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When the owners of Surry Hills’ Bar Copains – Sal Sasi, husband Nathan Sasi and Morgan McGlone – embarked on a research trip to Europe, they weren’t quite sure what the follow-up to their hugely popular wine bar would be. But a handful of enlightening meals in London and San Sebastian rooted in the fundamentals of hospitality – warm and attentive service, elemental cooking over fire and coals – inspired them.

They knew what they had to do, and they had just the space to do it in: a cavernous Albion Street space, just over 100 metres up the road, that once housed kitchen supplier Chef’s Warehouse. The result is Alma’s and Bessie’s, a restaurant and bar under the same roof.

Bessie’s share-style Mediterranean menu is big, with a kitchen to match. Along one wall, you’ll watch the team cooking with flames. The goal is that almost every dish has a component that flirts with fire.

That could take the shape of 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. There’s even 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 lengthy menu – ripe with proteins and veggies – can be played any way you like. There’s no set menu, but there is a minimum spend if you’ve made a booking. An after-dinner drink at Alma’s isn’t essential, but highly recommended. Or you can kick on at Bar Copains, just down the road.

This place was added to the Hot List recently and has the whole city talking.

Contact Details

Phone: No phone

Website: bessiesrestaurant.com

Updated: February 14th, 2025

We do not seek or accept payment from the cafes, restaurants, bars and shops listed in the Directory – inclusion is at our discretion. Venue profiles are written by independent freelancers paid by Broadsheet.

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