Sydney’s, Bath

The Scallop Shell (Bath, est. 2015)… or, Noah’s (Bristol since 2023)? If you have the opportunity to eat at either one of the Rosser family’s restaurants, don’t pass on it! 

Even without my bidding, it’s unlikely that you would; both of them easily top all manner of the ‘most recommended in Bath and Bristol charts’… for very good reason. And, as of July of this year, Sydney’s — right next door to The Scallop Shell, in the pub formerly known as The New Inn (now beautifully refurbished for a whole new audience) — offers further opportunities to make merry with the Rossers.

I love it that the family’s new venture is named after family head honcho Garry Rosser’s wife Lisa’s dad, aiming to honour the legacy of “a big-hearted family man who loved nothing more than bringing people together and a couple of drams of whisky before bed.” I never met Sydney, but I’d say Garry and Lisa have done him proud, offering a range of buoyant breakfasts and, later on, seasonal sharing plates complimented by a well-stocked bar served up in chic-but-cosy surroundings with a linger-long, laid back vibe… and featuring a gorgeous alfresco roof terrace that offers a fresh perspective on Bath’s ‘typical’ urban vistas.

To my mind, the The Scallop Shell transports you to a harbourside seafood diner on the Cornish coast, while Noah’s lands you at the heart of the seafaring action on the Marseille docks. Adhering to my theme, the view from Sydney’s terrace reminds me of suppers-gone-by in, say, Lucca, or Reims, or Palma: ancient stone walls laden with Gothic melodrama with a rose window and a c.18th century (I think?) Octagon in the mix; this is indeed Bath, but not as you knew it… in more ways than one. 

Prices at Sydney’s are very, erm, “un-Bath”, to say the least. Meatballs, chicken skewers and fishcakes (of which more later) are priced in single format (£2.50, £3.50 and £3 respectively), which makes a sharing feast really easy to negotiate depending on tastes while also taking good care of single diners. A bowl of chips comes in at £2 (£2!) and only the fresh fish dish on the evening we visited swam up to £9.50. Bear in mind too that whichever way your budget/tastes take you, your investment is richly rewarded with very generous portions of familiar favourites dotted hither and thither with cheffy flair: potato salad is finished off with a muscatel dressing, there’s aubergine caviar casually accompanying a roasted portobello mushroom, chickpea and sweet potato pakora comes burger-style, in a sesame bun.  

We opted for a duo of juicy meatballs stuffed with feta resting on a puddle of punchy tomato sauce, two moist chicken thigh skewers enlivened by an uplifting chimichurri, a massive tumble of whole North Atlantic prawns with a creamy/tangy cocktail sauce and a neat, meaty slab of oven-baked Silver Mullet fillet, fresh from Dorset and perfectly teamed with a super-herbacious salsa verde: heaven on four plates. But oh, the smoked salmon fishcakes! Savoury/sweet and smoky, rich and smooth, crisp then soft, served with the kind of creamy, pickle- and caper-laden tartare sauce that most kitchens can only ever aspire to. Isn’t it funny that the apparently simplest things to rustle up can so often turn out so wrong? But Sydney’s get the whole combination very, very right. 

We had chips along the way too (oh come on, this is the Rosser family in the kitchen! You’ve gotta do it, haven’t you?), and we shared a plate of Keen’s Cheddar with fennel chutney and divine little biscuits at the finale. 

The whole experience was just lovely, from vibe and decor to service and food; the Rosser family have done it again. 

Lucca, Reims or Palma? Save the air fare and land at Sydney’s.