Wood-fired pizzas and tableside lasagne: it’s time to discover Soluna in North Sydney.
Tucked away in North Sydney’s new Walker Street precinct, Soluna is bringing Italian vibes to a suburb once better known for its office buildings.
Craving a taste of Italian summer? You can have it in the heart of North Sydney at Soluna, a new all-day diner inspired by flavours of the Mediterranean and the vibes of Los Angeles.
Inspired by flavours of the Mediterranean and the vibes of Los Angeles, this all-day diner is designed to bring the sunny shores of Italy to Sydney’s lower North Shore.
Get ready for Italy’s finest.
Decor
With a mix of raw concrete walls, wide open spaces (for a restaurant, anyway) and sleek, trendy furnishings with a colour palette that complements the menu’s place of origin: soft blush terracottas, olive greens and brushed golds. Soluna is almost reminiscent of a reimagined warehouse space. A nod to the converted warehouse trend that first began in the Meatpacking District of New York City in the late 1990s.
The 110-seat restaurant and bar space features an open kitchen, a new chef’s table for up to 12 guests (perfect for private events), a lively lounge bar and a sunlit outdoor terrace.
Dinner and a show: you can watch as chefs prepare your meal.
Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.
AI Prompt
Service
Friendly, attentive staff make ordering as a large group a breeze.
Menu
There’s a lot to love on the Soluna menu. Designed for sharing, the menu encourages groups to come and try a little of everything. Think hand-stretched wood-fired pizzas, house-made pasta, a salumi station and a signature tableside lasagne trolley.
Start with signature wood-fired bread (can you ever go wrong with a classic margherita?), antipasti, and a selection of salumi and formaggi. Then treat yourself to main courses like bistecca, chicken cotoletta and a family secret recipe of suckling porchetta.
For something truly unique, try the bolognese lasagna. It’s served straight from a trolley brought to your table, with freshly hand-rolled options including lumache al pomodoro with stracciatella and chilli oil; cappellacci with pumpkin, ricotta, burnt butter sage and hazelnut; spaghetti with spanner crab, cherry tomato and lemon crumb—each bursting with coastal Italian flair.
And let’s not forget about dessert: taste table-side tiramisu, freshly piped cannolis, affogato and fior di latte gelato.
Wood-fired pizzas are a menu highlight.
Details
Address: Shop 3/168 Walker St, North Sydney Website:soluna.sydney Cost: $$
Want to see more stories from Australian Traveller in your Google search results?
Tick the box next to "Australian Traveller". That's it.
Kassia Byrnes is the Native Content Editor for Australian Traveller and International Traveller. She's come a long way since writing in her diary about family trips to Grandma's. After graduating a BA of Communication from University of Technology Sydney, she has been writing about her travels (and more) professionally for over 10 years for titles like AWOL, News.com.au, Pedestrian.TV, Body + Soul and Punkee. She's addicted to travel but has a terrible sense of direction, so you can usually find her getting lost somewhere new around the world. Luckily, she loves to explore and have new adventures – whether that’s exploring the backstreets, bungee jumping off a bridge or hiking for days. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @probably_kassia.
Bate Bay’s sweep of beaches has been crowned Australia’s best for 2026, placing Sutherland Shire in the spotlight as a top coastal destination just south of Sydney’s CBD.
The beaches fringing Bate Bay – Cronulla, North Cronulla, Wanda, Elouera and Greenhills – have topped Tourism Australia’s 2026 list of best Australian beaches (as curated by Beach Ambassador Brad Farmer). For locals, it’s less revelation, more recognition.
The mood shifts from the moment you step off the T4 train service from Central to Cronulla and catch a glimpse of the ocean. At dawn, the Esplanade is already buzzing with regulars, and by mid-morning, parents have staked out a toasty spot on Cronulla Beach where excited toddlers clamber over rocks, and the Jellybean swim squad at Oak Park have donned their bright pink caps while singing Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’.
By the afternoon, towels are being collected from across the sand as visitors wander back to Cronulla in loose formation.
