Salami

Tommy Panini has been on my list since they first opened in Brookvale — owned by a private chef who’s cooked for A-listers like Mariah Carey (wild, right?). But since Brookvale is basically a day trip for me, I never quite made it happen. So when I heard they opened a Bondi location a few months back, I was very excited.

Unfortunately, my first choice — the mortadella — was sold out, and I wasn’t feeling anything too tomato-y, so I went for the salami with a little upgrade — added hot honey (always) and pickled chilli. The hot honey worked beautifully, but the chilli I could’ve done without.

Visually though, I totally get why this one’s Instagram-famous — packed layers of salami, with generous shaved parmigiano that made it look extra fancy. It photographed so well. The pizza bread itself was chewy, garlicky, and soft — exactly what you’d expect from something wood-fired and folded.

That said, maybe the hype got me this time. Everyone kept calling it “life-changing,” so I went in with sky-high expectations... and, well, maybe that’s on me 😂 It was still great — a solid 10 in my books — just didn’t quite blow my socks off.

Also, the flies and seagulls at Bondi definitely weren’t doing me any favours 😅 Still, I’m super keen to come back for the mortadella or maybe the salad sambo next time — that one looks like it leans more sandwich than pizza, and sometimes, you just want a proper sando vibe, you know?