Like its residents, Sydney is known for being fun, friendly and down-to-earth — but that doesn’t mean the city is all play and no work. The former British colony’s cognoscenti make use of dazzling harbor views, hip breakfast cafés and Mod Oz (modern Australian) cuisine when entertaining out-of-town clients; get familiar with the city’s natural and culinary charms if you want to leave Sydneysiders duly impressed.

Though Sydney is one of the largest cities in the world in area, its Central Business District is eminently walkable. Sandwiched between the famous harbor and the restaurant-filled suburbs, it’s home to 80 percent of the country’s banks and the first worldwide stock and futures exchange to open each morning. An abundance of transportation options — including taxis, light rail, ferries and buses — makes traveling to and from the CBD a cinch.

However, the city’s metro system is limited, and traffic can make driving to the suburbs difficult. Try to avoid needing a taxi between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., when shift changes create a shortage of cabs. Silicon Valley startup Uber launched its private car service in Sydney in 2012, allowing passengers to hire a luxury car at the press of a button with its smartphone app.

Most business travelers prefer to be based in The Rocks (Sydney’s historic district) or on Circular Quay for their combination of stunning water views and proximity to the business district. A tried-and-true choice for lodging: the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, perched between The Rocks and the Sydney Opera House. The hotel’s 531 guestrooms and suites are exquisitely decorated with mahogany, silk and marble; and the majority feature views of the harbor. An enormous outdoor pool, a top-notch spa and a restaurant — The Woods — centered on wood-fired grilling make it one of the city’s most popular luxury hotels.

Travelers wishing to stay within the CBD should consider the Establishment Hotel, a sleek boutique hotel offering 31 guestrooms done up in Modernist black and white or soothing earth tones. The everything-under-one-roof design features some of Sydney’s most buzzed-about bars and restaurants, including award-winning restaurant est. and a ground-floor cocktail bar popular with the after-work crowd.

For a power breakfast over creamy ricotta hotcakes or sweet corn fritters, creative types head to the sunny café of celebrity chef Bill Granger, bills, found in the foodie suburb of Darlinghurst. If you’re short on time, opt for a flat white (a stronger, more velvety version of a latte) and croissants a little closer to the action at La Renaissance Patisserie and Café, a leafy courtyard café located in The Rocks.

Local executives and celebrities favor the designer décor and dim lighting at Otto Ristorante for lunch meetings over homemade pasta, slow-cooked duck legs and a wine list as extensive as any you’d find in Milan. If you can swing a reservation (plan several months in advance), the top table in town is still Tetsuya’s, which serves lunch only on Saturday (and dinner Tuesday through Saturday). Sydney’s most celebrated chef, Tetsuya Wakuda, presents his seasonal 11-course menu in an intimate dining room overlooking a Japanese garden.

A Sydney institution for 25 years, Rockpool offers an excellent spot to sample Mod Oz cuisine, an inventive combination of Asian, Mediterranean and local flavors. The busy Rocks-area dining room serves lunch on weekdays, and the menu might feature roast quail with red curry, bass grouper poached in coconut milk and the signature date tart. Glass brasserie, located in the heart of the CBD at the Hilton Sydney, is another power lunch favorite. The 240-seat dining room glitters with glass designs by New York’s Tony Chi, providing an elegant backdrop for classical French cuisine that emphasizes fresh local produce.

Known for their sports enthusiasm, Sydneysiders are fond of closing deals at the Sydney Cricket Ground, home of international test matches during the summer months (October through March) and where home team the Sydney Swans plays throughout the winter. Rent private boxes featuring gourmet catering services seasonally or for individual games.

Cafe Sydney’s seafood platter and cocktails are sure to impress at a business lunch. © Anson Smart

Relaxed pubs — many of which are called “hotels” since they originally provided accommodation — are part of the fabric of life in Sydney. Join your clients for a pint at one of the city’s oldest bars, the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, which brews its award-winning natural ales in the basement of the 19th-century sandstone building. On the roof of the historic Customs House, Cafe Sydney draws sophisticates from the nearby CBD with classic cocktails, a raw seafood bar and sunset panoramas of the harbor. Order a gin mule mixed with housemade ginger syrup and raise a toast to the city’s abundant assets.

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