The Gidley burger has got a lot of attention this year – it was named the world’s ninth best burger by the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants – so it’s no wonder it’s something that’s attracted people to The Rover, since they started serving it up, too. But that’s not all that draws people to this neighbourhoody cocktail bar. The Rover has a lot going for it. The fisherman’s pie, for one (more on that later).
The Rover is a dimly lit cocktail bar in Surry Hills’ Hollywood Quarter (the section of Sydney named the coolest in 2024 by Time Out). If you go to this little intersection of Cambell and Foster Streets, you know you’ll have a good time – perhaps dinner at Pellegrino 2000 across the street, then drinks at The Rover. Or just skip Pellegrino altogether and eat your way through The Rover’s delicious menu, with a couple of cocktails or some wine.
My friend and I start with the burger, of course. It’s double-beef patties made from Riverine sirloin chain meat; Coppertree farms retired dairy cow chuck and brisket, dry-aged at the in-house butchery at one of Liquid & Larder’s other steak venues, Alfie's. Basically, these guys know their meat (as well as Alfie’s and 24th best steak restaurant in the world, The Gidley, they also run Bistecca).
The milk bun is perfectly round on top like in the photos; it looks polished, almost shiny, and we don’t really want to have to cut it in half. They’re thin, smash-style patties – crowd-pleasing because they’re not served rare like they are in some other popular Sydney haunts. They have that delicious combo of juiciness and charriness that pairs perfectly with double slices of mature cheddar. They serve it with two big slices of pickle on the side.
It’s a $26 burger and we’d say it’s worth every dollar. The Rover is a more accessible way to have it than dinner at the more special-occasion-worthy The Gidley, especially if you come for happy hour, when you can get $2 oysters, $6 G&Ts, $10 glasses of wine and a $14 Venetian Spritz (made with aperitivo of your choice).
We order a Martini each – they pour it at the table into a icy glass for max frostiness, and serve it with one olive on a toothpick and a couple more on the side. I think The Rover’s Martini is my favourite in Sydney. It’s made with Never Never Oyster Shell Gin, white vermouth, dry sherry, and Champagne mignonette. It has slight floral notes and a sophisticated depth and smoothness that makes it less harsh tasting than other Martinis I’ve had. Someone I know said they’re not sure about the idea of a Martini/burger combo, but I don’t think it gets much better than this.
We also order the compressed cucumber salad to cut through the fat – it’s freshly pickled chunks of cucumber with preserved lemon and little squirts of goat’s curd, topped with a green oil and fresh dill. Yum.
There are wines from NSW, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, but also France, Italy and Spain. After the Martini I choose a glass of the Usher Tinkler ‘La Volpe’ prosecco – the first Hunter Valley-grown and made prosecco. It smells sweet, but the finish is dry and creamy, just the way I like my bubbles.
We also share the fish pie, with hot-smoked salmon and potato gratin. It’s cheesy and golden, and topped with a generous mound of lemon zest and crispy capers. The pie is salty and creamy and carby and mushy, as comforting as the burger – and that’s what this place is. Stylish and cool yet completely comforting, with candles on tables, and clusters of little warm-light lamps around the walls and hanging from the ceiling. It’s dark and intimate, but twinkling – the type of cosy place any rover would be pleased to stumble upon at the end of long day.