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The Rover

English-channelling bar bistro specialising in comfort and seafood.

Hot smoked sardines, lamb sausage roll, fried oysters and pork rillettes.
1 / 8Hot smoked sardines, lamb sausage roll, fried oysters and pork rillettes.Edwina Pickles
Seafood plate.
2 / 8Seafood plate.Jennifer Soo
Whole flathead, clams and garlic.
3 / 8Whole flathead, clams and garlic.Dominic Loneragan
Fisherman’s pie.
4 / 8Fisherman’s pie.Jennifer Soo
Lamb sausage roll.
5 / 8Lamb sausage roll.Edwina Pickles
Eel pate with horseradish jelly and glazed crumpet.
6 / 8Eel pate with horseradish jelly and glazed crumpet.Jennifer Soo
Southern style fried oysters.
7 / 8Southern style fried oysters. Edwina Pickles
The dining room.
8 / 8The dining room.Jennifer Soo

14.5/20

Seafood$$

Take a seat at The Rover and you’re doing it at one of Sydney’s cosiest cocktail bars and bistros. But where to sit? Pull up at the handsome ground-level bar at Happy Hour, and it’ll be for two-dollar oysters (two dollars!) to pair with a prosecco-topped Venetian Spritz, or reserve a spot in the upstairs dining room to go all in on the seafood-championing menu.

Here, soft lighting, exposed brick and ambient music play backdrop to the likes of glazed crumpets with eel pâté and horseradish jelly, a smoky sensation that simply has to be followed by fisherman’s pie, featuring flakes of smoked trout, crisp-fried capers and a cheesy potato gratin topping.

It’s not all seafood: pork neck with salsa verde and kohlrabi hits hard in the flavour stakes, while the Gidley burger (imported from The Rover’s sister steakhouse) is all heft and comfort. Don’t forget to check the after-dinner drinks list, either – it’s a doozy.

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Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/nsw-good-food-guide/the-rover-20240118-p5eyfe.html