Darling Harbour's 10 Fanciest Eats

Kuon Omakase is a singular Japanese fine dining experience, unlike anything else in our city. There’s only one option on the menu, omakase, which means the chef chooses every dish for you at a cool $230. Sit back and relax as you’re served countless small bites that are painstakingly prepared right in front of you - from caviar osetra with Tasmanian sea urchin, to steamed black abalone.

Kuon Omakase is a serious contender for the title of best restaurant in Sydney.

When we said Kuon Omakase was unlike anything else in Sydney, well, that wasn’t entirely true. The restaurant was so successful that they opened another just down the road dedicated purely to the art of tempura - or lightly frying. This restaurant is also omakase and each dish is fried in cold-pressed sesame oil that costs $450 for 20 litres. Our favourite was the tempura uni (sea urchin) wrapped in shisho leaf - a delicate little umami bomb.

Hello Auntie puts a modern spin on traditional Vietnamese cuisine, using high quality ingredients to craft simple but elegant cuisine. If you’re feeling a little fancy next time you visit, ask your waiter to ‘feed me aunty’. You’ll receive an incredible 9 course banquet featuring gems like angus beef tartare and scallop ceviche.

Like French food? You’re going to love Atelier. This bistro serves a succinct menu of French bistro inspired classics in elegant surrounds in the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour Hotel. If you’re hungry, order the Cote De Bouef, 1kg of pinnacle tomahawk served with a selection of house-made salts and mustards (and costing $140).

Nestled on the ground floor of the PARKROYAL Darling Harbour, Sydney hotel you’ll find one of the best restaurants in Darling Harbour - ABODE Bistro. Bar. For the full experience, order the chef’s tasting menu, which changes regularly but features dishes like squid ink ravioli, and roasted white chocolate semi freddo with matcha coral sponge. Yum.

Sokyo is helmed by San Francisco-born chef Chase Kojima who cut his teeth at Nobu, one of the world’s finest Japanese restaurants. He crafts an imaginative menu with highlights like baked potato with umami creme fraiche, Iberico ham and ponzu jelly and spicy tuna tartare with crispy Hokkaido rice. But for us, the most luxurious dish of all is their signature - the delicate, delectable kingfish miso ceviche.

Fancy a fancy seafood feast? Well Nick's is the best place in Sydney for that. Grab a seat with views of the harbour and indulge in this $205 masterpiece which features a mountain of cooked lobster, freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters, fresh king prawns, swimmer crabs and so much more. Do yourself a favour and have your lobster with garlic butter for an extra $25.

Like steak but can’t handle an entire Tomahawk? Try Scotch & Co, a steak restaurant in Harbourside that serves some of Australia’s highest quality cuts with a side of Darling Harbour views.

You won’t be surprised that our favourite pick is one of the priciest items on their menu - the Australian Wagyu, F1, 400 days grain fed scotch steak. This little beauty has an marble score of 9, meaning it’s one of the juiciest, most flavourful steaks that money can buy. Drool.

David Chang, the celebrity chef behind some of the world’s most successful restaurants, once called XOPP’s pipis with XO sauce ‘the best dish in the world’. The restaurant’s even named after them.

You can get a kilogram for $88 and we suggest you do just that because you won’t be able to stop eating once you start. These little beauties are succulent and juicy, lightly steamed and slathered in a pungent, spicy XO sauce that is heavy with garlic and chilli.