IKARIA: A Trip to the Mediterranean in Bondi Beach, Australia
“Living in Australia is literally living in paradise.” — Emily Abay
We have been in a travel standstill lately, maybe not across state lines, but definitely across oceans. With Australia being on our must-travel list, we brought back Australian photographer — turned restaurant co-owner — Emily Abay of Mediterranean Meze Bar, IKARIA to curb our craving for a change of scenery. Headquartered in the infamous thralls of Bondi Beach, Abay tells us her styling tips to designing an Instagrammable eatery, a vibe you must feel and working with your hubby. Let’s take off.
“Since we last spoke there has been quite a lot of changes in my life!” beams Abay. “Prior to the pandemic I was working full time and traveling internationally regularly for photoshoots. Life was pretty amazing! Then the the world stopped…but I’m one of those people who is so grateful for that time because I met my now husband and his incredible little kids, who I am also now step mother to. We decided to open a restaurant together in Bondi Beach and have also extended our family to have a baby girl of our own. The last two years have been more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. My husband has always worked in the hospitality industry and opening a restaurant like this has always been a dream of his, so I was so proud to have done this together with him and now we are in one of the most beautiful restaurants on the beach in Bondi.”
Spending most of her adult life dreaming of moving out of the down under and overseas (prior to meeting her husband of course), the photographer now appreciates her home so much more especially after almost two years in lockdown. “We really do have the best of everything in Australia,” admires Abay. “The beaches, restaurants, fashion, I really can’t complain about anything! We live in a beautiful cosmopolitan city on one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire world, and not to mention it is such a safe place to raise a family. Now being a part of the hospitality industry I have such a different appreciation for wining and dining. Being originally from Melbourne I guess I have always been a little bit of a foodie, but now since experiencing so much more of what Sydney has to offer I can confidently say that Sydney is even better than I’ve ever experienced in Australia in the hospitality industry. I also think that Australians have a very laid-back style when it comes to fashion… Most are not very pretentious and we sure do know how to make activewear look cool!”
Then it came down to Bondi. “My husband and I knew that the location of our restaurant was always going to be Bondi,” states Abay, “that was definitely nonnegotiable. To create a Mediterranean Meze, you really have to be on the ocean. It just makes more sense serving the cuisine we offer. Plus we wanted our diners to have one of the best views in Australia!” So why Bondi?
EMILY ABAY’S TOP 3 BONDI MUSES:
The Ocean.
“Bondi has many things that attract me to it, but number one would definitely be the ocean. It’s always the most beautiful blue and it’s always so clean, even on a stormy day it’s amazing to watch the ocean in Bondi. Even if it’s raining, it doesn’t matter, you will always regret not getting into the Aussie water when you come to visit. There is nothing better in the whole world than diving under one of the waves and listening to it crash over your head. You have no phone, no distractions, nothing but the thoughts in your head of the pure joy it is to be under the water.”
The Locals.
“We’ve made so many good friends from so many different countries who have all come to Bondi for a better life like us and it feels so nice to have all this extended family around.”
The Vibe.
“It feels like everybody appreciates a healthy balanced lifestyle, activewear is the most common dress code and everybody just has a common love for the beach and life itself. The Bondi community is something very special to be a part of.”
Housing a Mediterranean themed restaurant at the beaches of Bondi could not have happened by accident. Mourning the loss of a three month trip to Europe due to the travel cancellations of the pandemic, Abay and her husband thought, why not bring the Mediterranean to them? “We both love Mediterranean food and we noticed that there was a hole in the market in the eastern suburbs, so we did a bit of research and spent many many hours trying to decide what we were going to offer at our restaurant and what the name was going to be. We decided on Ikaria because of the Ikarian way of life. People live the longest in the blue zone and it’s because of the community and love for each other. We loved this and we wanted to create the same feeling at our restaurant. Admittedly the dream was my husbands, but I was so proud to be a part of it and help him to achieve something so amazing. His role is managing and operating and my roll was aesthetic and marketing.”
