Sydney Fish Market

Why it matters

Sydney has sold its fish at a public market for more than 150 years. Published histories trace it from Woolloomooloo in 1871 to Redfern in 1891 and Haymarket in 1911, and then to Blackwattle Bay in 1966. They record the bidding by voice giving way in 1989 to a computerised Dutch auction, in which the price falls until a buyer stops it, and the market's privatisation in 1994. The land on both sides of the bay is the country of the Gadigal and Wangal people, whom the market acknowledges as its Traditional Owners.

The NSW Government built the replacement on Blackwattle Bay, close to the old market, at a cost usually given as about A$836 million, and the old site is to become housing and public space, with a waterfront promenade that the government says will complete a 15 km foreshore walk from Rozelle Bay to Woolloomooloo.

The new market is large by any measure. Its roof is about 200 metres long, and the public market floor beneath it is put at about double the old one; published figures for that floor differ, so we give the comparison rather than a number. More than 40 retailers trade there, alongside 19 wholesalers, and over 6,000 square metres of public space wraps round it, most of it along the water.

It drew a crowd from the first day. The NSW Government counted about 230,000 visitors in the opening week, and the market expects more than six million a year, roughly twice as many as the old one. We found no published count since that first week.

What it's like

We came on 26 February 2026, crossing Sydney by train and Metro, and reached the market late in the morning. We thought it superb, and the transport there easy. It is a building you see before you understand it: a long, low wave of a roof over glass walls, and through the glass the warm timber of the ceiling, running the length of the hall.

Inside, the market is one great hall rather than a run of sheds. The fishmongers' counters hold the floor, with the cafés and restaurants around them. The building is the work of the Danish architects 3XN with the Australian practice BVN, and its roof is carried on hundreds of timber beams.

On the harbour side the building opens out. Broad timber steps and terraces run down towards Blackwattle Bay, looking north to the Anzac Bridge, and this is where many people take their lunch. Time Out praised the outdoor seating and its harbour views.

Five permanent artworks by Aboriginal and other artists belong to the place itself. One is The Nawi, a bronze bark canoe by Uncle Steven Russell. On the waterfront, Alison Page's Land of the Giant Pippies turns the pippi, a small shellfish of Sydney's beaches, into giant mounds with water to play in.

Not everything visitors report is praise. In the first weeks the crowds were heavy: on the January long weekend, the Greek Herald reported, the hall came close to its capacity of 5,000, there were queues inside and outside the busiest outlets, and the car park filled again and again. Time Out also warned that the cheaper seafood of the old market has gone. Our own photograph that day shows jumbo Pacific oysters at A$7 each on one counter.

What to do at the market

Most visitors come to eat and to look, and many buy something to take away. Two other ways to see the market are worth planning for: the early-morning auction tour on weekdays, and a cooking class at the market's own school.

Lunch on the water

This is what most people come for. Buy from the counters or sit down in one of the cafés and restaurants, and if the weather is kind take your food out to the steps by the water. A single hall full of choices is the point, so walk the whole floor before you decide.

Buying from the fishmongers

The retail floor is a working fish market, open to the public every day, and Dezeen puts it at about twice the size of the old one. Broadsheet describes the traders as a mix of newcomers and businesses that moved across from the old market. If you are self-catering, bring a cool bag.

The auction and the auction tour

The auction is the centre of the wholesale market. Public viewing areas overlook the auction room and the working wharf. The market does not publish times for watching from them, so the best way to see the auction itself is the Behind-the-Scenes Auction Floor Tour: 90 minutes, starting at 6:40am sharp on weekdays, among more than 100 species. It costs from A$45 for adults and A$20 for children aged 10 to 13, and children under 10 cannot go. Wheelchairs are not allowed on the auction floor. Book ahead.

The Sydney Seafood School

The market's cooking school has reopened in the new building, with room for about 130 people, new kitchens, an oyster bay and classes led by guest chefs. We could not find a price list that applies to every class, so check the course and price when you book.

How to visit

When it is open

The market opens every day from 7am. The hours in its own website header have it closing at 10pm from Sunday to Thursday and at midnight on Friday and Saturday, but its visit page has also said 10pm every day, so do not plan on a late Friday or Saturday night there without checking. Each counter and restaurant keeps its own hours, so not everything is open at either end of the day.

Getting there

The market is at 1 Bridge Road, Glebe, on the western shore of Blackwattle Bay. The easiest way there is the L1 Dulwich Hill light rail: Wentworth Park stop is about 400 metres away, with Glebe at about 450 metres and Bank Street at about 700 metres. Extra trams were added for the market's opening: on weekends and public holidays they run every six minutes between 10am and 7pm.

Buses 389 and 501 stop on Harris Street, about 550 metres away, and the 370, 431, 433 and 469 on Glebe Point Road, about 750 metres away. From Central, Town Hall or Gadigal stations it is about 2 km on foot. Our guide to getting around Sydney explains the Opal fares.

There is no ferry to the market yet. A new wharf on its eastern side is planned, and Transport for NSW has said it is working to deliver it by 2027. Until then, the light rail and your feet are the way in.

If you drive, there are about 400 spaces under the market. The first 20 minutes are free, then it is A$12 for up to an hour, up to A$90 a day, with a flat A$15 in the evening; payment is cashless. In the opening weeks the car park filled repeatedly at weekends. Bicycles can be locked to hoops on Bridge Road, so bring a lock, and there is a pick-up and drop-off zone for taxis and rideshare at the front.

Access, children and facilities

The market is step-free inside and out, with ramps and lifts throughout, and wheelchairs can go everywhere except the auction floor. As well as other accessible toilets, it has a Changing Places facility with a hoist and an adjustable table. Holders of a mobility parking permit get two hours' free parking, in bays near the lifts. Wentworth Park light rail stop is due for a A$40 million accessibility upgrade, with lifts and ramps proposed, so check its current access before you rely on it.

Children are well served by the waterfront: the giant-pippi water play is a short walk from the waterfront steps. The auction tour does not take children under 10. We could not find the market's own statement on baby-change facilities, so ask at the market if you need one.

Making the most of it

Nearby

The market sits between Glebe, with its old terraces and bookshops along Glebe Point Road, and Pyrmont, whose redeveloped waterfront leads round to Darling Harbour. Both are an easy walk. Wentworth Park, beside the light rail stop, is the nearest open green space. If the market leaves you wanting more of the water, our guide to Sydney Harbour sets out the ferry trips worth taking. Our guide to where to eat in Sydney puts the market in context with the rest of the city's food.