Zebra Green Cafe & Bar - Bondi Junction

FOOD TYPE Modern Australian FOOD QUALITY Six of us dined on a chilly winter’s eve in June. We started with a single serve of garlic bread ($10), two dips plates with flat bread ($13 each) and a bean salad ($15). The garlic bread was presented like a mini pizza, sizzling hot from the oven and bursting with flavour. The flat bread and dips went down a treat and the bean salad, with tomatoes, caramelised onion, avocado, fetta and rocket was fresh and tasty with a tangy salad dressing to spice it up. For mains we ordered the beef with mash ($26), vegan bolognese with rigatoni, mushrooms, eggplant and spinach ($21); lamb with potatoes, beans, peppers and tomatoes ($26) and a spiced crusted cauliflower dish with pistachio, dukkah, chickpea puree, beetroot and peas ($23). What an interesting selection of dishes that was. My beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender, swimming in a rich red wine sauce and perfectly complemented with a generous serve of creamy mash. Everyone enjoyed their meals. We finished with a sticky date pud ($10) and an apple crumble with ice cream ($10). Both sweet and delicious. Overall, food was fresh and tasty and prepared with love, care and attention to detail by chef, Shane Lurie. Serving sizes were just right, although I wasn’t too enamoured with the crockery. To do such excellent food justice, requires something a tad more elegant and stylish than scout-camp style plates. ATMOSPHERE The front interior section is quite stark with concrete floors, exposed brick walls and fairly utilitarian wooden furniture. On the walls, are large, colourful street art themed works of dubious quality - not something that particularly added any class or ambience to the place. At the front of the downstairs section is a quaint little bar and serving counter. It’s a small area (although I believe there are other dining spaces at the back and upstairs, which we didn’t see), and once the staff put the heater on, it became quite cozy and warm. Initially we were the only diners, but soon, a few more groups arrived, to give the place a bit of a vibe and a buzz and once we’d settled in, we were quite relaxed and comfortable. SERVICE  There were two pretty, young waitresses on duty, both neatly turned out in smart black outfits. And the service was fast, friendly and attentive. Our booked table was ready and waiting for us. Orders were promptly taken and entrees came out quickly, followed about 15 minutes later by the main courses. And in a nice way to end the evening, Chef Shane came around to each table to ask the diners how they enjoyed their meals, and to share a bit of small talk.  COMFORT The plastic chairs were firm and comfy and the table was quite large so we were easily able to fit all the dishes. When we arrived, the place was freezing, so the obliging staff quickly set up a little fan heater near our table, and that was quite effective in warming up the place. But it was too warm for some of our dining companions, who complained about overheating, so the attentive staff came to our rescue again by opening the door to the passages leading to the back and the toilets. Still, like most Sydney restaurants, Zebra isn’t exactly well set-up for Sydney’s chilly winters and I would think it would be a more pleasant venue for summer dining.   MENU The menu is fairly small and straightforward, two sheets attached to a clipboard: one for food and one for drinks. It’s all well laid out and easy to read in the strong lighting. No dessert menu as such, but in a quirky touch, staff come around with a little tray of sample desserts, giving a brief rundown of each one.  TOILETS There is one toilet for males and one for females and by that I mean a single cubicle for each sex. That’s not really enough, especially if the place is crowded, and you could find yourself trekking out to the back, only to find that the toilet you want is occupied, then having to go back to your seat and try again a few minutes later and hope that this time it’s free. The male restroom has both a urinal and toilet in the same cubicle. I’ve seen this configuration a few times lately in Syd restaurants and can’t quite understand the logic of it. Still, when you turn does come, you’ll find the toilets quite clean and appetising and well provisioned with paper and soap. Some signage from within the restaurant would also help, so you wouldn’t have to bother the busy waitresses by asking them for directions. ACOUSTICS Surprisingly, despite all the wood, concrete and brickwork, we didn’t find this a particularly noisy venue and we were easily able to converse. Perhaps that’s because, as the biggest group, we were probably making the most noise. There was only two or three other occupied tables in our section anyway and most diners seemed polite, quiet and well behaved. Still, there are no carpets and not a noise absorber in sight, so I imagine that it could get noisy if a bunch of rowdies pitched up. COST With our 25% Ent Book discount (up to a max $30) we paid $209 for six of us, and that included a single salad, a single serve of garlic bread, a dips plate, six main courses, two desserts, a single coffee and a rather hefty corkage at $5 a person. Not bad value though, given the high quality of the food and service, but probably not somewhere to rush to without your Ent Book card or some other discount deal. BOOKING Probably advisable for weekend dining. PARKING/ACCESS Zebra is at the quiet end of Bronte Road, opp the Pet Barn. The advantage of this location is that there’s easy parking on the street outside, where restrictions end at 6.00pm. SUMMARY  We had a pleasant evening at Zebra and everything went off smoothly. The food was first class, service was friendly and efficient and parking is a breeze. The atmosphere is suitably laid back and relaxed. It would be nice though to see the crockery upgraded to something more fitting to match the high quality fare and perhaps some thought to a fresh interior design, again something more tasteful and subtle to match the upmarket ambience. An extra toilet too and some prominent signage wouldn’t go astray. RECOMMENDATION The beef (sorry I can’t bring myself to use that awful term “beef cheeks”) is a winner and highly recommended for meat lovers.  MEMO Ent book card holders can’t claim their discount if they book through Dimmi. This should be prominently stated on their website, especially since the only way to do an online booking is through Dimmi anyway. If you go directly to Dimmi’s website though you can score 30% discounts off food on certain nights, if you dine early.

