Nick's Bondi Beach Pavilion, Sydney

EDIT: Nick's Bondi Beach Pavilion has closed

There's something in the words "all you can eat" that always catches my attention. I really should have grown out of it by now, but just as "unlimited alcohol" holds a certain magic for others, so too does the promise of a buffet have my head snap to attention.

A food-loving friend alerted me to the $21 all you can eat barbecue seafood feast at Nick's Bondi. I was somewhat skeptical; it sounded too good to be true, but their website confirmed it: "Unlimited Plates of QUALITY Chargrills & Golden Fried Seafood". They had even put quality IN CAPS as though they anticipated my suspicions.

It promised chargrilled bbq plates of grilled grainfed beef, spicy chorizo sausage, Mediterranean lamb skewers, marinated chicken fillet, bbq pork ribs and chips. Golden fried seafood plates contained the catch of the day, golden fried calamari and chips.

We made a booking.



The restaurant was fully booked on a Sunday night, but only a third had ordered the seafood feast as far we could see. Our waitress soon explained proceedings: you either ordered the meat plate or the seafood plate, and continued with full plates of either in subsequent servings.



Our meals arrived quickly. As a table of five, we shared our platters around. Both options were enormous, arriving on generous beds of chips that encouraged compulsive nibbling.

The seafood plate was a deep-fried fiesta: three fillets of fish, two prawn cutlets and a large handful of battered calamari rings. Tartare sauce and lemons completed the platter.

The meat plate beheld a carnivore's delight: a small steak dressed in bearnaise sauce, half a chorizo seared, two short skewers of lamb, a sweetly marinated chicken thigh fillet and two pairs of ribs, accompanied by a pot of barbecue sauce.

It was all fairly good, but we did start craving vegetables and salad part-way through (available off the a la carte menu). The meat plate was a little less greasy on the stomach, but the fatty ribs, juicy chorizo, chicken thigh and hollandaise still added to the saturated fullness.

We ploughed on, but despite having two ravenous blokes on our table, our table of five only managed six plates. Much of the chips were sent back too.


Berry compote with vanilla pannacotta,
mixed berries, chantilly cream and brandy snap $9.00

This meant room for sweets, and we ordered two portions of the dessert-of-the-day to share among us: a pannacotta with berries in a funky bent-stem martini glass. The pannacotta was more of a rubbery firmness than a delicate barely-set wobble, but overall it made for a light and refreshing dessert that was greedily demolished.

Considering its location and view (we scored a wonderful window-side table facing the beach), this is a pretty good deal if you don't mind some grease.



Nick's Bondi Beach Pavilion (CLOSED)
Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9365 4122

Open 7 days for lunch and dinner

All you can eat barbecue seafood feast $21 (exluding drinks)
Available Sunday nights from 6.00pm, lunch and dinner Monday - Tuesday

Parking discount available at adjacent parking station
(ask to have your voucher stamped at the front desk)

Related GrabYourFork posts:
Nick's Seafood Restaurant, Darling Harbour