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Time Out
13 hours ago
- Time Out
El Taco Grill
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. I spent five weeks travelling around Mexico in 2019 – diving into blue-jewelled cenotes, lazily sipping smoky mezcal over card games, and gawking at ancient ruins. But mostly I was eating tacos (plus tamales, chilaquiles and tostadas) for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I fell in love with the warm corn tortillas loaded with charred beef or spice-rich chorizo, paired with crunchy white onion, fresh coriander, creamy avo and zingy lime. Or spit-roasted pork with hunks of juicy, sweet pineapple. And crisp, golden, sweet-tasting battered fish with pico de gallo. You get my gist. The tacos I had at El Taco Grill – a food truck parked at Marrickville Metro, just outside the hustle and bustle, among grocery-shoppers and admin-doers – took me back to the streets of Mexico City quicker than I could say: muy bien! The vibe El Taco Grill is a new Mexican food truck by cousins Edson Dominguez Tapia and Miguel Seynos, who hail from Puebla — an incredibly vibrant city southeast of Mexico City, framed by views of Popocatépetl volcano and the birthplace of mole poblano. First firing up the grill this April, it's located outside Marrickville Metro – a shopping and dining hub in the Inner West – under a big leafy tree, and there's a handful of makeshift wooden crates to sit on. The guys tell me that when it rains, they put up a tarp, but you can also order takeaway to eat at home. This is a casual affair – really good tacos enjoyed sitting or standing on the street, just like in Mexico. The food El Taco Grill's menu is tight. It's all about the fresh, handmade corn tortillas served with guac, chopped onion and coriander – and the grilled meat. Choose from chargrilled tender steak, also known as carne asada, or garlicky chorizo. There's also a flour tortilla option, a big quesadilla filled with melted cheese, and a tostada. The best thing on the menu, in my books, is the volcano – a nod to their home in Puebla. The corn tortillas are baked so they're crisp and crunchy, then loaded with all the good stuff: melted cheese, avo, onion, coriander and lime. Then choose your salsa – there were four when I visited, all spanning different chilli levels. The salsa verde with jalapeños was creamy and subtle, but I preferred the bright, tangy and fiery la diabla with habaneros. Tacos start from $7 a pop. The drinks There's no booze at El Taco Grill – but you can quench your thirst with a cold soda. Better yet is the house-made horchata, a chilled, creamy Mexican drink made from rice, cinnamon and vanilla. Want something lighter? Go for the hibiscus-flavoured water. Time Out tip Starving? Do as I did: order a couple of tacos, including the volcano, and chuck on a quesadilla with mixed meat. Boom. A very good lunch indeed.
Time Out
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Sambousek Parramatta
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. The vibe Relaxed, modern and edgy, this Lebanese street food restaurant on Parramatta 's main eating strip, Church Street, is an excellent place to stop by for a cheap eat – perhaps on your way to or after a show at the Parramatta Riverside Theatres, or to take away and eat down by the river. The interiors have exposed brickwork, and there's a big sign painted on the brickwork in Lebanon's national colours, saying: Sambousek Lebanese Street Food. The counter is tiled around the edges in pretty Middle Eastern-style tiles, and there's a big, beautiful espresso machine on the countertop. You can walk in and take away, or there's seating out the back. The food One of our favourite things about Sambousek is the huge, lit menus above the counter, which show photos of pretty much every dish you can order – so you know exactly what you're going to get. The photos are bright and colourful, and the food all looks fresh and delicious. There are loads of options to choose from so it's not easy to narrow it down. If you have a really big appetite, it'll be satisfied with a 'Phoenician Meal' (a mixed plate), which all come with tabouli, coleslaw, babaganoush, hummus, mixed pickles, plus your choice of a range of mains, including chicken shish, beef kafta, falafel and more. There are pizzas – both the traditional Lebanese kind (manoush) as well as actual pizza pizzas (e.g. margherita, pepperoni and supreme). Then there are pides, chock-full wraps and a 'Kaak' section, which lists options served on big Lebanese sesame-seed rolls. There's the kaak burger with beef kafta, triple cheese, grilled onions, tomato, lettuce, pickles, Russian dressing and tomato sauce. Then there's a Reuben kaak, spicy chicken and prawn kaak, garlic chicken kaak, falafel kaak, vegie kaak and more. We order some manoush – the zaatar and cheese ($8), and the garlic chicken and cheese ($11). They're huge – like full-sized large pizzas – so that's dinner for two sorted for a ridiculously good $19. They're delicious – cheesy comfort food. The drink Sambousek is open every day from 8.30am so stop by for a delicious morning coffee (as long as you don't mind also leaving with a snack; we know you'll be tempted). Time Out tip Order the actual sambousek (a savoury pastry, like the Lebanese version of an empanada). You can pick from beef, cheese or mixed, and it's $10 for four of them. These are the best restaurants in Parramatta.
