Alta

Each dish demonstrated why fresh ingredients matter so much. The team is truly helpful and handles every need. This restaurant stands out in my memory. Speedy meals that taste great. This restaurant exceeded my high standards, will revisit.

This restaurant welcomed me to the area perfectly. Completely outstanding. The visual experience adds value. Team members understand food while watching your needs. I'm excited to go back and explore more options.

What an amazing experience! If you like tapas style food, this restaurant is highly recommended. The atmosphere is warm, welcoming and authentic. The wine selection is comprehensive with excellent recommendations on what to order according to our budget. The highlight is the food - small sharing portions that were nothing less than marvelous. Including the desserts. Highly recommended!

This tapas place is hidden in the residential blocks and no visible signage out there. When we walked in, there a long walkway with the bar on the right hand side. A decent size of dining room and also a mezzanine for a few more tables. Two of us arrived early and ordered two cocktails while waiting for the group. We ordered 6 appetizers to share to begin with, fair portion size but food are delicious. We also ordered 3 entrees to share plus desserts. Decent prices and average $55 per person not including cocktails. Great place to date!

The food is creative and tasty, what could you want more? So we pretty much ordered the entire menu and it showed the depth of the food. However, the chef that was there who prepared the menu we had is no longer there, so there might be a variance in what's offered now compared to what's pictured. The service is pretty good, but the food is definitely something you want to repeat. Although it's tapas style, you'll feel full by the end. The atmosphere is also boisterous so you can come here with a large group, but make a reservation or you might not get seated in reasonable time.

Back in Alta after 2 years and a pandemic. It was still outstanding in every way. The place hides a gallery of seating in a big space through a bar and behind an almost hidden entrance. It’s tapas – don’t expect huge portions. You are in the wrong place if that is what you want. But it nicely avoids the tapas clichés of potatas bravas and tortilla. Every dish we had was outstanding. It is hard to pick out the best, but the smoked trout and black cod fritters, gnocchi, and sprouts were completely lovely. The wine by the glass choices were excellent. Service was attentive but not fussy. We particularly like the pacing of the dishes – there was an appropriate time between each so as not to feel rushed or neglected. We will go back before 2 more years have elapsed!

We had a group of 12 and ate everything on the menu. Many of the dishes are done very well. I really enjoyed Fried Hen of the woods, arugula, Brussel sprouts. The server was very kind. We came pretty late in the night and he was very accommodating and did not make us feel rushed at all.

This place is an easy 5/5. Delicious food and solid cocktails. Excellent service. Great atmosphere / not overly crowded. Reasonable prices. The scallops and the brussel sprouts particularly stood out. Cant wait to go back!

Google maps says PERMANENTLY CLOSED. I take them at their word. I should call but I won't.

Came here for a quick drink after dinner, enjoyed a quite spicy margarita. The bartender was great and enjoyable to speak to

I was pleasantly surprised with the beautiful space and food at Alta. A hidden spot that serves up good food and cozy vibes. The Brussel sprouts, ricotta gnocchi and chicken skewers were delicious. It was a little over priced, but a really nice spot for a date night.

A very cute tapas spot in the village! Hidden entry but you really feel like you're in someone's home. The dishes were mostly hits with a few missed. I'd skip the crab pasta and tuna carpaccio next time. The burrata, gnocchi, fried goat cheese and chicken skewer were great. A little pricey for the portion sizes but worth it if you come with a big group and try a bunch of stuff

I am horrified by the lack of customer service at this restaurant. I made a reservation for my boss several weeks ago to have Valentines dinner with his family at Alta. I called last week to reconfirm and also received a re confirmation email the day of the reservation. My boss arrived at the restaurant last night and was told he had no reservation. My boss showed the owner proof of the reservation and instead of the owner apologizing for a system error, the owner in turn embarrassed him in front of his family and insisted that the reservation was cancelled by the organizer. While he was seated, the tone of the restaurant owner was dismissive, rude and quite frankly left him feeling uncomfortable. I called the restaurant today experienced by far the worst customer service I have ever encountered. I tried to explain to the owner how last nights situation was not right and as someone who grew up in the business, regardless of whose at fault (and this situation we were not at fault), you are to make a customer feel welcome, accommodated, happy and at ease. He interrupted me, told me to be quiet, to not tell him what to do and that he is glad he never has to see us as customers and hung up. I'm embarrassed for him as a business owner and as a human. Beware!

Closed out 2022 with an early dinner at Alta - can't go wrong with that! The food was as delicious as ever and the service remains very attentive and fast. The caulilini with it's tangy dressing was particularly good! For a more quiet and intimate atmosphere, come early & ask to be seated in the small room upstairs overlooking 10th St.

