A New Classic Fish’n’Chipper Finds a Second Home Just Six Months After Opening

Last summer, the Bronte Road Bistro team did a big flip. Seafood, burger buns, panko crumbs, potatoes and Margarita slushies replaced the ingredients that had powered the little French dining room for 17 years. Now, only six months after becoming Bronte Road Fish, and led by the sheer popularity of their classic fish burger, the team has opened another one.

Bronte Road Fish just hit North Bondi, taking over the old Bondi’s Best space. The newcomer is smaller and more takeaway-geared, though the menus are near-identical (Bondi’s only missing the soft-serve). “We were never really looking to jump out and get a second shop,” says chef and co-owner Matt Barnett. “It’s only that this site came up that we were like, ‘Oop, it’s going to be opening two in six months’ – it was just the right fit, in the right community.”

Barnett and co-owner Stewart Parsons were already confident Bondi was a good move – locals had been “screaming” for a new fish’n’chipper, travelling to Bronte Road to get their fix. The team’s opinion on what makes the best fish burger, then, has stacked up: a super-soft bun, fresh iceberg, pickles, American cheese, crunchy panko-crumbed hake and a zingy house-made tartare, heavy on capers and cornichons. “The fish burger has always been number one by far,” Barnett says. “It sells double to everything else.”

There’s a crisp-edged bluefin tuna smash burger and a prawn katsu number too, plus a teriyaki tofu serve for anyone avoiding meat. You’ll find salads, raw tuna bowls and fillets of gurnard or hake (which arrive grilled, crumbed or battered). There are chippies of course, plus potato scallops that remind you classically trained chefs are in the kitchen. Thick slices of Sebago potatoes are soaked in shio koji for three hours, before they’re slicked in a light tempura-style batter and fried for a salt-and-vinegar-y flavour profile.

Was there any chat around changing the name to reflect the new address? “Nah, we’re keeping it, that’s our identity,” Barnett says. “Look, people come in and they might ask, and we can fill them in – it’s got a whole story behind it, you know. We felt like the bistro had its time, and now we’re onto this and we’re excited … It’s only going to get bigger coming into summer – that’s what they tell us.”

Bronte Road Fish
39–53 Campbell Parade, North Bondi 

Hours:
Tue to Sun 11am–8pm

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