BILLS BONDI
Sydney, New South Wales

If there was one chef synonymous with breakfast, it would be Bill Granger. The born Sydneysider opened his first restaurant in Darlinghurst (which still remains) at just 24 years of age. Today, his famous ricotta hotcakes can be found not only in Australia but across the globe, with Bills restaurants in the UK, Japan, Korea and Hawaii.

Given the paleo diet du jour, breakfast items such as the almond milk chia pots with coconut yoghurt and an egg white omelette with prawn and spiced salsa rosso have meant that Bills has been welcomed into the Bondi family. While Granger’s sweet corn fritters and toasted coconut bread will still appease instagram-addicts, it is his target marketed menu that has meant that any time of day, Bills’ 100+ seats are filled with both locals and visitors.

He may have built his career as the breakfast king, but the lunch menu is where his talent shines. Dishes such as tahini baked kale chips and a braised beef shin mole with cauliflower rice, are equally appealing to Stone Age dieters as the general public. The tofu yellow curry with brown rice is tastier than it sounds, with crunchy cauliflower fritters and a fresh coconut and apple chutney. For those not devoted to eating like our ancestors, there’s also 21st century dishes such as crisp pork belly stuffed into a sweet brioche roll with chilli jam and a bowl of fried brown rice topped with prawn, chorizo and house kim chee.

While the Surry Hills and Darlinghurst cafes remain, Woollahra’s loss was Bondi’s gain. All that’s missing is a bone broth beverage to sit beside the almond lattes.