Killer Surry Hills wine and snack bar Bar Copains is one of our favourite places in Sydney. In fact, the neighbourhood spot – which means ‘friends’ in French – won Time Out’s Best Wine Bar Award 2023. And now, the trio behind the hit venue – Morgan McGlone (culinary director of Potts Point’s Sunday and founder of Belles Hot Chicken), Nathan Sasi (the founding chef of Nomad), and Sasi’s partner Sali (co-founder of shopping platform Wrapd) – are opening two new venues under the one roof this September. Called Bessie's Restaurant and Bar Alma, the restaurant will have a Mediterranean focus with fire at the heart of the kitchen, while the cocktail bar will be shaking and pouring old-school classics done well. “No smoke and bubbles,” Sali Sasi told Time Out while laughing.
And the venue is pretty special. It’s the old Chefs Warehouse located on Albion Street – just 70 metres from Bar Copains.
Sasi said, “Being the old Chefs Warehouse, long-time hospitality professionals know the space well. It’s nostalgic, and there’s a lot of history in the walls. We didn’t want such an iconic old building to become office blocks.”
And there’s a touching nod to the special women who influenced the rocking chefs and instilled a love of food. Bessie's is named after McGlone's grandmother, while Alma is named after Sasi's nan.
The team has called on some serious talent to head up the kitchen at Bessie's Restaurant. Celebrated Sydney-born chef Remy Davis, from the Michelin-starred Elkano restaurant, is relocating from San Sebastian for the head chef gig.
Accessibility and affordability are a huge focus for the team. Similar to Bar Copains, the trio want Bessie's Restaurant and Bar Alma to be somewhere you can pop in a few nights a week.
“We want people to walk away and think it was great value,” said Sasi.
And because this is the Bar Copains team we’re talking about, two things are also pretty guaranteed: there’ll be excellent wine, and when you come you’ll have a damn good time.
“We've got a gazillion wine fridges. It's going to be fun,” said Sali.
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