Plant-based
Bondi is one of the best corners of Sydney for eating plant-based. These are the fully vegan kitchens and the omnivore spots that genuinely look after vegetarians - not an afterthought salad in sight.
Our top pick right now is Icebergs Dining Room and Bar - milestone celebrations and long lunches with a view. Below are 20 places we rate for this, ranked on the food and how well they suit a visit. Prices shown are a rough guide ($–$$$$); always check the venue’s own site for current hours and menus.
Italian · Bondi Beach
The hatted, ocean-front Italian fine-diner perched above the Bondi Icebergs pool, serving hand-rolled pasta and seasonal seafood with the best beach view in Sydney.
Best for: Milestone celebrations and long lunches with a view
Gelato · Bondi Beach
The Bondi outpost of Sydney's most celebrated gelato maker, tucked into the Hall Street hub a short walk back from the sand.
Best for: A post-beach dessert walk on Hall Street
Spanish · Campbell Parade
An iconic 1914 beachfront hotel on Campbell Parade whose light-filled level-one dining room now houses Alzado, a coastal-Spanish seafood diner, above a classic public bar and late-night club space.
Best for: A long, view-soaked afternoon that turns into a night out
Bagels · North Bondi
A tiny, much-loved North Bondi bagel deli slinging Polish-style bagels stuffed with house-cured lox and Jewish-deli classics.
Best for: A pre- or post-beach bagel run in North Bondi
Italian · Bondi Beach
A buzzy Hall Street institution serving wood-fired Neapolitan pizza and rotisserie porchetta, back in its original Bondi home under founder Orazio D'Elia.
Best for: A lively Italian dinner with friends or a couple, a short walk from the beach.
Spanish · Campbell Parade
A Spanish coastal seafood diner upstairs at Hotel Ravesis, trading share plates, sherry and oyster martinis against a wraparound balcony view of the Bondi surf.
Best for: Long boozy lunches and sunset dinners with a view
Japanese · North Bondi
A long-running North Bondi sushi bar known for fresh sashimi and its iconic hand rolls, tucked into a corner shop a short walk from the beach's northern end.
Best for: A fresh sushi fix straight off the beach
Israeli · North Bondi
A buzzy Israeli-Mediterranean cafe and bakery on a North Bondi corner, built around family-sized shakshuka, house-baked breads and specialty coffee.
Best for: Long, shared Israeli-Mediterranean brunch a few blocks back from the sand
Israeli · Campbell Parade
A beachfront outpost of Sydney's SHUK group serving Israeli-inspired falafel, hummus bowls and bakery items grab-and-go style, directly across Campbell Parade from Bondi Beach (it also trades as Shuk Falafel).
Best for: A quick, fresh Israeli bite straight off the beach
Gelato · Campbell Parade
A slick, architect-designed gelateria directly opposite Bondi Beach, serving old-school Italian gelato made with no stabilisers or artificial anything.
Best for: A high-quality post-beach gelato right on the promenade
Greek · Bondi Beach
A fire-led Greek restaurant inside Bondi Pavilion serving shared meze and chargrilled plates a few steps from the sand.
Best for: Group dinners and celebratory shared feasts by the beach
Italian · Bondi Road
Merivale's buzzy, share-style Italian tucked into the back of The Royal on Bondi Road, built around a wood-fired oven and a leafy, olive-tree-lined courtyard.
Best for: Long, shared Italian lunches and lively group dinners off the beach
Caribbean · Bondi Beach
A colourful Hall Street cafe trading specialty coffee alongside Venezuelan arepas and Caribbean pan-tropical plates, a few blocks back from the sand.
Best for: An early, flavour-forward breakfast or brunch with a Caribbean twist
Japanese · Campbell Parade
A beachfront sashimi bar and seafood takeaway on Campbell Parade with an eight-metre sashimi cabinet and an 18-seat sushi train, from the team behind Sydney Fish Market's GetFish.
Best for: Fresh sashimi and seafood platters straight off the beach
Mexican · Bondi Beach
A lively Mexican taqueria and agave bar tucked into the Hub on Hall Street, built around a rotating spread of regional tacos, ceviches and margaritas.
Best for: A tacos-and-margaritas night out with friends
Cantonese · Campbell Parade
A longstanding modern-Cantonese diner that has swapped its old Hall Street room for a first-floor beachfront space on Campbell Parade, trading in steamed dumplings, XO stir-fries and a serious cocktail and sake list.
Best for: A polished modern-Cantonese dinner or Sunday yum cha near the beach
Italian · Bondi Beach
Authentic Italian gelato made fresh daily on-site, on the busy Campbell Parade corner a short stroll from the sand.
Best for: A post-beach or after-dinner gelato stop with the family
Cafe · Bondi Beach
A beloved, book-lined Bondi cafe and second-hand bookstore just off Hall Street, serving all-day breakfast, honest lunch plates and its famous chai amid stacks of new and used books.
Best for: Lingering with a book, coffee and a slow solo or two-person breakfast
Cafe · North Bondi
A beloved North Bondi cafe going strong since 1997, turning out specialty coffee, generous brunch plates and easy-going lunches just back from the sand on Wairoa Avenue.
