The best bars in Bondi

Close quarters are helpful when you’re on a date, and sexy Italian wine bars don’t get much cosier than Ode. All that low, flattering light is like a real-world Instagram filter; the little round tables are so small you can interlock knees; and given they quite literally have wine on tap, a night here is a reliable recipe for romance. 

At the Anchor, a newish Bondi bar just around the corner from Icebergs, you can enjoy tequila in just about any way you can think of thanks to a crack team lead by star Sydney boozetarian, Andy Penney.

After the Bondi Bowling Club received the fairy godmother treatment from the team behind Panama House and Corner House, suddenly we had big picnic tables shaded by crimson G.H Mumm umbrellas, a shady terrace and a cool low litl clubhouse to hang out in on weekends. 

After slinging tacos, Tecate tins and Tommy’s Margaritas for years up on Bondi Road, this pan-American bar and restaurant is now right in the thick of it, situated within the shiny Pacific complex. Panama House's second coming is once again doing boozy brunches (think bottomless Bloody Marys and mimosas with breakfast burritos and corned beef has browns) and transforms into a taqueria in the evening. 

Bondi has cafés for days, but cosy roosts for a little after-hours wine are rarer out east, which is why Can Cava Pintxos and Wine is a welcome addition to Hall Street’s nightlife. This wine bar serves pinxtos – little bar snacks skewered onto bread – but your meal here is not quite the miniature fencing match you’re picturing. While both juicy beef meatballs in an earthy tomato sauce and creamy chickpea chips do come impaled on cocktail spears, a salty tuna tartare with chives and capers balances on a flimsy raft of a single, thin potato chip. 

There are four ways to drink at Hotel Ravesis – post-swim, downstairs with a cold schooner or cider; late night on a packed dancefloor with a vodka lime and soda or bubbles; on the side balcony with a crisp rosé (which they've got on tap here) that'll match the facade's pink paint job; or on the front balcony, perhaps exploring more of the wine list or diving into the fruit-heavy cocktail menu. 

This chic restaurant-cum-bar has commanded the corner of Denham Street and Bondi Road for a couple of years now and shows no sign of losing its charm, friendly atmosphere and service. Freshen up with a Venetian Spritzer or a Bulldog gin and tonic and then settle into a bottle of the 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendoza Argentina.