Café in 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.
If you're bored of the usual Bondi smashed-avo circuit, this is where we'd send you: Makuto swaps the beach-cafe template for Venezuelan corn arepas, spiced Caribbean curries and one of the more characterful coffee programs on Hall Street. It opens early (from 6am most days) and pulls a genuinely local crowd around communal tables, with the owner's music taste dialled in as tightly as the espresso. It's a rare thing in Bondi, a cafe with a point of view that isn't just another flat-white-and-bowls operation.
Our pick here is the breakfast arepas and the Caribbean-spiced curries; the coffee is worth ordering on its own merits, and there are vegan and vegetarian options across the menu.
Bright, lively and unpretentious, with communal seating and a strong music sensibility.
Local tip: Come before 8am if you want a quiet table and the pick of the arepas; weekend mid-morning brings the full Bondi brunch crush to a fairly compact room.
Worth knowing: It's set back on Hall Street, so there are no ocean views and no beachfront seating, this is a destination for the food and coffee, not the outlook.
Hours, prices and menus change — always check the venue’s own site before you go. Spotted something out of date? We keep this directory current; details reflect our last check.
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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
Modern Australian · Bondi Beach
The original bills, the Hall Street cafe where Bill Granger reinvented Sydney brunch, still turning out its ricotta hotcakes and creamy scrambled eggs a couple of minutes back from the sand.
Best for: A landmark Bondi brunch a short walk from the beach