Dive into the world’s best beaches.
That’s the thing about Bate Bay beaches. This isn’t a story about a single beach. This long, uninterrupted sweep of sand and sea, where you can walk for kilometres without breaking stride, is not just enjoyed over summer; it’s a year-round destination. Here, Cronulla’s buzz gives way to Wanda’s wild edges, before stretching out to the quieter reaches of Greenhills.
But while Bate Bay’s beaches may have taken top honours in the 2026 Best Australian Beaches list, they’re only part of the drawcard. Sutherland Shire stacks up as a full-spectrum coastal escape, where good food, national park adventures and on-the-water experiences sit within easy reach of the shoreline. Whether you’re planning a long weekend or stretching out a stay, here’s how to make the most of Cronulla beyond the sand, sea and surf.
Beyond the beaches
Dining
Enjoy a sundowner by the sea at Pippis Cronulla.
The Sutherland Shire dining scene delivers from early morning to late at night with a mix of vibrant cafes, bars and pubs. Start your day at Grind Espresso, where the coffee comes strong and fast. From there, drift towards HAM for pastries, best eaten buttery warm.
By midday, locals linger across sun-lit tables. Loaf and Next Door appeal to the surfers who come in for snacks after chasing waves. Blackwood’s Pantry and The Press are also popular for breakfast and lunch, while Pilgrim’s continues to hold a special place in the hearts of vegans.
Newer arrivals signal where Cronulla is heading: Homer Rogue Taverna is being hailed as one of the best restaurants in Cronulla, with the confidence that comes from understanding what locals want. Ask a local to reveal their favourite restaurant for a special occasion, and it’ll likely be Pino’s Vino e Cucina al Mare, Yalla Sawa or Alphabet Street. Summer Salt, Sealevel, Benny’s, Bobbys and Pippis are a few of the best waterfront restaurants in the Shire.
A short ferry ride from Cronulla, Bundeena offers a counterpoint to Cronulla’s mighty surf beaches. If Cronulla is the Shire’s social heart, Bundeena – or Bundenesia, as it’s affectionately known – is the place to go to exhale and unwind.
Hop on the ferry from Cronulla, and within 30 minutes, you’ll be inhaling the eucalyptus-scented air. Check the creative pulse of the local community by timing your visit with the Bundeena Maianbar Art Trail on the first Sunday of every month.
One of the best things to do in Bundeena is paddle into Cabbage Tree Basin with Bundeena Kayaks. Follow the five-kilometre Jibbon Beach Loop Track that leads past quiet coves to ancient Indigenous rock art, or simply find a stretch of pearl-white sand to relax on.
Pristine walking trails
Cool off with a coastal stroll.
Beyond the coastline, Sutherland Shire offers myriad ways to shift gears. Royal National Park – the oldest national park in Australia – sits just minutes from the surf. Clifftop walks trace the edge of the continent, the rugged bushland is threaded with creeks and hidden waterfalls, and a network of tracks rewards those willing to go a little further.
Take the Coast Track, where the land drops cleanly into the ocean over sheer cliffs that have been stacked together like giant Jenga. Or veer inland, where pockets of forest cool the air and filter the light. It’s a reminder of how close nature sits to the bustle of suburbs in the Sutherland Shire.
Enjoy whale watching
Spot whales from May to October. (Credit: The Edit Suite)
Twist your binoculars until the ocean is in focus, stretched like a creased blue sheet all around.Come May, the East Coast becomes the humpback highway. Thousands of whales migrate along this stretch of coastline each year, their movements tracked by keen eyes from vantage points like the Cape Solander platform in Kamay Botany Bay National Park, one of the best places for whale watching in Australia. There’s something quietly thrilling about seeing that first telltale spout or the arc of a breaching body against the vastness of the sea. From June to October, whale-watching cruises depart from Cronulla, offering a closer look at the migration.
Awards come and go. But places like Cronulla endure because they belong as much to the visitors as they do the early-morning swimmers, walkers and surfers.
