Black buns stand out at Bondi's white-hot Blanca

The real job of a restaurant critic, I've been told, is to describe the place so well that readers will know what to wear when they go. So, if you are going to Blanca, be aware that everything in the smart split-level space is white, from the blindingly white walls to the white columns, the plates, and white-washed Scandi dining chairs to most of the linen-clad clientele.

Full of attractive young people on the floor and at the table, it's about as hot as it gets in Sydney's favourite beachside suburb.

Wear white, and you'll fit in nicely. Wear black, as the staff do, and you might have to take an order for salmon rice crackers on the way to your table.

Inserted on the upper level of Hall Street's The Hub dining precinct, Blanca is a right little charmer; a joint venture between Finnish chef Tomi Bjorck and well-travelled Wollongong-born chef-to-watch Samuel Cole. Bjorck owns a string of stylish restaurants in his native Finland that culture-hop happily from Japanese fusion to modern European, so don't come expecting lingonberries and licorice.

Instead, Bjorck and Cole have gone for a beachy Mediterranean-meets-Japan menu, from manchego brioche toasties and miso eggplant with sesame hummus, to pork ribs with miso caramel and togarashi. Even the tables are set with both iittala cutlery and chopsticks.

Blanca is big on snacks. Well-made oxtail dumplings ($5) come with black vinegar dressing; and the Blanca black bun ($9) is an instant hit, a soft, puffy, ink-black steamed bun stuffed with crunchy/squishy deep-fried soft-shell crab and XO chilli mayo. Looks like a horror movie, tastes like heaven. Lup cheong croquetas ($5) are cute, but more bechamel then anything.

From the fresh/raw/cured section, the bonito "pastrami" ($24) is a fresh, clean Scandi/Jap vignette, the buttery flesh cured overnight and blow-torched, sliced and served with a yuzu-soy and brown butter dressing, flanked by furls of konbu, pickled daikon and dollops of yuzu cream.

The mains follow a similar pattern – protein, grill, acidity, cream – with heaping helpings of umami. Fremantle octopus ($26) is grilled, its charry tentacles resting on just-holding-together pressed octopus terrine and an overly coarse romesco, a rubble of almonds, hazelnuts and roasted red peppers. Sichuan lamb sausages come with a crisp fennel salad with yuzu creme and a Thai-style sesame vinaigrette ($24), but the tiny links are grimly low in fat.

Not so, chunks of soft lamb neck in a bowl with egg noodles ($26) in a comforting lamb broth with green olives and hints of harissa. It's bordering on too many borders, but gets away with it.

Blanca has a soft spot for Japanese whisky and sake, but there's enough on the Oz/Euro wine list to enjoy, including a fresh and savoury 2016 Stuart Proud Pinot Gris ($15/75). The sweetly named Bondi Sands combines chocolate ganache, salted caramel, vanilla cream, biscuit and a lovely panna cotta ice-cream ($17) that's basically layering rich upon rich.

Purists might be unnerved by the hyperactive menu, but the constants – clarity, acidity and above all, umami – pull it together, and it all feels right for its time, place and tribe. In brief, go heavy on the snacks and seafood, don't miss the black bun, and watch that chopstick technique. You're wearing white, remember.

The lowdown

Best bit: Very welcoming vibe.
Worst bit: Bit pricey for the portion size.