Major thoroughfares Crown Street, Cleveland Street and Elizabeth Street all have restaurants on them, and many restaurants are located on side roads like Devonshire Street. The range of cuisines and the level of dining is broad. At the high-end there is Billy Kwong, Marque, Vietnamese trendsetter Red Lantern and French bistro Tabou.

The intersection of Cleveland and Crown has a grouping of Japanese restaurants including Emon, where you can get traditional Japanese dishes like authentic grilled mackerel (and they have a great sake list). Around the intersection of Cleveland and Elizabeth Streets are a collection of Lebanese restaurants including Emad's and Fatimas. Crown Street between Foveaux and Devonshire Street has a broad cross section of restaurants including Prasit's Thai and Bird Cow Fish. And don't forget Vini's Italian food on Holt Street off Devonshire Street.

There is a wide range of cafes too. If you like to start the day with coffee and croissant then head to Bourke Street Bakery on the corner of Bourke and Devonshire Street. The line winding out the door might resemble an Eastern block food queue from the 1960s, but the croissant at the end is worth it!

Surry Hills is not a large suburb: it's likely that if you worked out the per capita distribution of bars and pubs the figure might be frightening. More simply put: there are a lot of drinking establishments here.

There have always been a lot of pubs in Surry Hills. Worth noting are The Clock, The Dolphin and the newly renovated Norfolk Hotel. The Trinity Bar serves up Irish brews, and the Shakespeare around the corner still has a lot of local old world charm. The Cleveland, The Cricketers Arms, The White Horse, Forresters: good, good, good and good. And pretty much all the hotels serve up good pub food too.

The pubs have been joined by new small bars and specialist wine bars like 121BC, Tokonoma and the Absinthe Salon. These are all part of the bar revolution sweeping across Sydney. Indeed, you'll pretty much find that no matter which speakeasy you stumble into, the visit will deliver rewards.

Surry Hills is home to the Belvoir Theatre and is close to the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium. There's also a fashion shopping district and a heavy concentration of designer furniture stores in the area.

Good accommodation is available in Surry Hills from budget to mid-range. The suburb is easily accessed via train from Central Station and there are many bus routes through it in all directions. It's not far from the village-like suburbs of Newtown, Glebe and Paddington. Next door is Darlinghurst and Kings Cross, and the eastern suburbs beaches including Bondi Beach are all within easy reach.