Sydney's in-the-know neighbourhood
More genteel and grown-up than Bondi, and more accessible than surf-bougie Byron Bay up the New South Wales coast, there aren’t many places that distill the Aussie dream of surf, sun and healthy good living quite like this seaside suburb.
To many Sydneysiders, Manly is “the insular peninsula” – a nickname that implies just a hint of envy. Because after taking the iconic cream and mustard ferry from Circular Quay, there’s a temptation not to leave. My sister has lived in the Manly bubble for more than a quarter of a decade, and I’ve been visiting since she came to scout the place during my gap year, just after the turn of the millennium. With most of the town strung along the neck of a headland that juts into Sydney Harbour, it’s always had an absurd variety of beaches and coves – from the eponymous wave-lashed ocean beach to the snorkel-friendly Shelley Beach along the walkway and even more chilled beaches on the harbour side, like Delwood and Fairlight. But back then it was still just a little rough around the edges, with only a few serious spots to eat and caffeinate.
Today, the vibe is much more upmarket, albeit with a tangible sense of community and an ever-present sense of salty good living. Anyone who heads to the beach at sunrise is likely to see barefoot surfers trotting past rows of fitness fanatics doing crunches under the Norfolk pines; and, at the South Steyne end of the beach, the daily Bold and Beautiful swim club wading into the water in their pink caps to swim the 750 metres to Shelley and back. Glassy modern homes belonging to the stealthily wealthy now overlook the Shelley walkway, strolled by the Lululemon- and linen-clad, many of them heading to the Bower Cafe overlooking the Fairy Bower pool in the rocks.
The food and drink scene has changed beyond recognition since I’ve been visiting. Today, there can’t be many places on the planet with a denser concentration of places serving smooth flat whites or almond piccolos: including, to name just a few, concrete-hipster Skittle Lane on Pittwater Road, the original Barrel One by the harbour, the whitewashed Effie’s in Balgowlah and the style-set favourite Noon. The latter two are run by the local Good Good hospitality company behind the fabulous Italian small plates restaurant Busta and the Asian-punk long-timer Sunset Sabi, still beloved for its crab-based Dank rolls and Double Double gyozas inspired by Big Macs. Surfers queue most mornings for the sinful sweet and savoury pastries (for example, a wagyu pastrami croissant) at the LA-style Rollers Bakehouse. There tends to be a scrum later for the discounts on oversized mortadella sandwiches, quiches and donuts at the Greek-inspired Norma’s Deli on the Corso. Part of a cluster of cool spaces serving coffee and acai and in Market Lane, off the Corso, Swedish-run Fika is locally beloved for its Skagen toast with prawns, dill and lemon mayo on sourdough.
For dinner, there are often young surfy types waiting on Pittwater Road for Prawn to be Wild and Gordon Hamsey pies from the brick-walled, crisply branded Pocket Pizza, and a similar crowd crammed into the izakaya-style Jipang for pork cutlet and tempura prawn bento boxes off a narrow laneway. There’s usually a buzz down at the wharf, too, where the pizzas at Hugos still draw the crowds, with competition from the popcorn shrimp and spicy sprouts at Sake, or dim sum platters at the retro-styled Queen Chow Manly. The vibe is more romantic at Banco Manly, a metro-tiled wine and small plates bar where the lamb rojapi skewers and aged short ribs are cooked over charcoal. The Herring Room, an art deco-fronted space that champions sustainable produce from small-scale fisheries across Australia, from Tasmanian mussels to Queensland spanner crab – rivals harbour-side long-timer Garfish as the best seafood restaurant in town.
Manly is also a gateway to salty adventure. The Manly-Spit Bridge Walk is a classic Sydney walk, round a forested headland marked with little bays and outlooks, and there are countless ways to commune with the water, including kayaking or paddle boarding from the harbour over to the old quarantine station on the North Head. This is also the start of the Northern Beaches, a blessed stretch of surf coast strung with little surf towns: Manly’s cool northern neighbour Freshwater, where surfing was first introduced to Australians in 1914; the wonderful beach at North Curl Curl, with an iconic rock pool just around from the swell-lashed sandy beach; Newport, with its cool shopping strip (Splice Boutique, Knap Store, Pony Rider); and up to the more chi-chi Avalon and Palm Beach, where modernist homes cling to ocean-facing hillsides, and hotel-restaurant Barrenjoey House sums up the regal-nautical vibe. Palm Beach is where Home and Away was filmed, and it’s tempting to wonder if Alf Stewart got rich or priced out. Either way, like my sister, people who visit this blessed stretch of coast tend to want to stay.
Toby Skinner
An acclaimed travel writer and former Condé Nast Traveller features editor, Toby Skinner has seen it all – from the finest hotels to the salty sea towns of Scotland where he grew up. He is the author of Ocean, The gloobles UK pocket guide and splits his time between the sea air of Margate (the ocean is never far from his mind), and adventures further afield. At home, you’ll find him taking a dip in the freezing ocean, biking the coast, or tucking into local favourites at Dory’s or Bar Ingo. On the road, he’s chasing that fresh, alive feeling, looking for serendipitous moments that you wouldn’t find in a cossetted five-star hotel. That means immersing himself in the peaceful löyly culture on a remote Scandinavian island, or driving through the vast national parks of the American West, Yosemite and Joshua Tree. A lover of living culture over guided tours and rigid itineraries, Toby is drawn to places with soul: Shanghai’s contrasts, Sydney’s North Curl beach, the wild edges of Iceland are just a few among many. He could, as he says, clam on and on whenever people ask. Next on his list? Japan, the Deep South, or maybe a long-overdue return to China.
