NEWS: Vibrant Bondi Restaurant and Cocktail Bar The Rum Diaries will be one year old this March. In this short time it has built up a hip and lively community of locals, and has helped forge the nightime buzz evident on this part of the Bondi Road.
To celebrate, it has unveiled a new menu:
Designed by Diaries Head Chef Daniel Brown, the menu draws on the eclectic sense of humour, taste for adventure and playfulness which characterized the original Diaries menu, designed by Re:Love’s Executive Chef Mark Lloyd. Indeed a number of Diaries stalwarts have been retained, including the delicate rolls of Organic Salmon Ceviche, dressed with Bloody Mary cubes of jelly, and the Diaries’ most popular dish- the Rump of Lamb, served on a rustic wooden board with fresh tomato chutney and lentil mash.
For the new dishes, Brown blends his passions for meat and fish; as well as fresh, tasty vegan and vegetarian options with sumptuous, surprising flavours and unexpected ingredients. His Romesco Tapenade is a typical Diaries affair: a culinary version of the ‘Tequila Salt and Lime’: in this version you take a bite from the eggplant and gorgonzola tapenade; then sip on the Diaries’ own recipe, ice-cold Rhubarb and Berry Rum shot, before complimenting your already enraptured taste buds further by way of a trio of grapes marinated in Plum Pisco. It’s heavenly; and, yes, as expected, Brown admits “We do love to slip in as much interesting and unusual alcohol as we can with our dishes. Walk into the Diaries and you will see straight away that we are passionate about our cocktails here; we’re sure as hell equally passionate about our food”.
The vegan Monk’s Curry comes with a small antique silver thimble of freshly made curry paste- which the customer can mix in to offset in just the right way the fragrant mixture of the curry and gentle quinoa [rather than the stodgy texture of rice] and bring out the eggplant, and sesame tamari soy tofu flavours. A sister dish to the Rump of Lamb, The Stella Chicken Tenderbreast, also served on a wooden board, delivers up perfectly rested slices of chicken with mouthwatering mint and mango chutney and smoked chipolte and toasted almond cream cheese.As well as a good selection of meat and fish ‘main’ tapas dishes, Brown offers delicious Roasted Beet slices; and several salads including the Marinated Field Mushroom salad, with fetta, buttermilk and ruby chard dressing; and an Asparagus and Beetroot salad with an orange raspberry vinagerette.
Save some space for the desert section of tapas: there’s the amazing Assiette of Rum and Chocolate: three shooter glasses of to-die-for chocolate mousse, light, dark and darker, all infused with different white or dark rums- naturally enough!Brown has also added a small but ravishing dish of his Vegan Fudge Brownies. Elbow any vegans in the room out of the way as soon as possible and put an order in- before they run out: they are simply sensational…..
The Rum Diaries has more than 100 different brands of rum from around the world, and boasts an exciting, original menu of rum-based cocktails, served by bowler-hatted, award winning bartenders with a passion and drive for fine drinks.