Beachside Beauties: A Day and Night Guide to Bondi
From the iconic beach to the busy streets of the Junction, Bondi never fails to impress.
Beachside Beauties: A Day and Night Guide to Bondi
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From the iconic beach to the busy streets of the Junction, Bondi never fails to impress.
There's something to be said for the associations people have with the word 'Bondi'. A globally famous beach, its truly iconic team of lifeguards, a bustling community, or beloved local businesses. For us at Concrete Playground, it's all of the above. Beyond being one of Sydney's most beautiful suburbs, the Bondi community is blessed with a standout hospitality scene — one that is worth diving into if you ever get the chance.
That's why we've teamed up with the Bondi Pavilion, a huge (and newly refurbished) venue at the heart of it all, to explore some of the best venues in this beachside hotspot by day and night alike.
Read on to discover some of the most popular picks to visit during the day. Then, flick the switch above and we'll dim the lights to show your favourite things to do once the sun goes down.
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Resting on the shores of the always-iconic Bondi Beach is an umissable structure. Earthy colours and openair designs help it blend into its breezy surroundings, but locals know the weight carried by the Pav — as its known locally. Bondi Pavilion is, in fact, a piece of local history. For over 90 years, it’s stood proud on the shoreline as a hub of local culture and activity, welcoming visitors through its doors for almost every activity you could think of. And now, after a lengthy seven-year facelift, it’s better than ever.
The Pav continues its vision of being a home for community, arts and culture in Bondi and is now better equipped to do so. The building boasts indoor and outdoor creative spaces — including a pottery studio, art gallery, theatre and community radio studio. You’ll also have plenty of chances to feed your stomach, not just your mind. During the day, you can grab a bite at Glory Days, or represent the surf culture found across Sydney with some merch from Between the Flags. Many of the building’s rooms are also available to hire for events and community groups. Just visit the website to find out how.
Image: Brett Boardman Photography
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As a part of the Pav’s restoration program, the Bondi hub scored a second outpost for North Sydney’s Glory Days. The new beachside spot has rolled out an expanded menu designed for both a quick takeaway bite or a relaxed long lunch. “When the spot at the Pav came up, my mind instantly went to Venice Beach in Los Angeles and the amazing food culture and community around the neighbourhood with loved places like Gjelina,” says Glory Days Bondi founder Aaron Crinis.
Boasting a fresh white and wood-panelled interior that plays off Bondi Pavilion’s aesthetic, the dining spaces bring together European touches — another influence for Crinis — with hallmarks of Australian cafe culture including a red travertine bar and Australian photographer Adrian Mesko’s images of Euro beach culture. Damien Hyde (Cafe Sydney, Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel) heads up the kitchen, pulling together a lineup of cafe favourites. Before midday, there’s acai bowls ($22), dutch pancakes ($23) and the Glory Days big brekkie ($28). Once lunchtime hits, the eats extend to club sandwiches ($25), salmon coconut curry ($27) and a soba noodle salad ($23) topped with whipped tofu, soy-pickled cucumber, avocado, edamame and a soy and ginger dressing.
Image: @Nikkito
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If you yearn for the good ol’ days when sandwiches were more packed than David Jones on Boxing Day and burgers fell apart if you weren’t holding on for dear life, Bennett St Dairy should be your Bondi go-to. Not only do these guys deliver dishes shaped by an old-school sense of abundance and generosity, they source ingredients in an old-fashioned way too: straight from the farm. You might know them already for their cookie dough, which has found homes with retailers across Sydney.
Following a long morning in the surf, it’s hard to resist the vivid flavours of a hot corn beef on rye with swiss cheese, sauerkraut, mustard mayo and pickles ($16.50). There’s also salads ($16.50), brioche rolls ($12.50), breakfast bowls ($16.50) and so on. And the coffee is brewed and frothed in a cutting-edge machine known as ‘The Black Eagle’.
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Bondi locals don’t muck around when it comes to brunch. You get one chance, maybe two, to hit it out of the park with brekkie bowls, solid coffee and a damn good Bloody Mary. Not every joint passes the test, but one Bondi mainstay is enjoying lines out the door every Saturday and Sunday without fail, dominating the brunch game lock, stock and barrel. Lox Stock & Barrel is one of Bondi’s best brunch spots, hands down. A bright little deli diner sitting on Glenayr Avenue, Lox spills out onto the French Bulldog-frequented pavement with tall wooden bar tables and an inevitably long line of happy-to-wait brunchers.
Lox specialises in breakfast, brunch and lunch, the food is Jewish in origin but inspired by Bondi’s local produce and farm-to-plate philosophy. There’s some serious homemade goodness afoot here; Lox make their own rye, challah, gluten-free, sprouted quinoa bread, bagels and panini, available all day. Those bagels come with your choice of toppings from the classics, including reuben ($20), smoked salmon ($19) and more. Here for some solid brekkie that’ll make you grow tall and strong? Try the beloved Bowlarama ($23), with sprouted quinoa toast, poached eggs, avocado, hummus, kale and seaweed, miso dressing and homemade fermented veggies.
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Wall to wall books. Books from ceiling to floor, interspersed with communal tables. Gertrude & Alice is what Shakespeare’s is to Paris, and provides a welcome haven amongst the surfers and backpackers of Bondi Beach. The food served is fresh and universally excellent, and it’s one of the best places to go if you’re feeling a bit lonesome, because the welcoming communal tables ensure that you’ll always feel at home. Named after Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, the famous expat American couple who encouraged the careers of Hemingway and Henry Miller (amongst others), there’s a lot of heart to this place, as well as lovely velvet sofas and delicious chai ($7.50).