Time Out
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
JUST IN: This game-changing Sydney restaurant was just named in the World's 50 Best extended list for 2025
Saint Peter – Josh and Julie Niland's pioneering seafood restaurant, housed in Paddington's Grand National Hotel – has landed at 66th place on the esteemed World's 50 Best extended list for 2025, announced overnight (Thursday, June 5). That's a huge leap from last year's ranking at 98. Saint Peter – which showcases the best local seafood using a scale-to-tail ethos – is the only Australian restaurant to make the global list. I know there are lots of lists and awards flying around – but trust me, the World's 50 Best is the biggie. So: you beauty! The annual extended list of the world's 51–100 finest restaurants is decided by a voting academy made up of more than 1,000 global restaurant critics, chefs and restaurateurs. The top 1–50 list will be announced live from Turin, Piedmont on June 19. Josh wrote on Instagram: "WHAT AN OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT. @julieniland and I couldn't be more grateful & proud of the superhuman efforts of the entire team — not just @saintpeterpaddo but @saintpeterbar @thesaintpeterhotel & @fishbutchery. Alongside our own team, we celebrate the long list of suppliers, producers and artisans that make @saintpeterpaddo the special place it is." In Time Out Sydney's five-star review of Saint Peter, I wrote: "Across nine exquisite courses, Niland celebrates seafood in all its glory, while championing sustainability with each convincing bite." Some of the courses might include: an exquisite and bright fish soup featuring noodles made from the bones of coral trout; a plate of fish charcuterie that turns offcuts into wine-bar delights; fettuccine-like calamari twirled through a bolognese-style tuna 'nduja; and line-caught blue mackerel with a sublime salt and vinegar sauce. As well as a lemon meringue tart of your citrus-laced dreams. View this post on Instagram A post shared by avriltreasure (@avriltreasure) While the set menu at dinner is the best way to experience Saint Peter in all its glory, if you don't have as much cash to splash (it'll set you back $275 per person, plus drinks), you can order à la carte at lunch. Or drop in to the more casual – but equally excellent – Saint Peter Bar (and order the yellowfin tuna cheeseburger). And a huge congratulations to our Kiwi mates: Amisfield Restaurant – located in the picturesque Central Otago region, just 15 minutes from Queenstown – also made the list, coming in at 99th place. It's the first time a restaurant from Aotearoa has made it onto the World's 50 Best. Time Out tip: Amisfield is also home to an excellent winery with some of the most beautiful views I've enjoyed alongside a glass of pinot noir — add it to your next South Island road trip. Congrats to Josh, Julie and the whole team. You can see the full list of restaurants and find out more here. Bring on June 19!
Time Out
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Eleven Barrack
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. Being at Eleven Barrack feels like Christmas. Every dish or drink that lands on our table is like a gift – a perfectly presented package that, when unwrapped, contains a delightful treasure that's a little unexpected. A good surprise. Take the spanner crab and fish pie. It's a picture-perfect golden-crusted pot pie in a little cast-iron pot, with a pastry crab on top and a shellfish bisque served on the side in a classic silver gravy boat. The pie pastry is almost too flawless to crack open, but when we do, we're rewarded with a well-seasoned, creamy filling with finely chopped pieces of spanner crab, fish and spinach. It's divine just as it is, but then you pour in the bisque, and the dish goes from delicious to unforgettable. The buttery pastry, tender seafood, creamy white sauce and that punchy, sea-flavoured sauce (the colour of crab shell) is like a pot of comfort food with a luxury upgrade. It's arguable Sydney didn't need another steak and seafood grill, but it did need this one. Just like Santa Claus, the Bentley Group's co-owners Brent Savage (chef) and Nick Hildebrandt (sommelier) – who've also recently gifted us treats like King Clarence, Brasserie 1930 and a newly flavoured Monopole – have delivered yet again (in collaboration with group head chef Aiden Stevens and Niro Richards). I'm obviously a fan of the food here (this is not my first visit), but the décor is what really sets this place apart from other grand New York or Parisian-style diners here in Sydney. It's on Barrack Street, in the old, high-ceilinged Savings Bank of NSW building. And while they have indeed leaned into the grandness and scale of the classic old building, there's nothing traditional or fuddy-duddy about the room's attention-grabbing design touches. One of the room's central columns is wrapped in metallic purple. There are big, eccentric, custom-made light shades (some bright orange, some white) that dangle dramatically from the ceiling. There's a gold-mirrored, oval-shaped, er, I'm not sure what to call it – decoration – hanging from the ceiling above my table. And the carpet is tartan, like the Christmas wrap my grandpa used to