The Lox in a Box Team Closes Its “Bustling” Bondi Bistro Six Months After Opening

Bistro Bondi hit its Warners Avenue corner last November, ready for a summer of Euro plates led by ex-Ester and Poly chef Isabelle Caulfield. It was the first restaurant by the Lox in a Box team, with a menu referencing Spain and France, as well as nods to Poland and Germany (reflecting the Jewish European background of the owners). Now, the doors have been closed prematurely.

“This is not about the performance of the Bistro,” owner Candy Berger shared in a statement. “I kind of wish it was. It would have been a lot easier to process closing if it was a flop, or if no one liked what we were doing.”

The closure’s reportedly due to a dispute between the hospitality team and the landlord of both the Bistro Bondi site and the neighbouring space the team previously leased and operated as Greenbergs. Since the disputes are ongoing, Berger declined to give specifics, but said the bistro was “bustling” and full, and had become a loal go-to.

Tables were set with anchovy-topped latkes, lox Gildas and 300-gram steak frites. There were Clarence River prawns in café de Paris butter, and crudités to swipe through the Lox in a Box Green Goddess. Plus, a 70-bottle wine list by Jaymie Wallace (ex-Embla, Love, Tilly Devine) and a bunch of big-energy cocktails, like the bright blue, umbrella-topped Bondi Blue.

“This whole experience has been incredibly painful not just as a business owner, but as a person. We poured so much into these spaces. So much care, so much time, so much love and believe in what they could be,” Berger said. “The truth is, this will stay with me for a long time. I’ve never been someone to walk away. But sometimes you have to recognise the moment where continuing comes at too high a cost. To your health, your peace, your wellbeing and your team.”

Broadsheet reached out to the landlord’s real estate agency for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.

The final service at Bistro Bondi was in mid-April 2026.