The best new restaurants in the Sutherland Shire

1. Fior

Head to Fior in the Sutherland Shire suburb of Gymea and you’re likely to find punters packed in tighter than a tin of anchovies. Chef Tristan Rosier and his partner Rebecca Fanning, also run Jane and Arthur in Surry Hills and they saw an opportunity in the area when they moved nearby to raise their young family. Tristan’s attention to detail extends beyond the food: he engaged Luchetti Krelle to help reimagine the space, which was occupied by Caruso’s Italian for more than two decades. If Jane and Arthur are distinctly Australian diners, Fior is like their next-gen sibling from Italy who has an ironic mullet, wears chinos and doesn’t mind dishes that riff on modern classics. Rosier successfully demonstrates how Italian food can evolve with seasonal Australian ingredients. All the pasta is made in-house, as is the gelato. Start with the former, finish with the latter.

2. Folk Lounge & Dining

Restaurateur and chef Albi Cuni has endeared himself to locals for more than a decade at the helm of Albi’s Taverna in Cronulla. But the timing was right to make a move and the chef has been lured to helm Folk Lounge & Dining at Tradies Gymea where he continues to showcase modern-day Mediterranean food and mod Oz classics. The sophisticated new space is all olive-green banquettes, bare timber tables and terrazzo. Here, you’ll find the expansive menu broken up into tapas, appetisers, pizza, pasta, burgers, mains, sauces, salads, desserts and gelato. Even the kids’ menu is more refined than most with plates of pasta Napoletana proving a popular option for kids and therefore time-poor parents on the go. Diet be damned. You can always dedicate the rest of the weekend to wellness.

table full of dishes at Folk Lounge & Dining at Tradies Gymea

Find an expansive menu of incredible food at Folk. (Image: Leigh Griffiths)

3. Pino’s Vino e Cucina al Mare

First he conquered the Sydney suburb of Alexandria with Pino’s Vino e Cucina. Now restaurateur Matteo Margiotta wants to give residents of the Sutherland Shire a taste of his homeland and heritage with his stylish new sister venue in Cronulla. Matteo, who arrived in Australia 14 years ago from Rome, has promoted his ‘right-hand-man’ Cristiano Patacca (Otto’s, est.) to the position of executive chef to oversee both restaurants. And together the duo has collaborated on a menu of decadent dishes that Matteo says his Dad, Pino – featured on the logo – would appreciate. Signatures include a seafood grigliata mista, Roman cacio e pepe on thick, hand-rolled pici pasta and decadent lobster pasta. Margiotta says he chose the historic building in Cronulla because it’s “in the heart of community" where he moved with his wife and two daughters during the pandemic.

pasta dish at Pino’s Vino e Cucina al Mare in sutherland shire

Treat yourself to hand-rolled pasta and mouthwatering creations.

4. Sista Gin Bar

Sista Gin has a fine reputation for serving sensational cocktails, many of which include gin, making it one of the best new bars in Cronulla. The intimate bar tucked away on Cronulla St has an intimate retro speakeasy vibe with raw bricks and green velvet chairs making for a congenial space. In addition to the gin aficionados being drawn to the bar for well-crafted cocktails, Sista Gin ensures patrons are well fed. Hungry after your morning surf? Refuel on prawn and saffron linguine and wild mushroom risotto. Or order an array of small plates of tapas to share: think soft tacos stuffed with pulled beef or pumpkin and sage arancini. There are also more casual offerings such as charcuterie boards, cheeses from near and far and grilled halloumi.

cocktails lined up at Sista Gin Bar sutherland shire sydney

Taste sensational cocktails at Sista Gin Bar.

Return to the classics

Want to know what to do in the Sutherland Shire over a long weekend? Visit for the surf and the sunshine. Then get buzzed for the restaurant scene. In addition to Cronulla’s much-loved restaurants such as Queen Margherita of Savoy, Giro’s Osteria, Alphabet St, SeaLevel, The Pines and Summer Salt, visitors will find Jensen’s worth the jaunt to Kareela Village and a swag of top spots to enjoy a cocktail in the Sutherland Shire. While the bustling beachside suburb in Sydney’s south has everything from swanky lounge bars like Papa Js (an offshoot of Jensens) to beach-chic luxe shacks like Bobby’s, it also has low-key hangs that are further afield. Sunday Road Brewing and Hairyman Brewery are both worth plugging in your satnav. There’s a lot to love about the brand-new Bay Central Woolooware too. Shoppers are flocking to the upmarket food court for everything from burgers to banh mi. The food court defies pigeonholing: pinball from Levain Sourdough Pizza to Ishq and Dilara Kebabs and Street Food.

