Bondi BBQ Australian Style

Soupy pulled pork that could have come out of a can. Tiny portion on a huge bun. Very disappointing. I’ll go back to Baby Blues from now on.

I was not impressed with this place at all … well the customer service was good i guess.
I went with my sister to get a tattoo about 2 doors down and we got hungry so the artist recommended this place and said how awesome it was. I immediately Unilocaled it and say that it had 4 out of 5 stars but must me a little pricey for barbecue so i had great expectations.
So I go in and order an Australian sounding dish that ending up being barbecue chicken and sausage and for my side order i chose the pulled pork. The hot owner said that it would be 10 minutes so i waited thinking this was going to be the best barbecue ever. I get my order and the plate is so light i thought something was missing. Indeed something was!!! The garlic toast.
Once I tasted the chicken it wasn’t thrilled. I could cook better more flavorful barbecue than this heck I have even gotten better barbecue from a corner church cookout for half the price. The sausage was okay but the pulled pork was gross and the barbecue sauce tasted like they got it from the 99 cents store :(
For some reason my sister liked the pulled pork so she sent me to get another plate but this time with ribs and potato salad. OMG the ribs were gross!!! they give extra sauce to put over they dry ribs but the sauce is equally disgusting so it doesn’t matter but i would give 4 stars for the potato salad. It was rather tasty and full of flavor. If i returned that would be the only thing I order.

For a restaurant that isn’t full service, Bondi is a bit pricier than other places to eat in the area. That being said, I have never been disappointed by the food nor the service, and you really can’t beat the location. Sure, you can get chili cheese fries at Big Daddy’s for 2 bucks, but good luck with that digestion when you get home. I’ve also been too full for dinner every time I’ve gotten lunch here so I think it’s well worth the few extra bucks.
The food is definitely sit-​down restaurant quality, but in a quick and convenient fashion. I love how they have everything you need on the table (you know you’re in LA when they have Tapatio AND Cholula AND southern style hot sauce), but if you need anything else the staff is always friendly and willing to oblige.
I’m a big fan of the green beans as a side, as well as the sweet potato fries. The cole slaw has a «different» taste to it, but the change up in temperature and texture can be yummy.
I’d recommend getting a lunch special (usually a meat or combo of meats with a side and a drink) or one of their regular plates (meat/​s with 2 sides) so that you can get a little taste of everything. Have everyone in your group get different sides (they give decent portions) and share everything with each other– guaranteed to be a FEAST. I’ve had their tri-​tip, ribs, shrimp and pulled pork and they’ve all been BOMB. The chicken is decent. My favorite has got to be the tri-​tip, though. Very well cooked.
Definitely a place I look forward to visiting when I hit Venice up.

My friend and I were starving in Venice, with no intention of eating a completely unhealthy meal, nor did we want a vegan meal, so we stumbled across this spot, and I am glad we did. The customer service was excellent, and the food was pretty good. I had their «famous» tri tip which was cooked really well and tasted great. My friend had the turkey burger and neither of us was complaining. Skip the salad as its just salad from a plastic bag.
What’s important here is their bbq and if the tri tip is any indicator of the rest of the their bbq, then I will surely come back. I am a bit curious about the ribs, which I avoided ordering this time around because of the intrigue of the tri tip. haha

It wasn’t bad, and for Venice (which is tourist trap central, but fun to visit), it was pretty good. But having had real BBQ from 5-​star places like Big Nates, or Everett and Jones, or even Memphis Minnie’s, this doesn’t even really count as BBQ.
Good burger. Decent pulled pork. But if you’re going to call yourself a BBQ joint, you have to do real good MEAT. And the meat was just OK.

