Seven Bondi Lunch Spots to Try Depending on Who You're Dining With
Wondering where to take your parents for that long overdue lunch? Need a spot for your next daytime date? This'll help.
Seven Bondi Lunch Spots to Try Depending on Who You're Dining With
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Wondering where to take your parents for that long overdue lunch? Need a spot for your next daytime date? This'll help.
There's no denying that Bondi is loaded with excellent lunch spots. But being spoilt for choice can make selecting the ideal dining destination difficult. Don't get it twisted, we know this is a good problem to have — we're simply firm believers that finding the best lunch spot truly depends on who you're sharing your meal with.
Whether you've got a mate from interstate you want to impress with quintessential views of Bondi Beach or you're after a venue that will cater for a group of your best mates with ease, we've found a spot that'll tick all your lunch box requirements. Read on to find out where we take our favourite humans for a foolproof feast by the beach.
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A 94-seat bar and restaurant serving Mediterranean eats and oysters with ocean views is what our group lunch dreams are made of —especially when there’s slick service led by Marco Ambrosino. Lola’s Level 1 serves a mix of small and large plates along with a cocktail and wine-heavy drinks menu (courtesy of team of sommeliers) out of the Pacific Building in Bondi Beach six days a week, making it an ideal spot to meet up with your mates.
Oysters are a big focus of the menu with the option of three styles of serving (natural, with vermouth granita or with Lola’s mignonette), all shucked at the bar. Other highlights include a fritto misto with zucchini and piparras emulsion, the saffron socaratt with peas and horseradish and a pan tumaca with hojiblanca evoo and balsamic. If you want to leave the decision making to the experts, opt for one of the set menus — there’s a $60, $80 and $100 available for groups of 8–25. All you have to do is sit back, take in the views and have a terrific time.
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Perched on absolute premium cliff frontage at Bondi’s southern end, Icebergs Dining Room and Bar delivers five-star luxe for both your eyes and mouth. As you soak up the multi-million dollar views, feast on a two-hatted menu, driven by fresh produce inspired by regional Italian cuisine — perfect for sweeping your mate from interstate off their feet.
Maurice Terzini has been the man in charge since 2002. He works closely with head chef Alex Prichard to come up with infallible dishes including beef tartare mixed table-side, pan-roasted blue eye trevalla, lobster spaghetti and salt-crusted boneless rib eye. If you simply have to try everything, the degustation will sort you out. Don’t want to splash out on a full sit-down? Settle for a cocktail and snacks at the Icebergs Bar. If you’re in luck, one of the swinging seats or plush lounges will be free.
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This spot has to be one of Australia’s most enticing restaurant venues: million-dollar views, proximity to the waves and a ready-made crowd of surfed-out, ravenous diners. Ideal for a relaxed yet sophisticated lunch with a parental figure.
The name pretty much says it all: freshly cooked seafood accompanied by refreshing cocktails and a succinct selection of wines by the glass. Food-wise, the emphasis is on quality produce, transformed into light, accessible, tasty meals and snacks. Share a pair of fish tacos with red cabbage, jalapeño and pineapple relish to start or try the Port Lincoln sardines with green tomato, capers and sourdough. For mains, share the spanner crab risotto with pumpkin, burnt sage, pepitas and rocket pesto and the whole rainbow trout from the Snowy Mountains. Want to finish lunch off with a little nostalgia? Convince your folks to split a North Bondi Fish sundae for a blast from the past in dessert form.
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Since the original bills first opened in Darlinghurst almost 30 years ago, Bill Granger has pioneered a menu that perfectly complements a relaxed, extended breakfast ethos. So if you’ve got a family who lean more into brunch than lunch, this is the ideal spot.
In Bondi, bills strikes the right balance between a menu that offers ‘classics’ (hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it) and novel dishes that still have that healthy simplicity which aligns effortlessly with urban beachside life. As a certified Sydney institution, bills feels like a no-brainer when it comes to dining with your family. A classic choice for classic company.
Images: Anson Smart
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If you find it tough deciding where to go with a new romantic interest, you might as well go somewhere on your bucket list. That way, even if the date’s a dud your time won’t be completely wasted.
If you still haven’t made it to casual Mediterranean-style eatery Totti’s, take your next date there and find out whether the burrata is worth it’s wobble. There’s pasta aplenty, the iconic woodfired bread that arrives at the table ‘puffed’, classic Italian cocktails and plenty of space for privacy in the 185-seater restaurant and courtyard that, somehow, maintains a level of cosiness. The skylight and big alfresco area take inspiration from a taverna on the Mediterranean sea with huge olive trees taking centre stage to really set the scene and maybe, just maybe, spark a bit of romance.
Images: Nikki To.
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A visit to the local shuk (Hebrew for marketplace) in the Middle East is a sensory overload of the best variety. And, if a bustling sense of marketplace adventure is what you need to snap out of a slump on a work day, head to North Bondi favourite Shuk for an enlivening lunch.
The menu is jam-packed with exciting options that capture the imagination and deliver on the plate. Along one wall is a deli section that offers fresh produce, buffalo milk butter and Israeli-style cheeses, while the nearby bakery area is stacked with bagels, flaky pastries and loaves of crusty sourdough all baked daily.
It would be easy to work away all afternoon here, enjoying the pretty decor, taking in the buzz and noshing on a hazelnut scroll and a punchy coffee with your favourite colleagues.
Images: Natalie Carroll
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A slurp-inducing dish is best enjoyed with someone you who has seen you at your worst which makes Chaco Ramen Bondi the ideal spot to take your significant other. Here you’ll find thirteen slurp-able ramen flavours alongside yakitori, gyoza and other more-ish morsels.
There’s also the option of gluten-free noodles, bone marrow curry or extra toppings like Hokkaido scallops, wontons and spicy miso. Chaco Ramen Bondi maintains the intimate feeling of the Darlinghurst venue but with a bright and breezy feel that embraces its seaside surroundings.
Finally found the ideal seaside feasting spot? For more information on Lola’s Level 1 and to book a table, visit the website.
