The Best Transit Restaurants in Australia's Train & Metro Stations

Once solely the home of late-night takeaway and a so-so cup of coffee, transit centres are now becoming the “it” places to eat.

Ascend the escalators at Martin Place Metro station in Sydney (Warrane) and it’s almost like arriving in an art gallery. The ceiling soars like a skyscraper, anchored by thick columns; a twisted metal sculpture, Continuum by Mikayla Dwyer, hangs suspended like a piece of fine silver jewellery. And to your right, draped sheer curtains allow a glimpse into one of the city’s newest restaurants, LouLou Bistro Martin Place (above), where waiters hurry with trays of confit duck and kir royales.

“When we saw the plans we thought it looked very New York,” says Adam Petta, CEO of LouLou’s restaurant group, Etymon Projects. And he felt that a grand transport hub like this deserved an equally exceptional restaurant.

Not so long ago, much of the food found near a train station or ferry stop would probably have been a lacklustre takeaway coffee or wilted sandwich. But now Australia is starting to produce food-desirable destinations anchored by transport hubs, along the lines of New York’s Michelin-starred Nōksu, which sits inside the 32nd Street entrance of Herald Square subway station, or the Eataly inside Rome’s Termini station – a high-energy place for a plate of quality pasta and a glass of chianti as you watch commuters race to their next destination.

In Australia, Sydney’s new and expanding Metro is creating a similar energy. Its arrival has led to an explosion of eating and drinking options both inside and just outside its shiny new city and suburban stations, which began opening as phase two of the M1 Line in August 2024. This month, the Bentley Group, the brains behind King Clarence and Eleven Barrack in the CBD, will open Watermans, a new venue focusing on Levantine cuisine located a short walk from Barangaroo Station. Similarly, the imminent Metro Tunnel stations in Melbourne (Naarm) are a culinary watch-this-space.

Perhaps even more excitingly, these transport options are helping more people drink and dine in suburbs beyond the city centre, areas that may have once felt too hard to access. New eatery Sippenham, in the semi-industrial suburb of Sydenham in Sydney’s Inner West, has undoubtedly benefited now that after-work commuters from locations as far-flung as North Ryde in the city’s North West can be at the new Metro station in less than half an hour and a matter of minutes from Martin Place. Co-owner Stephen Mandis says that while he primarily designed the bar to be a place for locals to enjoy a glass of wine and a hearty pasta (like the beef shin lasagne inspired by co-owner and chef Nick Giannopoulos’s grandmother), he’s now seeing an increase in patrons arriving from outside the area.

“People can come from the CBD and be with us within 15 minutes,” he says of the line that will extend west to Bankstown when completed. Not only is that good for the bar but it’s great for anyone who doesn’t want to get in a car after a night out. “Who wants to drive after a big plate of pasta?” asks Mandis.

South Australia

Station Road

Once, putting the word “Station” in your restaurant name would have been inadvisable but those days are gone. Case in point is Station Road, a few minutes’ walk from Adelaide Railway Station. The menu is eclectic: a little French here, a little Japanese there – Mayura Station Wagyu tartare with katsuobushi and aged soy or fresh-caught fish with remoulade. Bar manager Saskia Lopes mixes a mean cocktail – try her tropi-fresh Paradise 1963, a blend of pineapple rum, coconut, lime and matcha.

Queensland

Sokyo, Brisbane

It’s hard to think of any dining precinct more accessible than The Star Brisbane in the new Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development. You can get there by car, train, bus, bike, e-scooter or ferry. The pedestrian-only Neville Bonner Bridge will even take you right into the property’s main dining area on level four, which includes the South-East Asian-style Lúc Lac, champagne bar Pompette and Black Hide Steak & Seafood. In theory, you could even zoom in on your jet-ski, park and stroll straight in to the flagship lobby restaurant, Sokyo (above).

Costa Taco

The G:link Gold Coast light rail, the second stage of which opened in late 2017, helped several food precincts flourish around this 57-kilometre stretch of beachside real estate. One of the newest openings in Broadbeach is Byron Bay and Palm Beach favourite Costa Taco – a relaxed, walk-ins-only Mexican-style eatery that’s just a short walk from Florida Gardens station. Try the Baja-style snapper tacos, beef birria and a coconut margarita.

New South Wales

Lune

Sydney waited a long time for Melbourne pastry powerhouse Lune to open its first shop in the city. Thankfully, the latest outlet at Martin Place Metro station is so accessible, many city commuters can order a quick kouign-amann or almond croissant on the way to the office. The coffee, from cult Canberra roaster Ona, is also likely to find its way into many AM routines.

Amah by Ho Jiak

On Sydney’s North Shore, Chatswood’s rise as one of the city’s most exciting places to eat shows no signs of slowing. Myriad transport options – Metro, train and bus – deliver visitors directly into the Interchange (above), where you’ll find dozens of eateries with a focus on South-East Asian cuisine. Australia’s maestro of Malaysian, Junda Khoo, has opened Amah by Ho Jiak, where savvy spice-lovers go for roti canai and Khoo’s famous sticky char kway teow.

Western Australia

Fat Controller

The Stories precinct, which sits between Perth’s CBD and Northbridge, is home to five levels of restaurants and bars, and is a short hop from the bus and train. Speakeasy-style bar Fat Controller leans into the train theme and is decked out like a vintage locomotive. Stay on brand by ordering a Murder On The Orient Express cocktail, a blend of London dry gin, chartreuse and warm spices.

Victoria

Miss Gunns Basement Bar

Miss Gunn’s might be a basement bar but you won’t find it underneath a restaurant or buried below a business tower. Instead, this 1930s-style drinking den is tucked into the rediscovered basement beneath Flinders Street Station in Melbourne’s CBD. It’s the perfect place to duck in for a post-work martini and steak frites before training it home for the evening.

Nolans

Ballarat’s Goods Shed hub, on the doorstep of the city’s train station, has cemented itself as a vibrant part of the Victorian gold rush town’s social and cultural fabric since opening in 2023. The buzzy Nolans is the place to grab lunch, brunch or dinner – the pasta is a standout – followed by a cocktail at the Itinerant Spirits distillery.