she’ll visit Clarence and V, a Mediterranean restaurant in the CBD where her friend Stella Roditis cooks “beautiful food”, including a roasted eggplant special, stuffed with lamb mince and covered in melted cheese. If Clarence and V is full, Allende loops back to Spicy Joint in Chinatown, “which showcases generous Sichuan dishes and offers BYO with cheap corkage”.

Leila Khazma, currently doing a residency at Frankie & Mo’s Wine Shop and Bar in Blackheath, likes to spend time with friends at Persian restaurant Nikan when she’s in Sydney.

“It’s both grand and unashamedly gaudy in the best, most familial way,” she says. “It feels like dining in the middle of a wedding reception.”

For an after-work treat, Khazma favours gelato shops Mapo in Newtown or Cow and Moon in Enmore. She orders a scoop of lemon sorbet, “to rinse the night from my mouth,” or an affogato, “to gently escort me toward sleep”.

Isabella Bozicevic, a young chef at Poly, heads to Egyptian restaurant Cairo Takeaway on Enmore Road after an early shift. “It’s my favourite place, [because] it’s relaxed, great [for] friends, and BYO,” she says. Everything on the menu is made fresh, including the falafel, and meant for sharing. Boscievic likes the lamb pilaf and mixed grill plate: “I always get extra pickles,” she says.

Korean barbecue joints such as Mamas New York Style on Pitt Street hit the spot if the Poly kitchen closes late: “We crowd over the table, have lots of sake and shochu, and feast … while reliving the service,” Boscievic says. “We [always] end up creating great memories together.”

Flying Fish head chef Neville Dsouza also winds down at Mamas, which serves an a la carte menu downstairs and a $35 barbecue buffet upstairs until around 3.30am most nights. “It’s top value,” he says. “It’s not fancy, and they leave you to do your thing … it’s perfect.”

Dsouza also recommends going to Ashfield for an affordable Cantonese meal (with BYO and a 1am closing time) at Eaton, or Enmore Road for a solid solo meal at Saray Turkish Pizza and Kebabs, Faheem’s Takeaway, or The Sultan’s Table.

Saray makes the best Greek salad in the world, according to Dsouza, but he always orders the egg and cheese pide with a side of spicy chicken soup. “You’ve got to do the dip-a-roo,” he says, “It’s an amazing combo. Cheesy, spicy, deadly.”