Best BBQ on the westside, hands down.
It has just about everything a BBQ joint should have — awesome meat, pleasing sides, and a true down home BBQ shack vibe. I place emphasis on the word «shack», though you may prefer the word «dive».
Let’s get down to the important stuff: The Tri-​tip was delicious — perfectly cooked, just a little pink on the inside. I recommend getting the plate because it comes with two sides. Sandwich is also good and a bit cheaper.
Wish we would have tried the pulled pork too, but you gotta save something for next time.
The Mac and Cheese was great too! Nice and cheesy, but not mushy like some places (i know a lot of Unilocal reviews criticized the Mac n Cheese, but I think the restaurant must have made some changes because I find no faults with it).
Coleslaw was decent, fries were good. BBQ sauce was good too (a little more spice would have been welcome).
As for price, I think it’s about average. Not cheap, but not more expensive than what you’ll pay elsewhere.
And the guys behind the counter were awesome — even gave us a sample of tri-​tip when we were having a hard time deciding.
The best part is that for being located in the bowels of the LA tour traps, this little place turns out food that even a local can love.
I’ll be back for some pulled pork (and I heard a rumor that they allow BYOB — double points if that’s true!)

Well, there’s no such thing as Bondi BBQ… or distinctly Australian BBQ for that matter… but regardless – this place is legit. Without fail, I order the Tasmanian Casserole (corkscrew macaroni and cheese topped with tangy bbq pulled pork and served with garlic bread) or the Veggie Burger.
I can appreciate good BBQ and this place has it. One of the only decent places to eat on that end of the boardwalk – and it’s BYOB!

I got the tri-​tip sand and it was good. Good seasoning, a decent amount of sauce that didn’t overpower the flavor of the meat. Other’s in my group got the mac and cheese which was okay, bbq chicken, pulled pork sand (apparently what they’re known for) which they thought was amazing, veggie burger and the shrimp poorboy. The veggie burger and the shrimp poorboy looked AMAZING and I’m returning soon just for that. Oh and get the green beans! So goood.
I’d give the food four stars and the overall rating because of the experience. Food came in good timing, the guy there was really helpful and down to earth. They let us bring in some beer and drink it there, and even let us use their bottle opener. Love this place!

GF and I were in the mood. for BBQ. I suggested the usual favorites – Mr. Cecil’s or Baby Blues in Venice – but GF wanted to try something new.
Based on the high praise Bondi’s BBQ got from fellow Unilocalers we decided to give it a good Rogering.
For starters, parking was not good. I realize that Venice, the Bohemian, bong toting cousin to Santa Monica, has equally serious parking issues, so I expected parking would be a challenge. I was not disappointed. GF and I parked a block or two away and hoofed it in the blustery cold.
On to the food. As always we ordered a few things and shared them.
Beef Ribs and Chicken combo ($ 18): The beef ribs were not overly fatty, smoky, and cooked well. The meat fell off the bone. These were the highlight of the meal for me.
The chicken, meh, just so-​so. Tasted like any typical bird you’d get at a backyard BBQ. Nothing special. For the small amount of meat we got I felt that it was overpriced.
Pulled Pork Sandwich ($ 8): I still snicker every time I say «pulled pork». This was decent but, much to my chagrin, it came loaded with cole slaw. I HATE cole slaw, as in, can’t stand the stuff. GF was overjoyed because she loves it, but me? Not amused.
You may as well serve a sammich topped with cat poop if you’re going to load it with cole slaw. Can you tell I’m not a cole slaw fan?
Potato salad ($ 3): mustardy, onion-​y and on the sweet side. Nothing special. You could get the same quality at Ralph’s for about half the price. Small portion size.
Mac and Cheese ($ 3): way more mac than cheese. In fact, there was hardly any cheese on it. Disappointing. If I’m gonna do carbs, and I go the mac and cheese route, I want it cheesy!
Chocolate pudding ($ 4): I expect more than a Holly Hobbie sized tin of jello pudding with a shot of whipped cream on it if I’m gonna do dessert. Decent, but again, nothing you couldn’t whip up at home.
The sauce: For me, it’s the measuring stick of how good a BBQ joint truly is. There are a million and one ways to do good sauce so that’s where the culinary skills and creativity can really shine.
Unfortunately, much to my disappointment, Bondi’s sauce is nothing to write home about. It simply can’t touch the amazing, smoky, spicy sauces you would get at Mr. Cecil’s or Baby Blues. What Bondi’s calls BBQ sauce I would call watery, sugary ketchup. No spice, no heat, no pop, no panache, no dice.
Speaking of dice, I may as well have been gambling in Vegas because I was surprised at how little food we got for the amount of money I spent on dinner. With tip it ended up being around $ 45 and all we got were a pulled pork (snicker!) sammich, two smallish beef ribs, a teeny ¼ chicken, two vitamin waters, three small sides and dessert. I left feeling slightly ripped off, hungry and grossed out because of all the cole slaw.
I’m tempted to work in a joke about «that’s not a knife, THAT’s a knife» or «throw anotha shrimp on the barbi» because of Bondi’s Aussie heritage, but I’ll just leave you with this: blugh. Just blugh. Not for me. I won’t be going back.
If you’re looking for good BBQ in Venice go to Baby Blues instead.

