Serva Was Never Supposed To Be a Cafe. Now It’s Seaforth’s House of Pickles, Preserves and Coffee

It began with a blueberry chutney so funky and moreish customers kept asking chef Miles Ackermans if they could have some to take home.

Ackermans (whose CV includes head chef at Effie’s, Hugos and Noon) opened Serva to get his preserves, ferments and “all things found in a jar” into homes and restaurants. It was an exercise in creativity and minimising waste while maximising flavour. It was never supposed to be a cafe.

In the early days of the business, Ackermans worked out of Wilbur’s, a breezy Manly sandwich shop. And the connections he made with customers made him want to turn Serva into something bigger.

“I fell in love with chatting … getting to know people and express simple food in a really fun manner,” Ackermans tells Broadsheet.

Preserves and pickles made sandwiches an obvious route. And sandwiches meant coffee. Enter Ackermans’ good mate Alex Eagleton – formerly of Skittle Lane in Manly – who’s roasting coffee in-house as Wuli Project. Ackermans and Eagleton share the space, the customers and the conversation.

The Seaforth digs are light-filled with minimal seating (good luck nabbing a spot, the locals are in love) and an open countertop.

Wuli Project is a more recent venture. The small-batch roasting services the house espresso and filter. Eagleton, an expert barista, operates the coffee machine himself.

The menu’s short and sweet. The runaway bestseller – which Ackermans says will never leave the menu – is a decadent egg and cheese English muffin. It’s a few perfect mouthfuls of piping-hot fried egg and goat’s gouda, with a punchy shallot chimichurri. The star is a fermented jalapeno relish (yes, you can buy it in a jar – and yes, you should).

His Reuben is the “ferment hero”. Salted beef is stacked with house-made apple-and-celery sauerkraut and mustard seasoned with “kraut juice” and excess espresso. Melted cheese and pickle chips (one of the most popular take-home products, which took Ackermans over 20 iterations to get right) seal the deal.

An umami-rich mushroom toastie – where minced shiitakes meet fermented chilli and a three-cheese mix – is served with that standout blueberry chutney.

Nutella and chocolate brownie cookies are made daily, and there’s a rich house-made banana bread made with miso and served with black sesame butter.

“We’re trying to make the little things count … actually getting to know our customers as much as possible, whether they like it or not,” laughs Ackermans.

Serva
Shop 1/538 Sydney Road, Seaforth

Hours:
Daily 7am–3pm

servasyd.com.au
@serva_syd