Don’t go to Bar Copains flashing a photo of a rare wine you saw on Instagram. While they might have it, co-owners Morgan McGlone (Sunday, ex-Belle’s Hot Chicken) and Nathan Sasi (founding chef at Nomad, Mercado and Adelaide’s Leigh Street Wine Room) can’t abide clout- or label-chasing.
“I don’t want come across as an arsehole, but some people are only drinking it for status. I want the wines to be enjoyed by people who have reverence for them. They understand where it’s coming from,” McGlone tells Broadsheet.
It’s not snobbery. It’s love and respect for the wine – particularly because a significant proportion of what’s in Bar Copains’ cellar comes from McGlone and Sasi’s personal wine collections, which are thousands strong and curated over decades. Not everything is on-site, but there’s a delicious selection taking in small producers and classic Australian wines (such as Tyrrell’s), with plenty of natural wines and super-rare drops. They recently sold unicorns such as a 2015 Pierre Gonon St-Joseph, and a 2011 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc.
Bar Copains is a wine bar first, but it’s hard to look past Sasi’s skill in the kitchen. “I’m partners with one of the best-skilled masters of this generation of chefs,” says McGlone. “Where I would stop, he goes another four steps, and that’s to the benefit of the customer.”
Sasi’s menu is constantly shifting. As an ideal accompaniment to a chablis or chardonnay, there are Sydney rock oysters from the South Coast served with mignonette and anchovy toast, plus choux buns filled with Comté custard.
There’s also Murray cod cooked over an open flame on the custom Japanese konro grill, a nod to Sasi’s days at Nomad. Bluefin tuna belly is served with soy and mustard dressing, pickled kohlrabi, fermented chilli and fresh horseradish. For vegetarians, crispy eggplant is served with tomato jam and salted ricotta, and there are tomatoes accompanied by compressed watermelon and goat’s curd.
McGlone and Sasi have moved in the same social circles since the ’90s, but they became close during their time together at celebrated Southern-style restaurant Husk in Nashville (McGlone was chef de partie while Sasi was staging) and kept in touch over the years. Inspired by that time, McGlone (who also lists celebrated french bistro, Flinders Inn, on his resume, which he opened in Sydney in 2009) moved to Melbourne in 2014 to opened Belles Hot Chicken. He’s sold out of it now but Belles remains in operation today.
The idea for Bar Copains is almost as old as McGlone and Sasi’s friendship. “Copains” is a French word for friends. McGlone acknowledges this will be a new chapter for them. “It’s not easy – I’ve been a boss, Nathan’s been a boss, but now we have to navigate respect for each other, our friendship, our business relationship, and be sensitive with how we react to certain things and how we talk to each other,” says McGlone. (Sasi’s wife, Sali Sasi, is also a partner in the business.)
The pair have struck a fine balance: McGlone is so affable and magnetic, it’s clear that front-of-house is his forte, while Sasi is at home exercising his craftsmanship in the kitchen. “I’m super happy with the way it’s been going. We couldn’t have asked for a better start,” says McGlone
Bar Copains
67 Albion Street, Surry Hills
Hours
Thu to Sat 12pm–late
Sun 1pm–late
Mon 4pm–late
barcopains.com
18 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023