Bf was craving BBQ, so I suggested Bondi because neither of us had ever been. It was 7:30pm-ish, and because the meters are only hungry til 6pm, we scored free parking right outside the macrobiotic restaurant Seed, which is down the street.
There was nobody inside when we walked in to the little hole-​in-​the-​wall joint, and we were greeted warmly by the adorable Aussie girl behind the counter. Being the plan-​ahead Unilocaler than I am, I was ready to order the minute my big toe hit the other side of the door!
We hung out on the cute painted benches in this super casual place, and they brought us our food quickly. This is what we got, and MY opinion on it (as mine differs from bf’s GREATLY):
Pulled Pork Sammich ($ 6.95): a pile of pulled pork and coleslaw on a soft bun that made me YUM OUT! Pork is usually dry to me, unless it’s drowned in too much sauce. This was not the case here — the coleslaw and BBQ sauce made this one sloppy good sammich, and the soft long bun barely contained the yummy bits. Though bf ordered this, it ended up being MY fave thing!
Add a side of Mac & Cheese ($ 3.00): spiral tubes without much cheddar on it, I’ll skip this next time as it’s not cheesy enough for me.
2 Beef Ribs & ¼ Chicken with 2 sides and garlic bread ($ 17.95): 2 really big and meaty and not too fatty beef ribs, with their sweet-​spicy BBQ sauce. The dark ¼ was a leg and thigh, and was basted with the same sauce. The meats were good, but I still found myself bogarting bf’s sammich.
The sides I chose were a potato salad that was yummy and oniony and mashed-​potatoey in texture, and the coleslaw that was on bf’s sammich that had a slight pineapple-​y taste.
The piece of garlic bread that came with was yummy, but what isn’t yummy with garlic butter slathered on it?
Chocolate Pudding ($ 3.50): an individual pie tin of chocolate pudding topped with a load of whipped cream. Man, that stuff was good — surely made with cream, not overly sweet, cool and creamy in texture, Bill Cosby would be proud!
Vitamin Waters ($ 2.75 ea, for 2)
Dinner cost us over $ 40, and bf thought it was kinda pricey for BBQ. Looking back, I guess it was on the high end, but not any higher priced than Mr. Cecil’s (one of bf’s faves). Anyway I was buzzed on BBQ so I couldn’t muster up even one smidge of buyer’s remorse at the time.
Bottom line: If we could just remember to come on a weekday at this same hour so we could snag a parking space that easily, I’d come back in a heartbeat for that pulled pork sammich! Or to try a meat pie, like the guy who walked in wearing the 6 foot long jointed and feathered angel wings…

Pulled pork that melts in your mouth is a savory concept. The tri-​tip is lean and properly peppered with the right amount of seasonings. The chicken lulls your tongue into submission with a buttery flavor. The barbeque sauces are tangy, pepped up with a lot of sweet zip, and readily available at your table. When using your canine teeth to rip through the plethora of messy foods, you may need to double-​fist a roll of paper-​towels.
There are a lot of nomads, street performers, cankerous skateboards mulling around on Venice. Take for instance, while I’m walking around near the beach front stores, a couple of guys sharing this conversation outside of a clothing shop: «man, that is the hottest mannequin I’ve ever seen.» Yeah, it can get a little weird. But if you can use your arm as a machete to make your way past the passersby, Bondi BBQ is the place to ravenously shred into succulent poultry and meat.
I refrain from giving them five stars, however, because they have a hard hat dangling from their bathroom key. I’m not sure I want anything even loosely resembling a bowl to be carried into the restroom, then back out again, each time someone needs to use the toilet. Aside from this infraction, Bondi BBQ is insanely worthy of your wallet feathers. A+

