Socal Hardware
39 Hall St
Bondi Beach, Sydney
So what do you get when you combine Bondi Hardware with Neutral Bay’s popular SoCal? Well, we checked it out recently and let us tell you, it’s going off.
It’s where Bondi Hardware has always been, same venue, same amazing vibe but amplified ten times as SoCal’s North American and Mexican flavours have infused the famous beachside venue.
We arrived on a Friday night and the place was buzzing with people having fun, enjoying drinks and a small crowd of daredevils about to begin a hot wings eating competition. We quickly took our seats and couldn’t wait for the fun to begin.
True to the Mexican theme, we started with margaritas which here at Bondi Hardware, oh sorry So Cal, were a pretty damn good spicy version. Just be prepared to get a bit hot as you enjoy your drink. Luckily we had a nice plate of guacamole, chips and salsa at our table. The chips were moorishly crunchy and the guacamole was so creamy and light, we were scooping it up bite after bite.
At this stage the hot wings eating contest was in full swing. The vibe was mad. Count N was madly trying to get a piece of the action, trying to take photos, everyone was cheering - it was so much fun. Count J was happy just being a spectator and he fitted in a few more cocktails in while Count N was roaming the floor. He was very happy!
Back to the food though and the snapper ceviche had us fighting over every bite. Bursting with freshness and colour, the snapper, eschalots, cucumber and chilli brought out a wonderful combination of flavours. The chilli wasn’t overpowering, which was wonderful.
We also tried the beef cheek doughnuts, which, as the names suggests, were fluffy doughnuts filled with tender juicy beef cheeks. If you like the combination of sweet and sour, then you’ll definitely love these. Count N particularly loved them.
For us though, the clear winner of the evening was the duck. A duck leg so crispy, you could hear the skin break as you took each bite. It came with more of that delicious guacamole and some very smooth spiced maple. For us, the major challenge was not to eat all the duck and maple in one go.
Dessert was Churros or should we say, huge pieces of Churros with a smooth and velvety chocolate sauce which we were dunking in and eating with our hands. Such a satisfying experience.
Bondi hardware and SoCal are match made in heaven, but we’re told its not going to last forever, so get down there before its too late, you won’t be disappointed. The Counts attended as guests of SoCal Hardware. Special thanks to Olivia Warne of Pendulum Communications for this invitation.