Hugo Mathers has reviewed restaurants and bars for Time Out Sydney since 2022. After swapping London for Sydney, Hugo initially followed his love of food by taking trials at award-winning diners Nomad and Ursula’s, pastry spots AP Bakery and Madam & Yves, and Pepe Saya’s butter factory. Finding the kitchens much too hot, he turned his hand to writing instead. Since July 2023, Hugo has worked as a news reporter for Capital Brief. His work has also been published in Urban List, Limelight Magazine, The Mandarin and The Sydney Observer.
Articles (18)
The best restaurants in Sydney right now
September 2024 update: We’re not sure how it’s happened, but it’s September already, and hello, glorious warm weather. Sydney’s restaurant scene is looking shinier than ever, thanks to a slew of dynamite new diners and old faithfuls. Here, you’ll find the best of the best for whatever fun you've got coming up. Here's our list of Time Out's best restaurants in Sydney right now, from hot newcomers to time-honoured institutions, curated by our expert local editors, food writers and critics who have tasted their way through Sydney, including Time Out's Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure. How did we narrow it down to the very best? When deciding, we considered fun, flavour, creativity, value for money – and 'wow' factor. So yes, of course, you’ll find a fine diner inside the Sydney Opera House here, but you’ll also find neighbourhood pasta, hole-in-the-wall Thai and venues right by the sea. Happy dining, Sydney. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED READ: Still hungry? Check out our guide to the best cheap eats in Sydney.
The best restaurants in the CBD
Virtually every suburb in Sydney can boast a world-class eatery (or several), but none rival the CBD for the sheer number of exceptional dining options on offer. Time Out Sydney's critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have cherry-picked the best tables to book in the heart of the city, whether you're stepping out for a business lunch, a pre-show bite, or a swanky degustation. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED READS: Want something a little more casual? Check out our guide to the best cheap eats in the city. Nightcap anyone? Polish off your meal with a drink at one of these fine cocktail bars.
The best French restaurants in Sydney
France – the home of love, day drinking, red berets and impossibly stylish people. It’s also home to fine French fare: everything from soft cheeses and fresh baguettes to bouillabaisse bursting with the flavour of the sea. When your annual leave is all dried up, Francophiles can get their fix at one of Sydney’s many excellent French restaurants. Here are the best places to dine on French cuisine, from steak frites to silky crème brûlées, so you can feel oh-so French any day of the week. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. While you're here, check out: These are the best Italian restaurants in Sydney Here's where to find the tastiest Greek food in Sydney Quench your thirst with our list of the best bars in the city
The best Mexican restaurants in Sydney right now
For devotees of genuine Mexican fare, it's a great relief that Sydney is no longer only served by the tacky Tex-Mex, stand-and-stuff, burrito-centric eateries that were once the sole expression of the cuisine readily available here. There's now an exciting new wave of Mexican diners sweeping Sydney, with nary a pinata, sombrero or lucha libre mask in sight. We're not saying there isn't a time and a place for a bowl of liquid queso and a dorito or two – there really is – but with a culture and cuisine that spans thousands of years and dozens of regions, it's a crime to assume that Old El Paso and a cartoonishly large frozen Margarita is anything close to 'authentic'. Prime your palate for the true flavours of Mexico with our guide to the best Mexican eateries in Sydney, curated by Time Out Sydney's critics including Food & Drink Editor and Mexico-lover, Avril Treasure. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED READS: Keen to get around some killer spots for an arvo tequila or two? Check out Sydney's best rooftop bars Love spice? Check out our guide to Sydney's hottest Thai restaurants Thirsty? Have a look at the best bars in Sydney right now
The 31 best restaurants in Surry Hills
Leafy and buzzing Surry Hills might just be the neighbourhood with the very best of what this city has to offer in terms of eating and drinking. Whether it’s homestyle, hole-in-the-wall Korean or an all-out chef’s menu from a kitchen with nothing but open flames, each and every price point and palate is catered to on these streets, from the fringe of the city down to the bottom of Crown. Time Out Sydney's editors and critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have chosen their favourite picks from the 2010 postcode (and the home of Time Out Sydney HQ!). Go forth and eat well. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Feel like a drink? These are the best bars in Surry Hills. After a bargain? Check out Sydney’s best cheap eats
The best restaurants in Bondi right now
Bondi gets most of its street cred for sunny days, long swims and that postcard stretch of golden sand, but there are plenty of ace restaurants in this #blessed beachside suburb. Whether you're after a long lunch or a sandy-footed snack, you'll find somewhere great to eat – North, South and everywhere in between. Time Out Sydney's critics, including beach-going and restaurant-loving Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have hit Bondi's streets – and these are the pick of the bunch. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. RECOMMENDED READS: Feel like a drink? Check out our guide to Bondi's best bars. Keep cool with our guide to the top ocean pools in Sydney. Take a look at our ultimate guide to the best restaurants in Sydney here.
