bondi restaurant

we had lunch today at the newly-opened bondi restaurant in the gaslamp. it was a beautiful sunny day so we sat at the curving bar that faces the sidewalk (and sun). we ordered a caeser salad, a pear salad, salt and pepper calamari, and wagyu kobe beef sliders. while our appetizer-based meal was pricey, it was also delicious. i also had a great pint of beer (a lager i can't remember the name of). they serve breakfast until noon, and announce their strong coffee and cold australian beer in hand-written messages on the windows.

inside, there are some truly cool touches - the vertical lcd screens at the bar; the clean lines of the bar area; the open, breezy feel of the front room with its two bars; the large blocky room dividers that can be moved; the strange hanging baskets also in the front room (for sitting and eating?); the funky, colorful blown glass hanging from the ceiling; and the sleek back room, where the traditional dining area is. also, the bathrooms are modern and hip, and make you wonder why it took so long for this kind of big-city quality design to appear in san diego.

we plan to return to bondi this weekend to sample their dinner menu with some visiting friends, but we'll be back more times than that, hopefully.