Porch and Parlour

After a quirky and well-received renovation, one of Bondi’s most popular brekkie and lunch hang-outs has now re-opened as a spot to enjoy the sunset over some delicious dinner options as well. With high expectations, I headed down to the beach for an early dinner. 

It was 5.30pm when we arrived at the eatery and the new location on Ramsgate Avenue was bathed in light. Their move has come in perfect timing as their beautiful view of the beach and sunset in addition to their bigger premises will no doubt be pulling in the crowds as summer draws ever closer. 

Now with two rooms and outdoor dining, Porch has gained an extra 40 seats, a much needed expansion for the Bondi joint known for long queuing times. With a mixture of high tables and benches, there’s a lovely versatility in the space. Luckily, they haven’t totally gone out with the old and in with the new. The Mediterranean tiles have been re-purposed around the new bar area while sourced timber from the original Sydney Harbour Bridge’s scaffolding was used to build new furniture and fittings. It’s charmingly shabby with a combination of distressed walls, re-sourced timber and antique style fixtures which adds to the relaxed dining atmosphere that Porch is all about. 

We settled ourselves at the window, seated by a gorgeous timber bar and, on recommendation, grabbed two of their popular cocktails, the Porch G&T and a Tommy Collins, their take on the classic cocktail. New to the Porch team, Alex Relic has put together a well-crafted and seasonal cocktail menu (spritzer lovers, look out for their summer menu!). Both cocktails were garnished with blood orange and were lovely twists on their classics.

Our mains, seared lamb cutlets and a cone bay barramundi were also pretty individual takes on traditional Australian dishes. The cutlets were wonderfully tender and went surprisingly well with the sweet potato puree they were served with. The barramundi really stood out though, most especially the combination of the soft and crunchy textures of the fish and nuts. While you certainly wouldn’t visit Porch for a big feed (the portion sizes aren’t designed to fill you up), the focus here is on flavours, something they’ve done fantastically.

Luckily, we found the smaller than expected mains left us room for dessert (an re-occurring issue as a restaurant reviewer!). There’s only two to choose between at the moment but it was still a difficult choice. We went for the de-constructed cheesecake with cherry and berry compote, blood orange and strawberry dust. It’s quite a show of a dish, piled high with a sesame snap to top it all off. The cream to compote ration was slightly off so a few of the bites were a bit bland but on the whole, it was a delicious conclusion to our meal.

Our evening at Porch was an enjoyable and relaxed affair. The staff all look like they’ve wandered up from the beach and popped on their uniform and act like you’re a friend they’ve invited over for dinner. It was also great to sit in the window, sip on our cocktails and watch the sun go down. They’ve really nailed the atmosphere in this late afternoon, early evening period, with their own lighting and the folksy music (you can’t go wrong with a bit of Passenger in my eyes!) I’m excited to see what they’ve got in store for summer and, if they’re not inundated with locals trying to grab a piece of the action, sit in the window and watch the sun go down again.