The ultimate guide to Bondi’s nightlife

Bondi doesn't do velvet-rope glamour, and that's exactly why I love a night out here. After dark it's salt-in-your-hair pub sessions, ocean-view cocktails and long tables of people who came for one drink and stayed for five. Here's how I'd actually map a night - from a golden-hour beer to the last gelato before the walk home.

Vibe

Relaxed, beachy, pub-led

Best nights

Thursday to Sunday

Dress

Smart-casual; thongs mostly fine

Getting home

24-hour 333 bus & rideshare

Start with the water: sunset drinks

The first hour belongs to the ocean. My go-to is the bar upstairs at Icebergs at 1 Notts Avenue - perched above the famous winter-swimming club, it looks straight down the length of the beach, and there's no better spot to watch the light go pink over the pool. It opened in 2002 and it's still a special-occasion sort of price, so I nurse one negroni and soak it in. For something lower-key, Ravesi's on the corner of Campbell Parade and Hall Street has a classic beachside public bar and a terrace that catches the last of the sun. These are two of only a handful of genuine ocean-view perches in Bondi - I've mapped the rest in our guide to Bondi's beachfront and ocean-view spots.

The middle of the night: the pubs are the party

This is where Bondi is most itself. A few of my regular haunts:

• The Royal - a grand heritage corner pub at 283 Bondi Road, dating to 1902 and now run by Merivale. There's regular live music, pool tables and the footy in the front bar, and a proper dancefloor upstairs on weekends. Nice bit of history: the world's oldest surf life-saving club was founded in this very building back in 1907.
• Beach Road Hotel - the locals' 'Beachy', a multi-level institution a street back from the sand. Pool tables, live bands and DJs on the weekend, and the kind of easy, unpretentious crowd that keeps me coming back. It's my first pick when the night wants a bit of momentum.
• Hotel Bondi - the pink landmark right on Campbell Parade, a warren of bars under one roof with a big public bar that fills fast on a warm night. Not fancy, and that's the point.
• Ravesi's - beyond the beachside public bar downstairs, the upstairs bar runs DJ sets on weekends. Check their site for the current line-up before you head up.
• Neighbourhood Bondi - exposed brick, good wine and cocktails, and a buzzy-but-not-deafening room where you can actually hear your mates talk.
• North Bondi RSL - up the northern end, this is my pick for a cheap beer with the beach in full view and the fuss dialled right down. Sign in at the door, grab a spot by the windows and watch the last surfers come in.

That's my core rotation, but Bondi has plenty more corner pubs worth a lean - who does live music, who's better for a quiet pint - all rounded up in our best pubs in Bondi guide.

Late eats and getting home

No Bondi night ends without a feed. Gelato Messina is my sweet-tooth default, though Anita Gelato and Rivareno are both walkable if the Messina queue is out the door. For something more substantial, the beach end of Hall Street and Campbell Parade keeps a few kitchens going for a post-drinks slice or burger - Milky Lane for a loaded burger, the pizzerias along the strip for a late slice. Just don't bank on any one place being open past midnight midweek; hours shift with the season, so check before you count on it. If it's the sugar you're chasing, our best bakeries and sweets guide maps every gelato counter and late-night sweet spot in the area.