By day it’s a coffee house and Bondi institution of more than 25 years, Harry’s. By night it’s a beachside izakaya called RND. Short for Raw Next Door, you’ll find it next door to Raw Bar. All three businesses—along with Lulu up on Hall Street—are owned by Harry Lambropoulos. RND offers a little more sophistication than its long-standing, water-facing sibling. The interior plays with Japanese minimalism, with polished concrete and pale timbers. Golden afternoon light pours through the windows, giving those diners facing them that characteristic healthy Bondi glow. The floor team are equally sunny, even in the face of the kitchen advising that the Sydney rock oysters ($7.50/each) were from Bondi. Their smoky ponzu, white truffle and caviar adornment did let you taste the bivalves, harvested in Merimbula, right at the end. The menu leans into bites, snacks and nibbles, perfect for consuming with an RND martini ($24) in hand. It’s smooth and kept cuisine-friendly with the use of Four Pillars olive leaf gin and sake (rather than vermouth). From the sake list, hit up the Nambu Bijin tokubetsu junmai ($30/300ml) so you can mix and match. The latter suits the chef’s selection sashimi ($34)—a dozen thick slices of tuna, kingfish and salmon—pre-dressed in Konbu Katsuo Tsuyu seasoning sauce and chive oil. Sushi cubes—taken in salmon ($18/2)—are squarish hand-rolls where the gimmick doesn’t detract from the bite. The other signature are the crispy rice sushi bites. We took the chef’s selection ($32/6), which gave kingfish, salmon and tuna in slices and tartare. Next time I’d go six of my favourite, the spicy tuna tartare ($32). The prawn and scallop sando ($20/2) ate like an upmarket I&J Sea Shanty (if you’re old enough to remember what I mean). The fancy crumbed patty, sandwiched in shokupan with fermented chilli, would be improved by cleaner oil. I’ve got no complaints about the prawn and ‘nduja wontons ($25/5) doused in dashi butter that was, as our waitress Liv suggested, great over steamed rice ($6).

Each food item took quite some time to be prepared. Flavours were good, however our oysters were definitely not fresh. The sauce on top of the oysters was lovely but still couldn't hide the rotten taste of those oysters. Such a shame.

Liv was amazing. The food was soooo tasty. Really unique flavours which we loved!! Fish was fresh, margaritas were also great.

Was excited to finally try RND during my trip to Bondi Beach. Between two of us, we ordered the oysters with smoked ponzu, crispy eggplant shokupan, crispy rice chef’s selection, tuna tataki, and grilled chicken thigh with rice. WOW — the food was incredible! Most dishes exceeded expectations and came out fairly quickly. The flavours were fresh, balanced, and beautifully presented. The only miss for me was the crispy eggplant shokupan — I was expecting a tempura-style eggplant but it turned out more braised and quite oily. We sat outside, which was nice, though it was a bit tricky to get the staff’s attention as most were stationed inside near the register. Still, overall a great dining experience and definitely worth a visit for the quality of the food alone.

Every single dish was delicious, we loved. Perfect spot to eat, drink and catch up with friends