Dining Type Modern Australians Grief Food quality Six of us promote a cool winter evening in June. We started with a single serving of garlic bread ($ 10), two flat bread slots (13 US dollars each) and a bean salad (15 US dollars). The garlic bread was presented like a mini-pizza, which is hotly burned out of the oven and burst with taste. The flat bread and the dips went a pleasure and the bean salad, with tomatoes, caramelized onions, avocado, fatty and rocket was fresh and delicious, with a spicy salad dressing to save it. For networks, we ordered the beef with Mash ($ 26), Vegan Bolognese with rigatoni, mushrooms, aubergines and spinach (21 US dollars); Lamb with potatoes, beans, peppers and tomatoes ($ 26) and a spiced crusty cauliflower with pistachios, Dukkah, chickpower puree, red-tea and peas ($ 23). What an interesting selection of dishes, that was. My beef was melting in the mouth tenderly, swimmed into a rich red wine sauce and supplemented perfectly with a generous creamy mash. Each ... read more

Tasty breakfast (W **** Marys!). Go for the Brekkie board or mushroom Bennie. Beautiful sunny courtyard. Grief Grief Has also a delicious dinner (licensed :)) - Favorites are the beef sweeps, wings and delicious cauliflower salad.

The hidden secret of Bondi intersection! Grief I'm so glad I use Zomato. We would not have tried this place otherwise. It is located about 2-3 minutes on the street of Westfield. The outside of the restaurant looks awesome, and I had passed it when I wanted to shop for a Brekkie Square, which wanted to shop in with the window. Luckily we were on a mission to find the Zebra Green Cafe !! Grief The yard was beautiful! And empty (?!). I have to say I love something privacy, but this restaurant should be full of every Saturday and Sunday morning with enthusiastic Brekky Eatern! We also had a look up and the restaurant had a wonderful loft with the second floor, which looks very inviting for dinner! Grief The food was perfect! Grief Grief I had the ricotta pancakes and I almost died on my happy food! Many places make their pancakes very dry (ricotta or not) and then rely on their fruit and sauces to make them delicious. These pancakes did not need anything, I could have eaten them alone. The pages were only pure hectic extras. Grief Grief My mother had the smelled Fetta and Avocado-Brushetta. She loved it! She was a bit confused when she saw her corn grille were round small balls, but then she inhaled her so fast that I did not even have a taste. Grief The coffee was also great. I have a somewhat more complex coffee order (Xtra Strong Meckmark), so I'm always very happy when I get my coffee and it's delicious! Grief We can not wait for another excuse to go to Bondi intersection and come back here.

The hidden secret of Bondi intersection! Grief I'm so glad I use Zomato. We would not have tried this place otherwise. It is located about 2-3 minutes on the street of Westfield. The outside of the restaurant looks awesome, and I had passed it when I wanted to shop for a Brekkie Square, which wanted to shop in with the window. Luckily we were on a mission to find the Zebra Green Cafe !! Grief The yard was beautiful! And empty (?!). I have to say I love something privacy, but this restaurant should be full of every Saturday and Sunday morning with enthusiastic Brekky Eatern! We also had a look up and the restaurant had a wonderful loft with the second floor, which looks very inviting for dinner! Grief The food was perfect! Grief Grief I had the ricotta pancakes and I almost died on my happy food! Many places make their pancakes very dry (ricotta or not) and then rely on their fruit and sauces to make them delicious. These pancakes did not need anything, I could have eaten them alone. The pages were ... read more