North Bondi Kepos
It may not be beach weather, but a collaboration between two crowd-pleasing Sydney diners is giving us an excuse to head to the shores of Bondi. Much-loved Redfern eatery Kepos Street Kitchen has taken over Matt Moran’s North Bondi Fish to launch North Bondi Kepos, a celebration of Middle Eastern cuisine and culture.
The residency is led by Moran (also Aria, Chiswick) and Kepos Street Kitchen’s owner-chef Michael Rantissi. They’re curating everything from the food to cocktails, live music and DJs.
North Bondi Kepos’s lunch and dinner menu is split into five parts: meze, raw, grilled, mains and sides, plus a dessert menu. Fans of the hummus from Kepos & Co (Kepos Street Kitchen’s sister restaurant, which closed earlier this year), which was pounded tableside in a mortar and pestle, will welcome the news that a similar dish makes a return at the pop-up. Expect dishes such as crispy school prawns with harissa; kingfish ceviche; swordfish skewers with a house-made barbeque sauce; a coriander-crusted slow-roasted lamb shoulder; and fried cauliflower with dukkah, tahini and chilli. For dessert, a stretchy knafeh and milk chocolate mousse with halva.
Theatrical cocktails created by general manager Shay Cullen complement the food menu. The Figorita is a take on North Bondi Fish’s most popular cocktail, the Margarita, here made with fig puree and house-made grenadine and served in a ceramic teapot. The Bergabomb riffs on a Jagerbomb, and involves a flaming shot of arak dropped into a glass of beer, while the Spice Honey Americano comes in a jug and (as its name suggests) is loaded with honey and warming spices.
The residency makes the most of North Bondi Fish’s prime real estate opposite Bondi Beach – it’s open for breakfast and brunch every weekend. Tuck into shakshuka and crumpets (by Crumpets by Merna) with Pepe Saya butter, tahini and date molasses, as well as Mimosas, Bellinis and Bloody Marys with Middle Eastern tweaks.
North Bondi Fish’s bright blue and white dining room has gotten a rejig, with a colour palette of muted reds, yellows and blues, with artworks hung around the venue featuring Rantissi’s family.
North Bondi Kepos is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday to Saturday, and for breakfast from 8am on Saturdays and Sundays. Its final day is on September 25, with North Bondi Fish returning on September 28.
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