The best vegetarian restaurants in Sydney
Long gone are the days when mushroom risotto was the only option on Sydney menus for vegetarians. Okay, so a few places are still championing that veggo staple, but if you know where to go you don't need to set eyes on it again. Not all of these restaurants are exclusively vegetarian, but every place on this list is serving the kind of exciting, delicious vegetable-based fare that will make you reconsider meat in favour of a whole head of roasted cauliflower, a perfect puffy pizza or a totally plant-based degustation. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. If you're a dedicated herbivore, you can find Sydney's best vegan restaurants. Want more? Check out our guide to Sydney's best restaurants here.
The best Japanese restaurants in Sydney to book right now
Japanese food isn't just made to be eaten. It's an art of vibrantly coloured cuts of fresh fish, delicately layered condiments and the showmanship of an itamae (a sushi chef dishing up umami bites right in front of your table). And so it’s good that, thanks to all of the incredible Japanese chefs gracing our shores, we are never short of options here in Sydney. From the sushi roll lunch-run to the full sashimi-laden dego, Time Out Sydney's critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have found the best of the best – here’s where to do Japanese in the city. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Keep the culinary experience going with this list of Sydney's best ramen. Feel like heat? Check out our guide to the finest Thai spots around town.
The best pizza restaurants in Sydney right now
Sydney is no slacker when it comes to Italian food (just take a look at all these red-hot places here). And our pasta game is very strong. But when it comes to our pizza restaurants, we reckon they may be a slice above the rest. Whether you're a sucker for traditional Neapolitan pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven and topped with beautiful produce, get around NY-style slabs so big you can fold them in three, or you're hungry for a Sicilian-style slice with a thick and fluffy crust, Time Out Sydney's critics, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, have pulled together the best places to get your fix – and these are the venues that are topping the class. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Hungry for more? Here's our pick of the very best restaurants in Sydney right now. Love Greek food food? Us too. Check out the finest Green eateries in Sydney.
The best restaurants in Redfern
If you haven't been to Redfern lately, you need to. The inner-city suburb is bursting with tasty eats, lush green parks and killer bars. From ramen to pasta, vego dishes and share plates that will make you not want to share, the 2016 postcode has got it going on. When it comes to where to eat in Redfern, these are the chart-toppers – pulled together by Time Out Sydney's critics and food lovers, including Food & Drink Editor Avril Treasure, who once called Redfern home. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. Want to go on a cocktail adventure? Check out our guide to Sydney's finest bars. ALSO RECOMMENDED: The absolute best restaurants in Sydney.
The best high teas in Sydney to book right now
Crustless cucumber sandwiches, fluffy scones with jam and cream and tiered plates of petit fours. Sydney loves a pinky-lifting high tea, and with good reason. With bite-sized treats, tea selections for every palate and picturesque surrounds – maybe the stunning harbour views at Mosman Barracks or the tranquil gardens of historic Vaucluse House – you've got all the elements of an aspirational afternoon of ever-so-fancy leisure. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. In search of more food and tea? Get around Sydney's best cafés here. What about more booze? These are Sydney's best bars.
The best waterfront restaurants in Sydney
You know you've reached peak Sydney when you're sipping a crisp vino over a beautiful meal and outside the windows is the big blue. Perhaps it's three-courses of modern Aussie fare from Sean's Panaroma overlooking North Bondi Beach? Or maybe you prefer the gentler harbour vistas you get at Chiosco or Catalina, or spots that are right on the sand like Bobby's and The Boathouse Shelly Beach? One thing's for sure, eating by the water gives your meal that extra shine, which is why so many Sydneysiders flock to the shores for a special occasion, year-round. For your next extra special soiree, book a table at one of the best waterfront restaurants Sydney has on the books, rounded up by Time Out Sydney's critics, including Food & Drink Writer Avril Treasure, who has had her fair share (and then some) of long, boozy lunches by the sea. Looking for an epic place for a drink? Here's our guide to Sydney's very best bars.
