Sydney’s newly formed Alma Group has launched its second restaurant St. Alma on the Northern Beaches.
Jack Leary and Chef Tim Christensen are behind the group, and have spent time travelling around Mexico, forming relationships with local chefs who they collaborate with on the group’s culinary offering.
Freshwater’s St. Alma is the latest addition to the group and is the sibling restaurant to Alma in Avalon.
“We were pretty set on not opening another venue just after the new year… and we did exactly that,” says Leary.
“The process has built in so much resilience and camaraderie between our staff and the local community has really backed us, for which we are so grateful.”
St. Alma’s culinary offering is split into starters, ceviche, tacos, larger plates and desserts.
Highlights include black bean hummus with jalapeno-infused olive oil; prawn salbutes with charred corn salsa and gucachile and scallop aguachilli.
Tacos encompass jackfruit, chicken, pork belly and fish options, with mains leaning towards locally sourced seafood.
Guests can sample everything from grilled octopus with fermented el diablo chilli to whole snapper with achiote paste and John Dory with epazote.
While the group is content with two venues for now, they’re not ruling out further growth.
“We are focused on doing the absolute best we can with each of our venues and are excited to see St. Alma take on her own personality and stamp in Freshwater,” says Leary.
“We’ll always want to recreate little pockets of seriously considered experiences that emanate effortlessness, but perhaps a more rural location will be next at some point.”
St. Alma is open Tuesday to Sunday.