use. Yes, the room is also festive. I order a gin Martini, and it arrives via a trolley, poured frosty and theatrically at our table. (The service is as classy as it is in all of the Bentley Group venues.) The menu is extensive, so while it heroes steak and fish dishes, there is also a section for pastas, and a fun selection of appetisers, starters, playful salads, a bread section, cheeses and desserts. Narrowing down what to order is no easy feat. As well as the crab and fish pie, we order a steak, the 250g black opal wagyu rump cap, which comes served sliced – cooked perfectly medium rare, as ordered, charred on the outside – on a bed of rich, dark jus. It pairs well with the celebratory bottle of bubbles we share – the Louis de Grenelle BIO (certified organic) Crémant de Loire Brut, which is zippy and refreshing, with a dry, clean finish but enough richness to stand up to the creamy seafood pie. (And what are we celebrating? Just being in a beautiful setting and eating great food!) The salads we order also provide freshness and acidity. The salted zucchini with parmesan, caperberries, parsley and mint is bright, briny and herbaceous; and the celeriac with sheep's milk feta, black barley and witlof is earthy and nutty. The potatoes need their own paragraph. A baked potato has been cut in two, then the soft potato filling has been removed from the shells, mashed together with sour cream, mustard and pancetta, then placed back into the crispy, fried potato skins. A masterpiece. Last time I was here I had the coal-roasted Murray cod fillets served in the most vivid, moreish green garlic sauce, and I wish we had room to order it again. But with the pie and the steak, salads and potatoes, we didn't even need appetisers or starters this time around. If we did, I would have gone for the fried ricotta dumplings with whipped cod's roe or the eggplant 'parfait' on sourdough toast. The slice of key lime pie is a must-order for dessert (even if you think you don't have room). The lime curd filling is bright and citrusy; it's glazed with ginger, then topped with a generous piping of light coconut curd and little pops of finger lime jewels. It's truly (sub)lime. Just like Christmas, when the experience of dining at Eleven Barrack comes to an end, I'm already counting down the days until I can unwrap it all over again. Thankfully I don't have to wait a whole year.
Time Out
05-06-2025
- Time Out
These magical NSW towns have ranked as the Top Tourism Towns for 2025
It's not a newsflash that NSW is home to some incredible holiday destinations. In 2024, our sunny state was the top holiday destination in Australia – with domestic and international visitors spending $53.2 billion across NSW. There are myriad towns and villages to visit – from magical coastal idylls to quirky outback towns – and while we all have our personal favourites, it's interesting to know which towns are ranking as the key tourist hotspots in the state. Every year, the NSW Tourism Association awards the top tourism towns in NSW – recognising the towns that consistently deliver 'warm hospitality, memorable experiences and a strong sense of place'. Keen to know this year's winners? Read on. For the second year running, the coastal town of Kiama in the magical Shoalhaven region has taken home gold – ranking as the Top Tourism Town (the overall award for towns with a population of more than 5,000). If you're visiting, we'd suggest checking out the biggest blowhole in the world. The nearby town of Shellharbour ranked in second place, and the north coast town of Ballina (home of the big prawn, and the airport gateway to Byron Bay) took home bronze. The NRMA People's Choice Award for best tourism town went to Newcastle, a destination that was ranked as one of the world's hidden gem destinations by Time Out editors. The next award, for the best Small Tourism Town in NSW (for towns with a population of between 1,500-5,000 people) went to Merimbula, a beautiful seaside town on the Sapphire Coast that came in second place in the 2024 awards. The runner up in the Small Tourism Town category for 2025 was the charming Southern Highlands town of Robertson, and Robertson also took home the NRMA People's Choice Award in this category (our tip: book a stay at this spectacular manor house). Third place in the Small Tourism Town category went to Gloucester, a farming town in the Hunter region. The final award always goes to a town with a population below 1,500 people – this year's Tiny Tourism Town award went to Huskisson, the charming fishing village in the Shoalhaven region that also took home gold last year (keen to visit? Book a lakeside hut at this magical farmstay). Broke – a charming mountainside village in the Hunter region took home silver in this year's awards, and the historic village of Millthorpe scored both the bronze award and the people's choice award. It's worth noting that, for the second year running, south coast towns (specifically those in the Shoalhaven region) have dominated the list. At Time Out Sydney, it's part of our job to explore the best holiday destinations that the state has to offer, and the south coast is an area that captures our hearts, too. You can check out all of the winners of this year's awards over here.