Cute Mediterranean tapas restaurant in west village. The ambiance is adorable and transports you to Europe. The service is nice too. This restaurant is definitely on the pricier end - cocktails were around $20 and the small plates are pricey as well. I got the glass of champagne and it was amazing and great quality. I tried the lamb meatballs, tuna carpaccio, garganelli, octopus, and mushrooms. The highlights of my meal were the garganelli and tuna carpaccio. The rest tasted really good too. Overall, I'm happy with my experience here.

Interior is really cool with the 2 floors of seating and perfect for date night! My boyfriend and I dined on a Friday evening and sat on the 2nd floor, overlooking the restaurant from above. We chose the smoked mozzarella as an appetizer and it was SO good - would recommend! Then we shared the beef short rib (not my favorite) and the hanger steak which came with really good fries. Overall, a cute spot for dinner and the service was good throughout the night.

TLDR: the pricing on yelp way off. The actual pricing to this place is about 60 to 90% more than what's listed on yelp. It's ok food, but omg the portions are tiny - even as tapa style (think paying $20 for 6 sticks of asparagus). AND, the dishes are priced as if they were much larger. The sizes are fine, had the prices on yelp been close to actual. There are TONS of better places at this price point. NO ONE should ever come here. It's a false advertising scam. Here is the actual menu with prices: https://cdn.flowcode.com/prodassets/combinepdf_19_0ryfNyq.pdf

Loved this place....we enjoyed our anniversary dinner at this place Friday night. Drinks were strong and tapas were on point! Service was quick and very polite. Ambiance is unique and we loved it! The entry to this place is obscure and you might miss it...we almost did. Drinks : Yellowknife, Estrella 1906 Reserva Especial Spain, 3 Amigos - all were really good Food: marcona almonds, fried goat cheese, brussels sprouts, ricotta gnocchi, grilled chicken shawarma skewer - all were good...esp loved the brussel sprouts and the fried goat cheese with lavender honey! All in all loved the experience....it's definitely pricey but Ok for a special occassion!

Alta is a great tapas spot tucked away in Greenwich Village. The restaurant is on the bottom floor of a brownstone on a residential street and there's no signage outside, so it can be difficult to find, but once you step inside you'll feel like you're in someone's home. This is definitely a pricier spot, but nice for a special occasion. My group of 6 ordered 12 plates and that was enough for us. Our waiter was super helpful in recommending the right dishes and I appreciated his sense of humor. The best dishes we tried were the fried goat cheese, bacon wrapped dates, caulilini, octopus, and scallops. I wasn't a big fan of the paella or the gnocchi though. For dessert we had the chocolate lava cake, which had a great chocolate flavor without being too rich. The drinks were decent, although definitely on the strong side. Overall, everyone in my group really enjoyed our meal!

Their sangria is strong and delicious. The interior is beautiful. We sat on the second floor overlooking the restaurant! My Yelp reservation somehow didn't go through tho!! But they were able to seat us. It was empty when we got there at 730 but by 845 the restaurant was buzzing! Enjoyed the fried goat cheese, chicken shawarma was perfect, we did a pasta with shrimp oil (forgot the name) and it was fabulous. The octopus, that I looked forward to the most was disappointing. Tasted fishy, and was cooked in the same ingredients/presentation as the chicken shawarma that I enjoyed so much. Service was sporadic? I feel like we had to manually flag down someone every time we needed something (for ex: drinks, more food, the check). I'd still go back!

Took meat eaters and they loved the veg dishes. Great place and nice ambiance. Good for large parties or small intimate dinners.

Came to Alta on a Tuesday night and got seated on the upper level which has such a great view! The server was very attentive even though he mentioned he was juggling more tables than usual. We tired: - fried goat cheese w lavender honey: 5/5 amazing, salty cheese balanced w the sweet honey, and crispy too! - brussel sprouts - 4.5 loved the creme fraiche, Granny Smith apple was kind of random tho - ricotta gnocchi - 4/5 good, but not amazing - labneh cheesecake - 3.5/5 okay, creamy, tart, not overly sweet Yellowknife - good if you like a spicy drink Their take on a Moscow mule (can't remember the name) - was okay Great service, amazing interior, would definitely come back!

Packed! But cannot understand why. So loud that we can't converse...texting each other and at a table of three! Food arrived before cocktails. And food was mediocre. We left most of it behind uneaten. Ha! The drinks arrived at the same time we were asking for our check. Server was very nice. Oh well.

The food, service, and ambiance are collectively awesome. Great for first dates, sharing with friends, social gatherings. Alta has been around for a while and continues to offer all of the above.

