Santa Catarina Welcomes Chef Diana López del Río for a Groundbreaking Mexican Residency
Located on Clarence Street in the heart of the CBD, Santa Catarina is where the ancient flavours of Mexico meet the energy of modern Sydney.
With a focus on Oaxacan culinary heritage, the restaurant celebrates the region’s deep-rooted cooking traditions from handmade tortillas and slow-cooked barbacoa, to wild mushroom tlayudas and an expertly curated mezcal and tequila bar.
The Mexican dining room is currently hosting an extraordinary culinary residency, featuring one of Mexico’s most acclaimed culinary minds Chef Diana López del Río. Deeply rooted, fiercely authentic, and unlike anything Sydney has seen before.
While Sydney’s food scene has long embraced Mexican cuisine, few venues have dared to go beyond the familiar tropes of tacos and tequila. Santa Catarina, part of the award-winning Milpa Collective is changing that.
Santa Catarina exists to honour the diverse culinary traditions of Mexico, especially those from the Mixteca Oaxaqueña and other regional cuisines which remain vastly underrepresented on global menus. And now, with Chef Diana at the helm for a limited-time residency, Sydney will experience a rare and genuine expression of Mexican food culture, one that speaks of ancient rituals, slow techniques, and regional pride.
A culinary researcher, teacher, and activist as much as she is a Chef, Diana López del Río has spent over two decades immersed in Mexico’s most intricate food traditions. She began her career working with legendary chefs at Mexico’s most respected kitchens, and in 2022 launched MUX, a restaurant and cultural project in Mexico City that has since been named by Eater as one of the city’s essential places to eat, and by Culinaria Mexicana as one of the 250 best restaurants in the country.
Diana’s philosophy is built on reclaiming culinary memory, documenting and reviving traditional recipes, spotlighting ingredients on the brink of extinction, and working hand-in-hand with rural communities. Through MUX, MATUCHE, and CICLO TIENDA, she’s created a platform for indigenous knowledge, sustainability, and storytelling through food. Her work has been recognised globally for its dedication to using lead-free pottery, regional salts, and fermentation techniques native to regions like the Mixteca, one of Mexico’s most culturally rich yet globally overlooked areas.
At Santa Catarina, Chef Diana will unveil an entirely new menu, designed exclusively for her Sydney residency. Expect soulful dishes using salt from Zapotitlán, fermented tetelas, and her signature mole recipes that are both ceremonial and comforting, passed down through generations and rarely seen outside Mexico’s mountain kitchens. Dishes set to feature on the new menu include Chalupitas de pato, Verduras y queso en escabeche, Pink Snapper con mole alcaparrado, Pollo al Mezcal, Sope Ayala, Memelita con pepita molida, and Calabaza en dulce, each one a vibrant expression of Mexico’s culinary heritage and regional techniques.
“This is not Tex-Mex. This is not Baja. This is Oaxacan food, the way it’s made at home, by hands that remember,” says Chef Diana. “Every dish is a story not just of flavour, but of survival, identity, and resistance.”
No one in Sydney is doing Mexican food like this. While mezcal bars and taco joints have become common, Santa Catarina stands alone in showcasing the complex, ceremonial, and often overlooked regional cuisines of Mexico. This new menu marks a cultural milestone, a rare chance for Australian diners to experience a deeper, more emotional and ancestral side of Mexican cuisine.
The new menu will include an express weekday lunch offering, designed for busy CBD professionals, alongside a robust evening menu that invites guests to take their time and immerse themselves in the textures, aromas, and stories behind each plate.
Santa Catarina
Shop 1/152-156 Clarence St, Sydney
More info: santacatarina.com.au