The Spanish call it tapas, the Greeks meze, in Italy it’s l’aperitivo, and here, it’s well… drinks and snacks. A glass or two, a couple of small plates, and off you go. But just as the Italians now have l’apericena – loosely translating as “drinks and snacks that turns into dinner” – it seems many of us can’t help lingering, ordering more, and turning a quick and casual affair into a serious commitment.

“We wanted to open a wine bar with a bit of food,” says Bar Copains chef-creator Nathan Sasi as he moves purposefully around the tiny kitchen of this sunny, slender Surry Hills indoor-outdoor eat-and-drink-ery.

“But we’re making a lot of food!” We get it. As we perch on stools at the bar, we quickly line up quite a selection from the short-and-simple menu. Descriptions below.

The drinks list, on the other hand, is multi-paged: interesting by-the-glass choices through to eclectic, often very special bottles, plus cocktails, non-alcs, beers, spirits.

Around and above, shelves are lined with more bottles – from classics to more edgy creations, prices in handwritten white marker.

We’re told many come directly from Sasi’s personal collection alongside that of his “copain” (French for friend or mate), Morgan McGlone. Co-creator here, McGlone is widely known as the brains behind Belle’s Hot Chicken but with a long local and international hospitality CV.

It’s great to have them both back in town (Sasi started at Nomad, way back, but has been in Adelaide, both in and out of the industry). And it’s so nice to drink their drinks and eat their food, served from fat, narrow-necked ceramic carafes and on McGlone’s handmade pottery plates.

The “bar à vin” or “friendly neighbourhood wine bar” (as the signs say) is easy and welcoming: high seats plus a scattering of tables, more on the footpath. A little back area is serviced by waiters passing things through the side window for ease of delivery.

A couple of just-salty shucked-to-order oysters slips down with a splash of sparkling chenin (Domaine Perrault Jadaud ‘haut les choeurs’) then it’s straight to crunchy crumbed squares of flakey pork (pig’s head) draped with pickled cucumbers, with a Gippsland pinot gris (The Wine Farm).

Soft eggplant rings crunch in batter, snow-dredged with grated salt ricotta, sticky tomato jam below. Fabulous. A salad of tomato, watermelon, pickled radish and goat’s curd is a sweet, sour, juicy and savoury mix. Great.

If you had to stop at one snack, the king george whiting sambo – soft, crustless white bread, crumbed fillets, iceberg lettuce and a punchy tartare – would likely be it. Just so good.

We scoop pipis from their shells in a tomato, chorizo, sea blite, chilli sauce. A chilled red from Heathcote (nikau de copains – chilled pinot noir riesling et al) is a fun and easy match.

Somehow we’ve also just had a smooth scoop of just-made coconut, lime and pandan sorbet – sweet meets sharp meets fragrant – and apparently we shouldn’t leave without the (Montenegro) amaro-flavoured crème caramel. Correct. It’s divine.

A few drinks, several little dishes, friendly, savvy service… No wonder we couldn’t stop. And yes, we’ll be back. For sure. Thanks, friends.

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