Fonda means ‘foundation’ in Spanish and that's what its blueprint is all about. Its food philosophy is based on Mexican cuisine's penchant for shared meals, with the phrase, mi casa su casa (my house is your house) literally painted on the sunburnt-terracotta coloured walls.
The restaurant recently announced they're revamping the cocktail list, now offering table service and also giving the menu a 2.0 overhaul in a breezy setting. "We've always wanted to keep the menu simple and Bondi is celebrating those Melbourne favourites that are who we are while also inviting new ingredients and tastes into the mix," Fonda's CEO and co-founder Tim McDonald tells SBS. “Fonda has never claimed to be a traditional Mexican eatery nor do we mean any disrespect by doing what we do," says McDonald as he looks back on the success of their Melbourne ventures.
For six years and across seven locations, Fonda has already been animating Melbourne’s foodie scene. Now Fonda’s family has decided to cross the border and dial up their bright and casual approach to Mexican street food in Bondi. It might be another Mexican haunt that lights up the Sydney restaurant scene but its opening comes at the perfect time as those summertime sessions kick off. Fonda has moved into the old Nandos site with Hispanic chef Mark Tagnipez leading the charge.
There's no shortage of tortilla chips on the menu, harbouring everything from ceviche to sweet potato tots. Source: Fonda
Both McDonald and Tagnipez travelled over to Mexico earlier his year and immersed themselves in the food scene to see just what was hot and up and coming. “The food scene in Mexico has come a long way since we first travelled there when Fonda was just an initial concept. Mexican chefs are using fresher ingredients and offering a more premium experience and higher quality dishes than what we can come to know as the ‘traditional’ Mexican fare,’ McDonald tells SBS. “We saw a much healthier, fresher version of traditional Mex appear with the addition of more greens, seafood and high-quality meats.”
So what can you expect at this Bondi location? DIY taco tasting boards, which feature pull-apart beef short rib and pineapple glazed pork served up on a lazy Susan. And while their menu is unconventional, their tortillas are authentic all the way. They use in-house, pressed and cooked-to-order that come from Melbourne’s much-loved . Take your pick from poke bowls, tostadas, burritos and quesadillas. And of course, no Mexican menu is complete without tortilla chips – and there is no shortage of them on this menu.
If you’re a sucker for sweet potato-anything, give the sweet potato gem taco stuffers a go. Then, dive into their tuna ceviche, which comes in a chilli-lime coconut broth and is served with tortilla chips. This isn't your average ceviche, fusing Mexican and Southeast Asian flavours and expect many dishes that play on with various ingredients and tastes such as this.
Light and bright is the order of the day at the new seaside Fonda. Source: Fonda
Cocktails (you guessed it) are tequila-friendly with frozen margaritas (frozen Aperol, anyone?) wine and craft beers, Mexican colas and soda, aguas frescas (non-alcoholic fruity cocktails), as well as bottomless sparkling water. There’s something for everyone.
Finish with a coconut and lime sorbet for something light. If you want to crank up your love of caramel then it’s got to be the crisp flour tortilla, with dulce de leche and house-made Mexican vanilla bean ice-cream.
85 Hall Street Bondi
