Alberta’s in Western Australia’s city of Busselton is a casual eatery run by Noma alumni with an inventive and produce-forward menu.

Move aside, smashed avo toast.

Or at least, you won’t find that here in Alberta’s. And even if you do, chances are it’ll be made with homegrown avocados plucked from someone’s yard, and served atop multigrain toast made with organic triticale, oats, quinoa and other wholesome grains and seeds.

Such is Alberta’s culinary philosophy. Opened in June 2022, the buzzy new joint in the once-sleepy town of Busselton – in the heart of Western Australia’s Margaret River wine country – is run by Ben Ing and Kirsty Marchant, former head chef and head gardener of Noma.

Yes, that Noma.

Alberta's Busselton team
Kirsty Marchant (far left) and Ben Ing with the core team at Alberta’s.

Here Chef Ing applies his creative kitchen know-how honed at the award-winning Copenhagen restaurant using the freshest produce carefully sourced by Marchant. These could be Torbay asparagus or Donnybrook cherries from an organic producer, uniquely Western Australian Mystique mandarin oranges that’s just come into season, beets from their garden, foraged herbs, or even freshly-laid eggs from a friend’s chicken coop. They are turned into transformative dishes that make you rethink your typical Australian classics.

But this also means there isn’t a definitive menu at Alberta’s. Everything the tiny produce-driven kitchen pushes out depends on what they can get their hands on. In fact, the menu can evolve by the hour as ingredients run out (or are replenished).

Alberta's Apple Tarte Tatin
You can be absolutely sure the apples – and other ingredients – that went into this Apple Tarte Tatin came from a trusted, viable source.

Alberta’s recently pivoted to lunch and dinner hours; when we visited it only operated for breakfast. We partook in grilled asparagus with trout roe and fried egg on sourdough, housemade maple granola dressed in sheep’s yogurt, and slices of multigrain drenched in a heavenly maple syrup butter. Neither could we resist the remaining two slices of a mulberry and almond cream tart that were sitting pretty on the kitchen counter.

Some dishes, to our chagrin, were already crossed out on the menu board.

But be sure to try their teas and tisanes, all of which are house-made with the same approach using harvested flowers and fruits. They are delicious.

Alberta's Busselton - interior
Alberta’s is a worthy addition to Busselton’s dining scene.

Because of the menu’s fluid nature, Alberta’s may frustrate more traditional diners. But for gastrophiles, that very unpredictability is a unique gastronomic exploration of New Australian cuisine to savour.

All that said, it *would* be very interesting to see an Ing take on smashed avo toast.


Alberta’s (Busselton)

Address 3/55 Queen St, Busselton WA 6280, Australia (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 95pm to 8.30m Thursdays to Saturdays; 11am to 4pm on Sundays; closed Mondays to Wednesdays
Instagram @albertas_busselton
Reservations book here

1 COMMENT

  1. […] As for Chef Ben Ing, the native Canadian carved a career that’s brought him from Eleven Madison Park in New York City to noma, where he was head chef for six years. Last year he moved with partner Kirsty Marchant – who was former head gardener at noma – to Busselton in Western Australia where they opened inventive yet casual produce-driven eatery Alberta’s Kitchen and Store. […]

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