Each near town centre and but its personal little world, the Balmain Peninsula is a very distinctive facet to Sydney. And its eating places, cafes, retailers and historic pubs make this waterfront suburb the proper spot for a little bit of romance.
Dropped at you by Balmain Rozelle Chamber of Commerce
A journey photographer buddy of ours, who had by no means been to Balmain earlier than, as soon as commented that it appears like somebody’s plucked a well-to-do county city from regional NSW and dropped it in the midst of Sydney.
And I can see his level.
From its slender streets and sandstone cottages to legendary pubs and cosy eating places, Balmain feels 1,000,000 miles from the onerous high-rise hustle of the CBD that looms throughout the water.
But it surely’s the sturdy neighbourhood vibe right here that creates that intangible ‘couldn’t be wherever else’ feeling that only a few different suburbs of town have.
Couple this to a captivating historical past with deep hyperlinks to a lot of recent Sydney and a few spectacular harbour views, and also you’ve obtained the proper surroundings for love.
Balmain can also be such a fairly suburb. In reality, it was the topic of Christina’s first ever Colourwalk, a beautiful strategy to discover your neighbourhood and enhance your pictures expertise on the identical time.
So we’ve put collectively a few of the locations to go and issues to do in our favorite a part of Sydney. Please keep in mind, this isn’t an exhaustive checklist of all the things on the peninsula; it’s simply a few of the locations we love most.
Click on on every of the next to leap straight to every class:
> Cafes
> Eating places
> Drinks
> Leisure
> Procuring
For location maps and extra particulars of many of those locations, take a look at the very useful Balmain Rozelle Chamber of Commerce web site.
Balmain and Rozelle are straightforward to get to and from. 4 bus routes and 4 ferry routes come right here, there’s a everlasting taxi rank within the city centre and in the event you’re driving, you’ll be able to even park on the principle road without spending a dime after 7pm.
Try our video Shorts of Balmain and Rozelle date spots:
Cafes
Listed below are our favorite brunch spots on the peninsula:
Dates don’t at all times need to be a night factor. The cafe scene in Balmain and Rozelle is robust, with a few of the greatest breakfast and lunch choices that Sydney has to supply.
• Euforia Espresso, 58 Darling St, Balmain East
• Kafeine, 260 Darling St, Balmain
• Bertoni, 281 Darling St, Balmain
• Contessa Cafe, 371A&B Darling Road, Balmain
• Hungry Bull Co, 411 Darling Road, Balmain
• House Croissanterie, 1/418 Darling St, Balmain
• The Previous Rosebud, 654 Darling St, Rozelle
• Soiled Purple, 711 Darling St, Rozelle
Eating places
There’s an enormous gamut of choices for eating places in Balmain. Every thing from cheeky burger retailers to very good Thai and Indian meals to fine-dining proper on the water.
• Capello Ristorante & Pizzeria, 79 Darling St, Balmain East
• L’Auberge du Bout du Monde, 358 Darling St, Balmain
• Casa Esquina, 79 Elliot St, Balmain
• The Fenwick, 2-8 Weston St, Peacock Level Reserve, Balmain East
If Balmain’s well-known for something, it’s the pubs right here. Though there are fewer than there was once, those that stay are nonetheless right here for a purpose, and never least for his or her meals.
Listed below are our prime picks for pub eating places on the peninsula:
• The Dry Dock Eating Room, 22 Cameron St, Balmain
• The Riverview’s Birchgrove Restaurant, 29 Birchgrove Rd, Balmain
• The Cat & Fiddle Bistro, 456 Darling St, Balmain
• The Sackville’s Chez Blue, 599 Darling St, Rozelle
Finest pub burger on the peninsula? Bald Rock Resort, Rozelle
Drinks
As soon as the hang-out of labourers on the energy station, the docks and even the mine (Birchgrove used to have two!), Balmain’s pubs are the proper possibility for a laid-back date evening—or not less than the beginning of 1.
• The Bald Rock Resort, 15 Mansfield St, Rozelle
• The London Resort, 234 Darling St, Balmain
• The Dry Dock Resort, 22 Cameron St, Balmain
• The Riverview Resort, 29 Birchgrove Rd, Balmain
• The Cat & Fiddle Resort, 456 Darling St, Balmain
• The Balmain Resort, 72-76 Mullens St, Balmain
• The Royal Oak, 36 School St, Balmain
• The Merton Resort, 38 Victoria Rd, Rozelle
• The Native Rose Resort, 68 Victoria Rd, Rozelle
The ever-growing pattern of small bars, and craft breweries and distilleries in Sydney, we’ve has seen some very good watering holes pop up on the peninsula.
• Nook Bar Rozelle, 632 Darling St, Rozelle
• Cantina Bar Balmain, 350 Darling St, Balmain
• Bar 26, 26-30 Halloran St, Lilyfield
• White Bay Brewery, 26C Mansfield St, Rozelle
• Blackwattle Distilling Co distillery & cellar door (tastings solely), 26F Mansfield St, Rozelle
Lastly, by no means underestimate the virtues of an excellent BYO.
Lots of Balmain’s eating places have a BYO licence and low-cost corkage. Examine first although as Fridays and Saturdays are totally different for just a few venues.
Leisure
Dwell music has actually made a come-back in Sydney, particularly in pubs. All over the place from The London to the Bald Rock to the Cat and Fiddle and the Unity Corridor have band nights with some critical expertise up on stage.
Ensure you test every venue to see the nights that the bands strike up.
There are some lovely galleries round Balmain, like Artwork Gallery on Darling, Balmainspace on Beattie St, Artereal in Rozelle and Lara Scolari Gallery.
For an artwork overload, in 2024, the famed Biennale got here to Balmain. Taking up the long-dead White Bay Energy Station, this large-scale worldwide artwork exhibition makes the many of the spectacular area.
There’s even a free bus to and from town to the ability station and, on weekends, a free shuttle that goes proper into Balmain and Rozelle from the Biennale.
You will discover out extra about this right here.
With a lot of Sydney’s harbour foreshore at its disposal, Balmain is prime for a picnic. Choose up some native produce from the little retailers on Darling Road and profit from views of town, the Harbour Bridge, Cockatoo Island or Sydney’s north.
Comply with the Tom Uren Path, which follows a lot of the shoreline across the japanese tip of the peninsula, to find tiny parks round Balmain East with the most effective views.
For sunsets over the water, head to Callan Park in Rozelle to discover the massive grounds and arrange in a hidden picnic spot simply off the Bay Run.
Procuring
Once we’re purchasing for a picnic date or for tasty morsels to have at residence, there are few retailers we love going to in Balmain and Rozelle.
Our favorite spots are Discipline Mix Wine & Cheese Retailer in Balmain on the way in which to Balmain East, and Cheese Celebration in Rozelle. They’ve all the things you want for the charcuterie of your goals.
It’s additionally loads of enjoyable mooching across the long-standing Rozelle Collectors’ Market on a positive Saturday morning, particularly if there’s a snack on the finish of it for me! The vary of issues you’ll find right here is dazzling.
Close by, there are distinctive retailers like That Plant Store and We Are Conscious clothes retailer, that are enjoyable to flick thru.
In reality, this is without doubt one of the foremost issues we love in regards to the space: the variety of attention-grabbing unbiased boutiques and tiny retailers alongside Darling St in Rozelle and Balmain. One among our favourites is Bits of Australia in Balmain East, good for Aussie souvenirs, playing cards and items, and even native artwork.
I simply hope that us freely giving all our secrets and techniques doesn’t imply our native shall be too full to discover a desk—however these companies deserve the eye. Simply save a seat for us!
