Get Hooked On North Bondi Fish

By Dining Dave on November 13, 2014 in Food

Let me just start by saying that if you are in need of an awesome two and a half hour lunch with great food, great service and a great view, head to North Bondi Fish.

In December of last year, North Bondi Fish replaced North Bondi Italian Food at the enviable site beneath the Rats at the north end of the beach. It’s the latest in an ever-expanding collection of culinary gems from Morsul, a restaurant group co-owned by chef Matt Moran and businessman Peter Sullivan. The restaurant’s style is based on being by the beach – it’s light and breezy with simple wooden furniture, cutesy fish images and prawn and crab paintings on the walls, and large papier-mâché lights that hang ominously from the ceiling above.

My companion and I were seated and greeted a bit after midday by Emma, our friendly Scottish hostess, who made us feel right at home from the start. She explained that North Bondi Fish is the type of place where you can “walk right off the beach and have a flathead”. While you can indeed do that, you can also relax in stylish comfort and enjoy casually high-end dining.

Our knowledgeable and attentive waiter Andre recommended the scampi ravioli as a starter, as well as the Moreton Bay bugs, snow crab sliders and the steamed crab buns with kimchee. Upon arrival, the mere sight of the dishes on the table blew us away.

The ravioli was the highlight, with the Warrigal greens perfectly complementing the flavoursome, tender scampi. Both crab concoctions were also very good, but the slight edge went to the daily special steamed crab buns, which had a bit more kick and spice to them. The two bugs we devoured (split into four halves) were dripping with delicious garlic butter and are probably best avoided by those with a history of heart problems. Thankfully we had a lovely bottle of NV La Tordera Prosecco Alne Millesmato to help wash it all down.

Our main course was a touch slow in arriving at our table (thankfully – I needed the break), but the enormous grilled whole snapper that was eventually plonked down in front of us was certainly worth the wait. Enough for two (or maybe even three), it was one hell of a fish, and the mountain of broad beans that covered it and our sides of (non-mayo) Brussels slaw and sweet potato scallops ensured that there’d be little if any room left for dessert.

We soldiered on though, as there is always room for dessert (who do I think I’m kidding?), and sampled the Crème Brulee and an amazingly creamy Chocolate Delice. Both desserts are made in-house and they were both so scrumptious we briefly forgot about the mass of food that had preceded them.

Taking everything into account, North Bondi Fish is a big winner, and you can take that to the beach.

North Bondi Fish

Address | 120 Ramsgate Ave, North Bondi
Phone | (02) 9130 2155
Website | www.northbondifish.com.au
Email | hello@northbondifish.com.au
Open | Mon-Sun, 12pm-10pm
Prices | Small Plates $10 -$26; Mains $29 – $35
Seats | 130
Cards | All major cards
Licensed | Yes