Best swaps Bondi for California dreaming

Several high-profile Sydney restaurateurs have been sniffing out sites to open in Los Angeles, but they look like being pipped by a young Sydney chef.

Former Pier and Fish Face pan rattler Joel Best, owner of the low-key and underrated Bondi's Best, will open a restaurant next year just a short stroll from the Santa Monica Pier.

''I'll import seafood from Australia, and with the Aussie dollar headed down it is only going to get better,'' Best says.

The young chef was looking for a new challenge and was attracted by the lifestyle and lower building and wage costs in the US. He's placed his Bondi restaurant on the market.

''They [new owners] can keep the Bondi's Best name but I'll have the international rights. I'll probably stick with the Bondi's Best name in the US.''