Not so much a new venue as a new beginning for an old favourite, Surry Hills’ Arthur has been reborn as a more relaxed incarnation of its former fine dining self. Co-owners, chef Tristan Rosier and his partner Bec Fanning, have transformed the dining room to embrace less formal dining, from bar service to cosy banquettes. The menu has gone radically, exclusively Australian – with every single ingredient grown and produced on home turf. Grazing-friendly snacks like flame-grilled abalone skewers and “Aussie” oyster rockerfellers come into their own during the daily Australiano Hour, which mirrors the popular twilight hour sessions at sibling Jane down the road. 544 Bourke St, Surry Hills, arthurrestaurant.com

The team behind pint-sized Darlinghurst sake bar Amuro have opened Aenza in the growing Oxford & Foley development on Oxford Street. Bigger sibling Aenza shifts its focus towards wine; with restaurant and beverage manager Paul Beaton (formerly of Tetsuya’s and Quay) curating the drinks list. The open kitchen is a common thread between the two venues, with a long American walnut bar anchoring the new space. Sitting at the bar gives diners a chance to interact with chef-owner Joy Liu and team, as they dish up a menu filled with classic Japanese bites like sashimi, pickles and moreish cabbage and potato salads, alongside larger plates like hapuka, grilled and served with bonito butter, or Australian Kiwami Wagyu with a wasabi kick. Shop 7, 90 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst; @aenza.au

Chef Orazio D’Elia has come home to Rushcutters, to the same site where Sydney first fell for his interpretation of traditional Italian at Popolo. Most recently home to Marta Osteria, the 80-seat restaurant has been overhauled to create D’Elia’s dream kitchen, which centres around a 1.5 metre charcoal grill. From that grill issues plates like flambéd king prawns, along with crisp-fried anchovies and sardines, house-made ragu and generous antipasti plates – just don’t expect pizza; D’Elia is staying faithful to more rustic, regional fare. A daily aperitivo hour and retro Italian fishing boat displaying the day’s catch complete the illusion. 30 McLachlan Ave, Rushcutters Bay; @da_orazio_trattoria

As one door closes another opens – namely as Nick Hildebrandt and Brent Savage get ready to close the doors on the current iteration of Bentley, they’ve simultaneously thrown open the doors on the first of two new sister ventures. Khanh Nguyen of the group’s popular King Clarence heads up the kitchen at Ashe, a grill drawing on Southeast Asian influences. Nguyen again shows off his flair for adapting traditional ingredients into playful new plates for the Australian market – like the house sourdough flatbread, served up with LP’s mortadella, burnt chilli jam and Laughing Cow smoked in house; and a pate en croute mimicking the flavours of a Vietnamese banh mi. Ashe will soon be joined by late-night bar Vespertine; the latest in a string of bar/restaurant double acts in the city. 4 Ash St, Sydney CBD; bentleyrestaurantgroup.com.au/ashe

By this point, the Mucho Group is one of Sydney’s biggest purveyors of booze-fuelled fun, having just opened its sixth specialised bar. Just like older sibling Cantina OK!, the focus here is margaritas, and the retro ice-crushing machine has made the trip out west. But where mezcal adds some smoky depth of purpose to Cantina OK!, Super 44 goes big and fruity with its margs. And of course the free popcorn is back, here dusted with a flavouring inspired by Tajin and lime. 44 Enmore Rd, Newtown; muchogroup.com.au/super44

After the success of Bronte bistro Table Manners, owner Alex Cameron has given the eastern beaches a follow up with Fishnets. The neighbourhood Japanese restaurant is led by an all-star team with resumes that include Sokyo, Oncore by Clare Smyth and Fred’s. The menu references the precision of Japanese omakase but with a more laid-back Sydney sensibility. Expect seasonal sushi, sashimi and nigiri, with Australian provenance asserting itself through bowls of pippies doused in yuzu kosho-infused butter and Murray cod swimming in a roast chicken dashi. A tight sake collection and classic cocktails reinterpreted with Japanese inflections takes aim at the post-dinner crowd – a rarity in Bronte. Shop 1, 118 Macpherson Street, Bronte; fish-nets.com.au

The Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay has just welcomed one of its biggest arrivals yet, with four-level multi-venue destination The Oriana being revealed just in time for Vivid, at the former site of Squires Landing and the much-mourned Quay restaurant. The sprawling waterfront hub offers a capacity of 1,500 all up, across a ground floor beer garden, first floor pub and restaurant within the former Quay dining room, with an events space above – all with front-row views of the Bridge and Opera House, and the busy working harbour between them. Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay, The Rocks, OrianaSydney.com.au

After 26 years on Norton Street in Leichhardt’s Little Italy, Grappa is has relocated to a new home in The Rocks, bringing the Colosi family’s house-made pasta, pizza and Italian hospitality to the grand sandstone property that once housed the original Rockpool. With long-time chef Adam Nicholls along for the ride, expect pitch-perfect pizza and pasta, naturally, as well as more bombastic dishes like a salt-encrusted snapper, and a 1.2kg lamb shoulder from Sovereign in Victoria’s Goldfields designed to share. 107-109 George Street, The Rocks; grappa.com.au

Shortly after making its CBD debut with daiquiri bar Razz Room, Newtown-born hospo group Odd Culture has revealed its all-day York Street osteria Bar Bruno. At ground level above the subterranean Razz Room, Bar Bruno trades through from morning espresso and pastries into the evening with an a la carte Italian menu, with a heavy focus on raw crudo dishes, seafood and meaty mains, except between 3pm-5pm, Monday to Saturday, when saltly little share plates and $13 cocktails star during aperitivo hour. 18-20 York Street, Sydney; oddculture.group/bar-bruno

Restaurateur Paola Toppi, of the pasta dynasty behind Sydney institutions Machiavelli and Bar M, is behind walk-in Pasta Shop in Potts Point. It’s approachable, affordable and – surprise, surprise – all about pasta, with 11 signature pastas on the menu available to eat in or takeaway, all under $30, plus pre-batched cocktails by Maybe Sammy. 37 Bayswater Road, Potts Point; @pastashopsydney

Fourteen years after serving its last steak frites in The Rocks, French brasserie Ananas is back, with Hunter St. Hospitality reimagining the restaurant above recently refreshed Lebanese bistro Sahtein, bringing back some of the fine-dining service hallmarks with a more accessible offering, including generous share plates and uber-garlicky, buttery escargot. Argyle Stores, 18a Argyle St, The Rocks; ananas.com.au

MGallery Collection continues to make The Brighton Hotel one of the hottest places to be seen in Brighton-Le-Sands, with casual Italian bistro Benetti’s joining the likes of Ammos off The Grand Parade in the growing multi-venue precinct, led by Puglia-born chef Mariocristian Carella. 2 Princess St, Brighton-Le-Sands; benettisitalian.com.au

Odd Culture’s underground daiquiri bar and discotheque Razz Room is the first CBD offering from the group behind The Old Fitz, Pleasure Club, the eponymous Odd Culture in Newtown. Beneath street level, the team channels 1960s New York’s debaucherous disco scene, serving up a food menu peppered with retro classics like cheeseburger royale, oysters rockerfeller and prawn cocktails. The cocktail list is all fun, all the time: with a vivid blue Pavlova Fruit Tingle, a classic strawberry daiquiri (with a not-so-classic sichuan kick) and a “not a Japanese Slipper” that looks a lot like one, if tequila crashed the party. 18-20 York Street, Sydney CBD; oddculture.group/venue/razz-room

Hospitality power duo Alessandro and Anna Pavoni have brought their winning formula from Cibaria in Manly and Noosa to expand a’Mare at The Crown into a multi-venue Italian dining hub. The relaunch incorporates a new-look a’Mare Dining Room, aperitivo bar Vista’Mare and Pizza’Mare, the unstoppable duo’s first dedicated pizzeria. 1 Barangaroo Avenue, Sydney; crownsydney.com.au/restaurants/pizzamare

The group behind Newtown’s popular martini den Bar Planet is now playing a similar song in the CBD, with subterranean venue Bar Bridge. In the former Double Deuce Lounge space, the Bridge Street venue worships at the altar of the extra dry martini (unlike its sister, where the martinis can never be too dirty). A more extensive menu of classic cocktails rounds out the menu, but all visits must start with the Bridge Martini – particularly during the daily happy hour, 4–6pm, when they are pouring for $13. Downstairs, 6 Bridge St, Sydney CBD; muchogroup.com.au/barbridge