Listings and reviews (19)
Caravin
✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here. It’s dark and cold and a drizzle has set in, but a throng of diners are throwing back wine and cheese on a Kings Cross pavement and having a grand old time. Some are sitting inside, having secured the luxury of walls and a ceiling, but just as many belong to the spill of eaters that feast in winter coats under portable heaters. And the reason they’re here is Caravin, the newest French diner on the Potts Point block. It’s a wine bar, mostly, but their quirky and delicious roster of Comté custard, poisson cru and smoked beetroot tartare has brought patrons here to drink and dine. Plus, Caravin is cool. The owners of the much-loved and now-closed Bar Suze moved into a small nook on Ward Avenue previously inhabited by Dumplings and Beer in late 2023. The two-tiered dining room, which peers into the tiny open kitchen, has been fitted with funky wall art, racks of wine bottles and a towering blackboard displaying the day’s dishes. At the centre of the room a statement Art Deco chandelier glows a soft orange. The French-leaning drinks list focuses on natural wines, with around 20 labels available by the glass and plenty more by the bottle. The Campo di Colonnello by Umbrian producer Raina is a medium-bodied orange drop that’ll help you cool the palette. Another opti
Henry G’s
When you think of The Corso in Manly, the main pedestrian mall that connects the wharf to the beach, you might picture relaxed surf shops, market stalls selling homemade jewellery, and children playing in water fountains. But the walkway, lined with ice cream shops, fast-food joints and beachy pubs, isn’t the suburb’s go-to stretch for wine bars or fine dining. And yet, here comes Henry G’s. Set inside a former butcher-turned-vitamin shop, Manly’s new wine parlour shows signs of its former life, with a decommissioned meat rail framing the front room and scratched signage reading “Purity Cleanliness Services” still legible above its curtained windows. The bar’s owners, Saga Group, have already established a bit of a presence around these parts, operating nearby In Situ, Donny’s Bar and The Hold. Their newest opening is named after Henry Gilbert Smith, who, after arriving in Sydney in 1827, set about building up Manly as a tourist destination. Some of the area’s most recognisable landmarks, including The Wharf, The Corso and its rows of Norfolk Pines can be traced back to Henry G’s OG tourist drive. Inside the walls are fitted with bookshelves housing more than 2000 antique books, every nook is lined with plush leather seating, and a 19th century piano sits centre stage. The little touches are the most enjoyable, including an ancient book press bearing the names of Henry G’s first two wives, Eleanor Whistler and Margaret Anne, and a framed print of his family tree hung outside
The Taphouse
On a night where a Biblical downpour has forced a raft of Sydney venues to close, all three floors of Darlinghurst’s loudest pub are heaving. The Taphouse, teetering on a narrow corner that splits the streets of Flinders and South Dowling, is a Saturday night spot that requires loud voices, composure in tight spaces and a sharp pair of beer goggles to navigate its endless staircase. It’s not a new place. In one form or another, a pub has stood on this location since 1878, originally operating as a family-run joint called the Palace Hotel. It sold to local brewery Tooth & Co in 1952, and rebranded as The Local Taphouse after changing hands again in 2007. Ten years later, it was taken over by hospo bros Josh and James Thorpe, the latter of which moved on to establish Odd Culture Group having opened its first pop-up right here. After closing its doors indefinitely in 2023, The Taphouse was resurrected in September by Applejack Hospitality, the minds and money behind Rafi, The Butler and nearby Forrester’s, as well as the state’s first-ever surf park Urbnsurf. The ground floor, walled with yellow tiles and sports screens, could fool you into thinking this is any old pub. But upstairs there’s a sophisticated feel: candlelit tables and wood-panelled walls and a private corner spot known (however unsettlingly) as “The Cage”. Climb another staircase and you’ll reach the Med-inspired rooftop terrace, refurbished with a fully retractable roof, plus picnic tables and linen parasols blan
Ricos Tacos
