Bondi Hardware – Bondi

Bianca: A recent wander down Hall Street, had me stopping in my tracks in front of Bondi Hardware. I’m always one to file away mental notes for the future and it was one I had hoped I’d come across again. Fate can be a funny thing and we were recently invited down to try the food and drinks.

A former hardware store come restaurant with exposed brickwork, prominent woodwork and hanging pot plants. The vibe is both casual and funky and the food menu is a bit of a mish/mash. With sharing plates, pizzas, hearty salads and sliders.

Alex and I certainly made for a sight when we ordered a tables worth of food for the two of us, opting to take away what we hadn’t finished. We certainly tried…

If you’re a rum fan then you just have to order the Rumble in the Jungle $18, feeling somewhat industrious, Alex virtually tackled the Rose Sangria $35 all on his lonesome. I found it a little too ‘potpourri(ish))’ for my tastes but he loved it.

I am a sucker for bread at the best of times but throw in the combination of garlic and butter and my knees go weak. The Kimchi garlic cheese bread $12 – was dangerously addictive, with a slight hint of garlic but no real kimchi coming through. Certainly an interesting combination and one I’d never encountered before. It was a little on the oily side but honestly… worth it.

The Gruyere & celeriac fritters w/ romesco sauce $14 was one item on the menu that caught my eye straight away. We both got a slight note of citrus from the fritters and the romesco sauce was on the tart side. I didn’t really get much from the Gruyère at all and a stronger more prominent cheese might have worked better. These were neither here nor there for me. If I was going to blow my calories it would be on the garlic bread for sure.

We were in Bondi after all so a few salads had to make an appearance – The Porcini buttered prawn salad –w/spiced lentils, fennel and spinach $25 is a decent option for those that love their seafood but it was 90% greenery with a few scattered prawns.

The Roast Brussel sprout salad –w/ apple, hazelnuts and ricotta $18 was a little more up my alley. And whilst Porteno has practically ruined all Brussel sprout dishes for me, this was a particularly tasty salad. With varying textures this is a satisfying and hearty option for the vego’s – we loved the crunch of the hazelnuts and pear and the creaminess of the ricotta.

The sliders were always going to make an appearance and so we opted for 3 (including one of the specials). Starting with the Hardware classic beef & cheese $6ea, probably the one I was most looking forward to and while the flavour was there, the beef patty was overcooked and under seasoned. All the other elements worked well, with the tomato sauce and the crunchy pickle big stand-outs. Fix the beef guys and you’d be on to a real winner here.

The Beer battered barramundi –w/pickled green chilli aioli $6ea tasted like a little baby fillet o fish, which is a great thing in my books. The barramundi was moist and flaky, it held together well and had the perfect combination of sauce. Across the board we did find the sliders too ‘bready’.

And lastly the slider special of the day the Pork schnitzel –w/red cabbage, chipotle slaw $6ea schnitzel anything is a winner and this was probably our favourite out of the three, with a nice spicy kick from the chipotle.

We made a decent dent in the menu and were fairly impressed with the food, I could definitely see myself coming back for drinks and snacks with friends. I didn’t see a mention of desserts anywhere and everyone knows here at FFS we love our sweets, so might be one to come back for!

Bianca

Photos by Alex

*For Food’s Sake dined as guests of The Cru Media and Bondi Hardware. All opinions however are our own and independent.