The Nine — Restaurant in Sydney

Looking for delicious Mediterranean food that taste nice and Instagram-able, the nine is a small busy restaurant 5 minutes walk from Bondi beach. The one thing I hate about Bondi beach is the parking, but luckily we found a spot directly outside the nine. I looked across, did a quick search on google and immediately made a quick decision based on their 5 star rating to have lunch there. Not only were we lucky to find parking but we got a table and we got $25 discount using entertainment book. If you ever get stuck what to eat, check out Instagram for photos. The service is good, food comes out quick and most of all it’s pretty on the plate and taste delicious, the flavours were brilliant. The restaurant is small and table arrangement inside is super tight definitely not pram friendly, but the open style French windows allows customs to sit on high stools and look out onto the street and catch some fresh air. The pricing is reasonable for Bondi and there is no dish on the menu that cost more than $20.50. I recommend a plate each and don’t share meals because portions are small and won’t feel your tummy if you share. Some of the most posted dishes on Instagram were the ones were chose such as brioche French toast, Turkish baked eggs, the nine Benedict and halloumi croquettes. I definitely recommend the nine if you’re in Bondi and looking for something...

I booked a table two weeks in advance via Groupon, but was told that they cancelled all bookings a few days ago when I was arrived ("too many no shows")- and no, I obviously didn't get the message, otherwise we would not have been there. Now I understand that errors happen: they should not have made that particular day available for online booking (- City to Surf), and I have now found the message in my spam folder. The problem is how the situation was handled; despite a few empty tables (other bookings?) we were told the only option would be to wait for 45 minutes and be served as regular customers (without the voucher). Not a single word of apology, but plenty of justification that they had done everything right... I definitely did not feel treated like a customer. What started as a lovely morning was ruined by this experience.

Edit: Hi Julie, thank you for the response. No need to get in touch with Groupon - they did everything right and have since refunded my voucher as I am not interested in coming again. And just to be clear: there was no apology on the day (and no mentioning of a shorter menu). The only thing we were made to understand very clearly by the manager is that he had done everything right and we should not be here. We left frustrated as it was...

Definitely a place built for the 'gram, but seriously disappointed in the actual food.

We gave this place a shot because there queue at Lox, Stock and Barrel nearby was massive (lesson: just wait in the queue, it means the food is good). And goodness, I regret our choice!

I had the mushroom toast ($26.50) which came out with a dome full of smoke, but pretty bland swiss mushrooms. The menu listed all kinds of trendy ingredients, but the 'mint labneh' was just a brush on the bottom of the plate.

The bagel was obviously a grocery store purchased bagel. Meh. With packets of butter and Vegemite. What is this, a McDonald's?

We struggled on the drinks front, too. They have drinks with fairy floss and my daughter wanted one. They offer iced chocolate with floss, cold lattes with floss and hot lattes with floss... but we were told that a 'hot chocolate with floss was not possible'. Even though they're already charging $8.50 for the drinks. I honestly don't see why it wasn't possible... even if we needed to pay more.

Disappointing experience, especially given the great reviews. Come for the pix and then maybe have a good meal...