The ground floor at Alta is dominated by the main kitchen
What can you tell us about Alta?
Alta is all about Northern Spanish cuisine, led by chef Rob Roy Cameron. The chef was last seen in London heading up the kitchen at Gazelle in Mayfair back in 2018, where his cooking did impress us. Before that, he was working in Spain for a decade, most notably working for Albert Adria to help open his 41 Degrees restaurant in Barcelona. So he's certainly well placed to apply that experience in Spanish restaurants here in London.
Where is it?
It's at the northern end of Kingly Court in Carnaby, taking up a pretty big space there on both the ground and first floor (it may well be the biggest site in the court). The whole building has been given a stripped-back look, and on the ground floor, you'll find the striking open kitchen. This is probably one of the best places to sit, in our mind.
There is a private dining room here too (albeit not in action when we visited), so if you're thinking of organising a Christmas party with Spanish food, this is one to bear in mind.
The first-floor dining room at Alta (and there's another big dining space up here too)
Where should we meet for a drink first?
While there are clearly many options around Soho and Carnaby, the most obvious recommendation is the Soho outpost of cocktail bar Nightjar. That's just a few metres from the front door of Alta, so it's a perfect starting (or end) point. Nearby Disrepute is also worth a look.
That said, we think Alta could do very well by opening a bar in their restaurant too (there's an ideal space for this on the first floor). The drinks offering here is strong, particularly some of the pre-mixed cocktails:
Cocktails, some served unexpectedly in wine glasses, include the Basque 75 (their version of a French 75) that features oak-aged vodka, Txakoli, verjus, orange blossom, Oloroso sherry and blanco vermouth (£14)
What can we expect from the food?
Cameron's inspirations come mainly from Northern Spain, with some specific Basque influences on display. It's primarily all about small plates here, with a few larger sharing options coming into play later. Portions are generous, the plating is beautifully done (which always helps from an Instagram standpoint) and of real note are the rich sauces in pretty much every dish we had. From the pine nut sauce with the hen of the woods to the apple, cider vinegar and pork sauce with the pork chop, these took every dish to the next level. So you'll need to think about getting a portion of bread to make sure you mop up every drop.
Everything we had was truly great, but we'll concentrate on our top dishes:
House Txistorra (£9.50) - these are made in-house, and aged with a very good PX vinegar.
Courgettes with pumpkin seed romesco (£12) - beautifully plated and again, that sauce!
Hen of the woods (£32) - this dish is actually vegan and ended up being our favourite of the night. The sauce here is a pine nut sauce with a lemon and herb vinaigrette.
Charlotte potatoes with mojo verde (£9) - no confit potatoes here, and that slab of mojo verde butter slowly melts over the crispy potatoes.
And as a bonus, there's the following empanada. This just looks wonderful, but if you're not a fan of sardines (like this writer), it's not going to convert you.
Sardine empanada (£12.50) - so beautifully designed. If you do like sardines, you'll love this.
We'd also recommend the escalibada (£9) for its deeply flavoured slow-cooked peppers, which brings us to something to highlight - this is a very good restaurant if you're vegetarian (or steering towards vegetable dishes on the night). Another we'd recommend is the wild mushroom fideos (£18) a veggie dish that features golden enoki mushrooms chopped to look like pasta.
On the meat front, the pork chop sharing dish (£34) is recommended (with that wonderful cider vinegar-based sauce). Sharing steaks are available, and as it doesn't feel like a Basque restaurant without it, there's a turbot sharing dish on the menu too.
And dessert?
Given the Basque influences, there had to be a Basque cheesecake on here, and Alta takes the bold move of calling it the La Vina Cheesecake, based on the San Sebastian version that arguably kicked off the current craze. However, while it's a perfectly decent cheesecake, it does pale when directly compared to the original. It didn't have that barely-set texture that the La Vina cakes do. We visited Alta very early though, so maybe this is something that they'll manage to hone in he coming weeks.
The following is well worth ordering in the meantime:
Chocolate, bread and olive oil (£10.50) - this features a dark chocolate mouse, seasoned with sea salt and olive oil, sourdough bread sorbet, and toasted white soy meringue. As the chef says, "we use soy sauce in the meringue because when it's caramelised, the cereal note from the soy come though and the salt helps bring down the sweetness of the meringue." It's a fantastic dessert.
What about wine?
The list is focused on small-scale producers and low-intervention wines and split into flavour profiles, with bottles starting at around the £50 mark. Also on offer are ciders, sherries and more fortified options.
Overall thoughts.
Although led by Rob Roy Cameron, Alta is also part of Mad Restaurants, the new group that also launched Japanese restaurant MOI earlier this year. That was an extremely strong start and this is an equally strong follow-up.
Every dish we had was expertly created and plated, presented by a friendly and clearly knowledgeable front-of-house team, and it all left us wanting more. With a level of food and attention to detail that you just wouldn't have the patience (or ability) to create at home, it's the kind of restaurant that really rewards a trip out. Highly recommended and whatever Mad Restaurants comes up with next, it'll be well worth watching based on the talent they've brought to the table so far.
More about ALTA
Where is it? Unit G9, Kingly Court, Kingly St, London W1B 5PW
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @alta.london
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Alta. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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