Lox Stock & Barrel – Fully Loaded?

By Dining Dave on August 15, 2013 in Food

Photo: Grant Brooks

In March, Lox Stock & Barrel opened up in Bondi with the aim of becoming part of the local population’s first-half-of-the-day ritual. The ‘deli/diner’ has been getting positive word-of-mouth ever since with its array of freshly baked goods, egg dishes, sandwiches and soups, and in mid-May its owners decided to throw their hat into the dinner ring. It’s one thing to whip up a good lox and cream cheese on a bagel, but another all together to conjure up mandarin glazed duck Maryland. So has LSB taken its place alongside the Hall Street big guns, or is it simply shooting blanks?

Located on the corner of Glenayr Avenue and Curlewis Street, style-wise LSB feels a bit retro-farmhouse-cafeteria with its 1920s-era multi-filament hanging light bulbs, unfinished wooden window frames and the white shower tiles adorning the counter to the left. For seating, you’ll have a choice of two rows of tables in one room and stools outside.

My companion and I arrived at LSB at about 8pm on a Thursday night. The black floor, tabletops and chairs meshed well with the illuminated kitchen, and the subtly placed tea-light candles pulled the room together into something cosy. The place was full but it wasn’t long before Ellie the friendly Brazilian waitress was making us welcome and letting us know that the meals at LSB are modeled on Eastern European fare. The plates are meant to be shared, and share them we did.

For entrees we ordered the beetroot cured ocean trout, the balsamic roasted beetroot & avocado salad and the slow roasted spiced pumpkin with shaved jalapenos. The drinks came with homemade Polish rye and an olive oil and beetroot mixture that made it tempting to fill up on bread alone. For mains we ordered the wild kingfish cutlets in hraymi sauce and the crumbed veal cutlet with red cabbage.

The pumpkin dish was delicious, the jalapenos adding just the right amount of spice to the large orange slice. The trout was also fantastic and made me ignore the pumpkin for a minute. The beetroot salad was also good, though the first two dishes impressed more.

When the mains arrived it certainly seemed like a hearty meal designed to pull you through a cold Austrian winter. The two slices of kingfish were perfectly cooked and well complemented by the sauce, while the veal cutlet was a significant offering that reminded me of the years I spent in places like Ukraine.

The warm chocolate almond fudge cake with honeycomb and vanilla bean gelato was the perfect way to close out the meal.

From my experience, LSB seems to have an atmosphere of fun – by the customers, the waitresses, the cooks, everyone. The service was top notch, the food quality was absolutely superb, the prices seem like a bargain for what you are get and the vibe is playful and homely.

Overall, Lox Stock & Barrel hits the target with exceptional precision, and there’s no question about that.

Lox Stock & Barrel
Address | 140 Glenayr Avenue, Bondi Beach
Phone | (02) 9300 0368
Website | loxstockandbarrel.com.au
Email | info@loxstockandbarrel.com.au
Open | Mon-Tue: 7am-4pm; Wed-Thu: 7am-4pm, 6pm-10pm; Fri-Sat: 7am-4pm, 6pm-11pm; Sun: 7am-4pm
Price | Entrees $13, Mains $25, Desserts $9
Seats | 27 inside, 6 outside
Cards | All major cards
Licensed/BYO | Fully Licensed