Head chef steps down at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar

The head chef and culinary director at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar, Alex Prichard, today announced he will step down to open a “small but ambitious” restaurant, Sara Dining, in Berry on NSW’s South Coast.

Prichard has held the position at Icebergs for the past seven years, maintaining the two hats awarded by The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide while making his own mark on predecessor Monty Koludrovic’s “new school” Italian menu.

The chef is credited with introducing Australian native ingredients and Japanese cooking techniques to the Bondi restaurant – pairing green ants with coral trout tuna crudo, and using koshihikari rice to create a creamy, light risotto.

Prichard says the opportunity to lead the iconic dining room, following in the footsteps of predecessors such as Karen Martini, was an “extraordinary opportunity”, but it was always his dream to open a restaurant of his own, close to his home on the South Coast.

“It has been an enormous privilege, and I am thrilled that I will maintain my connection with the Icebergs Group in coming months,” he says. “I can’t wait to reveal more details about Sara Dining, while continuing to oversee the Icebergs menu and its amazing team.”

A spokesperson for Icebergs Group said Prichard’s departure would not affect operations at any of their three venues.

Until the restaurant appoints Prichard’s successor, he will continue to provide culinary, creative and business direction to Icebergs Harbour Bar at Crown, Barangaroo; Icebergs Bar and Kitchen at Sydney Domestic T3 Airport, which opened on March 4; and the original Bondi restaurant, where head chefs and long-term employees Antonio Colonna and Brittany Smith will run day-to-day operations.

Sara Dining will open at Moraea Farm in late May, in partnership with Linnaeus Collection, a luxury accommodation provider helmed by Manticore Projects developer Peter Yannopoulos and his wife, Nadia Raicevich.

“Alex has been an incredibly important part of the Icebergs story,” says Icebergs Group chief executive Tasso Della Noce. “We are all so proud of Alex fulfilling his dream, and grateful that he will continue to be part of the Icebergs family in coming months … We’re excited to explore options for the future with [his] guidance.”

Prichard guided the kitchen through the fallout of a months-long investigation by the Herald and The Age in 2025 that alleged Icebergs founder Maurice Terzini verbally abused his wife and protected his son Sylvester Terzini while being aware of multiple sexual assault claims against him.

Terzini, who denied the allegations, resigned as Icebergs director in March last year, and sold his remaining shares in June, days before the story aired on 60 Minutes.

This week, the Herald reported that Terzini was back in the kitchen, hosting a series of $130 a person pop-up dinners entitled “Cucina Povera” (poor kitchen) at St Canice’s, a homeless shelter in Rushcutters Bay.