Concrete Playground

Standing at the bar of Bondi FM, my friend gazed around and said “wow, there are so many beautiful people in Bondi.” Coming from the inner west, I don't usually have occasion to travel east to drink, but Bondi FM, the bar and cafe attached to the community radio station, is pretty much the bee’s knees, and completely worth the two trains and a bus. Plus there are very attractive people drinking there.

The crowd is young, local and relaxed, and now it's been renovated you no longer have to enter via a back alley. While things are a bit sleeker at the front, the back area has an assortment of comfy couches, swivel chairs and pot plants, plus a shelf stocked with Scrabble, in case you fancy a game all of a sudden. The back area is also where the open kitchen is, which makes pretty reasonably priced meals, although we didn't see anyone eating anything more substantial than tapas.

The bartenders are absolutely lovely, and made one of the best cocktails I have ever had the pleasure to drink. Not being able to choose off their very extensive menu, the bartender offered to make us customised drinks, mine being a pale pink gin mixture with a small purple flower perched on top. My friend got an equally delicious amoretto and cherry concoction, and although notorious for being the world's slowest drinker, she sat happily sipping, exclaiming things such as "divine!" and for the first time in our friendship finished a drink before I did.

There is also a garden area out the back, decked out with squashy couches and an illuminated teepee. Someone proposed to me that it would make a pretty awesome make out area, and they were absolutely correct, but you'll have to get your act together quickly, as it inexplicably gets closed at 10pm. And that's the only downside really - the closing time. An 11pm shutting time is a bit sad when you're really starting to get into the swing of things, and it'd be nice to see this place open a little longer.