A live-fire Northern Spanish restaurant that delivers on food and drinks
Hot on the heels of MOI (which we loved), comes ALTA, the second restaurant of the nascent CAPS-loving MAD Restaurants Group. ALTA is another huge central London site, having taken over a two floor space in Kingly Court with three distinct areas: a downstairs dining room with open kitchen; an upstairs dining room filled with wine bottles and wine taps; and a large bar area towards the back of the upper level. Heading up the kitchen is chef Rob Roy Cameron who was previously at Gazelle in London and, for much of his career, working alongside Albert Adria in Spain.
Eat This
And Spain is where the menu wants to take you to, with a series of excellent, modern Spanish dishes created by Roy Cameron. Don’t miss snacks of wafer-thin sliced cecina, which is made in-house and drizzled with a touch of coffee oil; and the little txistorra sausages (also made in-house) that come in a juicy, meaty sauce spiked with Pedro Ximinez sherry vinegar.
From the starters, we loved the squid that had been cut into thin pasta-like ribbons and topped with lardo and Vizcaina (a Basque pepper and onion sauce); and the must-order, very Insta-worthy sardine empanada – a whole sardine stuffed into a pretty puff pastry casing, with just the head and tail peeping out at either end. Clever and tasty in equal measure.
A huge open fire grill at the heart of the kitchen is the conduit for more substantial mains such as the pork chops, aged ribeye, and red mullet. We went for the turbot tranche and a side of the excellent crushed potatoes, which are shaped into a perfect chunky circle and topped with a slab of mojo verde butter that slowly melts over the spuds.
For dessert, it has to be that classic Basque cheesecake with poached apricots.
Drink This
The drinks list is a real treat. We were especially pleased to see a strong showing of cider – both from the Basque Country and the UK – alongside an entire page dedicated to vermut and fortified wines by the glass, thoughtfully listed to complement each stage of the menu. There are some fascinating choices, from a Serbian vermouth to a sweet ice cider from Sweden, and even a Sauvignon Blanc skin contact from New Zealand, so there’s plenty to discover if you’re up for exploring. The selection of natural wines is excellent too, and the cocktail list impresses, with a few options available in smaller serves (this restaurant knows what’s on trend in all departments). We recommend starting with a Basque 75: a vibrant mix of oak-aged vodka, Txakoli, verjus, orange blossom, Oloroso sherry, and blanco vermouth.
Why Go
Surrounded by the fast casual restaurants of Kingly Court, ALTA is something of an outlier – a proper grown-up restaurant offering impeccable ingredients and high-level cooking, with just the right degree of chef-y twists to make it stand out. It’s a restaurant well worthy of your time and another hit for the MAD group.
Key Information
Address | Ground Floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW
For more information | alta-restaurant.com