Dig into choices like ‘crumpets from heaven’ ($12), old-school bacon and egg rolls ($13.50), or any of the other delicious breakfast roll choices and sink into one of the snug sofas. With over 25,000 books at your disposal, Gertrude & Alice is the unchallenged ‘coffice’ for workers with research-heavy projects, people addicted to the smell of ancient books or those seeking solace from the cold pinch of traditional libraries.
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Even when the sun goes down, the Pav perseveres. Those earthy walls are illuminated by the interior coming alive with after-dark activities. Some of the best events hosted by the Pav happen in the evening, think standout standup nights in the Pav’s theatre. For specific events occurring at night, you should consult the website — the calendar is always busy.
Beyond the events, the Pav’s dining scene is just as busy at night as it is in the day. Once Glory Days closes its doors, you can instead head to Promenade Bondi Beach. And on weekends, the top floor of the Pav is home to Upstairs by Glory Days, a summery open-air spot where you can get a snack, a drink and enjoy live tunes from 12pm to 9pm.
Image: Silversalt Photography
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House Made Hospitality, the team behind Circular Quay’s luxurious multi-level venue Hinchcliff House, has set up shop in the Pav with its multi-dimensional venue Promenade. This luxurious all-day cafe, restaurant and bar brings Lana‘s affection for ethically sourced seafood right to the beach, serving up tiger prawns with curry leaf butter and lime ($39) and barramundi curry ($45) to a dining room soundtracked by the sound of the waves. There’s also toothfish skewers ($22 each), wagyu rib eye (market price), spatchcock with fermented chilli ($39), and a collection of pasta dishes.
The menu differs over at the expansive Front Yard, the more laidback 140-person outdoor dining area. Here you can order beachside classics like flatbread topped with garlic king pawns ($23) and crumbed fish burgers ($27). The Apollonia negroni ($23) has landed on the drinks list. It sits side by side with frozen cocktails ($23) for those balmy evenings, as well as Bondi Brewing Co beers and an expansive wine list.
Image: Jiwon Kim
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The combination brewery and bar is a staple in Sydney’s Inner West with the area sporting dozens of quality venues brewing their own craft beers on-site. But these beer-loving haunts are much less common in Sydney’s east. Curly Lewis is looking to change this and pioneer a new wave of brewpubs in the eastern suburbs. Easing into things, the bar has begun by producing two highly drinkable signature beers — the Curly Lewis Clean Cut Lager and the Bondi Haze Ale. Two taps at the bar are dedicated to these in-house beverages, while the rest showcase a rotating selection of wildcard beers sourced from breweries near and far.
As with all good bars, there’s also a bank of spirits behind the bar ready to whip up classic cocktails and a wine list featuring local Australian drops with some funky skin-contact varieties on offer. In the kitchen, the co-owners of nearby Frank’s Deli, Sammy Jukubiak and Ben Kelly, have pulled together a menu that draws from modern Australian favourites and European classics. There’s grilled corn ($8), burrata ($16) and deli plates to start, burgers from land and sea alike ($22) for your main, and fairy bread ice cream sandwiches ($10) to finish it all off. Once you get a taste for the Curly Lewis brews, you can also find them at local venues and bottleshops including Bondi Beach Cellars, Beach Road Hotel, Neighbourhood, Salty’s and Bondi Liquor Co.
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The spot that is home to North Bondi Fish has to be one of Australia’s most enticing restaurant venues: with million-dollar views, proximity to the waves and a ready-made crowd of surfed-out, ravenous diners. The eatery continues to draw diners with a regular rotation of collaborations and takeovers and a sunny balcony — just made for people-watching with a spritz in hand as the sun goes down on balmy summer nights. However, it is a modern seafood menu (with a focus on fresh produce and local suppliers) that remains the star.
The emphasis is on quality produce, transformed into light, accessible, uncomplicated meals and snacks, with fish cooked on an Inka Grill. Picture the NBF fish taco with cabbage, chipotle and mango ($26), prawn puttanesca with spaghetti and bottarga ($42), or grilled WA octopus skewers with olive, kipfler potatoes and tomato ($30). A selection of seasonal sorbet and ice cream has dessert covered. Non-winos can enjoy some tempting and very drinkable alternatives including passionfruit, lychee or berry mocktails ($14), alongside seasonally rotating cocktails. In the words of Matt Moran, “North Bondi Fish is for the locals. It’s relaxed, it’s fun, and it’s no fuss”.
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Longstanding Bondi favourite Da Orazio reopened in its original home in March 2022. It comes with hallmarks of the original venue — including its red door and a heap of fan-favourite dishes — alongside inventive new additions to the venue’s array of Italian eats. “In Italian we say, ‘il primo amore non si scorda mai’, which means the first love you never forget,” says the restaurant’s renowned owner Orazio D’Elia. The 90-seat restaurant rocks classic dishes like rotisserie porchetta with pizza bread ($44), Orazio spicy vodka rigatoni ($35) and antipasti share plates.
Alongside these mainstays, a fancy pizza menu takes up the attention of many diners. Pizza chef Matteo Ernandes uses a new contemporary pizza dough recipe for the bases that he promises makes the bases “lighter and more digestible”, but still cooks them in the classic neopolitan brick oven.
For more information on the Bondi Pavilion and the many things to do inside its walls, visit the website.
Top image: @uncyphill
For more information on the Bondi Pavilion and the many things to do inside its walls, visit the website.
Top image: @uncyphill
