5 Sydney Restaurants for 5 Different Moods
Written by Haeun Kim
Published at Wednesday 7 October 2026
“Korean food” was not one category. A first date meant a stylish, quiet place. A hangover meant soup you did not have to think about. A Friday night meant a pocha with soju with your close friends.
Turns out the same range exists in Sydney too, just harder to find.
Here is my mood-based map of Korean food in the city and North Sydney: what’s your mood tonight?
This tiny family-run dinner is one of the quietest, most unique Korean spots in Surry Hills. This room is softly lit, and the plating looks like it was styled for a magazine, not a menu. It’s authentically Korean underneath, but it walks and talks like a modern Sydney restaurant, so it’s a perfect place with your partner or friends. If your date (or you) has never tried Korean food before, this is the gentlest, prettiest place to start.
Must-try: Yukhoe (Korean Beef Tartare), Dolsot Bibimbap (Korean Stone Pot Rice Bowl), Dakangjeong (Crispy Sweet-Spicy Fried Chicken), and Kimchi Jeon (Kimchi Pancake), if it’s on the menu that day 🙂
Going for the full experience?
They also run a dinner set menu, two options at $60 and $80 per person, changing regularly, with the $80 set featuring wagyu and kingfish sashimi. Good to book ahead if you want to try it!
Website to check the menu: https://www.sangbymabasa.com.au/dine-in.html
Location: 98 Fitzroy, Surry Hills, NSW
Drank too much last night and need something hot and savoury to fix it? This is where you go. Walk in, and the first thing you see is a massive cauldron at the entrance, quietly bubbling away. That’s where the signature oxtail soup comes from: a milky, deeply savoury broth simmered for hours, and the same base runs through most of the soup menu. This is the kind of place you go when you want something warm and unfussy, the Korean equivalent of a home-cooked pot on the stove.
Whenever I’m feeling under the weather, cold, or winter is creeping in, the Ox Knee Hot Pot is my favourite menu. It’s the kind of dish that warms you up from the inside out, exactly what you need on those grey Sydney days.
Must-try: Ox Knee Hot Pot, Korean Sausage (Soon-dae) Hot Pot, Spicy Potato & Pork Neck Bone Hot Pot, Spicy Octopus of Beef Intestine & Prawn Hot Pot, and Seafood Pancake are also worth ordering.
Location: 39-41 Goulburn St, Haymarket, NSW
Named after a Korean Magazine from the 1970s, this bar and restaurant leans fully into retro Seoul, down to the details. Walking in feels less like Chatswood and more like stepping into an old photograph of Korea’s capital. If you have ever tried “Yupdduk” tteokbokki in Korea and have been missing it, Sunday Seoul’s tteokbokki comes the closest to that exact flavour out of anywhere I’ve tried in Sydney.
The rosé and mala tteokbokki are both standouts, and even better ordered alongside the fried chicken. Everything on the menu is built to pair with drinks, so don’t keep skipping the Yuzu highball.
Must-try: Tteokbokki (original, rosé, and mala), Fried Chicken, Spicy Chicken Feet, and a Yuzu highball.
Location: Shop 2/7 Help St, Chatswood, NSW
This is the closest thing in Sydney to the Korean pocha that’s actually trending in Korea right now, the current 20s generation’s go-to bar style.
It is a fusion Korean restaurant and bar, and you’ll see plenty of uni students here too; go on a weeknight or weekend, and the place is packed with them. The dress code is casual, the energy is loud, and the food is built for sharing over soju. Traditional pocha spirit with a current Gen Z edge.
If you’re in the city and want a proper night out, this place would be the best option.
No bad orders at this restaurant, but here’s what to grab first!
Must-try: Creamy Mushroom Grilled Beef Rib, Korean Army Stew, and Spicy Chicken with Cheese.
Location: 1 Dixon St, Haymarket, Sydney
Yes, that BCD, the soft tofu famous franchise out of LA, now in Sydney’s CBD. What comes to the table feels properly laid out: the Single set gets you rice, 6 side dishes, soft tofu soup, and spicy stir-fried pork all together, basically a full 8-dish table for $29-31.
Order the soft tofu stew, and a raw egg comes on the side to crack into the bubbling broth.
Here is how we eat the stone pot rice: Scoop most of the rice out, then pour hot water into the pot. What’s left scorched on the bottom turns into ‘Scorched rice’, Korea’s version of scorched-rice-tea.
Coming with someone? The set for 2 lets you pick between a beef bulgogi and grilled fish combo, or a spicy pork and grilled fish combo, for around $59 total.
Must-try: Soft Tofu Stew, the Single Set ($29-31), or the Set for 2 ($59) if you’re sharing.
Quick cheat sheet for your next craving
- Need to impress someone -> Sang by Mabasa
- Need something authentic -> Hansang Haymarket
- Need a throwback -> Sunday Seoul
- Need to let loose -> Tiger Korean Pocha
- Need to actually eat a full meal -> BukChangDong Soft Tofu Central