I’m not sure how to write this review. On one hand I genuinely like this bar – a lot. On the other hand, I’d rest easier if they hadn’t named it after Papa himself. But, before I explain why, I’ll start with what I like:

1. The location. It’s directly opposite Manly beach – so you can have a cold drink while watching the surf. They’re also open during the day, which many other Manly bars aren’t. Quite frankly, if I want to splash around in the water in the middle of a weekday when normal people are working, then I don’t want to wait until 5pm for a drink. This bar respects that.
2. The service. Even though the Amazonian Croatian and I arrive in our daggiest beach clothes (and I look like a drowned rat after coming out of the water), the service is so genuinely friendly that we feel welcome enough to stay and eat despite us only having originally intended to have a quick beer here.
3. The food. I’m impressed that they have pastrami sandwiches ($10) and meatballs ($15) but we opt for the chicken nuggets ($12 – and only $5 during happy hour) and sliders (which are basically mini burgers with bacon, cheese and pickle – you can get two for $14) – which we love. The nuggets with chipotle sauce are DRAMATICALLY better than the fast food nuggets I remember from childhood (to the point where we order a second serve afterwards) and the sliders are perfect.
4. The décor. I like the clean white and red walls and the bookshelf wall on one side, although the book snob in me wishes it held more interesting books. I’m not so keen on the bar counter itself, though, which has a photo of a bookshelf pasted on it. Papa would not approve. In fact, I think Papa would prefer a bar filled with boxing memorabilia, animal heads on the walls and rifles. Then again, on second thought, maybe it’s just as well this bar doesn’t reflect Hemingway’s interests too much.

And so now we come to the cocktail list. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what to write here. You see, Hemingway was a HUGE cocktail fan. He loved mojitos, daiquiris, martinis and sidecars – hard, classic cocktails with a lot of booze and no frou frou. And yet I don’t see any of Hemingway’s favourites on the cocktail list before me (although I do like the menu itself, which is inserted in an old encyclopaedia). Instead, I see drinks such as Hemingway’s Cup, which is made from Hendricks, rose and apple tea, cucumber, sugar and spice (all cocktails are $15) – which is more of a cocktail for girly girls than the man who personified machismo (as well as male insecurities, ego … but that’s a whole different matter). Having said that, when I go home and check their web site out I then see that they do make drinks such as the Hemingway daiquiri and the sidecar – so maybe my menu was missing a page. Or I had sun stroke and missed it. Or they took the manly drinks off the physical menu but left them listed on the site.

Regardless, I still could have asked the bartender to make me a manly drink – but instead I threw a girly hissy fit and only drank Little Creatures Pale Ale ($6.50) in protest at the bar’s desecration of Hemingway’s name, even as the Croatian called me a pedantic bore. I get that a lot.

And on that awkward note that hints at confused notions of male identity in a time of emasculation, I will conclude by saying I still think this is a great bar. I love its laid back atmosphere, friendly and professional service, the great (and affordable) food and the stunning view – even though I still think they could cut the frou frou.

PS There’s also a more formal dining room upstairs that can be booked for private hire.

Hemingway’s, 48 North Steyne, Manly, see the Hemingway’s website. Open 7 days a week from 8am to midnight (and 10pm on Sundays).

Now it’s your turn – how do you rate Hemingway’s?

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2. Charlie Bar – Manly
3. Jah Bar – Manly

I didn’t expect to write anything whatsoever about the Hotel Steyne, an old Manly pub directly opposite the beach – and yet here I am reviewing two completely different bars within it that I both love. The first (and my favourite) is Round Bar, the old circular bar on the ground level that looks like it hasn’t changed in decades, while the second is Moonshine, the cider and rum bar that opened on the top floor.

Located in a separate room to the main ground-floor bar, Round Bar has one of the best examples of a circular middle bar I’ve seen in Sydney, with great old tiles and an old KB clock on the wall (see pic below). To be honest, that’s all I have to say about this place: if you love old tiled pub rooms that have been mercifully left alone by the owners, then you too will want to prop yourself on a bar stool here and sink a few schooners.

In contrast, the Moonshine bar is … well, completely different. Designed to look like a pirate’s hangout, complete with ropes, nautical lamps, lots of wood (including cider crates that act as tables), and dark leather booths, Moonshine serves 16 different ciders on tap, over 100 rums (!) and refuses to serve beer or cocktails.