It’s Friday night and every table at Ricos Tacos has a reserved sign. Seems like news spread fast that one of Sydney’s most popular taquerias has swapped Chippendale for Redfern. The restaurant, which founder Toby Wilson first opened as a food truck outside Messina in Rosebery, has taken up new residence at Cleveland Street’s Norfolk Hotel, joining Public Hospitality Group’s growing troupe of Sydney venues. And the taco joint’s new owners tend not to move quietly (see: El Primo Sanchez). The space is loud with neon lights, disco balls and hand-painted walls depicting talking goats, dancing tacos and two pigs cheerily boiling a human on open flames. The narrow restaurant quickly opens out into a leafy courtyard where tacos rattle out of a recycled shipping container. If you arrive early, the mezzanine-level dining room – ‘Club Ricos’ – will be dark, lit only by the fuzzy glow of two tiny TV sets airing a ’90s Mexico-Brazil soccer replay. When the lights come on and the tables fill out, the space transforms into a retro sports bar, noisy with pool and foosball games, the walls plastered with bygone Mexican soccer stars. Wherever you’re seated though, the food comes fast. If you go to the bar after you order, it’ll probably beat you back to your table. The tacos arrive in twos. They have five styles, plus one weekly special, ranging from fan-favourite ‘Rico’s fish’ to the intriguing but subdued chicken with almond coffee mole. The battered fish is rich and salty, coated in shall
The Lady Hampshire
Complete with ‘Schnit + Schooner Tuesdays’, a famed sticky date pudding, and (so Brits remember what country they’re in) Foster’s by the tinnie – The Lady Hampshire is a pub steeped in Australiana. And that’s before you get to the bar-length mural of Aussie icons past and present, featuring a croc-cradling Steve Irwin, a torch-wielding Cathy Freeman and a yard-sculling Bob Hawke. Built in 1911, the Camperdown pub was reopened in 2023 by Public Hospitality, whose expanding Sydney footprint already includes The Strand Hotel in Darlinghurst and Oxford House and El Primo Sanchez in Paddington, amongst (many) others. Further west, they’ve managed to retain a scrappy charm that harks back to The Lady Hampshire’s former life. Outside, dozens of kegs are piled along pavement on Parramatta Road. Inside, patrons’ dogs roam a rug-thrown floor. Some of the menu items aren’t available. For others, the staff have to nip over the road to grab the ingredients. Despite buzzing with people, it sometimes feels like they’re making it up as they go along. But it fits. The walls are messy with wonky frames and pinned-up beer mats. The sprawling beer garden is pieced together with recycled furniture. The stage, with its velvet curtains and Persian carpet, feels like an elaborate living room arrangement. The cocktail list reverts to the Australiana theme, with names like Bloody Howard, Dark & Warney and The Lazenby. The Lazenby, like the man himself, is an Aussie-fied take on 007. Inspired by James
Now & Then
Sydney’s new basement bar Now & Then could be in worse company. Its Clarence Street spot is within bar-hopping distance from the likes of Cantina OK! and Old Mate’s Place, both of which have achieved something approaching cult status in recent years. Those two venues, though, have carved out their own novel market share: Cantina OK! as a standing-room-only micro mezcal bar; Old Mate’s Place boasting a 102-steps-high open-air deck in the midst of the city. So it’s probably no wonder Now & Then has gone concept-heavy too. Co-owner Natalie Ng, who also owns fellow CBD venue Door Knock, has written a double-sided drinks menu: it has a “Now” list that features in-vogue, modern-era recipes, and a “Then” list which includes a bunch of vintage cocktails lifted from the history books. A small blip in the formula is that there’s no real telling which side is which. There are toblerone- and fruit cobbler-themed drinks filed under “Then”, while minor edits to old-school cocktails like the Southside and Manhattan are defined as “Now”. It’s a little muddled, and might benefit from a clearer divide. Confusion aside, there’s no need to panic: the drinks are up to scratch. For those who like their cocktails to taste like chocolate milk, the Tobler’s Toblerone is a foamy dessert-like tipple. With notes of nougat and honey and topped with curls of grated Toblerone, it washes down smoothly with a gentle kick of rum. Ready to Rumball is another rummy sweetener, a swirl of chocolate, dark fruits a
Huelo
