Make sure you eat as close to the water as you can at least once when you’re in Sydney, because that’s what makes it so special. The city has a dynamic food culture, mainly because of the variety of ethnic groups in Australia’s major cities.

You might argue that London is equally culturally diverse, but Australia has the advantage in having a climate that means much of its food can be grown locally and cheaply.

A visit to any of the central markets will soon put you in the picture. A trip to Flemington market in Sydney is a real eye-opener – all the interesting stuff is there in bucketfuls and the fish markets in Pyrmont in Sydney are almost as essential a visit for a foodie as the Opera House. Not unnaturally all this is reflected in the food you eat in the restaurants.

Here’s a list of my favourite eateries in Sydney:

Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, 1 Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach (00 61 2 9365 9000, www.idrb.com). Classy Italian seafood. Sit on the terrace with your first glass of champagne of the day. Below, members of the Icebergs club swim lengths in the seawater pool. Look across the water to where the board riders are lining up to catch a wave. It always makes me feel quite euphoric especially after a plate of delicate flash-fried school prawns, tossed in semolina flour before frying, which they bring out for you to nibble with your aperitif.

Sean’s Panaroma, 270 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach (00 61 2 9365 4924, www.seanspanaroma.com.au ). At the other end of the beach from Icebergs, Sean Moran’s restaurant is many people’s idea of what a Sydney restaurant is. It’s on the beach, it’s very informal, the produce is exquisite, they do great snapper and really well-chosen produce from the best areas of Australia. I loved the Barossa chook.

Longrain, 85 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills (00 61 2 9280 2888, www.longrain.com). It’s really the room that sets up Longrain – it’s an old warehouse with massive floorboards, high ceilings and enormous communal tables. You eat some very good Thai food cooked by Martin Boetz and his merry crew. The little appetisers, which come on a betel nut leaf, particlarly the prawn and peanut and the smoked trout, are memorable. So, too, is the egg net with pork and prawns for a main course and the green papaya salad with crisp fried soft-shell crab.

The Golden Century Seafood Restaurant, 393-399 Sussex Street (00 61 2 9212 3901, www.goldencentury.com.au). This is Chinese at it’s best – an enormous restaurant that’s always packed. You just have to queue, though 6.30pm is a good time. “Service,” The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide says, “is a matter of military precision.” Don’t worry – the food is delightful. You must go for the Peking duck followed by sang choi bau. Personally, I can’t resist salt and pepper mud crab or the pippis (clams) in XO sauce. The wine list is pretty good and good value, too.

Est., 252 George Street (00 61 2 9240 3010, www.merivale.com). Est. is one of those places where as soon as you walk in, you know the staff are enjoying themselves and it rubs off on the customers. They always produce an exceptional bottle of wine and also seem to recommend just what I wanted to eat. It’s a happy place, due in no small amount, I would guess, to the chef, Peter Doyle, who is very laid-back but produces some exquisite dishes, notably the crisp-skin john dory fillet and grilled scallop, which comes with a carrot and sauternes sauce.

Bistro Moncur, Woollahra Hotel, 116 Queen Street, Woollahra (00 61 2 9363 2519, www.bistromoncur.com.au). I love waiting in the bar of the Woollhara Hotel for a table at the bistro – you can’t book, and checking out the customers is part of the whole business of going to the Bistro Moncur. The food is pretty sharp: they do a legendary swimmer crab omelette, I’ve had really good steaks there and a very nice soupe de poissons, too.

Pier, 594 New South Head Road, Rose Bay (00 61 2 9327 6561, www.pierrestaurant.com.au). Like his brother Peter at Est., Greg Doyle is a really accomplished chef. Right out on the water at Rose Bay, Greg will feed you with some ot the best fish dishes you’re going to get anywhere.

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