On paper (or should I say screen?) this sounds contrived – but it works, and works well. The bartender is friendly to us, the cider selection is great, the décor appeals to the pirate-loving kid in me and, best of all, the balcony offers arguably the best beach view in Sydney. I know this is a tough call, but when you sit on the wooden bleachers/steps outside (which alone are a great feature), you have a panoramic view that stretches from Shelly Beach to Queenscliff.

I try the Hills apple cider, which is dry and tangy and great for summer … or winter … or any freakin season, really, while the Amazonian Croatian likes her Gypsy pear cider, which is a little more subtle than the average pear cider although it’s still a bit sweet for me.

Last but certainly not least, there’s also live music here on Thursday and Friday nights – although how the punters feel about being restricted to cider and rum is another matter (only serving the two is a pretty bold move). Still, as a fan of rum, cider and eye patches I’ve got my fingers crossed that others will like Moonshine as much as I do.

Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly. Moonshine open from Thursday to Sunday from 5pm to midnight. Sunday from 3pm to 11pm. Round Bar open from 9am to 3am Monday-Saturday, and 9am to midnight on Sundays. See the Hotel Steyne website

Now it’s your turn – how do you rate the Hotel Steyne?

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A dirty old man I knew 15 years ago came up with a plan so we’d never have to work again.

“Let’s go to Double Bay and pick up some rich Jewish women in need of toyboys,” he suggested.

Since that seemed much better than editing magazines, which is what I was doing back then, I agreed – and so we ended up in a Bay Street café where Mrs Sippy is now.

From the outside Mrs Sippy looks relatively the same as the café did all those years ago, and as I approach on a Saturday night I have flashbacks to that afternoon where the dirty old man and I sat on the pavement sipping coffees and waiting to be approached. For some reason, however, we never were. I suppose it might be because the dirty old man was a 60-year-old ex-boxer with a bushy moustache and sideburns while I’m a Jewish hobbit, but we decided it was because Double Bay women have no style (incidentally, the dirty old man disappeared soon after that coffee. He had told me he was working on a top-secret project that would revolutionise energy production and that his life was in danger but I didn’t believe him at the time. Now, however, I sometimes wonder …)

But I digress.

Mrs Sippy looks like a stylish eatery when you first walk in, the type of place you’d see in The OC (I might once have had a shameful addiction to that show – but then, I am white trash). There’s an open kitchen and tables filled with couples and families, and for a moment I wonder if I’m in the right place. However, I then find the bar area down the back in what looks like it might have been a courtyard or even a garage in the past.

There’s a makeshift feel that’s refreshing for this area, right down to the garage-style door propped over the back bar, which is filled with an impressive array of liquor. If not for the number of designer cardigans the men are wearing and the highly tanned and sculpted female bodies this would almost feel like an inner city bar, thanks to the exposed brick walls and uncomfortable wooden seats that are suspended from wooden tables by rotating metal thingamebobs. Trust me, that’s the best way I can describe the stools.

Actually, I don’t mind the seats but the women I’m talking to (friends of a friend who is throwing her birthday party here) seem uncomfortable on the seats as I shamelessly chat them up. Then again, it might be me who’s making them uncomfortable. It’s hard to tell.

I can, however, certainly say I like the cocktail list here, which is original and sophisticated. For example, I order the Seven Shillings ($17), which is made with Jim Beam rye, pineapple juice, mandarin juice, apricot brandy, dry vermouth, lemon juice and is served in a martini glass. The balance in this is just right – not too sweet, sour or fruity and easy to drink. Far too easy, in fact, since I finish it in minutes. My only quibble is I’m not convinced the three finely-sliced apple pieces submerged in my drink are necessary.

The wine list here is well thought out plus they have some interesting beers, such as Vale Ale and one from the Lord Nelson. In fact, I also like the 80s music playing. Food wise they have flat pizzas – I steal some slices that someone from the party bought, and they’re good – as well as king prawns on skewers (also good, although I like my skewered prawns to have more of a smoky/charred flavour to them). As such, I only steal one prawn skewer. I may be a finger food thief, but I’d like to think I’m a discerning one.

In short, this is a fun, laid-back place with a great drinks selection and lots of pretty people. The dirty old man would have loved it.

