Just open: Bill Granger opens cafe in Bondi

It's taken 23 years to get there but Bill Granger has finally opened a "bills" in his 'hood – Bondi.

"Bondi was where I wanted to open my first `bills' before Darlinghurst. I tried to get a site but couldn't. I was too young!" says Granger, 44. "Bondi felt really right. When the lease was up on Woollahra, the opportunity to do Bondi came up and I thought, 'ohhhh that sounds quite exciting'."

"Bondi has a great new energy about it. It's a lovely mixed-up crowd too which I really enjoy," he says.

Bondi diners can expect all the charming characteristics of Granger's other local and international restaurants plus new favourites in the 100-seat location featuring outdoor dining and a bar at bills Bondi, 79 Hall Street.

Bills is synonymous with signature dishes such as creamy scrambled eggs, corn fritters and ricotta hotcakes, and Granger says consistency is the key.

"With any business it is hard to maintain energy and consistency, which is why we've gone global, to keep on bringing that energy and hunger to it. Restaurants are difficult businesses. You go through good and bad times. You've got to see them both out. Don't believe the good times and don't get too defeated by the bad times – neither lasts forever."

Granger admits some of the dishes he is famous for can be "restricting" for a menu but appreciates it's what the customers want.

"We can't get rid of the 'classics' because the restaurant business is like fashion – things come in and out. It's quite nice having restaurants that don't change. I enjoy going to places like Balthazar in New York – there are dishes that have never come off the menu. We call them 'classics' now and we have a section of the menu dedicated to them.

"I might start calling myself 'classic' too rather than old," he laughs. "It does limit you but it's what our customers want. It's about the customer, not me, ultimately."

Granger's daughters Edie, 14, Ines, 12, and Bunny, 10, are hot on dad's foodie heels.

"Edie is the most extraordinary baker. She has got more discipline and patience than I have. I tend to throw things together and be really casual and Edie loves to really be precise," Granger says. "Ines has her own food-focused instagram account, she loves it! And Bunny just loves to eat what we cook!"

As an added treat for bills and gelato lovers, Messina has created bills' famous ricotta hotcakes as an exclusive gelato flavour available at both bills' Bondi and Messina outlets. But was Granger tempted to create a creamy scrambled egg or corn fritter gelato?

"No! It's very Heston, isn't it?" he laughs. "A scrambled egg and bacon gelato. It might sound interesting but nooooo…"