Plan your visit to Blackwattle Bay with this comprehensive breakdown of every restaurant, cafe and bar.
The Sydney Fish Market opens its new $836 million precinct at Blackwattle Bay today, and you can sample its best seafood without lugging home a live lobster. More than 25 restaurants, cafes and bars have moved in, and they’re serving everything from dry-aged salmon banh mi at Vietnamese takeaway Leyrd to charcoal-grilled John Dory at Turkish restaurant Hamsi. Here’s the breakdown.
It’s early. Is there coffee at the Sydney Fish Markets?
Look for the bold red branding. That’s Stitch Coffee, a Sydney-based specialty coffee roaster founded by former Circa Espresso barista Nawar Adra. After 10 years of operation, the brand is planning a citywide takeover in 2026, opening four new cafes in three months. Stitch’s Fish Market outpost is the first cab off the rank (with Surry Hills, Marrickville and Sydney Domestic Airport to follow), and it’s takeaway only, serving all the barista-made staples alongside foamy Mont Blancs and a selection of grab-and-go pastries from Tenacious Bakehouse in Darlinghurst.
If there’s a long line, head to Touch Wood (they’re brewing specialty coffee from Sydney roasteries White Horse and Leible) or Leyrd for traditional Vietnamese coffee (order den da for the strongest caffeine kick).
Where can I have a sit-down meal with a waterfront view?
You have a few options. The Boatshed moved from the original Sydney Fish Market to prime position, serving seafood staples (chowder, grilled fish, live lobster) on the upper ground level of the new waterfront promenade. Newcomer Touch Wood is next door, with an all-day offering (dinner to start in February) from the team behind Glebe cafe Dirty Red. They’ve created a good-looking menu which includes buttermilk hotcakes with lemon myrtle cream for brekkie, and blue swimmer crab and XO butter crumpets.
On the western side of the building, you’ll find celebrity chef Somer Sivrioglu’s 200-seat Turkish-inspired seafood restaurant Hamsi Taverna. “We work with raw, cured and flame-grilled seafood, always led by the market and the season,” says Sivrioglu. “Think fresh oysters, crudo dressed in citrus and olive oil, whole fish over open fire and vibrant meze.” He recommends the whole John Dory with a fermented tarhana crust (a mix of yoghurt, grains and spices).
Finally, there’s Lua by Luke Nguyen. It’s not open yet, but Nguyen promises something pretty special – a 300-seater serving Vietnamese-influenced seafood, a cocktail bar (with natural wines), DJs, a fire pit and a raw bar.
Where can I buy fish and chips?
This is, arguably, the most important question. Fish Market Cafe has moved over from the original Sydney Fish Markets, and it’s still your go-to for classic, casual fish and chips (available grilled, beer-battered or a little bit of both). At The Boatshed (the upmarket offering from the same owners) you can order the basic fish (grilled or battered) and chips for $28, or try one of four fish-of-the-day with chips, from $39.50.
Touch Wood ($32) gets a little fancy with it, adding a Waldorf salad, house-made pickles and fish roe tartare to crispy flathead, while you’ll be able to order the charcoal-grilled catch-of-the-day with a side of fries (price TBC) at Hamsi. There is also fish and chips at Christie’s Seafood and Squid Inc.
What about surf and turf?
The Boatshed offers a Creole-style combination of wagyu and lobster tail, or you could visit Ho Jiak owner-chef Junda Khoo’s new Malaysian restaurant, Tam Jiak, where surf and turf takes centre stage.
“Every dish will have an element from land and sea,” Khoo says. That means a menu full of inventive dishes, from scallop cheong fun with foie gras sauce to grilled tong mo sausage made with lamb and barramundi.
I want to splurge on exceptional seafood
Two-hatted sushi restaurant Sushi Oe, from former Good Food Guide Chef of the Year finalist Toshihiko Oe, has moved from Cammeray to a restaurant inside Gyokuu, which also houses GetSashimi and Restaurant 16. It’s an eight-seat omakase experience with up to 30 courses and bookings will fill up fast.
