Promenade

Trying to be everything to everyone can be fraught. But the refurbished Bondi Pavilion pulls it off with aplomb. This 300-seat venue from House Made Hospitality (Hinchcliff House) covers refined dining, casual outdoor eating and takeaway snacking via a casual beachside kiosk. The three spaces serve separate menus, and each reflect Bondi’s food culture in different ways.

The restaurant menu heroes Asian ingredients and flavours, spanning chilled seafood and playful dishes such as bug meat toast – a riff on classic Cantonese dim sum. Otherwise, you might find snapper curry balancing sweet and sour with dates and tamarind, and a Wagyu rib eye served with sambal butter.

Steps from the sand, the Front Yard is a casual first-come-first-served outdoor space shaded with sculptural umbrellas. Out here, you’re in for flatbreads topped with harissa, goat’s curd and green sauce; or macadamia, saltbush and burrata. A slow-cooked lamb shoulder with salsa verde is the only departure from the seafood focus of the larger share plates.

The drinks list is well-balanced across refreshing alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, plus predominantly Australian wines.

Moving through the dining room onto the verandah to the sand is almost seamless. The natural shades of the fit-out echo the beach. On the verandah, umbrellas trimmed in rich red beautifully frame views of the aqua and white surf.