Alta - A Northern Spanish-Basque restaurant with an exceptional cheesecake and dishes cooked over an open fire
Alta - Northern Spanish / Basque Restaurant in Soho
In our (constant) search for new and interesting restaurants here in London, we arrived at a relatively new Basque restaurant in Kingly Court (Carnaby/Soho area), in a minimalist space where the kitchen is completely open and an integral part of the dining area.
The restaurant emphasizes open-fire grilling, blending British ingredients with North Spanish techniques and spirit, particularly from the Basque Country and the neighboring Navarre region. This is the second restaurant from the MAD restaurant group, which also owns an open-fire Japanese restaurant called Moi in Soho, led by chef Rob Roy Cameron.
We started with oysters with green tomato gazpacho, which were refreshing, and alongside them we had lightly smoked fresh mackerel with a pickled cherry sauce, which was not bad, but the star of the opening round of dishes was the cecina - cured beef sausage (the beef world's equivalent to jamón ibérico, if you will), served with a delicate coffee sauce, and it was very successful.
Next, we chose the chistorra sausages (the Basque equivalent of chorizo), which were meaty and relatively juicy, but I've tasted better. Alongside them was cod in a tomato and piquillo pepper sauce, a delicate and enjoyable dish. But even in this round, there's a standout – and surprisingly, it's the empanada (!), because it wasn't just another empanada, but one simply filled with a whole sardine, and it was a refreshing change to the somewhat worn-out empanada concept 🙂
As we approached choosing the main course, we decided that with all due respect to the fish and the low-meat options, we had to pay tribute to Basque heritage and go for the Rib-eye, 850 grams of bone-in entrecôte, aged for 35 days. The steak was absolutely delightful, definitely one of the top 6-7 of the past year in London (and there were some excellent ones, for example at Tom Kerridge's or at Macellaio RC). Alongside it, we chose roasted leek in a creamy sauce with walnuts and oregano oil, which was comforting.
Time for dessert, and two surprises awaited us. I'll start right off with the bonanza – who would have believed that on that very evening, we would taste the most magical and delightful Basque cheesecake we've tasted so far in London. Yes, folks, Alta's Basque cheesecake, a tribute to the one from the pintxos bar La Vina in San Sebastian, considered the birthplace of Basque cheesecake, was served alongside roasted white plum, and was creamily, richly, and illicitly delightful. To give you an idea, after we left the restaurant, we craved more Basque cheesecake so much that we went for the one at the nearby La Maritxu, which is their specialty, and there's really no comparison to the velvety level of Alta's 🙂
Additionally, we chose the meringue dessert with crumble, delicate chocolate ganache ice cream, and olive oil, a wonderful dessert that plays excellently on different textures and also on a sweet and savory combination. The dessert was great, but the divine cheesecake completely stole the show.
To sum up the feast, it was very tasty at Alta, and even if not all the dishes blew us away, you can feel the quality of the ingredients, the desire to distill the culinary spirit of Northern Spain with British ingredients, and a very friendly staff that was even happy to give us a tour of the restaurant areas 🙂 And for those who always ask about the price (I paid, relax) - it wasn't cheap at all, but we left satisfied, and I have no doubt we'll be back, but it's possible that only for the Basque cheesecake 🙂
Oyster with green tomato Gazpacho
Smoked mackerel with pickled cherries
Cecina & coffee
Txistorra sausages
קוד עם עגבנייה ופיקיו
Sardine Empanada
35 Day Aged Rib Eye
כרישה ואגוזים
שוקולד, קראמבל ושמן זית
La vina cheesecake & escabeche plum
