Gelbison Italian Restaurant

I’m a New Yorker living in the east since 1995. If you want to get the best pizza…it’s in New York. If you can’t make it to New York head down to Bondi, Gelbison’s is an institution. It’s been there as long as I have lived here and its quality has been unwavering. 5 stars for food because their pizza is amazing (not NY thin crust style) 5 stars for atmosphere as the place is always buzzing with excitement and eating outside gives you that view of Bondi Beach. 5 stars for service as they hire friendly helpful staff that make the experience fun.

Gelbison is a local Bondi neighbourhood gem! Old school Italian at it's best. Be prepared, this place is much loved, and gets busy, so make sure you book in advance and don't be surprised if it's noisy. If you prefer less chatter, book a table outside. Huge range of pasta, pizza and traditional Italian mains and sides. The food is delicious and well priced and the staff are lovely. It's BYO and you can also buy alcohol there. Perfect for take-away as well. Highly recommend. Casual, low-key vibe.

We went there after the city2surf today, and had gnocchi, spaghetti bolognaise and risotto. Even though it was fully packed the service was great and the pasta was delicious

My favourite comfort restaurant with the most delicious food! Have been eating here since I was a kid. I was devastated when they recently took their stracciatella pasta off their menu however when I asked for it they were still able to make it for me. This service went above and beyond and is the exact reason why I keep going back, plus the pastas and pizzas are incredible! Love you guys! (Put the stracciatella back on your menu)

The pasta tastes so good, especially the vongole, the fresh clams with the tomatoes is such a good combination. Everything is fresh and delicious. Here are lots of portions for pasta, I prefer spaghetti and pappardelle. It’s right near the beach, so it’s pretty busy here, but the food here really really worth a try.

We always go here and absolutely love it! The most authentic Italian food in Sydney. I have brought so many friends/family here and they love it now too. Such a hidden gem.

Had a Saturday night dinner there - place was full with good atmosphere. Mussels and pasta very nice. Salad serving very generous.

Went for a friends birthday dinner. Food was extremely slow and very average. Service was nice, Friendly staff and attentive to some extent but the wait on food was out of control. 7pm booking and no mains until 10 past 9 even tho we ordered at 7:15. Shocking!

Worth feeding to the fire Loooots of anchovies on all the dishes. Anchovy taste for a decade to come.

Pizza was great. Service was terrible. Carbonara was one of the worst I've had. Seriously just order pizza here and get it delivered. Not worth coming with such bad service and such bad pasta.

You know when you're overseas, and the best restaurants always turn out to be the dodgiest looking? It seems the same concept could be applied to Bondi's backpacker infested beachfront haunts, the Campbell Parade strip of diners an area I prefer to avoid. Apprehension was my gut reaction upon arriving at Gelbison, a pokey little restaurant with dated interiors featuring potted plants, harsh yellow lighting and varnished timber everything. The unidentifiable brown sauce smothering Lover's veal scallopine was equally concerning (I let him do the tasting on that one) but I must give the kitchen snaps on their pizza. A simple margherita with a light layer of tomato sauce, substantial mozzarella slices and dried oregano had a thin, crispy base; the $14 price tag not too shabby either. Their lengthy menu is a red flag for hit-and-miss potential, but I've heard good things about their bowls of mussels cooked in a lemony sauce with fresh parsely, and would happily forgo ambience on another occasion if the meal were to be as surprisingly pleasant as my last.

Takeaway from here through suppertime was meh. It arrived late but it was storming so that's fair. Asked for extra dressing and they slathered on a ton of it inside the salad instead of giving an extra cup of it on the side - my mistake for not clarifying. The salad was plain and boring - literally just lettuce, anchovies, and maybe a bit of red onion. Super small for a "large" meant to be shared with 6 people. Pizzas were good but nothing amazing or memorable. Wouldn't go again.

This pizza restaurant encapsulated everything I love about family style restaurants. The ambience is that of an Eastern European diner mixed with outdoor beach-side living. The family that runs this restaurant have been doing the same menu for 10 years, and it's as popular as it's even been. Don't be put off by the location in Bondi, it's not an icon for tourists, more like a hidden gem shared between many locals who have loved it for generations. The food is absolutely great, and the prices are reasonable for the location, and service experienced. Try the Pizzas (they're all fantastic) and the muscles, which are to die for with lemon and herbs, if you stay for desert try the Tiramisu cake, or lemon sorbet, with a re melt in the mouth heavenly delicious.

If I was grading on the quality of food alone this place might have received a 4/5, however, it took over 1 hr and 12 min for us (2 people) to receive our order of 1 large pizza and 1 small penne pasta. A little ridiculous for a place that claims to be 'fast casual.' If we are being real here, by the time our food arrived I was so famished that my tastebuds may have tricked me into thinking it was way above average. Well played, Gelbisons, well played.

Gelbison is the type of pizzeria you discover through a recommendation from a friend. It's reputation speaks volumes about this famous pizzeria. Off the beaten track of Bondi's Campbell parade, you will walk past Gelbison and wonder why are so many people in the restaurant. The interiors aren't particularly captivating, but the small of the stone over and the delicious aroma of garlic will get your taste buds excited. The first time I discovered Gelbisons was when I was working late in the office and a colleague had picked up the "Magic Boot Pizza". All I can tell you is that after having a slice, I became hooked. Always one to shy away from the word "anchovies" I have now become a massive fan thanks to my Gelbison introduction. It's a great family friendly restaurant with a fun vibe and good food. Worthy of a taste test.

Pizza was so good I have to go back and get another!!! The pizza is amazing, it was fresh and crispy just like real Italian pizza!

closer to a 2.5 The pizza was very good, but I would recommend just ordering it takeout. the pasta was average at best. We has the spaghetti con vongole (baby clams), which is supposedly their specialty, and I just found it plain. My biggest complaint was the wait to get a table. With Gelbison's reputation it's expected there'll be a wait, but I called in a reservation and still hd to wait an inordinate amount of time. It was also really hard to get the wait staff's attention. If the food were amazing it'd be worth it, but it was just so so.

Poorest service I have ever experienced! The waitresses was just standing around chit chatting with each other while handing out the food to people who came almost half an hour after me and my boyfriend while some even before us where still waiting. It took almost an hour before getting our food, not even hot. Don't come in their peek hours!

Everything was BEAUTIFUL! It's literally porn pizza, so yummy, crunchy, perfect balance of ingredients. Moreover, I recommend Zuppa di Cozze, these are mussels in white wine napoletana sauce, just AMAZING. My congratulations to the Restaurant, authentic Italian food. I'll be back for more.

Gelbison is the type of place you go with your friends and family for an easy meal and a laugh without hurting the hip pocket too much. Always quick to serve, beautiful waitress' and BYO, I recommend the tomato mussels, salt and pepper squid, seafood marinara or any single one of their pizzas.

The crust is AMAZING! It's literally some of the best pizza crust I've ever had. It's a little chewy, crispy, sourdough bready. It's incredible. The sauce isn't the best. But, that crust. You must try the pizza for its crust!

Massive menu and great pasta and seafood. North Bondi Italian was closed so we managed to stumble across this italian authentic gem :) Great place for a casual italian feast.

Loved the pizza here. Been here several times some years ago while a learned the concept of BYO so dont forget your bottle of wine ;) great spot for a pizza when you are hungry after a long beach day. Its pretty casual so you can stop by in your flip flops and without make up ;) Can recommend this place. Actually did that, when some friends visited Sydney. And on 2 of 3 nights they spent there they went to the Gelbison. They must have liked it too :D