Ten essential Sydney winter food experiences

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Billy Connolly once said there's no such thing as bad weather, there's just the wrong clothes. Well, there's also the wrong food. No one wants to sit down to a papaya salad and pina colada when the mercury isn't rising past single digits. Red wine and pasta is a different matter.

Here are some of the best Sydney food and drink experiences to have this winter.

Schnitzel and mulled wine at Redfern Continental

Red Con's schnitzels are bigger than some European principalities. Trying to finish a chicken or veal number by yourself is almost guaranteed to get the old "schnitzel sweats" going, especially when you try to polish off the rockslide of roast potatoes and wheelbarrow of braised cabbage that accompanies it. Giant wall murals of snow-capped mountains, framed pictures of Flemish cafes and canned things grandmas spread on toast decorate the room so it's not hard to convince yourself you've blown in from a frosty Lithuanian street. Expect a spicy mulled wine very soon – in true Euro-style the owners say we have to wait until the weather gets a bit colder.

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180 Redfern Street, Redfern, (02) 9319 7446, redferncontinental.com.au

A beer by the fire at a pub in The Rocks

The Hero of Waterloo and Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel are heavy with sandstone and history. Both are fantastic places to grab a pint, sit by the fire and waste away an afternoon while the rest of the world shivers outside. Good luck fighting tourists and rugby fans for a weekend seat at The Lord Nelson. If you do grab one, reward yourself with an Old Admiral ale and beef pie with mushy peas. The Hero might not have the beer selection the Lord does but its live music makes up for that – old-time jazz on a Sunday is terrific no matter what tipple's in your hand. And if you think you saw a ghost at either that's because you probably did.

The Hero of Waterloo, 81 Lower Fort Street, Millers Point, (02) 9252 4553, heroofwaterloo.com.auThe Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, 19 Kent Street, The Rocks, (02) 9251 4044, lordnelsonbrewery.com

Pudding and a hot buttered rum at Rockpool Bar and Grill

We're pretty sure it's impossible to make it through winter without eating your weight in sticky, sweet pudding drowned in custard. Rockpool Bar and Grill's head pastry chef Thida Hindet makes desserts you want to eat with maximum moreishness. The warm rhubarb, strawberry and almond pudding has been on the menu for five years and is a reworking of a Rockpool classic from more than a decade ago. Be sure to ask the waiter serving creme anglaise for a thick and spicy hot buttered rum made with Ron Zacapa XO to accompany.

66 Hunter Street, Sydney, (02) 8078 1900, rockpool.com

Fish pie at The Boathouse Shelly Beach

When summer arrives, the line for lunch at the Boathouse crew's new seaside shack at Shelly Beach (see also Palm Beach, Whale Beach, Balmoral Beach) will likely stretch to Manly so the best time to visit is probably now. When overlooking a cranky grey beach we can't think of a better table mate than creamy fish pie of smoked cod and ling capped with golden butter puff pastry.

1 Marine Parade, Manly, (02) 9934 9977, theboathousesb.com.au

Ice skating and a bratwurst at The Winter Garden

The Winter Garden ice rink has relocated from Darling Harbour to the forecourt of St Mary's and your skating experience is all the better for it. You're still likely to fall on your backside every five metres but doing so in front of a big gothic cathedral is oh so more romantic than doing it in front of an Imax poster for Godzilla. Extend the mini-European vacation a little further by grabbing a Thuringer bratwurst with sauerkraut on a fresh baked roll. The Winter Garden runs from June 19 to July 19. A pom-pom beanie and crocheted mittens are highly recommended.

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, (02) 9922 1114

Hot chocolate and shakshuka at Cafe Shenkin

The greatest winter breakfast of all time is piping-hot porridge with poached fruit and brown sugar, eaten in bed with something good on the telly. Baked eggs are a close second and Shenkin's shakshuka is a cracking Middle Eastern rendition of them. A terracotta bowl filled with thick tomato and garlic sauce and two wobbly poached eggs with an optional chorizo addition that's worth accepting. You'll want to upgrade to the coconut-flavoured hot chocolate option too because it tastes like a hug from a Bounty bar. Now back home to bed for the midday movie.

53 Erskineville Road, Erskineville, (02) 9550 5511, cafeshenkin.com.au. Also at Enmore and Surry Hills.

Oysters at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar

When Mother Nature is angry, Icebergs is a great place to watch her do her worst. Waves explode, clouds thunder, seagulls flee from rain and can you sit there and enjoy the show with a plate of Pambula Lake oysters and nasturtium vinaigrette. The best part is that no matter how terrible the weather, there's always some maverick attempting a few laps of the pool.

1 Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach, (02) 9365 9000, idrb.com

Tonkotsu ramen at Ryo's Noodles

Chicken soup is all well and good if you've got the winter sniffles, but a big bowl shimmering, salty, thick pork bone broth is as good as any cold and flu tablet on the market. Actually if you do have a case of the lurgy, perhaps Ryo's isn't the best choice of ramen house as there's every chance the queues here will have you waiting outside in the cold to get in. Maybe head over to Chaco Bar where Darlinghurst's favourite yakitori joint is now serving ramen for lunch.

125 Falcon Street, Crows Nest, (02) 9955 0225

A long lunch of meatballs and red wine at Besser

The A Tavola boys have taken over the old Billy Kwong site and it's a lunchtime win. The room is rich with natural light and the meatballs sweet with a mix of pork, veal and chicken and spritely pomodoro sauce. If you have nowhere else to be, there's great value to be had in ordering carafes of Italian wine by the litre from a tap (don't let the tap thing deter you – it is very good vino). Meatballs, red wine and good company on a lazy afternoon. That's all life's about really, isn't it?

Shop 3, 355 Crown Street, Surry Hills, (02) 9331 1611, besseritalian.com.au

A meat pie at a Swans game

Preferably with a red and white scarf wrapped tightly around your face, hands blue with cold, fingers sticky with tomato sauce and Buddy Franklin scoring a million goals. A Sydney winter food experience for the ages.

Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park Road Moore Park, (02) 9339 9123, sydneyswans.com.au

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