It’s called: Bruce Leaves
Who’s the cook/bartender? Johnny Mulligan, one of the partners, is Rockpool-trained and was known as the master sauce guy. He may have just become the salad dressing guru of our time!
Eye candy: My other partner in the business, Liam Constantine, is the chief interior design guy; we did The Canteen at Bondi together too.
Flavours: Salads, salads and more salads; salads you never thought possible. Prepare to have all pre-conceived ideas of a salad thrown out the window – oh, and we do one hell of a mean banh mi roll, too.
Something to start with: You should pretty much start with a salad – maybe start with something like the kung fu chicken to get a feel of the place; it has the world’s softest, most tender chicken pieces mixed with Asian herbs and leaves, avocado, cherry tomatoes, green tea-infused soba noodles, edamame beans, Spanish onion, cucumber, mint and coriander. Be warned, the salads are huge!
The main course: It’s hard to pick a favourite – the pork and spinach dumpling salad or the grilled haloumi with roasted pistachios and watermelon, or the Mexican-style chicken one really stand out. Some prefer the lamb or the Korean beef salad, but you should definitely give the salmon sashimi salad with the wasabi peas a go; it’s out of this world.
Room for dessert? We have some raw balls (that’s what she said…) and some raw slices and stuff that both the purist and the sweet tooth seem to really like.
Care for a drink? We have a really good superfood smoothie range – they’re delicious – plus some fresh juices and activated waters.
Make us drool: The ladies really love this place, cause it’s everything fresh and crisp and good for you, but just tasting better than ever before, and guys are starting to figure out that the salads are not only massive but so full of flavour, and for the real manly/hearty eater there’s still enough chicken or lamb or whatever packed in there to keep them more than happy. The salad dressings really set off all the amazing fresh food and new kind of food combinations that are in the bowl in front of you. You can’t help but smile while you’re eating them, and you don’t feel like a slob after you’ve finished a big bowl. They’re actually really good for hangovers too!
The bill comes to: The salads start at $13.50 and the most expensive, the salmon sashimi, is still only $17.50. Hardly makes a dent in the piggy bank.
Location: We have one in Bondi on the corner of Glenayr and Warners, and one in Alexandria, in the little lane on the side of the Officeworks in O’Riordan Street.
Website: bruceleaves.com.au
Bruce Leaves is at96 Glenayr Ave, North Bondi / 85-91 O’Riordan St, Alexandria.
Bondi 11am-8pm daily (closed Tuesday) / Alexandria 10:30am-3:30pm Monday-Friday.