Mrs Sippy, 37 Bay Street, Double Bay. The bar is open night except Mondays. See the Mrs Sippy website

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Update: After just a few months of reviewing this place, I went back only to find my favourite features are no more: the aquarium has gone, the kebab shop is now a Japanese restaurant and there’s less seating on the ground floor when you first walk in. In other words, while it used to be a gambling den that you could also hang out in because of its eccentricities, it’s now just a gambling den. *sigh*

Why on earth am I reviewing a gambling den in Burwood? Well, it’s mainly because I can’t help myself.

After all, this 24-hour mecca of sin has a built-in kebab shop, a wall-length aquarium as well as steps decorated to look like a cascading $50 note that lead to an Asian-inspired pokie area filled with fountains, ornate statues and a giant bowl filled with sweets to keep gamblers fueled. It makes Star City look positively understated by comparison.

I’m here with the svelte lady friend, who is the reason for the Burwood outing – having moved to the western burbs she now refuses to go back to the city, even for a drink. Then again, she’s also probably the only person on earth who considers the Townie in Newtown too hoighty toighty.

There aren’t exactly cocktails or a fine array of wines to choose from at The Burwood but there are a few Chinese beers on offer, so we grab two bottles of Zhu Jiang beer, which are just $3.50 each.

The svelte lady friend likes the beer and thinks it’s great value but I’m not a fan – to me it tastes like a low-carb beer, which in my mind is an abomination against mankind (incidentally, I once read a study that claimed beer isn’t fattening – rather, it stimulates our appetite and causes us to eat more – and while I don’t know how valid that study was, I’m happy to believe it if it means never drinking low-carb beer again).

But I digress.

It’s a Saturday night and after exploring the whole venue we’ve settled down in the ground-floor bar near the TAB area.

We can see part of the aquarium (and think of all the stories those fish could tell) as well as a long table filled with six guys and one attractive blonde. I ask the svelte lady friend if there’s a woman drought in the west but she’s too busy drinking her Chinese beer to answer.

As if the aquarium, the gambling area, the Chinese beers and the kebab shop weren’t enough to make The Burwood unique, there’s also a smoking section up the front that opens out onto the footpath, allowing you to see the hot rods burning up and down Burwood’s main drag as you smoke, drink, and let the fish swim by your side.

With all these features on offer I’m beginning to think the svelte lady friend is right in staying out west (this is a hell of a lot more interesting and fun than my local in the inner west) – although I’d argue the ornate fountains, $50 staircase and aquarium are a little hoighty toighty.

The Burwood Hotel, 121 Burwood Road, Burwood. Phone 9747 5200

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You’d think the main attraction of Mocean would be its view of Bondi Beach but for me it’s the underground bar that makes it interesting.

Located on Campbell Parade, Mocean is a cross between a restaurant and a bar and its website claims the underground level feels like a 1940s New York jazz den. I wouldn’t go that far in describing it but, as the fiery redhead and I discover while going there midweek, it is atmospheric. There’s a guitarist playing covers of songs from the likes of the Foo Fighters and the Beatles, booths along the wall, gilt-edged mirrors, wooden floorboards and a long bar at one end where the redhead orders a margarita while I opt for the almond and pineapple tiki typhoon.

The tiki typhoon has a great name but it tastes like a pina colada (albeit a pretty decent one) to me.

The margarita, however, is good, largely because the bartender squeezes the lime juice herself on the spot, and on the next round we go for two more of them.

The menu has an eclectic (for want of a better word) selection, ranging from pizzas, bruschetta and baby barramundi to the fondue with chorizo, chats and baby carrots (the idea of which freaks me out a bit). We opt for the soft shell crab, which is good – but nothing to write home about.

So why would I go back? Well, it’s largely for the intimate vibe. The service is friendly, the live music (at least during our visit) was great and I’m always happy to drink at a place that squeezes its own lime juice. It may not be New York but Bondi Beach can certainly hold its own.

Mocean, 34a Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. Open Wednesday to Sunday. Phone 9300 9888 or see the Mocean website for more information.

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Now it’s your turn – how do you rate Mocean?

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3. Speakeasy – Bondi Beach

The Rum Diaries has been running for a long time but up until now I’ve never reviewed it for a simple reason: every time I go there I’m told they can’t make me a cocktail because I’ve arrived too late.

