Sydney's clear sunny winter days offer many opportunities for enjoying lunch or dinner in idyllic surroundings outside the CBD. If you can afford the time, mid-week is a good time to escape the crowds.

A simple pleasure is to hop on a ferry at Circular Quay and enjoy the shifting colours and moods of Sydney's harbour. A ferry to Watson's Bay will take you to Doyles on the Beach where you can sit outdoors, soak up the sun and be entranced by one of the city's best views. Run by the Doyle family for five generations, the fish 'n chips here are legendary - and the salt and pepper squid is pretty good too.

A Manly ferry will take you to the western end of the Corso. It's an easy walk to the Esplanade where you'll find Sydney cafe society in full swing. A further leisurely stroll along Fairy Bower to the southern end of Manly Beach will take you to Shelly Beach. Sit outside in the sun and while away the afternoon watching scuba divers and surfers at play while you dine in style at Le Kiosk. Entrees include a Vietnamese-style beef salad with duck wontons or warm tart of tomato confit with tapenade, red onion jam and ricotta; for mains there's crispy skin ocean trout with mushroom and herb risotto or grilled King Island sirloin with sauteed kipfler potatoes and red wine jus.

For a more thrilling all-day outing, how about a seaplane flight to Palm Beach? Once you've arrived, you can take a taxi to Jonah's at Whale Beach or around the corner to Beach Road at Palm Beach. Situated on the cliff six hundred feet above Whale Beach, Jonah's is renowned for its panoramic views of the ocean and eagle's eye view of the beach below. Executive chef Richard Purdue (formerly at Beach Road) cooks wonderful fresh modern Australian dishes.

For starters try the Lobster bisque with Moreton Bay bug meat or roast Queensland scallops on their shells with sauce vierge and avocado; for mains, choose from Jonah's bouillabaisse, herb-crusted cod fillet with cauliflower cream and baby spinach, salmon fillet with white bean and chorizo cassoulet or the Daube of ox cheek with parsnip puree and wild mushrooms. For dessert, warm fig tartlets with honey mascarpone and muscat syrup or a vanilla bean mille-feuille with toffee apple and raisins. An extensive list of almost 400 wines includes 25 wines which are available by the glass and an exclusive collection of back vintages from the finest Champagne houses.

If you stay over in one of the stunning guest rooms, Jonah's courtesy transport will collect you and drop you home.

For a delightful day out on the Hawkesbury River, take the quaint little ferry from Palm Beach at 11am via Patonga to Cottage Point Inn. The ferry cruises the beautiful Cowan Waters past magnificent scenery and an accompanying commentary tells you about the local area. If you alight at Cottage Point at 12.15pm, you can sit down to a two-course lunch ($60/per person plus drinks) and return to Palm Beach on the 2.15 ferry. This charming restaurant, set on the water at the junction of Cowan Waters and Coal & Candle Creek, was originally the Cottage Point boatshed and general store.

For starters, choose from the soup to suit the mood of the day or the warm Meredith goats cheese and Dijon mustard tart with roast capsicum and tomato. For mains, the pan-fried dish of the day with mushroom medley, soba noodles and Chinese broth or the grain-fed beef fillet wrapped in prosciutto en croute with red wine and mushroom jus. Or if it's a dessert you prefer, there's a sublime souffle with creme anglaise and ice cream or a chocolate ganache tart with wicked chocolate ice cream truffle. Chef Kevin Kendall (ex Quay and Catalina) has been cooking stunning modern Australian dishes here for five years - look out for his pan-roasted quail on a warm sweet onion jam and duck leg confit on marinated kiplers with mizuna salad and light walnut dressing. And the wine list won't disappoint (it includes a number of vintages of Penfold Grange).

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You can also take a seaplane or water taxi to Cottage Point Inn - or you can drive through the National Park from Terrey Hills (50 minutes from the city). If you tell them you are going to the restaurant, there is no need to pay the park entry fee.

Nor will you need to pay an admission fee if you dine at Mount Tomah Botanic Garden Restaurant. This cool-climate garden of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, located in the Blue Mountains, makes a splendid day trip if you depart the city mid-morning. The gardens are spectacular, covering twenty-eight hectares on the summit of a basalt-capped peak 1000 metres above sea level and there are marvelous views from the restaurant of the surrounding gardens and countryside.

Chef Richard Williams has devised an enticing light lunch menu with dishes like pumpkin and sweet potato soup, English spinach salad with bacon, egg and pine nuts, and chicken and mushroom pie with salad. A more substantial menu includes hot roasted king prawns with basil, lemon, garlic and chilli butter or caramelised onion and goat cheese tart for entrees. For mains there's galantine of spatchcock filled with veal, bacon, dill and pistachio or Balinese-style pork curry with coconut rice.

There's also a menu specially devised for the under-12s, which makes it a good place to take the family. Dishes include corn on the cob, cheese fingers, spaghetti with tomato sauce and cheddar cheese and lamb cutlets with corn and salad. Make sure you leave time to stroll around the gardens afterward. Not only can you enjoy the scenery but it's also an excellent way to walk off lunch!

Doyles on the Beach
11 Marine Parade
Watsons Bay
Ph: 9337 2007

Le Kiosk
1 Marine Parade
Shelly Beach Manly
Ph: 9977 4122

Cottage Point Inn
2 Anderson Place
Cottage Point
Ph: 9456 1011
Open 7 days a week

Jonah's
69 Bynya Road,
Palm Beach
Ph: 9974 5599
email: jonahs@jonahs.com.au

Mount Tomah
Botanic Garden
Bells Line of Road
Mt Tomah
Ph: 4567 2060