Patrons can expect a sleeker, more polished venue with a seafood-driven menu when the Surry Hills favourite reopens in mid-March.
After a decade of serving customers in Sydney’s Surry Hills, The Wild Rover’s owner, Jimmy Bradey has decided to tame the wildness.
“The Rover has been around for 10 years. The venue has been much loved, and it needs some love put back into it,” Jimmy said.
Initially, the idea was to refresh the Wild Rover’s interior.
“We looked at it and said ‘Look, we’re going to have to do some work to it to make sure it lasts another 10 years.’”
But once the process began, management recognised that the bar might have to adapt to keep up with changes in Surry Hills and customer taste.
“We kind of looked at the area, the changes that the area had gone through, and identified that [The Wild Rover] needed a bit of an uplift in its service style and its offering,” Jimmy says.
“We’re giving it more of a polish, adding a little bit of sophistication and elevating the venue somewhat.”
In practice, this means that bar is moving beyond its original Irish theme, and taking influence from the seafood venues of New York and New England.
“It was never your typical Irish pub, with sticky carpets and Guinness, but it was about that friendliness and that Irish welcome. It’s still that kind of neighbourhood bar, and that ethos will remain,” Jimmy explains.
The reimagined drinks offering is being driven by Alex Gondzioulis (formerly of Bulletin Place) and Will Oxenham, an alumnus of Dante’s, New York, and Sydney’s Maybe Sammy.
According to Jimmy, menu will include a small selection of “punchy, natural, biodynamic and well-made wines”. Seasonal and classic cocktails will also feature, with an emphasis on pre-batching. A favourite of Alex’s is the Mary Celeste, a twist on the classic Martini designed to pair with the bar’s fresh oysters. Read the recipe here.
“The benefit of [pre-batching] is that you’re ensuring a higher quality and higher consistency, because you’re putting in the work ahead of time,” Jimmy explains.
“Most good quality kitchens do this, and have done for decades,” he adds.
“And it means we can really focus on service, so if you come up to the bar and order a cocktail, there will be engagement and service from the bartender, rather than five minutes of throwing tins around.”
The bar’s famous whiskey list will be retained, albeit with a smaller scope, and a focus on quality over quantity.
“I think it’s easier for a customer to navigate than when you’ve got 35 drinks for them to work out. When you have less, it generally means that they have to be better quality.”
As for food, the Rover will take inspiration from seafood venues in England, New York and New England, with curried fish finger sandwiches and freshly shucked oysters two flagship dishes.
“There’ll be things like pig’s head terrine, cheese carved at the bar and charcuterie too, but different sorts of approachable seafood is the drive we are going for,” Jimmy says.
Liquid and Larder, the group that runs The Rover, has tapped Nick Matheson, currently the Senior Sous Chef at Bistecca, to head the kitchen. Nick will work alongside Company Executive Chef, Philip Pratt, formerly of London’s Michelin-starred Club Gascon.
As for the Wild Rover’s popular ‘Whiskey Co-op’ – it’s a question of ‘wait and see’, with the venue still fleshing out long-term plans for its upstairs space.
When the Rover does reopen its doors later this month, Jimmy encourages all to: “Come in, thick and fast, for a drink and a plate of oysters!”
The Rover, at 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills, will reopen in mid-March.