Walking down King Street without a plan can be an awful thing. There are obviously too many restaurants and bars in the two-kilometre stretch for anyone to make a sound decision. What makes it even harder is when the best options aren’t even visible. In this case, Huelo’s auburn-framed storefront seems to spend most of its day obscured by the cone-gripping spillover from its noisy neighbour Mapo. But its charm is in being unassuming. And even once you’re inside you can’t see the half of it. You’ll likely be greeted by the warm and disarming Swan 'Swanny' Kanongataa – formerly shouldering general manager duties at big-name venues Bistecca and The Rover (‘Swanny’ co-owns Huelo alongside Dre Walters from Old Mate’s Place, and Ginny’s Canoe Club). Patrons can hang out over a cocktail or two in the store, between walls lined with beautiful containers of pasta, tinned fish and other “small goods”, while peering out to the bustling street. But unbeknownst to the spontaneous visitor, the two-storey spot once home to late-night bar True Romance, opens up into three hidden spaces via a sneaky door at the back of the shop. There’s a tiny 12-seat bar room, a slightly roomier outdoor courtyard, and yet another cocktail lounge upstairs. On a hot summer evening, the plant-studded back garden is the place to be. While the upstairs space with its sofas, mood lighting and pulsing beats is where to take a nightcap until 2am. But while blood might rush at the prospect of yet more choice, Huelo (
Chez Blue
It’s probably fair to say – affectionately or otherwise – that dining out doesn’t get more Sydney than a fancy French bistro tacked onto a pub. Especially when the toilet speakers are still tuned to the horseracing. But fortunately for Rozelle’s chic new venue Chez Blue, it’s likely to attract far more lovers than haters. From brioche triangles served on a silver toast rack, to a pair of warm coffee-side madeleines, Chez Blue has close brushes with peak twee. And, that’s before the roving cream bowl at dessert time. The 90-seat bistro and bar is the latest from the Solotel group, whose 26-venue empire sprawls from Sydney to Brisbane, and includes iconic institutions like Opera Bar, Aria and Chiswick. Chez Blue’s head chef Mark Williamson has swapped the Eastern Suburbs for the Inner West, having ruled the roost at fellow French diner Bistro Moncur in Woollahra since 2016. Here, tables are fairly wedged into the modest space, donning frilly lampshades and branded tablecloths, with a private(ish) dining area available to reserve. The menu is emblazoned with hedonistic phrases like croque monsieur, chicken liver brûlée, and Le Dauphin double crème that take you to a place far from Rozelle’s hectic Darling Street and the adjoining Sackville Hotel. And just when you thought you’d sleepwalk past the aperitif list, a few entries could catch your eye. The Absinthe “frappe”, maybe. Or the Amer Biere, which pairs the budget lager Stella Artois with the hard-to-find French aperitif Amer
Amuro
First: A hot towel on arrival. Spa-style timber interiors. Glass sliding doors etched with the words “Boutique Saké Room”. Minimum spend. Then: A kitchen door with views of a gloomy car park. A Doraemon figurine in the bottle cabinet. In the fruit bowl, someone’s drawn a smiley face on a sweet potato. Darlinghurst’s newest Japanese joint, Amuro, is neither chic nor shabby. Or maybe it’s both. But the restaurant’s swirl of contradictions is actually one of its drawcards. They don’t do reservations here – if you want one of the restaurant’s 20 seats, you’d better arrive well before 6pm. The majority of the spots are counter-top, front-row tickets to the chef show, with a couple of two-seat, window-side tables away from the heat of the kitchen. Through the other side of your hot towel, you’ll be greeted with a postcard. The image is from a city sidestreet – geishas in the shadow of a towering pagoda in what looks like old-timey Kyoto – and on the reverse, a short list of dishes are written in hand-scrawled caps beneath the words “Week 34”. And tonight, conversation is on the menu. Literally. Amuro’s dishes are ever-changing, rotating in tune with the seasons and at the volition of the young team’s culinary creativity. What doesn’t change, though, is the drinks etiquette. With no written wine list, the two house rules are (a) you must order at least one drink, and (b) you must order them only “through conversation”. This has come about, so the staff say, because such is the avera
The Dolphin Hotel