Experience as much as possible by staying a night (or several) at beachside Quest Cronulla and Rydges Cronulla, or centrally located Quest Woolooware Bay.

fresh seafood at Hurricanes Grill & Bar in sutherland shire

Don’t forget Sutherland Shire’s much-loved restaurants, like Hurricanes Grill & Bar.

Welcome to the first instalment of Hotel Addict, a monthly column where I check into Australia’s best hotels, exploring not just the rooms, but the stories, service and settings that make each stay unforgettable and worth adding to your wishlist.

Hotel stays have quietly become my thing. Long before I became a travel journalist, I was booking staycations just for a change of scenery. Some had charm, some had character, some had neither. Once, I even stayed in a hotel directly opposite my own apartment – partly for the novelty, partly because I wanted to see my life from a different angle.

For me, hotels represent a kind of mystery – I find myself wanting to know what these buildings contain. Many of them are designed with intention: lighting, materials, scent and sounds that often reflect the city they sit in. Time seems to gently pause in these spaces, which have increasingly become the destination itself for modern travellers.

It only felt fitting for the first hotel in this series to be in my home city and at the hotel that’s been at the top of my list: Capella Sydney.

A sandstone heritage building and palm trees

Capella sits within an Edwardian Baroque‑style sandstone building.

An email with a hotel program from the “Culturist Team” lets me know this will be a luxurious stay. There’s a guided walk around the Botanic Gardens, a weaving workshop and a Sydney contemporary art tour – the kind of addition that signals a hotel that’s tuned into the finer details, and one that’s not surprising given that Capella’s ethos centres on delivering personalised, immersive experiences.

Capella opened in 2023 within a transformed Edwardian Baroque‑style sandstone building in Sydney’s CBD that was originally designed by renowned Scottish-Australian architect George McRae. I often walk past this building and once attended an event inside – I distinctly remember being surprised by how beautiful it was. Bar Studio, Make Architects, and stylist Simone Haag were engaged to sensitively adapt the building for contemporary luxury while honouring its past, in collaboration with Heritage NSW and the City of Sydney.

When I arrive, I’m greeted by three different staff members along the way to reception. There’s a lovely subtle scent, which I later learn combines notes of bergamot, green tea leaves, peony, freesia, vetiver and cedarwood. This hotel strikes such a beautiful balance between grandness and intimacy, with large floral bouquets, contemporary artworks, impressively high ceilings that give it an international feel and quieter nooks to unwind in. Each space is unique, but they’re all unified by a warm, textural and layered design.

Sydney has been deserving of a hotel of this calibre for quite some time, with many of the accommodations in the city looking and feeling dated.

A modern hotel reception with high ceilings

The design strikes the perfect balance between grandness and intimacy.

I have a treatment booked at the hotel’s Auriga Spa prior to check-in. The space is ultra-luxe, moodily lit and intimate, featuring timber joinery, green walls and a sleek design that’s so perfect it almost transports me to Japan. I opt for the Replenish Beauty and LED Facial – a strategic choice with a TV segment on the horizon, and a hopeful bid to look extra fresh for the camera.

The treatment begins with me sitting in the softest robe of my life, wearing slippers and sipping chamomile tea. I’m then whisked away to my private treatment room, which has its own bathroom, a large skylight and a small Japanese-style garden. The treatment is extremely relaxing and moves through cleansing, exfoliating, massaging (arm, head, neck and face) and LED Light Therapy. There’s so much attention to detail – even at the end, the facialist puts my slippers back on me, while I’m still lying down.

Spa treatment room with a massage bed, featuring timber walls and a serene Japanese-style garden visible through a window.

A treatment at Auriga Spa might be the best way I’ve ever started a hotel stay. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

While this treatment certainly hasn’t had a Benjamin Button effect, my sister seems to think I’m glowing, so I walk away happy, or at the very least, zen.

Auriga Spa has a sauna, steam room, ice fountain and a beautiful indoor heated swimming pool. There’s also “experiential showers” – new to me, but essentially it combines water flowing from different places, changing temperatures, mood lighting, gentle sounds, and a subtle lemongrass scent.

You could easily spend the better part of a day at the spa and pool, even if you’re not a guest.

The indoor heated swimming pool with glass ceiling at Capella Sydney.

