Firedoor

This venue is included in Good Food’s 100 Essential Restaurants list.

Cooking over coals may be increasingly common in Sydney, but Firedoor’s commitment remains unmatched: every single ingredient is still cooked or heated by flame, right down to the water.

Score a spot by the kitchen and it’s a ringside seat to chef-owner Lennox Hastie working the ovens, raking the coals and smoking dashi (served with raw tuna belly) or charring lettuce over glowing embers. The rest of the room wants for spectacle, but the skill is undeniable: see how a fillet of Murray cod is softly set, its skin shatteringly crisp.

Wherever you sit, it pays to consider the steak – yes it’s a $65 add-on to the six-course set menu, but it’s a headline act, full of miso-like depth from 200-plus days of dry-ageing. A spark in the air, waitstaff and drinks that are on song, a little whimsy – this is a package deal. Consider the scent of ironbark smoke on your clothes a souvenir.

Good to know: Don’t want to commit to a full tasting menu? A la carte is an option at Friday and Saturday lunch.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

Last visited: July 2026

More:

• Surry Hills
• Firedoor
• Sydney
• Contemporary
• Accepts bookings
• Prix fixe
• Vegan-friendly
• Good for solo diners
• Great or interesting view
• Open fire
• Separate bar
• Licensed
• Great for steak
• Restaurant
• Reviews
• Good Food Guide
• 100 Essential Restaurants
• Critics’ Pick