Falafel is a combination of chickpeas and fava beans soaked and ground with herbs and spices and fried to perfection for a much loved Sydney snack with a more ish and very pretty vivid green centre.

Sydney’s Prettiest Falafel

When I talk about Sydney’s Prettiest for the Pretty City Sydney blog I’m tipping my hat to the aesthetic origins of the Pretty City family and honouring the Pretty in Sydney’s many food, cocktail, hospitality and entertainment offerings.  

Sydney is the Pretty City that wrote the book on Instagrammable locations and I look forward to sharing some stunning hidden gems with you. 

Today: Falafel. 

Because I lived in Newport on the northern beaches for 6 jam packed, fun filled years, and when Queen Ester opened on Robertson Road in 2021 it became an extension of our living room. 

We’d never seen anything like this before that far up on the northern beaches.

Manly had a few hotspots, Brookvale was beautifully up & coming, but Newport was and still is the last outpost before Palm Beach - and although there’s great food to be found, there isn’t really a lot of culture up there. 

Or at least there wasn’t. 

Enter Queen Ester: the café and falafel bar serving up modern Middle Eastern street food, “pumping vibes, loud beats, warm hospo and simply delicious food” on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Queen Ester dishes, falafel included, are plated up to look like art.

They literally belong in the AGNSW’s still-life section, bordered by pretty porcelain with ribbons of bright pink pickled turnip, creamy house made hummus, and the Queen’s infamous pickles - each pretty plate on the pass looking like it belongs on a Good Food Guide magazine cover.

To be fair, lots of Sydney restaurants are serving up excellent falafel, but the title of Sydney’s Prettiest Falafel isn't just about looks and that moment where you pause before tucking in because it feels almost rude to mess it up.

Queen Ester earns the title because their falafel makes you do exactly that, and then chow down in the kind of silence real foodies know means the food is top tier.

Pretty City Sydney Food

Sydney is a wildly under appreciated super hub of food from all over the world.

I know from my years tour guiding around the city and regional NSW that even the most seasoned traveller is usually unaware of Sydney’s game until they get here. 

There are around 3,500 restaurants, over 4,500 licensed venues, and more than 10,000 cafés, making it arguably one of the densest café cultures on the planet. 

You could literally eat out somewhere new in Sydney every day for 9 years and never repeat!!

And that decade-long food tour would take you from little Italy, Chinatown and Thainatown to little India, and Sydney’s Lebanese, Vietnamese and Greek hubs.

The Michelin guide doesn’t operate in Australia but at any given time there are 20 to 30 Sydney restaurants with 2 or 3 Good Food Guide chef hats, and up to 100 Sydney restaurants with 1 chef hat, indicating elite fine dining. 

All this to say, it takes some standout falafel to cut through such a crowded Sydney food scene. 

The Queen Ester Falafel Bars

Queen Ester is the love child of owners Niko and Liron, partners in business and life (and new parents too).

The local community in the lovely little northern beaches village of Newport has followed their story, and the blossoming of Queen Ester, with a real sense of pride and joy. 

In 2023 they opened the “middle child” Queen Ester Mona Vale store, and earlier this year in 2026 they opened Queen Ester Manly. 

“We feel Manly is the natural choice for the next store as it’s got that young, fun Queen Ester with another strong local community”, shares Liron. 

There are a couple of iconic powerhouses that have cracked the winning formula for a successful Sydney eatery and then rolled it out across the city. The Boathouse Group is one that comes to mind, another is Justin Hemmes’ Merivale group - and Queen Ester is right up there with them.

They’re who Jimmy Falafel think they are, but you can’t buy heart… in my humble opinion. 

Each Queen Ester venue is its own buzzing, sunny, holiday bubble, with lively open kitchens, buckets of personality, and the soundtrack to Sydney summers bringing it all together for a vibrant, Middle Eastern street food experience.  

The Queen offers vegan and GF options too and their plating is consistently some of the prettiest and most instagrammable Sydney foodie approved finery you’ll find this side of the harbour bridge. 

My Go-To Queen Ester Falafel Order

I was lucky enough to have the team invite me in for dinner at the new Manly falafel bar, an invite that comes on the heels of 4 years of loyal custom where me and my kids order the exact same thing every time we go.

(We’ve thrown a few specials in here and there but nothing and no one is taking me away from my go-to order):

The chicken shawarma bowl with a side of falafel (best of both worlds & extra hummus is a win//win), and the falafel pita & large chips for my kid. 

Side note for how good their pita breads are: I hardly ever eat bread but if anyone’s tempting me over to the dark side it’s Niko, Liron and their special brand of pillowy soft clouds of pita bread goodness ☁️ 

If you stop by tell them Charlie & @PrettyCitySydney sent you.