Bondi Road Fruitologist

Just smashed — smashed, I tell you — a summer bowl of acai jacked with banana and strawberry and granola, I basically head butted it with my face and kept swallowing until I hit cardboard. And I feel 100% healthier than I did five minutes ago.
Had Messina 3 days in a row so I couldn’t face a bacon and egg roll and needed something fresh, like, and this place has tons, from yoghurts topped with obscene amounts of fruit and coulis (the fig and pomegranate looked best) to cacao and quinoa tubs and everything your run of the mill floppy hat-​earing Bondi hipster could ever crave, in addition to all the fruit and vegetables.
One of the most responsible brekky options on Bondi Rd.

I LOVE beautiful, fresh fruit and vegetables! They make me happy… so much colour, variety, texture and general goodness…
It sounds cheesy but shopping at the Fruitologist reminds me how lucky I am… I live in a great suburb by the sea, in a country without war/​extreme poverty/​-​40c weather etc and with access to a rainbow of nature’s best produce… it’s hard to say I’ve had a bad day when I remember these things (and treat myself with a chunk of watermelon or a shiny plum).
It’s a little squishy getting around the store and the average prices are usually a little higher than the supermarkets… but the flavour, freshness and quality definitely makes up for any hassle shopping here might cause (eg this season stone fruit has been super-​cheap at coles/​woolies but tasted really bland… by comparison, the pricier stone fruit here have been juicy and delicious… it’s just plain better quality).
Along with fruit and veg, the store sells some grocery items and trendy/​specialty foods… interesting sauces, organic pasta, gourmet frozen foods, deli items etc…
My only complaints are:
a) The cheese — I’ve bought cheese that has been packaged on site a few times and have repeatedly found they’ve gone bad… like crazy-​furry-​growing-​arms-​and-​legs bad… not cool
b) The ridiculously rude customers! I am constantly defending Bondi against cliches about self-​centred, yuppy residents… but the people shopping at the Fruitologist are often exactly that. No need to push/​shove and park yourself smack in the middle of aisles people! We’re all just trying to buy some fruit…

Have you ever been to a Fruit and Vegetable store and continually have to sift through the pile of oranges or bananas to find the good ones, or are sick of wondering the aisles to try and find what you’re looking for.
Well you won’t have to anymore if you shop here, this has to be by far one of the best fruit and veggie shops ’round. All the stock looks amazing and everything has been organised really well and is labelled so you can find what you want fast. The store here also goes the extra step in providing more than what you’d normally find in your typical green grocer. They also have their own selection of yoghurts, their own squeezed orange juice and cut up fruits in containers, tubs of Bravo brand ice cream tubs, a deli selection, complete with olives, cheeses, cold meats, sausages, breads, dips and chocolates and even a flower section out front.
If you’re in a hurry you can even pop by their counter window on the corner for some halva, yoghurt, tub of fruit or a juice. This place even does home delivery. This place does charge a little more than most places, but they’re worth it.

I get it, Bondi. You’re a spectacular beach, you have awesome water views, and you’re full of beautiful people.
But that just doesn’t make it ok to charge $ 5 for one mango, during mango season. Or $ 6 for a punnet of really sour cherry tomatoes.
Granted, the Fruitologist is conveniently located on the bustling beachbound traffic vein that is Bondi Road, so higher than usual prices are to be expected. They do a roaring trade, which means high stock turnover and therefore a lot of fresh produce on display, but grab just and a handful of items to supplement your dinner and you’re easily looking at a $ 20 transaction.
I will however give them some deserved snaps for stocking interesting and helpful items, like the little pots of liquid chocolate that sit right next to the strawberries, or the rose/​pistachio/​vanilla Persian fairy floss at the counter to add a bit of interest to your desserts. Their best item by far are the fresh coconut sold from the corner nook of the shop facing Kemeny’s. After a long day at the beach, these massive vessels are sliced open for you to slurp away at their chilled, salty-​sweet liquid innards. Once empty, they double up as a tropical cocktail container, too.

What I love about Bondi Road Fruitologist is that yes, they sell good quality fruit and vegetables, but there’s also a host of other delicious things for sale here too. There’s lots of healthy museli’s, cereals, nuts, grains, yoghurts, fruit salads, fruit baskets… I could go on but I think you get the idea.
Then there’s the chutneys, sauces, spreads, dips, olives, cheeses, cold meats and all the other fabulous deli-​food that Bondi Road Fruitologist also stocks.
Not to mention the ice-​cream, gelato and chocolates you can buy here! My favourite is the strawberry plates they sell for $ 6.99 which hold about 7 or 8 huge strawberries and you can also buy a couple of chocolate dipping pots with them.
The prices are pretty reasonable, they are higher than the major supermarkets but the quality of the fruit and vegetables is noticeably better.

Nothing makes me happy like fresh fruit & veg, and the Fruitologist staff keep everything on high rotation, freshening the water regularly and lovingly looking after their produce. Plus as this place is BUSY it has a high stock turn-​over anyway. The produce is reasonably priced and they have everything you need to make a meal if you just want to make one stop. If you’re after oils, tinned tomatoes, bread, pre-​made salads and soups they have all that here too. Even flowers, so if you’re rushing for a dinner date this is a handy place to stop in! The groceries are more expensive than nearby Kemeny’s but the fruit & veg at Kemeny’s is of inferior quality so I’ll let you figure that out.
Specials bins out front have pre-​packed and loose selections and a rack by the cash registers holds everything that didn’t pass muster in the stock rotation. I’ve picked up some experimental stuff (eg artichokes, purple sweet potatoes) I’d never cooked with before from here, just because!