I’ve gone on a Saturday night, a weeknight, a Sunday night, but all to no avail: they can pour me a glass of wine but not make a cocktail.

Now, normally I’d give up by now except for three things:

1) I’m as stubborn as a mule
2) Other reviewers seem to like The Rum Diaries (and I won’t even use the word “hacks”) and
3) I love the Hunter S. Thompson novel of the same name.

As such, picking up what little self esteem I have left from The Rum Diaries’ previous rejection of me, I go on a Wednesday night with the Fiery Redhead to try my luck.

Taking a deep breath first, we enter and as the Fiery Redhead picks up the wooden palette that has the menu on it I hear the now familiar refrain from a bartender: it’s too late for them to make cocktails.

A nervous tic starts up above my left eyebrow, my hand begins to twitch.

Oh no.

Not again.

Unable to hold back my cool I splutter with indignation what a fiendish trick this is to play.

“You know,” I say in a girly high-pitched yelp, “I’ve come here like (when exasperated I sometimes suffer from Valley Girl speak by saying “like” too often) four or five times before and, like, I’ve never been able to get a cocktail! Hmpf!”

At this a bartender retorts – possibly with attitude – something along the lines of “Mate, it’s a Wednesday – and we don’t serve after 11”.

This ticks me off since my watch says it’s only 10.40 – hell, I can consume three cocktails in 20 minutes time and responsible service of alcohol be damned – but the other barman calms things down by suggesting in a friendly way that we try a non-cocktail drink – and the Fiery Redhead, despite her moniker, also provides a calming influence by suggesting we try an aged rum, considering they have a large selection to choose from.

When I then look around and, sure enough, see an impressive array of rum, I decide it’s time to wave the white flag in defeat.

On the advice of the Redhead (who it turns out is a bit of a rum expert) I order the Ron Zacapa, which at the ripe old age of 23 years old is beautifully complex, deep and rich. The interesting thing about rum is that most people assume it’s inferior to spirits such as single malt whiskys or cognacs but a great aged rum can be just as beautiful and, as far as the Ron Zacaba is concerned, possibly more layered in terms of flavour.

The Fiery Redhead orders the Holey Dollar Silver but isn’t as impressed with it. I give it a try and don’t mind it – the flavour actually reminds me a little bit of cognac – but it certainly doesn’t pop in your mouth the way the Ron Zacapa does.

Because I do like the rum selection (and the old record player that sits out on the footpath for those who want to drink outside) I’d probably give this place a fifth shot if I were a local – but for now I’m going to give in to my indignation and leave The Rum Diaries be, at least for a while. However, I would love to know what other people’s experiences of The Rum Diaries were like, so feel free to leave a comment below.

The Rum Diaries, 288 Bondi Road, Bondi. They say on their website that they’re open from 6pm until midnight every day of the week except on Sundays when they’re open until 10pm but from my experience I wouldn’t rely upon getting a cocktail after 10.30. Phone 9300 0440 or see The Rum Diaries website for more info.

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Now it’s your turn – how do you rate The Rum Diaries?

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It might have a prohibition-era name but, as with Bootleg, Speakeasy doesn’t feel like an illegal 1920s saloon. Instead, it has the air of a small and cosy wine bar, albeit one with a cow-skin covered sofa, brothel-red lamps, Latin music and paintings on the red and black walls that, as far as I can make out, seem to depict tortured mermaids.

I first come on a Saturday night with my friend The Pap, a media photographer who’s currently in town, and the place is so busy we only just manage to secure a small table. However, we’re almost immediately served by a mohawked waitress who’s incredibly friendly and we grab the Dusty’s Desire Barossa Valley shiraz, which is peppery and smooth.

We leave soon after that but I’m drawn back a week and a half later when I then have a drink with the Fiery Redhead, an off-duty bartender who’s known to give people tongue lashings for serving inadequate spirits and sazeracs.

Even though it’s a Wednesday, Speakeasy is as packed as it was on my last visit and for some reason I’m sad to see that the mohawked waitress has shaved her head (it was actually quite becoming) but she’s just as friendly as before and remembers me from last time – and for a fragile ego like mine, that’s always a bonus.

