With its sun-washed, elegant fit-out and iconic beachfront setting, Aaron Crinis’s new Bondi Pavilion venue embodies the suburb’s beach culture.
“I want people to feel like they’re on holiday. I want them to be able to roll off the beach with a wet bum and have some brekkie or lunch,” he tells Broadsheet.
Glory Days, which counts Crinis’s Glorietta in North Sydney and The Woolpack in Redfern as sibling venues, is part of Bondi Pavilion’s $48 million restoration, a project that took two years to complete. Although the venue was ready for dine-in back in December, Crinis says they were only allowed to open for takeaway. “The whole development was quite delayed, we really pushed to be open in some capacity for the summer.”
The glorious all-day diner was worth the wait. Birds chirp in nearby trees, and from the umbrella-shaded patio seating guests can watch the drama of Bondi’s famous surf. But even without the setting, the food and drink, overseen by chef Damien Hyde (The Boathouse Group), stands alone.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel. It’s a simple menu, with fresh ingredients and thoughtful flavour combinations,” says Crinis. Some of the dishes take “inspiration from California, which references Central and South American cuisines”.
That means alongside smoothies and acai bowls you’ll find a breakfast burrito that Crinis says is a “little bite of goodness”, with fresh jalapenos, scrambled eggs, Oaxaca cheese, bacon, black bean salsa and tater tots. Toasted banana bread comes with Pepe Saya butter.
Bowls such as the Green for Days bowl, with poached eggs, raw broccoli, kale, zucchini, avocado and a chilli and tahini dressing, are available all day. The Harvest bowl is filled with greens, avocado, poached eggs and optional smoked salmon. Lunch options include a soba noodle salad with whipped tofu, pickled cucumber and a soy and ginger dressing. The lunch menu is otherwise all about classics: oysters served with lemon and mignonette; kingfish ceviche; a hearty steak sandwich; a chicken club sandwich; and prawn linguine with chilli, parsley and pangrattato (breadcrumbs).
The fit-out is breezy, featuring shades of terracotta and natural wood, with shapes and materials that lean into the pavilion’s Spanish-inspired architecture. There are 80 seats across the indoor and outdoor spaces, and a takeaway window for the time-poor pumps out tasty blends and single origins from Stitch Coffee.
“I’m very much about our ethos that every day is a vacay,” says Crinis. “I want to create a space for the locals to celebrate Bondi and the beach.”
Glory Days
Bondi Pavilion, Bondi
02 9000 6664
Hours
Daily 6am–4pm
glorydaysbondi.com.au
18 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023