Beach Road Hotel in Bondi aims to satisfy many tastes. To catch a game, head to the sports bar; if you happen to be a muso, then pick one of live gig nights upstairs; for food, choose one of the restaurants; or if you just want to have a Sunday afternoon drink, then relax in the beer garden.
Beach Road is set back a few blocks from the world famous Bondi Beach. It’s a large yellow building that is pretty hard to miss. Most evenings it will be packed with surfers, trendies, musos and Brazilian hotties. If you want to look at beautiful people but don’t fancy the vibe of Ivy, then Beach Road may be the place to go.
The dress code is relaxed, many people choose casual as their particular style choice. However, as is found in many beach suburbs near Sydney, while guys tend to dress like they have just stepped off the beach, women look more like they have stepped off the style pages of a magazine. Ladies, if you want to compete, then you may want to show some skin.
If dressing up doesn’t blow your hair back, then maybe the choice of music will. Wednesday and Thursday nights are generally Indie, with acts such as Hungry Kids of Hungary and Miami Horror showing up to crowd-please. Friday night is hip hop night, displaying the talents of Thundamentals, Illy and Horrorshow. Sunday night has more of a South American theme, where you can shake that ass to the sounds of some Latin rhythms. Chances are, if you listen to triple j then you will probably find something here you like. But best of all: most gigs are free.
The main sports bar shows most of the major games, and the atmosphere is generally nothing to be sniffed at. Neither are the bar tenders. To look at them you may think they have been chosen for their physical attributes, but generally they turn out to be quite friendly and adept at doing their job.
The beer bar out the back is a good place to enjoy a cold one on a hot day. It’s normally fairly busy, so it can be standing room only. It’s the perfect place to eek out those last few hours of the weekend before the grim reality of Monday sets in.
One restaurant upstairs and one downstairs mean you never have to travel far for snacks. A range of good value and good taste food is available. As long as you don’t expect Michelin star quality, then you’ll probably be satisfied with what you get.
All in all, Beach Road will make most people happy. It’s an easy-going place that doesn’t see much trouble. The drinks and food are reasonable, the atmosphere is unpretentious, the music is free, and there are some very beautiful people to look at. If you want a relaxed beach bar in the Eastern Suburbs that isn’t crawling with backpackers, then Beach Road is the place to go. Just remember; if you want to pick up a trendy, then you will want to dress to impress.
