“It’s pretty much a very easy, casual place to come straight off the beach to have a fish burger or come in for dinner and have a couple of courses,” says Aria chef Matt Moran,” and great cocktails – there’s a bar there and great outdoor seating and hopefully we’ll do it good.”
He’s talking about North Bondi Fish, his latest restaurant opening with business partner Peter Sullivan, a laidback seafood joint on the former North Bondi Italian site in Sydney.
Gone are the bold blacks, reds and graffiti-spattered ceilings of the room’s former life, replaced with wooden communal benches, white-washed Mediterranean hues and a breezy beachside vibe.
Eats-wise, as the name suggests, “it’s all about seafood.” Expect snacks along the lines of fish fingers and prawn rolls with iceberg and mayonnaise, and larger dishes such as beer-battered flathead with chips and tartare and whiting steamed in a bag with kipflers and orange.
“A lot of it’s to share,” says Moran, “and I’ve got a beautiful charcoal grill so we’re grilling all our fish.”
On the drinks front, it’s a mix of beach-friendly cocktails, a daily-changing selection of booze-spiked slushies, house-made sodas and G&Ts three ways: Hendricks and cucumber, Tanqueray with pink grapefruit, and Bombay Sapphire with lime and orange wedges.
Which one will you find Moran sipping come sunset? “At least two,” he says, “one for each hand.”
North Bondi Fish, 120 Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi, NSW