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Sydney’s new Fish Market at Blackwattle Bay isn’t trying to reinvent seafood. It’s just finally giving it the space it deserves.
The old market did the job, but it was loud, cramped, and always felt like you were one school excursion away from chaos. The new site is bigger, calmer, and far easier to navigate, whether you’re here to buy fish for dinner, sit down for lunch, or kill an afternoon by the water with a glass of something cold.
At its core, this is still a working fish market. Boats unload the catch of the day, auctions run, and seafood moves fast. Around that, you’ve now got proper restaurants, quick eats that don’t feel rushed, bars worth lingering at, and enough breathing room to actually enjoy the place. If you just want to know what’s on offer and what’s worth your time, here’s the straight breakdown.
Seafood Vendors (The Reason We’re All Here)
This remains the heart of the market, and it’s where the redevelopment has done its best work. The layout gives seafood retailers space to operate properly, with clearer sightlines, better cold handling, and less crowd compression at peak times.
Standouts include Peter’s Sydney Fish Market, the high-volume anchor that locals rely on for range and speed, and Nicholas Seafood, which leans more premium with live tanks and export-grade products. GetFish is a favourite for consistency and quality control, while Claudio’s Seafoods and Christie’s Seafoods deliver classic fishmonger energy without fuss.
Most stalls will prep your seafood on the spot, whether you’re heading home to cook or planning something a little more ambitious. It finally feels set up for everyday shopping.
Food and Dining
Eating at the Fish Markets finally feels intentional rather than improvised. Casual counters sit alongside proper sit-down restaurants, with enough seating to turn lunch into an afternoon if you want it to.
The Boatshed Pyrmont is one of the easiest places to settle in, pairing waterfront views with relaxed seafood cooking. Hamsi Taverna brings Mediterranean flavours when you’re done choosing between crumbed or beer-battered fish, while Ichié keeps things clean with its Japanese cuisine.
Quick eats are also available when you’re in between seafood orders. Get Sashimi does exactly what the name promises, TJ’s Po Boys delivers something heavier when seafood fatigue hits, and Nanjing Dumplings remains one of the best value stops on site. Big-name openings like Lua by Luke Nguyen are still to come, but the range already feels broad without tipping into gimmicks.
Bars, Coffee and Sweet Stops
You don’t have to leave once your stomach is full.
There are licensed venues pouring wine and beer with the harbour in view, alongside dependable caffeine from Stitch Coffee. Fisherman’s Fine Wines adds bottles that actually make sense with seafood, and Cow & the Moon gives you a sweeter reason to hang around a little longer.
Speciality Retail and Extras
Beyond food, the market now supports the kind of shopping that turns a visit into a proper wander. Mayfarm Flowers, Olivetta, and Blackwattle Deli are easy add-ons if you’re already there, without feeling like filler.
A Few Things Worth Knowing About the New Market
Once you’re done eating, drinking and getting your seafood on, look up. Stretching roughly 200 metres across the site and floating above the building in a wave-like form, the roof is actually one of the Sydney fish market’s standout features. Some have called it the Big Sushi. Others reckon it looks like a giant PS5. Either way, it’s doing more than just showing off.
The roof is lined with more than 400 solar-panel cassettes, generating a portion of the market’s daily energy use. It reflects natural light into the upper levels, shades visitors from direct sun, and collects rainwater for reuse across the site.
The site itself is about 20 per cent larger than the old market, with more public seating, clearer circulation, and fewer bottlenecks. Outside, the redevelopment opens up Blackwattle Bay with a new public space and a continuous harbour-edge walkway that connects to the wider foreshore stretching from Woolloomooloo to Rozelle Bay. With nearby light rail stops and a future ferry wharf planned, getting here no longer feels like a detour.
Importantly, it’s still a working fish market. Boats unload at dedicated wharves, wholesale auctions run daily, and visitors can watch the trade in action from viewing areas overlooking the auction floor and working harbour. It’s a reminder that this place exists because seafood moves through it, not just because people come to eat.
Sydney Seafood School
Tucked into the new market is the relaunched Sydney Seafood School, now operating out of a much larger, light-filled space overlooking Blackwattle Bay. It’s a serious upgrade. The new setup includes state-of-the-art teaching kitchens, a dedicated harbourfront event space called Ngara, and premium appliances throughout, all designed to make cooking feel less like a classroom and more like a very well-equipped home kitchen.
The program has expanded, too. Alongside hands-on classics like whole-fish butchery, seafood BBQs and crowd favourites such as Singapore chilli mud crab, there are shorter discovery sessions, native ingredient deep dives, and beverage-led sundowner classes for people who’d rather drink and snack than cook. A rotating guest chef lineup brings some genuine firepower, with names from Sydney’s top kitchens and beyond dropping in across the year.
If you’ve ever stood at the fishmonger wondering what to do with what you just bought, this is the place that joins the dots.
All Retailers at a Glance
The new Sydney Fish Market is home to more than 40 operators across seafood, dining, quick eats, bars, cafés and speciality retail.
Highlights aside, the full lineup includes:
Food & Bars
- Little Red
- Get Sashimi
- Tavira Bakehouse
- Touch Wood
- TJ’s Po Boys
- Top Juice
- Tin Tin Seafood Harbour (coming soon)
- The Boatshed Pyrmont
- Tam Jiak
- Sushi Bar
- Stitch Coffee
- Squid Inc
- Sergio (coming soon)
- Nanjing Dumplings
- Mani
- Lüneburger German Bakery
- Lua by Luke Nguyen (coming soon)
- Leyrd
- La Dea Pizza
- Ichié
- Hamsi Taverna
- Gotcha Fresh Tea
- Fish Market Cafe
- Cow & the Moon
Seafood Vendors
- Peter’s Sydney Fish Market
- Nicholas Seafood
- GetFish
- Claudio’s Seafoods
- Christie’s Seafoods
- Musumeci Seafoods
Speciality Retail
- machimachi
- Mayfarm Flowers
- Green Valley Goes Nuts
- Fruitezy
- Fisherman’s Fine Wines
- The General Store
- Blackwattle Deli
- Olivetta
You can shop like a local, eat properly, or wander by the water with a drink in hand. The seafood still comes first, the working market still shows through, and nothing feels dressed up for show.
And that’s exactly how it should be.
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