Let’s just say, Abay hit the nail on the terra cotta head when it came to conceptualizing and co-designing this culturally rich Medi-meze bar — from the arches to the rendered walls to the carved doors and warm, earth-toned accents — “With the help of our incredible Designer Lisa Wright from African Trading port,” credits the restauranteur. “The three of us were able to build a raw Mediterranean aesthetic that transports our diners out of Bondi Beach and into the Greek islands. With Lisa’s incredible eye for detail and amazing contacts, she was able to source pieces from all over north Africa and the Mediterranean. We have tiles from Italy, doors from Morocco, vases from Turkey. Our walls are made from pure mineral and every single little touch is authentic. Our aesthetic is very raw and textured, but with a really simple sophisticated style.”
Designing a must-visit eatery and locale is one thing, but if Abay has taught us anything in this conversation, it is that there is so much more to making an establishment successful. So here is what you need to know!
EMILY ABAY’S 4 TIPS TO OPENING AN INTERNATIONAL VENUE:
From Strangers to Family.
“Make sure you know your clientele. My husband is a very clever man and he has been working in hospitality in Bondi Beach for years. He was aware that majority of our clientele would be female and he always would say that I am exactly the kind of customer that he would want in the venue so he would ask me my opinion about literally everything to make sure that this is exactly the kind of venue that someone like me would bring all my friends and family.”
The Host with the Most.
“You have to make sure that everything is on point and especially your service. The service, food and atmosphere should be an experience for every one of your customers. You have to remember that they are coming to your venue for a few hours to enjoy themselves. You have people who work full-time jobs, mothers who are barely able to get away from the house, friends who are catching up to create beautiful memories, birthdays, anniversaries, there are so many special occasions for why people have chosen to come to your venue, so you have to pay attention, make them feel welcome and important so they walk away from dinner feeling really good.”
Down to the Last Detail.
“Consistency is also key. We want people to come back to our venue regularly and hopefully bring other family and friends each time. So it’s very important that our dishes are consistent and the same every time they come.”
In the Eye of the Beholder.
“As a photographer. I wasn’t sure what help I could really bring to building a restaurant aside from being able to take beautiful photos of the venue once it’s completed. But I realized this actually would help a lot because my focus is always on light, composition, design and aesthetic. I knew that customers would want to come to the venue and take social media photos so having a lot of beautiful natural daylight was very important as well as having a bit of a feature wall for them to be able to take photos in front of. Not only is our menu very delicious, but it’s also very pretty and beautifully presented. Every detail of the venue has been premeditated with the idea that customers will want to come in and document their experience.
Now that we got down to every inch and nail of the design of this photo-worthy, intentionally curated venue, it is also the fine detail of cuisine and craft cocktails that keep locals and tourists alike coming back. “We decided to go meze style to encourage people to share the dishes with each other so everybody experiences the same taste and flavor together,” shares Abay. “We liked this idea because food obviously brings people together and we want to create a warm community at Ikaria where sharing food is how you share love with each other. Our food menu is mainly influenced by Greek cuisine, but also has touches of Italian and other parts of the Mediterranean. We serve dishes on the menu like Saganaki cheese with chestnut honey, taramasalata with pita, slow cooked lamb, Greek salad and fish. We want to transport our customers into a European holiday when they come and dine with us.”
“My husband and I built Ikaria in the hopes that it will really stand the test of time. We know a lot of people will come for the view, but that is even more reason for us to make sure that our food and service is excellent so customers will leave the venue having had such an incredible time that they won’t even notice the view as much. It’s very common with coastal venues that service and food are lacking in quality because the venue owners are aware that customers will come no matter what because the restaurant looks nice and it has a view of the ocean. I feel our mentality is different and we know that it is very important to make each customer feel that their time and experience is very important to us. We hope to see many familiar faces coming back regularly over the next decade and we will absolutely do our best to maintain consistency and never disappoint. We want to see overseas travelers come and dine with us and then want to come back years later when they visit Australia again and feel that their second time was even better than the first because we kept growing and evolving.”
Book your experience at Ikariabondi.com