Longterm Crown Street residence Bishop Sessa has just announced that it is shutting up shop. But Surry Hills residents and visitors need not pull out the tissue box just yet, for the Italian eatery has confirmed that it is simply undergoing a rebrand.

From Sessa’s ashes will rise wine bar The Bishop. “Restaurant years are like dog years,” says owner Erez Gordon. “Particularly in the brutal Sydney market, and doubly so when faced with the challenges the light rail construction has brought to this end of Surry Hills. After six years, we knew it was time for a well-deserved change. The question was, what kind of change did we want?”

Fans of the establishment will be pleased to hear that staff will remain, so too will a broad wine list, set to be accompanied by a more casual take on the venue’s former five-course menu. “First and foremost, The Bishop is a wine bar,” says Gordon. “But it’s a wine bar where food is a big focus.” Taking care of this fare will be chef Troy Spencer, the co-owner of Spencer Guthrie restaurant and most recently the executive chef at TarraWarra Estate in the Yarra Valley.

“You can settle in for the crisp duck leg with whipped cashew and Madeira paired with a bottle of Lark Hill Sangiovese, or pop in for the Trout Shami Kebabs with tamarind with a glass of Baron de Turis Malvasia,” explains Gordon. Drops range in 30 by the glass, with 200 by the bottle, and a smattering of cocktails and beers to book.

With a relaxed new outlook accompanied by “great wine, great bites and no strain on your wallet”, The Bishop looks set to remain a Surry Hills favourite. “I’d like to think we’ll see people more often,” says Gordon, “before dinner, after dinner, for dinner.”

The Bishop
527 Crown Street, Surry Hills
thebishop.com.au