Launched last week, The Hot List is our indispensable guide to the most vital eating and drinking experiences in Sydney right now. The list is unranked, independent and covers all cuisines, budgets and occasions. As Hot List editor, I’m so excited to help you make easier – and more delicious – choices, so that you can go and get the best out of Sydney. I’ll make sure the list stays up to date, so check in regularly. This week we’ve added Island Radio, a fun new Southeast Asian restaurant from the team behind Hinchcliff House, Martinez and the Sofitel Sydney’s venues.

Hot List activity for the week of December 16, 2024

• Added: Island Radio
• Most-trending: Olympus

Maybe precincts aren’t so bad?

Island Radio is one of the anchor tenants in Redfern’s recently launched Wunderlich Lane precinct, and it’s giving me hope – along with Olympus a few doors over – that venues inside property developments can actually be fun and enjoyable, and worth going to, even if you don’t own an apartment in the same building.

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And that’s great, because I feel like a lot of Sydneysiders are getting a bit of precinct fatigue at the moment. Earlier this year I interviewed a property developer who told me “buildings are the hardware, venues are the software”. And it’s fair enough – apartment and office buildings without good hospitality and retail would be like having a great smartphone with no apps. It’s why Sydney’s big property developers are duking it out to lock down the talents of the top chefs, cafe owners and restaurateurs in town.

Often, despite all the name-brand talent that gets recruited, the results can feel flat. Perfectly competent, but maybe just a bit too safe. Well, I’m happy to report that Island Radio is great – and takes having fun very seriously.

The dining room clearly hasn’t gotten the memo that the maximalist trend is over – it’s a cacophony of colours: bright walls, booths, tiling, plants. In the corner, a DJ in a radio booth – who actually makes announcements quite often – presides over the room. The soundtrack’s nice, the vibes are high and, crucially, the food is very good. Chef Andy Wirya’s put together a long menu that can be tackled in a few different ways.

Three plates of skewers and sauces at Island Radio
The skewers are a highlight at Island Radio – especially the sate padang, with LP's smoked ox-tongue. Photo: Yusuke Oba

First time around, stick to the tried-and-true tactic of a handful of small one-biters per person – like ox-tongue skewers, king prawn roti or steak tartare served in a golgappa-style sphere – before graduating to larger-format plates like black pepper beef, with some noodles on the side. Pair that with some tropical cocktails, or a crisp bottle of white, and you’ll be in for a nice time.

Like it or not, we’re going to have more precincts filled with restaurants. If more of them could be like Island Radio, we’ll be in for a treat.

Cafe Freda’s is closing – after a long summer farewell

You’ll notice that, in addition to great new places, the Hot List has a lot of Sydney icons on it – legends like Chat Thai, Quay and Bills. And one venue on the list that was well on its way to icon status, despite opening only a few years ago, was Cafe Freda’s on Oxford Street.

Cafe Freda's, a bar on the corner of Oxford Street, filled with people sitting outside and inside.
Getting one of these outdoor tables on a nice day was harder than winning the Hunger Games – but far out, it felt good when you scored one. Photo: Yusuke Oba

Sadly, it’s not to be. Cafe Freda’s announced this week that it’ll be closing at the end of the summer. This corner bar and restaurant – a follow-up to late and loose dance bar Freda’s in Chippendale – was an instant hit when it opened on New Year’s Eve in 2020. Great cocktails, a thoughtful wine list, an exciting, changeable food menu, and a carefully curated line-up of events and pop-ups made it one of Sydney’s most consistently interesting – and exciting – spots to be.

Whether you’re a longtime regular or you’ve yet to see what all the fuss is about, you have until March 1 to head in and try to secure one of the primo tables. As for why it’s closing? Ah yes, property developers. They giveth, and they taketh away. Thanks for the memories Cafe Freda’s, here’s hoping you reinvent yourself again soon.