Went here last week for the first time based on the reviews I read here on Unilocal and definitely enjoyed the food and experience here. I brought along 4 friends and they all really enjoyed themselves as well.
It’s right along the Venice boardwalk so it has a very casual feel to it. You order at the counter and seat yourself at tables with benches.
Per the recommendations of Unilocalers, I made sure to try the pulled pork and the mac and cheese. I ended up ordering the ¼ chicken and pulled pork plate with a side of mac and cheese and I have to say they didn’t disappoint. The chicken was cooked perfectly — not too dry, but well cooked where the chicken just flakes off the bone without a problem. The pulled pork was even better and just how people described — very tender and full of flavor. Even the garlic bread that came with the chicken and pulled pork was delish — perfect amount of garlic and nice and crunchy.
While the food was good enough to stand on its own, I have to say my favorite part was the BBQ sauce that is at the tables that you can add yourself. I read the reviews of the BBQ sauce from fellow Unilocalers and I thought, I’ve had some great BBQ sauces before and was skeptical that the BBQ sauce would be that good. My skepticism was quickly squashed as I ended up drenching my chicken and pulled pork in it. My friends put it on everything — their garlic bread, their corn on the cob… It’s that good.
Aside from the food, the service is friendly and welcoming.
Will definitely be back.

This is one of the few places I can say I frequent as a lunch spot. Their BBQ sauce is really tasty. They have some amazing tri-​tip and BBQ pulled pork burritos which, by the time you get to the end of it, are dripping with their sauce!
My favorite item on the menu is the Tasmanian casserole! Its BBQ pulled pork over macaroni and cheese. It sounds kinda terrifying but its SO good and surprisingly filling.
The service is always friendly and fast. Definitely recommended for anyone on the beach.

So since Seed does not believe in restrooms or dessert I was now on a quest for the nearest place I could find both. Place one, no dessert so we crossed the street and made a right and I saw what I thought was a fox and a big sign that said BBQ. There was a gal outside doing some side-​work and asked here what they had for dessert, «Chocolate Pudding or Apple Pie» she said. Chocolate Pudding it is!
Pudding was $ 2 bucks and change and was a good and good size. I got to use the restroom and the sweet chocolate pudding topped with a pile of whipped cream got the gross seed dessert taste from my mouth so that made me happy. Sorry Bondi that today I used you for your restroom but bc of the Unilocal sticker on the front door, I’ll make my way back one day to try your ribs.

Bondi is an Australian BBQ joint next to Venice Beach. In keeping with the local theme, the restaurant is rugged. If you hang in Venice Beach regularly, no problems. If your from Huntington Beach, you might be much less comfortable.
A couple of surprises, the price and the food. The price higher than expected, but the quality is higher as well. $ 8.95 for mac n’ cheese with a little pulled pork sprinkled on top? A bit pricey, but the pulled pork was really well made. Not stringy or dry and not overly soaked with BBQ sauce. A side of fries would have set me back nearly $ 4. I sampled some from my co-​workers. Again, great fries, but four dollareedoos?
The dining area is fairly small, so if it gets crowded, you might want to get your food to go. The doors are wide open and there is no airconditioning. It’s hot in there and there are buzzing flies. If that sort of thing is a turn-​off, steer clear. You won’t care how good the food is.
Parking is metered. $ 2 for an hour or you probably can find a lot nearby.
Bondi is restaurant priced, but the service is like a fast-​food place. You can go up to the counter and ask for stuff, but no table service to speak of. Also, you food will not come out at the same time. I was nearly done before everyone else got there food. I guess the mac n’ cheese was pre-​made and the pulled pork just slapped on top.
So, basically if you have a smaller appetitte or are down to drop $ 15 getting full and you like the Venice Beach scene, then this is your place. If this is not you, then don’t go. It will save you from writing a lousy review.

