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Promenade is the newest restaurant in Bondi and the premium tennant in the newly renovated Bondi Pavilion which is right on the foreshore at Bondi Beach in Sydney. With so many restaurant options around it is a challenge to have a smart new venture with quality fine dining, a good wine list so close to the surf and sand.
The food on offer is casual but delicious, with no shortage of flavour. As might be expected for a surfside restaurant there is an excellent range of seafood options, but the meat is also excellent with a delicious grilled pork chop, wagyu beef, slow cooked lamb shoulder and chicken dishes.
The menu is designed for sharing and we immensely enjoyed an entree of sourdough bread ($4pp) with whipped ricotta ($7) and jamon iberico ($19). Our main course of agrodolce pork chop, charred radicchio (really tasty and cut to serve $42) and slow cooked miso and sherry vinegar glazed lamb shoulder (falling apart – oh yes please $48) with potato galette, mustard beurre blanc, garlic chive (delicious $16), organic leaves, nectarine, honey (slightly disappointing due to a lack of dressing and not much nectarine $14) and charred zucchini, with raisin, stracciatella, hazelnut ($22).
We finished the meal by sharing a sweet lemon delicious and a plate of cheese. For three of us this was a brilliant feed with the lamb shoulder, the pork chop and the potato galette all absolute stand out dishes.
There were a few minor service hiccups (of the kind that seem to remain quite common with post pandemic staffing), but room is wonderfully comfortable, the view through to the sea is delightful and the acoustics are good.
The wine list while not particularly long was full of very reasonable alternatives, we started with a chardonnay (M&J Becker $88) from the Hunter Valley and followed on with a Pinot Noir (Polperro $120) from the Mornington Peninsula.
The menu created by executive chef Chris Benedet (formerly of Rockpool, Cirrus Dining, Yellow and Monopole), is clearly winning the diners over with a full room of beautiful people all enjoying everything – lots of “yum” and “that’s delicious” to be heard around us…
The group behind Promenade have experience in transforming historic locations with the recent opening of the multi-level precinct Hinchcliff House which venues Apollonia, Lana, Grana and Bar Mammoni. The also have another popular Bondi local Rancho Seltzo.
If you are looking for something a little more casual there is also the appropriately named “Front Yard” outside where simpler bar food offerings and great cocktails rule and you can watch the parade of people marching the Bondi foreshore.
This place is an immediate classic and a very welcome one, if you are thinking of a meal in Bondi, put Promenade at the top of your list.
| Open | M-Su Licensed | Fully Licensed BYO | No Wine Markup | 2.5x Food | 17/20 Wine List | 15/20 Atmosphere | 17/20 Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach NSW 02 72281408 https://www.promenadebondibeach.com |