Best for: Weekend brunch and a proper Bondi coffee ritual
Cafe · North Bondi
A New York–inspired Jewish deli cafe on Glenayr Avenue turning out house-boiled bagels, cured meats and generous all-day brunch a few blocks back from the sand.
Best for: A hearty, characterful deli-style brunch away from the beachfront crush
If you're after the best vegetarian and vegan food in Bondi Beach, my short answer is this: start at Funky Pies for a fully vegan pie, graze your way through Sabbaba's falafel and salads, and finish with a Gelato Messina sorbet on Hall Street. Bondi has quietly become one of Sydney's easiest suburbs to eat plant-based in, and after years of wandering these streets between swims, these are the spots I actually send friends to. If you'd rather see the whole field at a glance, we keep a running directory of Bondi's best vegan and vegetarian spots.
Funky Pies, tucked away on Glenayr Avenue a short walk back from the sand, is the one I rate most highly for a proper hot meal. The whole menu is vegan - handmade, chunky pies and pastries, with the classics done properly rather than as an afterthought. It's a small shop with a cult following, so it's not somewhere you sit down for a long lunch; it's grab-a-pie-and-eat-it-on-the-grass energy, which is exactly what you want after a morning in the water. Check their site for current hours before you make a special trip.
For a lighter plant-based option, Fishbowl does a build-your-own poke-style bowl that's easy to keep fully vegan - tofu, brown rice, plenty of veg and a light dressing. It's a reliable, fast, post-beach lunch, and their online menu lists what's in each bowl if you have allergen questions.
Sabbaba is my go-to for a cheap, generous veggie feed. It's a Middle Eastern street-food spot, and the vegetarians and vegans are genuinely looked after here - falafel pita stuffed with salad, hummus and tahini, plus dips, dolmades, chips and salads you can mix and match. It's fast, it's filling, and it's the kind of meal that suits a sandy, salty afternoon when you don't want to sit still for long. If a cheap, no-fuss feed is what you're chasing, it sits near the top of our roundup of Bondi's best cheap eats.
For brunch, the beachfront cafés along the promenade all carry solid vegetarian options these days - think smashed avo, grain bowls, veg-forward toasts and, at many, a vegan pancake or two. Menus and daily specials change constantly, so rather than promise you a specific dish, I'd say scan the board when you arrive and ask the staff what's vegan that day. In my experience they're used to the question and happy to help. If you want the full line-up before you set out, we've mapped Bondi's best breakfast and brunch spots separately.
Bondi runs on smoothie bowls and açaí, and most of it is easy to keep plant-based. OAKBERRY Açaí builds bowls on a naturally dairy-free açaí base - just swap the honey and choose your toppings - and Cali Press is my pick for cold-pressed juices, smoothies and a veg-forward menu when I want something lighter than a pie. Both are the kind of quick, colourful refuel that suits a between-swims kind of day.
And if the queue at Messina is out the door, you're not stuck for something sweet. Anita Gelato and Rivareno Gelato both scoop sorbets alongside their gelato, and Yo-Chi does self-serve frozen yoghurt where you assemble your own cup, sorbet options included. Ask which flavours are dairy-free on the day, since specials rotate everywhere. For the full sweet-tooth trail, see our guide to Bondi's best bakeries and sweets.
Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, perched above the ocean pool, is best known for seafood, but it builds genuine, seasonal vegetable dishes into its menu too. It's a special-occasion place with a changing menu, so if you're vegetarian or vegan, phone ahead and mention it when you book so the kitchen can look after you properly. It's also one of a handful of ocean-view dining rooms in Bondi worth the splurge.
Yes - it's one of the easier Sydney beach suburbs to eat vegan in. Funky Pies is entirely vegan, Fishbowl bowls can be built fully plant-based, Sabbaba has strong vegan options, and Gelato Messina's sorbets are dairy-free. Browsing our [vegan and vegetarian directory](/bondi-eat-and-drink/vegan-vegetarian-bondi-beach) is a good way to see everything that's nearby.
For a hot, sit-down-style meal, Funky Pies on Glenayr Avenue is my top pick - the entire menu is vegan and the pies are handmade. Check their website for current opening hours before you go.
Yes. Icebergs Dining Room and Bar includes seasonal vegetable dishes on its menu. Because those menus change, phone ahead and flag that you're vegetarian or vegan when you book.
Gelato Messina on Hall Street is the classic choice - its sorbets are dairy-free, and the chocolate sorbet is a standout. Anita Gelato, Rivareno and Yo-Chi all offer plant-based options too. The flavours rotate, so check the current list in-store.
Ask. Bondi kitchens are very used to the question, daily specials change often, and staff can tell you what's plant-based that day - which is far more reliable than any menu photo online.
That's the loop I'd walk on a plant-based day here - a veggie brunch, a swim, something hearty and vegan for lunch, and a sorbet to finish. Bondi rewards eating the way it rewards everything else: slowly, with sand on your feet.