James O'Brien

Even on a Friday night, it can be hard to find somewhere to eat in Sydney after nine o’clock.

This is not a new thing, but it seems to have worsened since COVID, with many restaurants closed.

I remember arriving in Rome a few years ago, and the incredulity of the waiter to my assumption that at 9.30pm I was already “too late” for a meal. He just didn’t understand why I would even think that.

And then in New York, being able to see a show on Broadway, and then going to a fairly nice restaurant meal at around 11pm. Salman Rushdie was dining at a nearby table

Although Sydney often likes to think of itself as a “world class city” our opening hours for restaurant meals seem to harken back to the 1960s.

Getting a meal at 9.00pm on a Friday night seems to be the equivalent of the six-o’clock-swill in 1950s hotels here. You need to get in early or go with whatever is available.

If you don’t want to go to the Sydney Casino, you need to go to Chinatown, and that’s what I did last night.

In other Oxford Street news, a major hotel renovation which has been proceeding at a glacial pace has taken a step forward as a legendary sign is replaced, which suggests a more “upmarket” venue is emerging.