“You know when you have a dining experience and you walk away and you’re like, that is literally etched into my heart? It was one of those.” Sali Sasi is standing in the old Chef’s Warehouse space on Albion Street, talking about a meal on a research trip to London she took with her chef business partners: husband Nathan Sasi and friend Morgan McGlone. The trio, behind enduring Surry Hills favourite Bar Copains, is opening two new venues this week: Bessie’s and Alma’s, a restaurant and bar under the same roof.
That magic London meal was at Mountain, where a two-hour lunch rolled into a six-hour stay simply because of the Soho team’s dedication to hospitality. The friendly buzz. An attentive somm. An accommodating floor team. It’s what we’re in for come Thursday.
Honestly, these guys could do anything and Sydney would listen. Wait times for Copains can reach an hour on a school night – but now there’s a nice new spot to wait. The two new girls are only 130 metres up the road, with a vibe all their own.
We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.
SIGN UPThe restaurant’s share-style Mediterranean menu is big, with a kitchen to match. Along one wall, you’ll watch the team work over fire and coals. “We’re trying to have a little bit of every dish come from some component here,” Nathan tells Broadsheet. “Whether it’s the flatbreads cooked on there, or elements of the salads are a little bit smoked. Woodfired cooking is a really important part of the food.”
“Proper” cocktail bar Alma’s serves old party-ready classics. Harvey Wallbangers and Pimms Cups, maybe? Or a Miami Vice, where a “big, obnoxious” glass delivers a Pina-Colada-strawberry-Daquiri mix. Here it’s easy to make a meal out of the restaurant’s snack menu.
A homely, garlicky flatbread showered in chopped herbs with a whiff of dippable cod’s roe? Perfect. Or a simple dish of buffalo curd and cucumber, and the ‘70s-esque trio of mortadella, devilled eggs and pickle spears. There are golden empanadas and flame-licked mushrooms – and fish gets the Morgan McGlone fried-chicken treatment (as founder of Belle’s).
Nuggets of ocean jacket cheek, with a golden KFC-esque crust, arrive with a squeeze of lemon and Green Goddess to dip. “The actual bodies are shipped to Japan, cos they’re sashimi-grade ocean jacket,” McGlone says. “And they’ve got massive cheeks. And man! Man! They’re spicy. These cheeks are so meaty.”
There’s a nod to Copains and its fish sanga too: soft slices of white sandwiching Moreton Bay bug instead.
Joining Nathan in the kitchen is head chef Remy Davis, who returns from San Sebastian’s Elkano. The Sasis visited Elkano on their honeymoon, adoring it for its “rustic, honest cooking” – and the charcoaled turbot with pil pil its renowned for – so when they spied it on Davis’s CV, they knew he was their guy.
On the Sasis’ trip, chef-owner Aitor Arregui joined them at their table, teaching them how to eat each part of the fish properly. “You think it’s just a fish, but the texture’s so unique at each component,” Nathan says. “Just to have that experience is such a great thing.” The Bessie’s kitchen is reaching for the same, using the fattier Murray cod for a local edge.
The lengthy menu – ripe with proteins and veggies – can be played any way you like. There’s no set menu, and there’s a minimum $85 spend if you’ve made a booking. “It’s designed to be loose,” Sali says. “Walk in if you like. And just stand at the bar with your glass.”
Alma’s and Bessie’s are cosy in the same space, though have little defining characteristics. A chilled after-dinner mint arrives with your bill at Alma’s, and there are hidden drawers in tables to lock your phones away. Polished concrete floors make way for Bessie’s’ timber; staff wear different uniforms. Those familiar with the lofty site will spy little saved details from the Chef’s Warehouse era; and blue tiles spelling out “BE PUNCTUAL” remain from the space’s Tafe days. A large whisk-shaped door handle will be appreciated by those in the industry.
When Broadsheet visited ahead of this week’s soft launch, there was a remarkable lack of stress in the air. When that’s mentioned, Sali smiles. “Not our first rodeo.”
Bessie’s and Alma’s open at 111–115 Albion Street, Surry Hills, on Thursday January 16, 2025.