Melbourne's ST. ALi Coffee Is the Newest Brunch Spot in Manila

Australia’s ST. ALi, a pioneer in specialty coffee, officially opened its first store in the Philippines last October 1. You can find the new brunch spot on the ground floor of Opus Mall, Bridgetowne Estate, in Quezon City.

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ST. ALi: A Specialty Coffee Brand

"ST. ALi is a specialty coffee brand that launched in Melbourne almost 20 years ago. We were one of the pioneering specialty coffee brands globally. Up until that point, coffee was sort of treated like a commodity. It was just coffee. It was just caffeine. It wasn't really appreciated in the same way you might think about wine or other things like that," Lachlan Ward, CEO at ST. ALi, tells Esquire Philippines a day after the café's opening.

ST. ALi mall entrance

ST. ALi was founded in South Melbourne in 2005 with a simple yet transformative idea of roasting coffee on the café floor and turning an old warehouse into a vibrant café. At the time, Italian coffee dominated the global scene, and brands like Starbucks were beginning to introduce coffee in a new light.

"We [were] one of the brands [that] has sort of helped elevate that in Australia. The brand's very different now. It's a different business than just roasting coffee for ourselves," Ward adds.

ST. ALi's staircase is decorated with framed photographs

Now, nearly two decades later, the business has evolved significantly from its humble beginnings. What started as a small roasting operation for in-house coffee has grown into an enterprise with eight locations across Australia. The brand has also expanded internationally, opening two stores in Indonesia—one in Bali and another in Jakarta, which launched seven years ago. Their most recent venture led them to the Philippines.

The second floor of ST. ALi at Opus Mall

According to Ward, the core mission has remained the same throughout this expansion: to celebrate the work of their coffee-producing partners in places like Colombia and Brazil while making specialty coffee accessible to all. This vision has taken the brand far beyond the traditional café space. Whether it's touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, setting up pop-ups at design conferences, or launching innovative new products, their goal has always been to bring great coffee to a broader audience.

Introducing Australian Coffee to Manila

"We're an espresso-drinking country," says Ward. Flat whites, cappuccinos, and other milk-based espresso drinks are a staple of the Australian coffee experience, thanks to the country's strong ties to Italian immigrants who helped shape the country's espresso scene.

What sets Australian coffee apart today, though, isn’t just the product itself. While the overall standard of coffee and milk in Australia remains exceptionally high, and the produce is excellent, coffee has become a globally enjoyed beverage.

ST. ALi's espresso blends, like the Italo Disco (Italian Espresso Blend) and Wide Awake (Dark Espresso Blend), are also for sale.

Ward also noticed a trend in Asia, where Australian coffee brands are increasingly in demand. This can largely be attributed to the international students and travelers who experience the renowned coffee culture of Melbourne and other parts of Australia, only to find that once they return home—to cities like Manila, Jakarta, or Singapore—this unique coffee experience is hard to come by. The desire for that distinctive Australian coffee flavor follows them back, creating a demand for it in their own countries.

"Lots of people travel to Melbourne almost in like a food F&B pilgrimage; it's a global city, and it's globally recognized for great food and coffee. Interestingly, our partners here, Steward Ong and his other partners in this business, came by suddenly. They were customers [of ST. ALi], they loved what we were doing as a brand, and they'd heard about us from some of their friends who had studied in Melbourne and come back here. So honestly, the opportunity came to us," Ward explains why they chose Manila for their next branch.

ST. ALi's Brunch Menu and Signature Drinks

"We have a very vibrant food and beverage team [conceptualizing] brunch and coffee at ST. ALi. [Brunch] is what Melbourne is synonymous with. What you'll see on our menus both here and back in Melbourne is really elevated takes on what you'd expect from a brunch location. Whether it's the technique that we're using, Eggs Benedict, for example, or what it's plated on, or some of the dishes that you'll see on the menu today, like a whole pampano fish, it's not what you'd really generally expect from somewhere where you'd go for eggs in breakfast, right? We've sort of taken that approach from day one," Ward adds.

True enough, the four dishes they served—which were just enough for two individuals who hadn't eaten breakfast—are not your usual brunch menu.

First was the Tokyo Omelette (P620), which is wrapped with nori and pickled enoki mushroom. It is served with bonito flake butter and smoked eel in a small sauce cup. The best way to enjoy this is to pour everything from the cup on top of the nori-wrapped omelette, and slice through the nori while it hasn't been fully soaked yet. A salty taste dominates the dish, while the opposing texture of the crispy bits of eel and pillowy omelette makes for an interesting bite.

Tokyo Omelette (P620)

Then there was the Barramundi Burger (P580). Make sure to get all the ingredients in one bite, especially the mango and papaya salad, to give the otherwise plain pan-seared barramundi some flavor.

Barramundi Burger (P580)

The Whole Pompano (P1,100) is the Philippine version of ST. ALi's Barramundi Wings. The fish is doused in Korean chili sauce and topped with mango and papaya salad.

"The only difference over here, we really struggled to get [Barramundi] wings, so we decided to just go with a whole fish instead," Executive Chef Greg McFarland tells us.

Whole Pompano (P1,100)

Ube Panna Cotta (P460) is another Philippine special. Pinipig granola and white chocolate surround the panna cotta, while toasted coconut rests on top of it.

"When I was invited to come here to Manila, I was asked [to do something with] ube. Everyone seems to really love ube, so they [asked] me to create something. I've done something different, apparently, I've been told it's not been done before in Manila," McFarland explains.

Ube Panna Cotta (P460) 

"We try and take from what's around us. Although we've got a core menu that travels with us and we've developed over the last sort of 15 years or so, it's always been our approach to work with what's best and freshest and local. That means also being cognizant of the consumers around us. So understanding that Filipino and Manila residents might want something different from their menus as well," Ward adds.

ST. ALi's signature drinks are as unique as its brunch menu. Their three bestselling beverage include the Coco Mingle (P460), which is espresso with chocolate cream and coconut water; Matchamansi (P480), which has tonic, Japanese match, and calamansi; and Not Guinness (P460), which has caramel syrup, coconut cream, filter coffee, and honey. The Matchamansi can be topped off with gin (P120), while the Not Guinness can be added with whiskey (P120). It's always five o'clock somewhere, after all.

From L to R: Coco Mingle (P460), Matchamansi (P480), and Not Guinness (P460)

A Sense of Community at ST. ALi

More than the coffee, signature drinks, and food, ST. ALi is very particular about nurturing its community.

"I think coffee has always been a beverage that connects people. It is about community and intellectual discussion. If you look back at the original coffee houses back in the Renaissance, it was about people sitting around, drinking coffee all day, and coming up with crazy ideas and manifestos. And I think 200 years on, I think it's kind of the same. And I think we've always tried to stretch the brand and embed ourselves in the communities around us," Ward says.

ST. ALi also sells apparel and merch, such as caps, tops, mugs, and more.

You can see this in the kinds of organizations and communities they've supported back home. 

"We work with lots of organizations in the arts, we support things like the Melbourne Design Fair, and we work with lots of run clubs. Coming back to coffee, coffee's pretty unique. It's like a great vehicle to do almost anything, and that's how we've approached the brand. It's like being a coffee business means we can go almost anywhere, and it sort of makes sense," the CEO concludes.

Behind us, diners browse through a shelf with ST. ALi merchandise, employees from a nearby BPO have dropped by to order coffee with unique names, and mall-goers are just about to start their day with brunch.

ST. ALi Manila is at Opus Mall, Bridgetowne Destination Estate, Quezon City. It is open daily, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.