In a city loaded with hidden gems – concealed in dark alleys and dingy basements, behind unmarked doors and unassuming shop windows – there are other venues that go for the opposite approach, sucking you in with a blast of bright lights and loud noises. The Dolphin Hotel is one of those. You can hear it coming from a dozen doors down on Crown Street. Baselines blare from open windows, diners chatter cheerily from curbside tables, a giant banner strung from the first floor balcony reads: You Want a Pizza Me? Stepping inside is like entering the heart of the storm. This isn’t, after all, your standard Sydney pub. Walls wrinkle with off-white fabric, tables and chairs pop with black-on-white faux graffiti, daily specials are taped to arbitrary vertical surfaces. The place is positively sprawling, opening into a collection of distinct dining rooms and bar areas, including an outdoor terrace and street seating.The clientele is young, smartly dressed, and – on weekends – in a riotous mood. The packs of day drinkers and hen parties are more likely to be after a tray of sours than a perfect pizza. But that hasn’t stopped the hotel’s head honchos from serving that up. They’ve spent the last few months building the Delfino Pizzeria, a dedicated in-house pizza kitchen. It boasts a handmade Neapolitan Mesiano wood oven, a dough recipe made of three types of Italy-imported flours, and the masterful hands of head pizzaiola Sasha Smiljanic, who previously led the kitchen at popular Newtown
Coyoacán Social
Head to South Eveleigh’s Locomotive Street any weekday lunchtime and you’ll find buzzy lines of office workers mobbing the doorways of established Sydney chains like Kürtősh, Pepper Seeds and Anita Gelato, not to mention Kylie Kwong’s excellent eatery, Lucky Kwong. But quietly frying churros and packing tacos is their lo-fi neighbour that has more than food to shout about. Coyoacán Social is the new Mexico street food outfit that’s moved into a tangerine-orange shipping container in the wall next to the Commonwealth Bank building. It’s the third restaurant from Plate It Forward, the social enterprise that already has Sydney favourites Colombo Social and Kabul Social to their name. This time, Plate it Forward’s founder Shaun Christie-David has teamed up with head chef Roman Cortes to create this homage to Mexican street food. The restaurant donates meals to people facing long-term unemployment and food insecurity in both Sydney and Mexico, including to the centre that helped Cortes himself overcome addiction in Mexico City. The organisation also works with local charities to create a safe space within the Redfern and South Eveleigh communities that surround their latest eatery. So, what about the food? The small menu draws on Cortes’ family recipes from Mexico City, Jalisco and Coyoacán, featuring familiar exports like tacos, quesadillas, tostadas and nachos. There are three types of quesadillas; the chicken tinga coming recommended, with smoky chipotle-style chicken with fres
Promenade Bondi Beach
At first glance, Promenade Bondi Beach is everything you might expect ‘Promenade Bondi Beach’ to be. The latest upmarket diner on Bondi’s beachfront was probably always destined to soak in smooth sandy interiors, crowd with linen-clad clientele, and flog crudo, Sydney rock oysters and homemade flatbread with whipped ricotta. But Bondi Pavilion’s newest tenant does more than enough to distinguish itself from its noisy and fabulous neighbours: Icebergs, Topikós, and Lola’s, to name a few. For starters, owners House Made Hospitality (also Apollonia, Lana) have bagged one of the most iconic venues in town. The heritage-listed Bondi Pavilion, which has stood since the establishment of municipal surf sheds on the site in 1911, is fresh from a multi-million-dollar restoration, which thankfully maintains its recognisable Spanish-style roofing and archways. Its sprawling 900-square-metre spot at the beach’s centrepoint gives Promenade Bondi Beach an unrivalled location and makes it the largest beachside restaurant in Australia. Then there’s the format. Promenade Bondi Beach rolls restaurant, café and bar into one multi-purpose venue. There’s a kiosk for takeaway coffees; and a dining room, bar and ocean-facing verandah that seats 67. Plus, room for 140 more on their walk-in-only, Med-style terrace, ‘The Front Yard’, complete with olive trees and Australian natives stopping inches short of the actual beach. And then, of course, there’s the food. Before you’ve even taken your seat at on