Randwick North

Back in the day we’d spill out of a Ritz Cinema session, noses still full of buttery nostalgia, and wander the junction hunting carbs and small pleasures. Bake Bar used to be the first stop — the oven smell did the work of any morning motivation while the adjoining Gusto Espresso Bar kept the caffeine rituals rolling (yes, we know the reviews loved it). If we were feeling fancy, we’d limp over to the Newmarket precinct for a Sella Vinoteca sharing plate — Stefano Gaspa’s Sardinian touches felt secretly continental for a suburb that also doubles as a hospital and uni satellite.

Randwick North wears its contradictions like a favourite jumper. As Concrete Playground put it, we’re perfectly positioned between Centennial Park and the coastline that eventually laps Coogee and Maroubra. That means one minute you’ve got pram-and-picnic vibes, the next you’re navigating race day energy around Royal Randwick Racecourse or the student-fuelled density near UNSW and the Prince of Wales Hospital (Time Out even noted the food corridor shaped by students, hospitals and migrant communities).

Local drama? Oh, we had our municipal soap-opera: Randwick Council’s proposal to introduce paid parking across seven beaches — Clovelly, Coogee, Maroubra, Malabar, Little Bay, La Perouse and Yarra Bay — got everyone stirred. It was less “how much is a ticket” and more “who do we complain to” energy.

Who would hate it here: people who crave anonymous suburbia — those who can’t stand race-day cheer, uni-year ebbs, or the occasional community event at The Spot (remember Spot On’s fortnightly food-and-cinema nights?). If you despise variety, this place will feel like a relentless buffet.

Who would love it: anyone who secretly likes having everything on the same day’s to-do list — cinema, bakery pastries, Italian wine, Lebanese feasts, green space and a beach trip that’s only a short curse away when the council proposes parking changes. Randwick North never pretended to be sedate. We wouldn’t have it any other way.