The tapas menu here has a Moroccan/Spanish/Italian feel and although I’m tempted by fare such as the chicken wings in yogurt and Moroccan spices, the Fiery Redhead and I order the grilled haloumi which is served with tomatoes. Admittedly, haloumi is the safest of all tapas meals to order but I still think this is great for what it is and it’s nice to get tomatoes that are bright red and ripe rather than the sorry excuses you often see around town. I also order a glass of the Pindarie tempranillo sangiovese shiraz, which to my mind is good but not spectacular, but I love the Kilikanoon Clare Valley grenache shiraz mourvedre that the Fiery Redhead orders: it’s earthy, full of flavour and aromatic (I like my wines to smack me on the nose).

With a decent wine list and great service it’s hard to fault Speakeasy, even though the painting of a drowning mermaid might haunt my dreams for some time to come (as a teen I did have a crush on Daryl Hannah when she played a mermaid in Splash). And if you don’t find a seat at Speakeasy you can always try your luck at the Shop and Wine Bar, which is just a few minutes away on the same road.

Speakeasy Bar, 83 Curlewis Street, Bondi Beach. Phone 9130 2020. Open from 5pm to 10pm weekdays and from 8am to 10pm on Saturday nights (why do Bondi bars close so early?).

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It must be hunting season in Sydney’s bars because I keep seeing animal heads popping up on their walls. First it was Shady Pines Saloon, which has a menagerie of animal heads peering forlornly on the drinkers, then Moose which has antlers on its wall and now, when I visit Bondi hotspot The Corner House, sure enough I see another set of antlers, this time overlooking a sofa in the upstairs cocktail bar.

Then again, on a Saturday night the crowd here seems equally predatory: there’s a young woman wearing a fur pelt on her back, another woman is wearing a cougar print skirt and the line-up for the bar rapidly becomes competitive as the place increasingly fills up. With black leather sofas, wooden floorboards and 50s music playing, the overall vibe is of a clean, retro loungeroom rather than a bar – and appropriately enough, the sign on the bar counter says “The Living Room”.

However, what impresses me is that the cocktail menu has The Corpse Reviver no. 2 and so I order it. This is a classic cocktail rarely seen in any bar and, to be honest, one that I’ve never had before.

According to the menu it’s made with London dry gin, lemon, curacao and “French flair”, which I assume means Lillet Blanc and a drop or two of absinthe since that’s what the traditional recipe usually calls for, although the recipe also usually calls for Cointreau rather than orange curacao. The Corpse Reviver is then served in a martini glass with a maraschino cherry at the bottom.

Many classic cocktails taste strong (which is often part of their charm) but the Corpse Reviver is surprisingly light, refreshing and remarkably easy to drink. As its name suggests, this cocktail was designed as a hangover cure and I can certainly see myself drinking this in the morning (hey, I never said I was responsible) – in fact, I’d rather this than a Bloody Mary.

The bar’s getting even more crowded and so my friend and I stick to Peronis for the rest of the night, which we largely spend on the balcony. This has a more relaxed feel, with kegs being used as seating (we even see a small round cushion that fits perfectly on top of one of the kegs). The crowd here is very Bondi: young, relaxed and casually dressed.

To be honest I prefer my bars to be darker than Corner House and less like apartment rooms but, having said that, I’m still impressed. Hopefully the next time I’ll be in Bondi it’ll be on a weeknight so I can see Corner House – and taste more cocktails – when it’s a little more mellow.

The Corner House, 281 Bondi Road, Bondi. Open Monday to Saturday until midnight, Sunday till 10pm. Phone 8020 6698 or see The Corner House website

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Going to White Revolver, an underground club where members are given keys and access is through a revolving door hidden in a wall, makes me feel like George Costanza in that Seinfeld episode where he’s in a club filled with models. Feeling woefully out of his league, George is reduced to hitting on women by showing them a picture of a model he cut out of a magazine and put in his wallet as if she were an ex. Since George has already used up that trick, however, I instead go to White Revolver with two glamazons who promise they’ll act as if they find me sexually alluring. I’m not sure their acting skills are up to it but I’m crossing my fingers.

Because White Revolver is a late night venue (it’s possibly the only place you can get a drink in Bondi Beach after midnight), my posse and I spend a few hours getting lubricated at Ravesi’s Wine Bar first and so we’re all a little … well, let’s just say tipsy when we arrive at around midnight.

