One of the only restaurants in Sydney (probably the only one actually) that encourages patrons to cut up their pizzas with scissors, The Corner House is a fun choice for a night out. Diners in the cosy front room nestle under a wall of wine bottles, and to reach the rear dining room, with its honey-coloured Chesterfield banquettes, you have to sneak through the kitchen – a quirk that owner Anthony Kaplan intended, to emulate a hip, devil-may-care New York ‘tude. Upstairs there’s an intimate cocktail bar with a balcony for balmy nights. Though famous for the DIY chopping of their wood-fired pizzas (go for the Crowded House – quattro staggioni style with quarters of salami, anchovies, sautéed mushrooms and buffalo, provolone and fontina cheeses), the kitchen also serves up more complex fare including pork belly or spatchcock. There’s a decent wine list written on brown paper and pegged to the table – try something from the ‘crowd-pleaser’ section, like the Delta Vineyard pinot noir from New Zealand.