Bar Vincent is a beloved Sydney dining room. It’s a restaurant chefs love to dine in, where an ever-changing Italian-leaning menu is characterised by pared-back plates executed perfectly. The Darlo corner spot opened in 2019, but with a lived-in charm that makes it feel like it’s been there forever. Now owners Sarah Simm and Andy Logue are looking for a break, and the Bar Copains team (Morgan McGlone, Nathan and Sali Sasi) are making it happen.

“It’s literally my, Sali’s and Morgan’s favourite restaurant,” Nathan tells Broadsheet. “When the opportunity came to look at it, we thought we’d love to do this. It’s such a great place, what Andy and Sarah do is so incredible. It’s just one of those things we naturally fell into.”

The timing’s not ideal though. It comes just four weeks after McGlone and the Sasis opened restaurant-bar pair Bessie’s and Alma’s in January. The woodfired restaurant’s a much bigger undertaking than its sibling Copains, and the team is flat chat. But they couldn’t let the opportunity pass.

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“If [saying no] means that they might sell it to someone else or they might potentially close the doors, we’ll just make it happen. It’s just coming back to the fact it’s our favourite place, it’s a Sydney institution. We’ve got to make this happen.”

It’s a touching passing of the torch: casual staff work across both Copains and Vincent, and the new owners are longtime regulars. “For us, a little bit similar to the Chef’s Warehouse site where we are with Bessie’s, these places are quite iconic to Sydney. You’d hate to see such a great place – that people go to from Sydney and internationally – man, I’d hate for this place to disappear.”

But will anything change? The relaxed, refined service? The homely menu? The half-serve pastas? The interesting natural wines? “The thing is, it’s not broken. So we don’t need to come in and try to fix it. It’s great service there, the wine list is good, the food’s good. We just want to continue the legacy they’ve built.

“We would love for people to come in and realise the transition from them to us has been seamless and the business is just operating as usual. I love the style of food, I love the philosophy around really seasonal, produce-driven food, and we’re just going to continue as is.”

There is one big change on the way. Where you’d previously have to email or call to secure a spot at Vinny, you can expect a new online booking system when the incoming owners take the reins.

Morgan McGlone, Nathan Sasi and Sali Sasi will take over Bar Vincent on April 1, 2025.