On Wednesday, we got a preview of the new Cafe Alma (which opens Friday) and the quaint Alma Hotel (which opens Nov. 18) as the centerpiece – the much-heralded Restaurant Alma – undergoes final renovations.
Cafe Alma, decked out in cobalt, wood and cream, gracefully toes the line between a coffee shop and a wine bar. To the left of the entrance to the main restaurant, the new space welcomes patrons with wall-length windows offering a peek inside. A long, curved, gold-top bar topped with a La Marzocco espresso machine and a case of fresh pastries. Wine and aperitif bottles line the shelves behind the bartop. Bar stools and window perches follow the bar to a back area where wooden booths look out into an open kitchen. There are also a pair of rooms that seat 20 people apiece – or can be connected for a 40-person party – tucked into the building’s rear.
On Wednesday, the folks from Bittercube were on hand, passing out sparkling wine and mixing up sample cocktails – including their “starry night,” their take on a French 75 but made smoky in appearance with a sprinkle of charcoal dust. The Still Got It, meanwhile, is a butternut squash inspired daiquiri, combining rum, simple syrup and a foam, all infused with the autumn gourd.
There will be two separate menus: one for day noshing — breakfast confections, fresh fruit and vegetable juices as well as sandwiches (think fried egg tartines with smoked whitefish and griddled brioche with bourbon poached pears, pork belly and marscapone) — and the other featuring more substantial dinner offerings. The evening lineup will include several grain and pasta dishes such as the rigatoni with spicy pork ragu and a hominy corn cake with smoked lamb as well as larger plates like the buttermilk fried quail and the sirloin steak with chimichurri.
On tap will be a handful of local brews as well as a couple of cocktails and wines, including a prosecco. There is a larger poured wine selection by the glass.
Upstairs, a seven-room hotel galvanizes Scandanavian minimalism in the building’s stunning space marked by exposed brick, cream honeycomb tile and white rafter ceilings.
The cafe hours are Sunday-Thursday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 7 am. to midnight.