When it comes to iconic waterside dining in Sydney, it’s hard to beat Icebergs.

The south-Bondi restaurant boasts one of the most Instagrammed locations in the country and the food has always been worthy of the view.

So when Icebergs Dining Room and Bar throws open its doors this Wednesday (December 14), following an eight-month, multi-million-dollar renovation, it will herald a new era of dining for Sydney.

Its long-awaited reopening date also happens to be the venue’s 20th anniversary. It’s an amazing achievement, especially considering Sydney is a fickle dining town. Restaurants open and close constantly, with diners always on the hunt for the next big thing.

What makes Icebergs a stayer is that it isn’t afraid of embracing the new. While it’s a stalwart, it’s not stagnant – restaurateur Maurice Terzini is constantly reimagining the venue. He says the goal is consistently working towards creating a great culture.

“Icebergs has a very clear narrative with great design, great staff and of course, wonderful clients,” he says.

“Achieving perfection and a level of self-respect is something that drives me. I’m also committed to leaving a legacy for my children. It’s never the right time to take risks but when an idea is so clear there is no stopping me from getting there.”

Terzini agrees that Icebergs holds a special place in people’s hearts. Nigella Lawson said it was her “favourite restaurant in the whole world: there’s no view quite like it.”

“Icebergs Dining Room and Bar is the sum of its parts, but the Pacific Ocean has an energy that is very powerful and adds that unique element to what makes Icebergs what it is,” Terzini says.

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When it comes to the food, executive chef Alex Prichard, 28, says it won’t stray from what has always made Icebergs great. “The menu brief over the years has never changed,” he says. “Even though there have been different chefs, they’ve always been led by Maurice’s brief that it has to be flavours his mother would recognise, but food she’s never going to cook.”

While Terzini’s background is Italian, the food at Icebergs would be better described as Italian-inspired. “In terms of a brief for a chef that’s pretty unique. It’s broad and open to interpretation,” Prichard says. “There are lots of delicious things that might not be Italian, but taste it.”

One of the dishes Prichard highlights is a koshihikari rice risotto with XO sauce and raw scallop prawns.  “Technically, there’s not a single Italian ingredient in that, but it still tastes deeply Italian,” he says. “When Maurice’s mum ate it, she said it was the best risotto she’d ever had.”

Another of Prichard’s favourites is a seafood crudo with green ants. “They give a citrus pop, so it tastes like a crudo you would eat on the Amalfi Coast,” he says. “We’re by the seaside, the food should be light, fresh and feminine.”

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Seafood will be a big part of the menu, with guests greeted by the site of a seafood counter and ice trough displaying the best local seafood, from lobster to pearl meat. “It’s a modern interpretation of a seafood tank. Guests can see it and interact with it. Many people wouldn’t have seen pearl meat before, it’s beautiful,” Prichard says. “Maurice and I wanted to bring back the idea of a seafood platter but make it cool and sexy.”

Rather than a tower of fried everything, you can expect luxurious bites such as handpicked mud crab with aioli and lemon, coral trout crudo, pearl meat with radish and yabbies with cultured cream, depending on what’s come in that day.

Prichard is keen to point out that it’s not an entirely new menu, beloved dishes such as the gamberetti, fried school prawns, and the signature steak aren’t going anywhere. “It’s hard to say something is perfect, but it’s tough to improve on the salt-crusted rib eye,” he says. “Karen Martini put it on the menu at Café e Cucina 30 years ago and Maurice has carried it with him. Over the years we’ve used different meats, but it’s always the same process – a 500 gram, boneless rib eye, where we remove the channel fat in the center, and serve it salt crusted.” The current incarnation will use a Rangers Valley black onyx rib eye, sourced from delicious. butcher Anthony Puharich of Vic’s Meats.

A new addition will be Icebergs Sundays, with seatings from 4pm-7pm. “The idea comes from Maurice’s childhood in Italy, these long endless lunches the Mediterranean is known for,” Prichard says. “In summer, instead of having lunch and dinner service, we’ll take advantage of sunsets and have people in for one long sitting. You can have a late lunch, sink into the table and not be kicked off as you watch the sun set over Bondi.”

One of the best spots for sunset drinks will be the new terrace area. Terzini engaged the original architects, Carl Pickering and the team at Lazzarini Pickering Architetti in Rome, to create a luxurious extension.

“It used to be a wooden deck with an outdoor bar open to the elements, which was limiting. We’ve made it almost part of dining space, but still separate,” Prichard says. “It has a private entrance, bathroom and bar. Removable glass panels means you can have it all open on a beautiful day, but you’re not limited by the weather if it’s raining or windy. You can close it up but it still feels like you’re outside.”

Prichard credits Icebergs’ ongoing success to Terzini’s vision, but concedes the restaurant is its own beast. “I think if Icebergs opened without Maurice, it wouldn’t be the same. His creativity and impact on Australian dining is huge, but Icebergs is bigger than all of us,” he says.

“It says a lot that the people in the room are mainstays. Maurice made me head chef when I was 23 and I’m now 28, Tasso della Noce, our general manager, has been on the floor for nine years and customers always ask for him. Gabby Webster has been the sommelier for nine years and Matty Opai has been behind the bar for nine years. It’s a testament to the family environment Maurice has built. “We’ve also grown with our clientele. People who celebrated their 18th birthday at Icebergs are coming in for their wedding anniversaries. The restaurant holds something special in people’s hearts.”

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