I love BBQ, plain and simple. One day while I was leaving the Townhouse (bar directly next door to Bondi), I was stopped by the wonderful smell of BBQ. I had already eaten an hour prior, but I took a peak at the menu to strategize my inevitable return. One of the items to catch my eye was the Tasmanian Casserole — a combination of mac n’ cheese, pulled pork and garlic bread, sounds amazing… I know.
2 weeks later, I returned. (on a side note, I originally gave this place 2 stars, but I later upgraded it to 3 because I only tried one dish, which seemed to be more novel than a strong representation of the menu). I ordered the Casserole. It arrived to my table looking how I’d hoped — ugly and messy.
The one problem I noticed right away was the garlic bread. It was comparable to the frozen garlic bread you can buy at grocery store — soft and small, lacking that homemade garlic bread taste and texture (which I would expect from a BBQ spot).
The BBQ pulled pork was good, no question. There was spice, good flavor and the meat was tender. The mac n cheese, on the other hand, was not so good. It tasted too generic and kept distracting from the flavor of the pulled pork. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great combo.
My friend had the straight pull pork sandwich, which he said was good. My other friend had the tri-​tip burrito, he said it was average. We also split an overpriced side order of sweet potato fries — which weren’t the least bit impressive.
Overall the food wasn’t that bad, just disappointing. Perhaps I should’ve started with the ribs, but I went with their «most popular dish» (The first time I saw the restaurant, a couple guys raved about the beef ribs). I really wanted this local BBQ spot to be great and it fell short of my expectations.

The reviews about this being a different place to eat around venice beach are true.
its usually pizza shop sunglasses place hanna tattoo shop cheesy t-​shirt shop and repeat…
plus they have a bathroom that alone is a good reason to eat there
there arent many australian bbq places around la so its a pretty good place to check out
the ribs and the pulled pork are the best meatatarians will be satisfied
the dingo is recommended

I liked this place because it was different the what you ususally find on or near the Venice Boardwalk.
Its always Pizza and Beer, Ice Cream and Beer, or Burgers and Beer.
How different is Austrailian BBQ and beer?!
I have never heard of Austrailian food in LA… everything is American, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, or Japanese.
So Autrailian was a good and interesting change.
BONUS: the people working there were super nice!

Heard about Bondi BBQ last night on KCAL 9 New’s «Dine on a Dime.» I am a bbq fanatic and had never experienced Australian bbq. So of course I had to check it out immediately. I ordered the Ribs N Pork meal, from which I chose pork ribs instead of beef and pulled pork. I’m a P.O.P. (pile of pork) kind of gal. The meal came with garlic bread and I chose a side of sweet fries and coleslaw.
The ribs were «fall of the bone» good, and I used the garlic toast to sop up the pulled pork. The spices they use for Australian bbq are unique. There is a subtle warmth and savory tang left in your mouth instead of the usual smoked or sweet flavors you get from American bbq. No the ribs were not spicy hot. My wife hates spicy food, and was easily able to devour her meal, Ribilicious (half rack of ribs. your choice). The coleslaw was just okay, traditional mayo slaw. I think it could have used some white vinegar. Sweet fries where great, but next time I want to try their mac n’cheese.I hear it’s addicting.
The café is just off Venice beach pavilion (muscle beach). The atmosphere is casual so it isn’t unusual to see someone sitting across from you in beach attire. Only downside of the whole night was that the café does not carry wet naps, so bring your own. I am definitely going back and soon.

DOOD! This place is good! BBQ chicken sandwich, with red onions, tomato, salad, with a flaky bread exterior but airy interior. I was surprised with how delicious it was. Sweet potato fries were definitely the best I’ve tasted, including their regular fries. This isn’t your Lucille’s BBQ for sure, but definitely something between the mix of regular sandwich with bbq. Loved that is was super close to the beach, and we received our food fast.
Definitely should stop by on your way to the beach!