Harry’s Bondi has had a facelift and while a lot has changed it’s still one of our favourites.
Bondi is changing so rapidly in the café-restaurant world. Head out for a quick surf one afternoon and by the time you shower down and walk home you might notice two or three new eateries have popped up. I blinked the other day and my favourite Bondi institution Harry’s Bondi Café had been completely gutted. I was riddled with fear. Are they going to give it some fancy new annoying name that I can’t pronounce? Or are we now going to have to refer to it in some French accent, drop the ‘H’ and just call it ‘arries’? Would my favourite girl Shirley still be working there once it reopened?
So many questions. I couldn’t work out how they could improve this charming old pile of bricks and mortar. I always loved sitting on the rickety wooden crates, relaxing incognito amongst the graffiti covered walls, hiding away from the more fancy Bondi establishments. And what would happen to Shirley?
When I opened my eyes again and saw the new fit out, I thought “yeah ok, I could deal with this”.
For starters they still serve EBT, just out of better crockery.
There’s a new hexagonal theme running throughout the venue. Harry told me last week it was actually the molecular structure of coffee. How thoughtful.
There’s plenty of nice new things at the revamped Harry’s Bondi but it’s nice to see they’ve kept all of the good old parts too. Like Shirley! As we take our seats for lunch Shirley comes and greets us with that familiar smile.
But the rest is a complete overhaul with polished concrete floors, white marble tables and raw timber seating. The creative genius behind the fit out is Sydney’s Tina Cha from Guru Projects.
Harry’s Bondi is open for breakfast lunch and dinner. Heading up the kitchen is chef Bryan O’Callaghan (ex Tilbury Hotel). Using the freshest local produce they can find, making their own cold drip coffee and serving my beloved Kombucha – Harry and his business partner Christopher Karvelas have managed to invigorate this old institution with a contemporary sense of Bondi charm. I will be going back for sure.
Menu Cheats:
Breaky – Crispy Rolled Egg with braised black bean, chorizo, avocado, cherry tomato, coriander & lime
Brunch (weekends only) – Cider Cured Ocean Trout with coddled egg, avocado, shaved fennel, zucchini, ruby grapefruit & dill and the Serano jamon and white peach salad with fig, mozzarella, basil and mint.
Lunch – Seared Scallops with turmeric puree, parsnip & pomegranate crips
Dinner – House-made Gnocchi with mushrooms, porcini butter, parmesan
Harry’s Bondi is open for breakfast and lunch daily. They’ve just launched a dinner menu also and while they wait for their liquor license it’s BYO.
Harry’s Bondi
Shop 2, 136 Wairoa Avenue, Bondi Beach
Open breakfast daily from 7am – 12pm, Lunch from 12pm – 3pm, Dinner available Thursday – Saturday 6pm – 9:30pm. Harry’s Kiosk operates from 7am – 3pm daily.
https://www.facebook.com/HarrysBondi