Old Haunt’s New Menu Making Waves

By Dan Hutton on November 16, 2018 in

If you’ve spent more than three minutes in Bondi, you’ll need no introduction to Hotel Ravesis. A long-standing fixture amongst the popular and plentiful beachfront watering holes, its facade (situated on the corner of Hall Street and Campbell Parade) is as much a part of Bondi’s character as the beach itself.

So you know where it is, and you know it’s a great place to gather with your pals for some drinks overlooking the beach on a sunny day, but did you know it’s recently undergone a full menu overhaul?

Designed by head chef Peter Streckfuss, this fresh and fabulous menu offers a broad range of mouth-watering delicacies, with many of the ingredients prepared from scratch in-house.

There are a fair few dishes to choose from – far more than one person can eat in one sitting, even a permanently hungry grub-vacuum such as myself. Thankfully, Chef Peter was on hand to pick out a few ‘heroes’ for me to try. Let’s start, as I did, with the gruyère and potato croquettes.

Served with zucchinis pickled in-house and a delightful parsley aioli, they were a sensational start to the meal. In fact, I would have been happy with a steady supply of these little balls of heaven and nothing else for the entire sitting. Fortunately, I quickly learned that these were just the tip of a very tasty iceberg.

Next up was a beautifully thick slice of grilled haloumi complete with a light and flavoursome chimichurri sauce, followed by a wonderfully creamy lobster concoction served in toasted brioche bread. After that I was given a taste of the open crab lasagne, a generous serving of blue-swimmer crab nestled in freshly rolled pasta (a fresh batch of which is prepared daily on site). This was a personal favourite of mine.

I’ll admit by this point my stomach had probably received an adequate amount of food, but as the dishes kept coming, beautifully presented and filling the room with their tantalising aromas, I simply couldn’t help but keep eating. I mean, it would’ve been rude not to!

The fattoush salad featured a healthy supply of burrata (very similar to mozzarella) accompanied by fresh tomatoes, onions and za’atar crisps (which I can best describe by comparing them to crispy rosemary flatbread). And finally, the crispy chicken was wonderfully succulent and came accompanied by a salad of cucumber, rocket, zucchini, pickle, as well as flat bread and a garlic dip. It was a fantastic addition to an already flavoursome and varied selection of dishes.

There are plenty of other options on this eclectic menu, from the easy-to-share tapas style treats to the more traditional a la carte dishes – there really is something to suit every taste. Personally, when I go back there for my next feed I’ll be trying the chocolate wattleseed fondant, which is served with caramel sauce and vanilla ice-cream (I’m literally drooling as I write this).

The venue itself boasts wonderful views of the iconic Bondi Beach, which is great for locals and visitors alike. As one of Bondi’s larger venues, it caters well for big groups but is also family friendly with plenty of space for prams and all the other paraphernalia that comes with parenthood.
So next time you’re in Bondi and debating where to eat, pop in to Hotel Ravesis for a fresh, flavoursome and filling feed!

Hotel Ravesis

Website www.hotelravesis.com
Address 118 Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach NSW 2026 Facebook Hotel Ravesis Instagram @hotelravesis Phone 9365 4422
Open Mon-Sat 11am-1am; Sunday 11am-12am
Prices $6.50-$32.00
Cards Accepted Yes, everything
Licensed Yes (Hotel license)