Promenade Bondi Beach

When it comes to a place like Promenade Bondi Beach, the question isn’t so much why you should go, but more like why the heck you wouldn’t. What we’re talking about here, after all, is a 900-square-metre restaurant, courtyard bar and coffee kiosk wedged into the south-east corner of Bondi Pavilion – a heritage-listed architectural landmark, all graceful archways and Spanish terracotta-tiled roofs overlooking the country’s most recognisable stretch of sand. Venues at sites like this are almost always occupied by rip-off merchants concerned with capitalising on the views as opposed to first-class food and drinks. Not so in this case.

House Made Hospitality group, the brains behind Sydney CBD’s swanky Hinchcliff House, has created three spaces that cater to all comers at all hours of the day. While the takeaway window pulls quite a fine espresso, you’ll want to settle in for a longer innings. The choice is yours – out in the al fresco Front Yard Bar, with its director’s chairs and stripy brollies, or in the Dining Room, where a creamy colour palette and opulent finishes make for a timeless vision of coastal elegance. Either way, it’s a winning proposition.