Bondi: Suburban cool where old meets new

Shiny new-build apartments with views over the waves or a double-front art deco house on a wide, shady street – Bondi offers a slice of suburban cool where old meets new. Wherever you end up, the beachside locale promises something for everyone from salty dips and fine dining to wellness venues aplenty.

Bondi Beach’s nearly kilometre-long sandy stretch is undeniably the main attraction for its 2.9 million visitors per year. And it’s alive well before first light. You’ll find bronzed bodies taking quick dips before work and others floating out deep. Surfers captain gentle waves and acrobatic beach-volleyballers spread along the sand. On Fridays, without fail, community swim group Salties freestyles up and down its length. On hot days, a technicolour jigsaw of people covers the shore. Bondi is Australia’s most famous beach for a reason.

Locals pack into beachfront cafe and restaurant Promenade – set in the historic Bondi Pavilion, which opened in 1929 – for post-coastal walk smoothies and breakfasts dishes like scrambled eggs with sumac-cured salmon. Not far away on Hall Street, Bills is known for its fluffy ricotta hotcakes topped with banana and honeycomb butter. A stop at Makaveli – a slick hole-in-the-wall joint around the corner – is ripe for burrata-topped toast and coffee, or plates of bresaola with artichokes and fruity cocktails at night.

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A finer style of evening will have you seated at Sean’s. The pink-washed, shell-encrusted dining room has sat in a small spot on Campbell Parade since 1993 and is a truly singular Sydney venue. The restaurant has held its title as one of the best for decades, thanks to its effortless (but exceptional) hospitality, arty jumble of a fit-out and chef Sean Moran’s homey set menu. The roast chicken is the order à la mode, backed by an all-Aussie wine list. (The option to BYO also makes good use of your own cellar.)

Whip around Bondi Markets on Sunday morning to pick up small-batch olives, farm-fresh flowers, just-baked croissants and veggies direct from farmers. Then wander into Hencla to double down on the holiday vibes. The luxe coastal lifestyle store is a one-stop shop for chunky hand-beaded bracelets and a collection of global treasures you won’t find anywhere else, like candles made on an island off the coast of South Carolina and ceramics from Morocco.

Indie bottle shop Native Drops is as good for new-wave natural wine as it is locally distilled spirits (like pineapple agave and salted mango gin) and is best followed by a trip to Uncut Seafood Delicatessen. Three siblings, who are fourth-gen fishmongers, serve a tight takeaway menu of family recipes using fish sourced from the markets each morning.The sashimi platter (served with a zesty caper dressing) is an ideal order. If vacation-style dining and drinking is Bondi’s main draw, slow-living wellness practices come second. A 90-minute visit to the newly opened Slow House will have you swishing between magnesium pools, a traditional Finnish sauna and a steam room. Round out the experience with a facial or body treatment. Otherwise there’s Nimbus Co, where private infrared saunas wait in chic pods and an ice bath hums in a leafy courtyard.

Agent lens

with Alexander Phillips from PPD Real Estate

Why does this suburb appeal to high-end buyers?

It’s a full lifestyle spectrum in Bondi. You’re getting the benefits of the beach and the benefits of really good restaurants now – the restaurant scene is a big driver. You’ve got very good health food stores and grocery stores like The Health Emporium and Uncut Seafood Delicatessen. Plus, it’s very close to the train line, so you get a lot of corporate people who still have the lifestyle of the beach and get to enjoy that.

For sale in Bondi

Buyers Guide $5,500,000

75 Watson Street, Bondi NSW 2026

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This striking new Bondi home blends bold architecture with beachside luxury. A large skylight above the staircase floods three levels with light, while super white dolomite details and chevron oak floors add character. Designed for effortless living, it features a saltwater pool, a lush vertical garden, smart tech, lift access and a dream entertainer’s kitchen.