Guests outside the hotel can use the spa and swimming pool. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

I’m escorted to my room, drunk on relaxation, but I make sure to take note of how noisy the hallways are – answer: dead quiet. My room is 50 square metres, which is huge by hotel standards, but particularly for one in the CBD. It feels like a high-end apartment with floorboards, a freestanding bath and a seating/dining area. My eyes are immediately drawn to the line-up of macarons waiting for me on the dining table.

I’m thrilled to see the mini bar armoire includes a small wine fridge stocked with Minuty Prestige Côtes de Provence, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Handpicked Wines Pinot Noir, and Moët Grand Vintage. Not that I plan on using it (I simply could not justify the prices) – but it’s a nice extra that makes the room feel that much more luxurious. The drinks lineup reads like a who’s-who of local favourites – Young Henrys, Maybe Sammy cocktails, Four Pillars gin and Archie Rose gin. Snacks include Tyrell’s chips, Pringles, Natural Confectionery lollies, and a Carman’s oat bar.

Some small touches I appreciate that some hotels don’t offer: the option to choose your housekeeping time, an iron that actually works well, a Bluetooth speaker, the beloved wine fridge, aluminium water bottles and a bathroom without a glass door or screen that awkwardly exposes you. The one downside is that some of these rooms don’t offer much in the way of a view.

A modern hotel room with a monochrome paletter.

I stayed in a Premier Room which was elegant and relaxing. (Image: Rachael Thompson)

4:30pm is Swill Hour – a daily tradition that nods to the historical “six o’clock swill” in Australia. This one-hour event takes place in the Living Room and invites guests to gather and enjoy each other’s company with a signature cocktail in hand. This afternoon’s tipple is a Eucalyptus Gimlet, a clever, herbaceous little cocktail, by the multi-award-winning Maybe Sammy Team, served on coasters depicting drawings of the historic building. The canapé of the day is a tomato and stracciatella tart. I noticed several staff members chatting with guests like old friends, asking how their adventures earlier in the day went – clearly remembering previous conversations from earlier visits.

Dinner is booked for 6:30pm in Aperture – arguably the most beautiful area of the accommodation. It’s decorated with Australian flora and features a kinetic sculpture hanging from the roof that opens like flowers, with softly changing lights. Tyler, who is serving us, clearly admires the Capella brand, speaking enthusiastically about the other international properties he’s been to and sharing how he sometimes brings his five-year-old daughter here to use the pool.

Interior of Aperture at Capella Sydney, featuring lush greenery and a striking ceiling-mounted sculpture.

The scale of Aperture gives it an international feel.

I kick things off with a basil melon margarita – a winning recommendation – before tucking into the best prawn toast I’ve ever had. For mains it’s crispy Ōra King salmon and spaghetti with mud crab.

When I arrive back at my room, there’s a vegan leather journal on my bed with a note that says: “The ritual of journaling allows us to pause, reflect and focus.” This is part of the turndown service, and my slippers are neatly lined up next to my bed. Will I journal? No. Do I think it’s a nice touch? Yes.

Brasserie 1930 at Capella Sydney, where Art Deco elegance meets contemporary Australian cuisine.

Brasserie 1930 boasts Art Deco elegance.

The next morning, I make the predictable choice of smashed avo for breakfast at the on-site restaurant, Brasserie 1930. There’s also a buffet brimming with all the usual suspects.

Afterwards, I head to the pool to relax for a few hours before the 11am checkout. Despite my earlier resolve not to journal, I find myself reflecting nonetheless – an irony not lost on me – on my 21st hotel stay in Sydney. I write this with growing assurance that great hotels don’t just provide a place to stay; they create memorable moments, thanks in large part to fantastic staff. Kudos to the hiring manager.

Next stop: The Tasman, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart!

The best new places to eat and drink in the Sutherland Shire

The Sutherland Shire has long been a favourite for foodies, and some favourite new arrivals (and buzzy institutions to boot) are sprinkling even more stardust over Sydney’s southern suburbs.

1. Fior

2. Folk Lounge & Dining

3. Pino’s Vino e Cucina al Mare

4. Sista Gin Bar

Return to the classics

Travellers get relief as Sydney Airport introduces flat-rate taxi fares

This iconic Bondi venue is about to land at Sydney Airport

Soft Forest: A free, immersive show is on in this historic Sydney garden

Be transported to an Italian summer at this new Sydney restaurant

I’ve stayed in 21 hotels in Sydney and this is my favourite

Welcome to the first instalment of Hotel Addict, a monthly column where I check into Australia’s best hotels, exploring not just the rooms, but the stories, service and settings that make each stay unforgettable and worth adding to your wishlist.