Alma Pan-Latin Kitchen brings a new set of flavors to Regent Square
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Cheri High Beckford (left) of Regent Square and Paola Scommegna of Highland Park dine at Alma Pan-Latin Kitchen. They started with heirloom tomato gazpacho, platanos maduros con salsa de habichuelas (sweet, ripe plantains with spicy bean sauce) and Yuca frita con salsitas de Alma (Crispy yuca served with aji and cilantro/jalapeno sauces). -
The patio at Alma Pan-Latin Kitchen in Regent Square.
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After just a few months in business, Alma Pan-Latin Kitchen already seems like a longtime member of the Regent Square community. The spacious restaurant near the corner of Forbes and South Braddock avenues is divided into a cantina and a dining room, with an outdoor patio open during the warmer months. The space is simply decorated with framed prints and bare wooden tables, but colorful walls and smiling servers add warmth, and Chef Martin (pronounced "Mar-teen") Lamarche's menu takes diners on a tour of Latin America.
On any given night the restaurant is likely to be busy with tables full of experienced bon vivants toasting with martinis, young families enjoying a casual night out, couples lingering over a bottle of wine, all happily commingling over plates of shrimp ceviche from Peru, grilled pork loin from Cuba and arepas from Colombia.
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7600 & 7606 Forbes Ave.
Regent Square
Near Point Breeze border
Almapgh.com
412-727-6320
- Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 5-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 5-11 p.m.; Sunday 5-10 p.m. Cantina stays open an hour later than the restaurant.
- Basics: Alma is a casual but pleasant setting for chef Martin Lamarche's delicious pan-Latin food, complemented by a well-themed drink list; a separate cantina serves up drinks and snacks.
- Recommended dishes: Shrimp ceviche; cucumber, tomato, olive and bread salad; grilled, marinated skirt steak with chimichurri, slow roasted beef brisket, cubano sandwich, grilled shrimp, coconut flan and tres leches cake
- Prices: Appetizers, soup and salad, $5-$9; entrees, $15-$22; sandwiches, $11-$12; vegetarian entrees, $11-$13; desserts, $5-$6.
- Drinks: A dozen house cocktails range from traditional favorites like margaritas and mojitos ($8) to more unusual concoctions such as the strawberry pisco punch from Chile ($8.50) and an horchata martini from Mexico ($8). Mostly local draft beers ($5-$5.50) are augmented by bottles from Latin America and the Caribbean, $4-$5. The wine list is short, but there are plans to grow it to include more SLOs. Currently, a half-dozen whites and nine reds are available by the glass starting at $6, or the bottle starting at $28; with seven bottles for $35 or less.
First Published September 8, 2011 12:00 am
