Featuring: The Mill, Civic Hotel, Rivareno Gelato…

BONDI Junction has seen a blizzard of new developments in recent years, including a spate of residential apartments. Walking past soaring blocks such as Bondi Central, you are left in no doubt that the suburb has transitioned to a sub-regional centre full of penthouses, luxury units and even more upscale shopping. On the corner of Denison and Oxford Streets, the NewLife Bondi Junction development fills the space once occupied by the old Mill Hill Hotel and at its base is The Mill. A decidedly more upmarket food and entertainment venue than its vintage predecessor.
Only a week after opening in early October, The Mill was buzzing on the night of our visit. An even split of bright young things, professionals and older, well-heeled Eastern Suburbs residents. The high-end fit-out includes heritage features from the old Mill Hill Hotel juxtaposed against the latest in modern design. You have to place food and drink orders at the burnished wood bar, but that only adds to the relaxed ambience.
The Kospetas clan – Harris, Steven and Jim – partnered with the TWT Property Group to transform the space, which includes the facades of renovated historic terraces. The family have been leading lights of Sydney’s dining and bar scene for more than 30 years, heading the Universal Hotels group. Other acclaimed properties include 1821, the plush Greek restaurant in the CBD, the Civic Hotel and Kinsela’s. The Mill’s kitchen is helmed by Vaughan Chapman, formerly with Marcus Levy’s Marvan Group, and the team-up has delivered an exceptionally good bistro menu, mixing modern Australian cuisine with Asian and Italian influences.
The signature main is duck ragu pie with thyme and porcini accompanied with Parisian-style mash and an intensely flavoured jus. Even on repeat visits, it is a go-to choice because all of the ingredients are the best they can be from the flaky pastry to the slow-braised duck served directly from an individual cooking pan. For the amount of meat and top-class presentation, the price of $22 is scarcely believable.
The shared plates are equally inspired from super-fresh burrata with date and tarragon paste to the cheekily-named KFC – Korean fried cauliflower, yuzu, pepper glaze and togarashi aka Japanese seven spice. The salmon crudo is another standout, spiked with tare, chilli, fried onions, cucumber and crispy dumpling skins.
The Mill is open for lunch, so the ongoing trend for gourmet salad bowls, burgers and pizzas is well to the fore. Meat lovers are spoiled with Wingham pasture-fed rump with rustic fries, Ranger Valley 150 Day grain-fed scotch fillet with truffle creamy mash, king brown mushrooms, roast onions and Diane sauce or sirloin with smoked potato gratin and black garlic butter.
In addition to the duck ragu pie, we also ordered the roast pumpkin tortellini with Japanese pumpkin, ricotta, pine nuts, goat’s curd, sage butter and lemon. For those after definitive luxe pub grub, check out the herb-crusted chicken schnitzel, fish and chips – barramundi, of course – or roast lamb cutlets with chickpea mayo, mushy peas, lamb shoulder croquette and potato gratin.
This is Bondi so cocktails are prominent from “on-tap” specials such as espresso martini and classics including Cosmopolitans and Negronis. Three French rosés, including a 2017 Terres de Saint Louis Grenache Cinsault Syrah from Provence, tip the hat to the ragingly popular trend. The well-curated wine list veers from Aussie bottlings through Italy, Greece, France and New Zealand. Sports events are regular drawcards, so there are 12 beers on tap and 8 bottled choices such as Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, Peroni and Asahi.

There’s only two desserts – a dark chocolate pie with buttermilk ice-cream and mini doughnuts with Nutella fondue, walnuts and vanilla ice-cream – which is a nod to the Kospetas Greek heritage and a rif on loukoumades. Totally in sync with Bondi Junction’s recent change of pace and influx of new inhabitants, The Mill hits all the right notes from the chillax vibe through the decor and come-back-for-more food. The Mill, 59b Oxford Street, Bondi Junction; themillbondi.com.au.
In October, Time Out named Marrickville as one of the top 10 coolest neighbourhoods in the world. Restaurateurs have to please a very demanding community of diners in the Inner West hotspot and Okami has proved a major hit. First off, the Illawarra Road venue belongs to a chain, but that didn’t stop Din Tai Fung receiving a Michelin star and you should ditch outdated prejudices about Okami, too.
The company was founded in Melbourne in 2013 and now has 26 branches in Victoria. Marrickville was the first Sydney outpost, opening in August, and another quickly followed in Silverwater in October. Okami has ambitious plans to launch between 10 and 15 Sydney outlets by the end of next year.
The confidence is justified. Okami offers an all-you-can-eat spread of 30 dishes for only $34.80 per person, minimum of two people. There is a stipulation that you have to get through all that chow within two hours. Many Japanese favourites are on offer, including teriyaki steak, seafood tempura, chicken katsu and miso steak. There’s even a dessert menu centred on vanilla, sesame and green tea ice-cream and mochi rice cakes.
The value is unbeatable and the semi-permanent queue outside Okami’s Marrickville premises testifies to the appeal of top-quality Japanese food at a near giveaway price. Better yet, it’s also BYO. Okami Restaurant, Shops 6 & 7, 359 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville; okamirestaurant.com.au.
The NSW government has been pumping billions into making Parramatta Sydney’s second CBD. In late October, the first stage of the $3.2 billion Parramatta Square precinct – a 3000 square metre public space bigger than Martin Place – opened for business with some of the city’s most significant dining names heading west.
Parramatta’s major eat strip – Church Street – is no slouch when it comes to sophisticated dining and bars, so the newcomers will find a demanding clientele. Cicciabella, Maurice Terzini’s Bondi trattoria, has launched a second outpost in Parramatta Square, with a menu created by head chef Nic Wong (ex Cho Cho San). Ibby Moubadder and Jorge Farah – Henrietta, Nour and Cuckoo Callay – have debuted a new Asian concept called LilyMu. Rivareno Gelato, the Italian artisan ice expert, premiered its first Aussie outlet in 2013 and has opened a third outpost at Parramatta Square. If you are not a local, the expanded dining scene is well worth the trip as much for the architecture as the food. For more information, go to psq.com.au.