Monty Koludrovic

BONDI BEACH PUBLIC BAR, SYDNEY

Bondi Beach Public Bar opened over the summer break. What’s the vibe

down there, Monty? We started with the framework of an Australian pub with Italian heart. One of the things we always focus on is what the people are coming to us for – are they meeting in big groups, is it an internet date, are they coming off the beach, are they hungover? Those last two are definitely at play at Public Bar.

What’s BBPB’s sure-fire

hangover cure? Definitely the Squish. We cut an Angus patty in half, press it out thin with a fish weight, and then grill it together with cheese in between. It's inspired by the burger Matty Matheson did with us at Icebergs. It's almost like a pâté en croûte. It becomes this hot slab of

cheeseburgery goodness. We're doing a chicken version now, too, which might even be better. What makes a good

burger? Sauce is a big deal. We model ours on Big Mac sauce. It's a sweet and sour mayonnaise with mustard and dill pickle juice. Funnily enough, it doesn't taste great off the burger. It needs that meaty, charry, salty fattiness to transcend into glorious town. Are there any hidden gems on the menu? We're doing a version of schnitzel Holstein, which is crumbed chicken with a fried egg on top, and anchovies, capers, lemon and parsley in brown butter. We source the eggs from a farm called Taluca Park, down Bowral way.

It's a young Italian family;

they have 24 hens per acre and it's the best egg I've ever had. We're using their eggs at all our other venues now.

What’s for dessert? Gelato waffle bowls. They're off the hook. We do a pavlova bowl, a double-choc brownie and Nutella bowl, and a golden honeycomb tiramisù bowl. If you're gutsy enough you can pick it up and eat it like a frozen gelato meat pie. And what are we washing this all down with? Gin and juice is having a renaissance. The one at Public Bar is amazing. It's got a little bit of bitters in it, and those big ice cubes that don't melt, so the smashability is set to max.

Bondi Beach Public Bar, 203/180 Campbell Pde, Bondi Beach, NSW, (02) 9132 5777, bbpb.com.au