Celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita’s bold new venue is worth the detour

One of Noosa’s most famous chefs has opened a new premises on the edge of town. But is the food as good as it was? We checked it out.

Why, oh why, did celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita move his restaurant from Hastings St to the tourist town’s southern fringes I moan, as my dodgy navigation sees us careening past the relevant turn-off at speed. Eventually, after a circuitous reroute in the deepening dusk, we plunge down a road fringed with lush vegetation to Kuruvita’s new digs on the site of a former quarry, surrounded by various apartment blocks of a new development.

After eight years at the Sofitel’s Noosa Beach House, the cookbook author and presenter of multiple cooking shows on SBS has gone big with a new venture close to Lake Weyba that combines his interests: there’s a studio kitchen for filming, a cooking school, a cafe, pizzeria, bar, restaurant and providore.

Alba By Peter Kuruvita in Noosa Heads. Picture: Alyne Media

After opening on December 16 last year ready for the influx of local and interstate tourists, the business, like many others in the town, was quickly smashed by the Omicron wave, with so many staff sick or isolating that at one stage in January the venue had to close for six days. Thankfully the situation has settled and on the midweek night we visit, the cavernous dining area with flagstone flooring is busy. White tablecloths, beige linen napkins and table lights lend a sense of intimacy to the space that incorporates all aspects of the business and has something of a casual clubhouse feel.

Kuruvita, with his style of food that doesn’t pander to trends and draws on multiple influences, has kept several dishes from his Hastings St venue, including his signature snapper curry. Others that reflect the chef’s Sri Lankan heritage include an entree of masala potato dumplings with coriander mint raita and a Lankan bento box main of three curries with steamed rice and condiments. New is an offering of eight pizzas, the bases crafted using a sourdough starter Kuruvita began in lockdown, including one topped with slow-roasted pork belly, another with Queensland tiger prawns, and a Noosa red tomato margherita.

Seared yellowfin tuna at Alba. Picture: Jac Lee

Black pepper prawns with grated coconut, a scattering of fried curry leaves and a whorl of whipped curd ($29) is a standout starter, the crustaceans perfectly cooked and enhanced rather than overwhelmed by the flavour-packed sauce. Another, of seared yellowfin tuna slices topped with ruby grapefruit nestling beside a rectangle of twice-cooked pork belly sprinkled with crumbled pork crackle and black pepper caramel ($27), is also memorable.

The drinks list includes a strong line-up of on-theme cocktails such as the Sri Negroni, beers including several Noosa craft brews and
a broad global wine list, with a strong by-the-glass offering.

The snapper curry at Alba by Peter Kuravita in Noosa Heads Picture: Ian Waldie Photography

The snapper curry ($48) arrives in deconstructed fashion that raises the humble to the rather more extravagant, the firm yet moist fillet with its skin crisp rests beside a golden orb of aloo chop (a ball of potato croquette), and a thick smear of tamarind sauce, with the curry sauce poured on at the table. There’s a side plate of rice and condiments. Again the seafood cooking is spot-on and the heat and intensity of the sauce is perfectly calibrated.

On the meat front, a heartily flavoured barbecued beef rib ($48) seasoned with a gunpowder rub is slathered with an orange masala sauce and accompanied by mustard greens and grilled eggplant. It is every bit as good as the curry.

Service is functional and pleasant without being particularly knowledgeable and the food is well-timed from the kitchen.

Sri Lankan curds and treacle ($19), a tricked-up version of a traditional sweet treat, arrives in a glass with the curds topped with treacle, cubes of jelly, shattered meringue and fruit and is an excellent shared finale.

Despite being a little off the beaten track, the care being taken in Alba’s kitchen means it really is worth the detour.

ALBA BY KURUVITA

3 Alba Close, Noosa Heads

albanoosa.com.au

Open

All venues Tue-Sat Breakfast: 7.30-11am; Pizzeria: 4pm-late; Providore: 6.30am-late; Restaurant: 11.30-3pm, 5.30-8.30pm

Must-trydish
Black pepper prawns

VERDICT

Food 4/5

Ambience 3.5/5

Service 3.5/5

Value 3.5/5

Overall

3.5/5

For more reviews

visit delicious.com.au/eatout