On the Waterfront: Dining Out in Sydney

摘要

Sydney is renowned as one of the world's most seductive harbour cities, yet it is only over the past decade that up-market dining venues have appeared around its foreshores. Before Australia's bicentennial year in 1988, the old convict settlement boasted only a few waterside fish-and-chip shops with tables and plastic chairs outside. Seemingly unaware of European traditions since the 17th century, Australian councils previously did not permit restaurateurs to place tables and chairs on public walkways. Archaic liquor licensing laws also discouraged casual dining at indoor-outdoor restaurants, while encouraging rowdy hotel 'garden bars' to serve standard Aussie fare like steaks, chops and sausages. Also, unlike most European cities, Sydneysiders did not live in the city, but in leafy suburbs around it.