34 Degrees South, Bondi – Rating: 18/25

With summer approaching it’s time again to focus on some sea-side locations and where better to start than a café that overlooks the most well known beach in Australia: Bondi!

34 Degrees South makes good use of its location with wide windows swinging out towards the ocean breeze.  Tables spill out onto the sidewalk and offer the perfect vantage point to people-watch.  At night it offers a cocktail bar with DJs and live music.  Their fondness for music was evident from the house music which created a fun vibe but at times was a bit too loud.

Chilled water on arrival and quick, no-fuss waitstaff set the precedent for the rest of the service which was great throughout our breakfast.

They know there coffee and their bean of choice is Mutch and Moore.  While it tasted fantastic, we needed to drink ours quickly because they weren’t super hot when they arrived.  Still, with so many establishments on Bondi Beach missing the mark, it’s great to find a spot that does coffee well.

The fruits for the freshly squeezed juice vary depending on the day.  My apple and orange juice was large, cool and just squeezed.  Nothing to fault.

The house made beans with slow cooked eggs & crispy bacon ($17) contained two ingredients of note.  Firstly the beans… it’s actually quite tough to find great beans for breakfast.  This version was great thanks to a variety of beans and a rich sauce that wasn’t too dry.  Also, the slow cooked eggs which, as the menu says “are cooked at 62 degrees to guarantee consistency”.  The result is eggs which are formulaicly consistent.  While they arrive looking undercooked, they were in fact just right.

The corn and coriander fritters ($15) arrived with another pair of the well prepared slow cooked eggs.  Even if the avocado salsa had not been there, this would have been the dish of the morning.  The fritters were scrumptious, well seasoned and fluffy.

I couldn’t ignore a dish that started with vodka cured ocean trout ($17).  The tipsy fish is served on scrambled eggs and topped with pickled cucumber and capers.  The vodka flavouring is very subtle so don’t expect a big hit.  The trout is served on one half of a bagel.  The other is laden with greens which I combined into a delicious sandwich.  Just be sure to visit the bathroom after to check your teeth for poppy seeds!  I added a side of bacon ($5) because that’s just what you do if your dish doesn’t have any!

Other dishes of note include the organic muesli with yoghurt and berry compote ($13), burrito filled with scrambled eggs, house made beans, salsa and jalapeno ($16) and potato and panceta rosti with seared Wagyu, slow cooked eggs, sauteed spinach and hollandaise ($19).

34 Degrees South also has an offer for SoS readers.  There is normally a 10% surcharge on Sundays but if you mention Sydney on Sunday, they’ll waive this charge.  So be sure to head down on the best day of the week for the best meal of the day!