Ester

Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20Critics' PickUpdated October 26, 2026,first published November 11, 2024Good Food hatGood Food hat16/20Critics' PickEsterContemporary$$$This venue is included in Good Food’s 100 Essential Restaurants list.It’s near impossible to imagine a Sydney without Ester: the timeless lure of the archway-framed room; those rock oysters soused in chicken fat hot from the wood oven; that standard-setting list of lo-fi wines, interesting aperos and artisan sake. If the novelty of it all has waned after 13 years, the kitchen’s certainly hasn’t. Just clock the bracing bitterness of a radicchio salad dressed with pulverised whole oranges. Or the way milky horseradish cream intensifies a deftly seasoned dairy-cow tartare. And if you’ve forgotten just how good a dessert can be when pushed to its savoury limits, call for the longstanding salted-caramel semifreddo with a rubble of roasted black sesame seeds and be reminded. Pioneering, and still pushing.Good to know: The recently opened neighbouring wine bar Pig Mary doubles the fun.Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.Sign upLast visited: April 2026More:ChippendaleEsterSydneyContemporaryAccepts bookingsVegan-friendlyFamily-friendlyGood for solo dinersLicensedDate nightVegetarian-friendlyGluten-free optionsWheelchair accessGood for groupsRestaurantReviewsGood Food Guide100 Essential RestaurantsCritics’ PickFrom our partners