White Revolver was created by the same guys responsible for the Rum Diaries and Cream Tangerine and is in the basement of Cream Tangerine’s building. When White Revolver first launched they hid the revolving door within a space that looked like an art gallery to passers by (the idea being that only those in the know would realise the gallery contained an entrance to a club). However, in December the owners decided that the street level space could be better utilised and so they turned it into a wine bar called Thru The Grapevine. This is possibly worthy of a separate review on its own: for now we’ll just say that Thru The Grapevine is narrow, intimate (which is Bar Zine’s new code word for “small”) and looks like a decent place for people watching, since the large windows open out onto Curlewis Street.

It’s a Thursday, which is apparently the quietest night of the week for White Revolver, and so we don’t see any queue outside. When we walk into Thru The Grapevine, however, we ask the guy working there and, after one look at the glamazons, he whisks us inside, through the door that makes me think of old James Bond movies, and before we know it we’re led down into a subterranean chamber filled with the type of olde world furniture you might see in a Victorian Englishman’s abode, as well as a funky curved bar and black and gold patterned wallpaper that, after a few drinks, looks like it’s moving.

The dance floor is in a second room that’s packed with young things grooving. This area is more spartan than the main bar – my main impression is of black walls – and a bottle of wine later we find it’s 1.30am, the place is empty and we’re being asked to leave. I’d like to say I know how the hour and a half passed but, to be perfectly honest, it’s one of the few times in my life when I’ve actually had a memory blackout (ok, so maybe I was understating things when I said I was just tipsy beforehand). I remember arriving, I remember departing, but that time in between is a mystery. I can only hope it was filled with witty repartee rather than me sprawling across the laps of the glamazons while screaming at them to massage me (actually, that’s the type of thing I do sober, but that’s another story) and I don’t have any recollection of using the glamazons to impress other women. I must have been out of it.

And so, on another humiliating note, I’ll leave the review at that – other than to say that I do plan on going back one day when I’m a little more observant.

White Revolver, corner of Curlewis Street and Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach. Email friends@whiterevolver.com for more info.

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Now it’s your turn – how do you rate White Revolver?

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When I heard Ravesi’s had launched a new wine bar on their premises I was a little surprised. After all, they already have a streetside pub, restaurant, hotel and the Drift cocktail bar to cater for their impossibly good-looking blonde clientele – where on earth could they pack in a wine bar as well?

It turns out they placed it on the second floor between Drift and the restaurant, right where the restaurant’s reception area used to be. It’s a pretty small space but after my initial surprise I soon get used to it – after all, it makes sense considering that area looked a little empty before and it does lend a coziness to the bar area.

In fact, it might be my favourite part of Ravesi’s since it’s much more intimate than the downstairs pub and less brash than Drift. The lighting is dim, the music is quiet (funk is playing while I’m there) and so if you want a nice glass of wine and a decent conversation, this is where you’d go – especially if you can grab a seat on the balcony overlooking Hall Street.

I’m here with two companions who are far more glamourous than myself (as the cat hair stuck on my shirt attests) and we all start off with cocktails. Most of the cocktails here are fruity and our favourite of the night is the raspberry sour, made with Bacardi rum, Cointreau, raspberry puree and lemon and pineapple juice. The lemon balances the raspberry and pineapple making this easy to drink without being too sweet.

If I were to come back, though, I’d stick to wine since I think their wine list is their greatest strength. We order a bottle of the Mr Riggs Tempranillo from South Australia, a nice Spanish style of wine that’s fruity and light, followed by the Matahiwi Pinot Noir from NZ, which I love although one of my drinking companions considers it a little too oaky. Since we wouldn’t want to be excessive in our consumption of red wine, we then follow it up with a few glasses of Mader Reisling, a crisp wine from Alsace, France that’s my favourite of the night (then again, I love Alsace Reislings even though I usually associate them with sauerkraut – but that’s another story).

The wine bar menu offers tapas, pizza and cheese plates. We try the trout and ginger dumplings with tamarind and the duck wontons with mint cucumber and hoi sin sauce. The wontons are good but the trout and ginger dumplings are the standout. We also grab a pizza with smoked ham and … well, at this stage the alcohol has rendered my notes useless. I can, however, say the pizza is good, with a crisp base, great cheese and a nice topping. And now, before I embarrass myself further, I’ll stop writing.

Ravesis Wine Bar, second floor, corner of Campbell Parade and Hall Street, Bondi Beach. See the Ravesis hotel website. Open everyday.

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