Sydney harbours a plethora of amazing experiences.
Some are well-known, others are truly hidden away and known only by the initiated, and there are those in plain sight yet missed by most.
The Stuffed Beaver is a Bondi gem with food to fill you, cocktails to relax you, rock music and sports to entertain you, decor to fascinate you, and an old school arcade game to top it all off, with classic Pac-Man and Galaga on offer! Make sure to have a go while enjoying the food, and a cocktail, or two.
The Beaver practically drips cool and hipster, but in a good way.
The food is a classic Canadian offering of burgers, hot dogs, fries, and poutine.
Yes poutine! And what a salivating variety of poutine! But more about that later …
First, let’s talk atmosphere. The Beaver has that by the boatload. The decore is crazy eclectic and you could spend hours just studying the walls, while enjoying the music blaring from the speakers, or during the commercial breaks while watching the NBA finals. But don’t do that, focus on the eating and the drinking first!
We have been working our way through the menu methodically over a number of visits, and we still have some way to go, but so far we struck gold each an every time.
I am going to start with the poutine: a quintessential Quebec sensation, traditionally consisting of fries, cheese curd, and gravy.
I know, what else could you need?! But wait, there are variations! Six variations to be exact, other than the classic poutine.
It’s hard to go past the classic, but the ‘3 Little Pigs’ with three kinds of pork, bacon, pork sausage, and pulled pork, is an experience I imagine what heaven would feel like on a good day, if it existed. Not to worry, I found my own personal dive bar heaven in a poutine at the Beaver!
The burgers are also delicious, with juicy and tender meat, the perfect bun, crunchy bacon, and condiments that will make your tastebuds dance to the music. So far we tasted the John Candy Combo with fried cheese, bacon, and pickles, the Degrassi High Classic (‘the way Joey Jeremiah liked it’), with lettuce, tomato and pickle relish, and the Southern Fried Chicken Burger with a giant, tasty piece of crunchy fried chicken, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing. Based on those burgers, we are looking forward to eating our way through the other twelve burgers on the menu.
I know what you are thinking, Degrassi High! Now that’s an 80s pop culture reference explosion!
There are also four kinds of hot dogs, from the classic and tasty Chilli Dog to the cheeky ‘Celine Diog’, with cheese and onion.
The Beaver’s ‘Munchies’ stand on their own, but are also perfect condiments. The Frickles, deep fried pickles, are a crunchy juicy explosion, and perfect with any burger, poutine or hot dog. The Corn Cobb is drenched in chipotle sauce, mayo and parmesan cheese, and one serving is rarely enough.
At last, but not least, there are the cocktails. The Beaver Iced Tea is a sweet, alcoholic dream that goes down smooth, and fast. My favourite though is the Canadian version of the Bloody Mary, the Bloody Caesar, with chilli infused vodka, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and clamato juice, served with juicy dill pickles, and a giant stalk of celery.
Do you want me to eat my vegetables? Stick it in a Bloody Casear and watch me go!
To top it all off, the staff is relaxed, professional, but also funny and personable, which is a rare combination these days in Sydney.
The only sentence I want to hear around ‘twelve-ish’ on a Sunday is, ‘Wanna head down to the Beaver?’
Stuffed Beaver
271 Bondi Road
Bondi NSW 2026
Australia
Open:
Monday to Saturday 12pm till 12am
Sunday 12pm till 10pm
Phone: +61 (0)2 9130 3002
Email: info@stuffedbeaver.com.au
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