I don’t like seafood. What else can I eat?
Most cafes and restaurants at the Sydney Fish Markets offer something other than seafood. If you’re keeping it casual, there’s Roman-style pizza-by-the-slice at La Dea, spicy pork and vegetable dumplings at Nanjing Dumpling (opening soon), or a brisket burger from TJ’s Po’ Boys, a takeaway joint inspired by southern food in the US. Its signature po’ boy sandwiches (crusty French bread rolls filled with salad, pickles and lemon myrtle mayo) are available with chicken, crisp pork belly, cauliflower and prawns.
For a sit-down meal, Chinese restaurant Mani (formerly located at Milsons Point) serves Shanghai-style poached chicken and red braised pork belly, alongside an extensive selection of seafood. The Boatshed, meanwhile, has steak and burgers.
Full list of food venues at the new Sydney Fish Markets
Restaurants
- The Boatshed
Returning waterfront seafood restaurant with a focus on the classics
theboatshedpyrmont.com.au - Hamsi
Waterfront Turkish seafood restaurant from celebrity chef Somer Sivrioglu
hamsitaverna.com.au - Ichie
Coastal-style hamayaki seafood barbecue and sake bar, from the owners of Ichie restaurant in Hokkaido, Japan and Hakatamon Ramen in Haymarket
facebook.com/Ichie.Sydney - Lua
OPENING SOON
Waterfront Vietnamese-inspired seafood restaurant from celebrity chef Luke Nguyen
instagram.com/luasydney - Mani
Chinese fusion restaurant with fine-dining flair, relocating from Milsons Point
manirestaurant.com.au - Restaurant 16
The revival of chef Toru Ryu’s upmarket Neutral Bay Japanese restaurant
restaurant16.com - Sushi Oe
Two-hatted, eight-seater omakase restaurant relocated from Cammeray
instagram.com/sushiooe - Tam Jiak by Ho Jiak
Waterfront surf-and-turf restaurant with Malaysian influence
hojiak.com.au - Tin Tin Harbour
COMING SOON
Yum cha restaurant with live seafood
Limited information - Touch Wood
Waterfront all-day diner (dinner starting February) from the team behind Glebe cafe Dirty Red
touchwoodsydney.com.au
Casual dining and takeaway
- Copper Hotpot
COMING SOON
Hotpot dining with seafood focus
Limited information - Fish Market Cafe
Returning market staple, known for fish and chips
fishmarketcafe.com.au - GetSashimi
Returning sushi and sashimi diner from seafood retainer GetFish
getsashimi.com.au - La Dea Pizza
Roman-style pizzeria also at Redfern
ladeapizza.com.au - Leyrd
Vietnamese street food, including seafood banh mi and Vietnamese coffee
leyrd.com.au - Luneburger
German bakery chain, known for pretzels and sandwiches
luneburger.com.au - Nanjing Dumplings
COMING SOON
Handmade steamed and fried dumplings, also at Haymarket
instagram.com/nanjingdumpling - Squid Inc
Limited information - Stitch Coffee
Sydney specialty coffee roaster opens third cafe, takeaway only, with pastries from Tenacious Bakehouse in Darlinghurst
stitch.coffee - Sushi Bar
The Sydney Fish Market’s first sushi bar returns, using seafood sourced from auction floor
instagram.com/sushibar_sydney - Tavira Bakehouse
COMING SOON
Hole-in-the-wall bakery and cafe from FruitEzy
sydneyfishmarket.com.au - TJ’s Po Boys
Southern-style sandwiches, burgers and beers with views of the water, from Trippas White Group
trippaswhitegroup.com.au
Desserts
- Cow & The Moon
Second location from Enmore gelataria
cowandthemoon.com.au - Sergio
COMING SOON
French pastries with Asian-inspired flavours, also at Barangaroo
sergio.au - Little Red
Cafe and wine bar, specialising in cookies, from the crew at Glebe cafe Dirty Red
littleredsydney.com.au
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Bianca Hrovat – Bianca is Good Food’s Sydney eating out and restaurant editor.
