Foodies Haven
Breakfast Spots
Pilgrims – Cronulla
Take a seat beside one of the sash windows in the lovingly restored Art Deco space. Choose between the Haloumi Stack, the famous Breakfast Burger, amazing pancakes or the sourdough laden with mushrooms or avo, you can’t go wrong! This is the ultimate comfort food for vegetarians. Note: Pilgrim’s is also open Friday and Saturday nights for Mexican vego feasts. www.pilgrims.cafe
Blackwood Pantry – Cronulla
Here, dishes such as the Turkish poached eggs are reflective of Rob’s travels and is one of many that ticks all the obvious boxes. Sit here a while under the palm trees to enjoy a coffee, read the paper and catch up on the week’s news over Blackwood bircher, or the ubiquitous amped-up avo on toast. blackwoodpantry.com.au
The Nuns Pool – South Cronulla
The Nuns Pool takes its name from the ocean pool across the road at Shelly Beach where local nuns once bathed. With sweeping terrace views through the pine trees to the ocean and beachside Esplanade, this restaurant, is brimming with delicious fare made with high quality and locally-sourced ingredients. thenunspool.com
7th Heaven – Sutherland or Kirrawee
The quirky menu is like an exercise in blue-sky thinking with nothing on the menu that could darken your mood! Choose from neon-bright wellness bowls, spiced butterfly pea lattes, and a plate of smashed avo with a plant-based poached egg that is the colour of sunshine. instagram.com/7thheavencafeau/
Down Right Good Food
Queen Margherita of Savoy – Cronulla – AVPN-approved pizzaiolo Lee Carroll has taught his daughter Jorja the tricks of the trade. Purists will appreciate the Napoli-style pizza and know to order the eponymously named margherita.
Johnny Hu’s Chinese Restaurant – Cronulla – We recommend the soupy xiao long bao dumplings and the fabulously filthy honey chicken and save room for the deep fried ice cream at the end.
Salt Meats Cheese – Cronulla – While the interiors reflect the heritage of the building, the menu reflects Italy with a few modern twists. Nosh on gnocchi, fried calamari, lamb ragu pappardelle and pizza.
Giro Osteria – Cronulla – What sets this waterside restaurant apart is its plates of antipasti with ribbons of prosciutto and fat olives and beautifully constructed homemade pasta dishes.
CC Babcoq – Cronulla – The menu at C.C. Babcoq is not complicated: it’s fancy chicken basted just so with different flavour combinations and served with peak-season produce. It is about simple but amazing food everytime.
Kuroneko Ramen Noodle Bar – Sutherland – Try the tonkotsu spicy miso topped with ground pork and chilli-infused oil. The karaage chicken donburi and pillowy pork buns are also worth raving about.
Fancy Feasts
The Pines, Cronulla is a stylish beachside restaurant that pays homage to the famous Norfolk Pine trees that line the vista. Start with a signature cocktail and indulge in their a la cart menu crafted by executive chef James Metcalfe and revel in the extensive wine selection.
Waterline By The Bay is perched over Gunnamatta Bay, Cronulla and offers a divine à la carte menu in a serene setting. Watch the sunset over the bay while sipping cocktails and indulging in the fresh seasonal Australian cuisine.
Alphabet St is a contemporary Thai diner serving culinary treasures from Thailand and beyond. It’s one of Cronulla’s best restaurants. Sip on an apple martini and enjoy the sensory overload.
Yalla Sawa Warm and generous hospitality is one of the hallmarks of a Middle Eastern feast and this is reflected in spades. The cosy corner restaurant in Cronulla is run by a local Lebanese family, who are renowned for food packed with personality.
Sealevel Restaurant and Bar, with sweeping ocean views, high quality dining, dishing up a modern Australian menu with French and Italian influences you will enjoy a rich experience evoking all of the senses while soaking up the views of Cronulla’s sandy stretch of beaches.
Jensens – Executive chef Carl Jensen has a well-known ability to take simple seasonal ingredients and flip them into something special. Zucchini flowers, dumplings and crispy-skinned barramundi are some of the loveliest options imaginable on a warm evening. Even on a chilly evening Jensen’s feels warm and cosy with it’s sleek fireplace.
Sip in Small Bars
Watch the sun fade out and the lights of the Sutherland Shire blink on. Head out for a pre – dinner drink or night cap. Start at Papa J’s, then connect the dots between a few of the Shire’s best bars — Blind Bear (Cronulla’s first small bar), Next Door, The Pines, Cony’s, Croydon Lane Wine and Tapas Bar in Cronulla.
See our blog 21 of the best places for cocktails in the Shire for more shire bars, pubs & restaurants to try.
Boutique Brews
Andy Orrell is the hirsute brewer behind the Hairy Man craft brewery that is so beloved in the Shire. Find lines spilling out the door here as backyard home-brewers come to live out their fantasies at the brewery that doubles as a tap house. The cellar bar is set up on Woolooware Bay and is open from Thursday to Sunday for a quiet one and a rotating roster of food trucks.
There are also standout brews on tap in Kirrawee at Shark Island Brewery, named after the surf break off the point of Cronulla: try Shark Island Lager, a good German-style beer, or the Greenhills Summer Ale, a grassy blend of Australian hops.
Continue your craft beer crawl at Sunday Road Brewing Co where you can taste award winning brews, Enigma and Blackwoods – the new Hazy IPA is also just out of the tanks . There is always a great line up of food trucks and is open from Thursday to Sunday.
And finally knock the froth off a few Next Level XPA’s made by the Cronulla Beer Co. which are sold on tap at C.C. Babcoq are various venues around the Shire.
Local Markets & Produce
The Saturday morning Shire Farmers’ Market has become a great place to catch up and connect with friends and family. Located in the Flora St Carpark in Sutherland, the market has up to 55 stallholders selling their wares each week. Specialties at the market range from French pastries and Thorough Bread sourdough to Pepe Saya butter and fruit and vegetables, some of which is grown by the stallholders themselves. Visit www.shirefarmersmarket.com.au for more details.
The Foodies & Farmers Markets in Menai is another local fave. This family-focused market promises to tantalise your taste-buds with a spectacular array of International street food and mouthwatering desserts. Local producers bring a variety of local fresh produce and many more goodies to take home. Check their Facebook page for dates throughout the year.
Carbo phobes need look away now. Bourke St Bakery has planted its flag in Kirrawee and don’t the neighbourhood locals love it! Everything from the sourdoughs to pastries and cakes is made by hand at the little café on the Boulevarde: the bakery’s prune and brandy tart is an exercise in extravagance while its meat pies and sausage rolls have become Sydney staples. ThoroughBread is another haven for bread lovers with those in the know travelling to and from Kirrawee’s industrial precinct to find this unlikely bread paradise. The sweet potato wholemeal and rye is a high point of any trip to the Monro Avenue bakery.