I've been to Alta numerous times and love this spot. Delicious tapas style Mediterranean food. A few notes on the foods: - the gnocchi tastes like pillows in the best way - never tasted better fried Brussel sprouts - the scallops quickly disappeared - get the lavender honey goat choose appetizer - yellowknife cocktails all night long If you're going solo they have an easy bar section where you can grab a seat any night of the week without a rezzo. Staff is super helpful and friendly. Lovely ambiance with minimal lighting so prepare to potentially use your phone's flashlight to more thoughtfully read the menu.

The service and atmosphere are amazing here. The food was chefs kiss good! My favorite dish was the caulilini which was surprising because I've never had that before. Cocktails were really fun. Can't wait to go back the next time I'm in the area.

Went here early July to eat tapas! The tapas I ended up eating (and sharing) were the Fried Goat Cheese, Caulilini, and Lamb Tagine. As someone who is not a huge fan of goat cheese, the fried goat cheese was exactly what I was expecting from the name (they had the goat-y flavor that I don't like). I also don't typically order lamb, but the lamb tagine was saucy enough for me to like the dish. The caulilini on the other had really stole the show! I haven't had caulilini before, but the sauce paired with this vegetable (where the sauce is DEFINITELY the carry) was fabulous. I wish I had more! The food was good (met expectations) but nothing mind blowing quality or quantity-wise for the prices.

Pretty decent spot. Ambiance of the place is really nice. Tapas style so everything on the menu are small plates/shareable. Depending on how hungry you are I'd recommend 3-4 plates for every 2 people. Of all the things we ordered, the lamb meatballs were my favorite.

If you can't wait to pay an exorbitant amount for mediocre food and horrible service, then look no further! Food: I always leave tapas places hungry, and this was no exception. The paper menus serve as placemats, so I assume they must print them every day (seems like a waste when you could laminate and clean them). You have the option to order dishes individually (A la Carte) or do the whole shebang which is $500+ to get every single dish on the menu. FYI that the prices on their website menu are NOT accurate so expect to pay more. They give you a discount if you can pay in cash. Fried goat cheese with wild lavender honey ($12) - comes with 4 small servings. Not worth it Brussel sprouts ($18) - Their website menu says $16. I did like the addition of the Granny Smith apple and crème fraiche, but it's ridiculous to pay this much when every restaurant in the city has a brussel sprouts dish "Paella" ($34) - their website menu says this is $32. This is a total joke, and I hope people realize that this is NOT an authentic paella. The portion size is TINY, and there's pretty much no rice that comes with it. Mushroom flatbread ($19) - flavor is pretty good, but again for that price absolutely not worth it Wagyu tartare ($28) - their website menu says $24. Flavor is good, but nothing earth shattering Beef short rib ($34) - largest portion of the night. Mediocre at best as the short rib was not tender Lamb meatballs ($16) - very small, but the flavor is actually quite good Cocktails: range from $17-25. Surprise surprise - definitely not worth it! Service/Ambiance: They added an automatic 20% gratuity since we were a group of 7, so the waiter made $80 for only coming to the table twice during the entire meal. He made some snarky comments under his breath while he was walking away both times. We had to flag down busboys and other waiters in order to get drinks and our check, which is crazy since the restaurant was not packed at all. If I could have given a negative tip, then I would have. The place does have a warm cozy vibe to it, and they can accommodate larger groups which is nice. Overall: You can find better tapas with larger portions elsewhere for a fraction of the price with service that actually deserves a tip

Food was pretty good but service could have been more attentive. I may try sitting at the bar next time. The servers were hard to find, which is a shame since the food was good. The fried asparagus was especially delicious but the octopus was disappointing.

Difficult to find- hidden below a brownstone building. Ambiance was cute- cozy WV feel, though nothing special about the food. We ordered a few tapas and the only plate which stood out was the gnocchi, all the other dishes tasted quite bland / could use more sauce and flavoring.

Definitely a bit pricey but a really solid tapas option with great execution on basically every dish. Only misses were the paella and the trumpet mushrooms, the former lacked the soccarat and and aromatics I want from a true paella and the latter just didn't really end up tasting of much interesting. Basically everything else was a great hit though, special shout outs go to the wagyu tartare, the lamb meatballs, and the shockingly good impossible kofta.

Food is good. During my most recent visit, the service was lacking. Overall, food is tasty, service is ehh, and it's expensive for what you get. Worth a try but once is enough.

A nice find at the last minute. I really liked this place. The service was so friendly, our waiter "Jonathan"(Chris) was amazing! Fried Goats Cheese [4/5] Pretty good, a little smaller than I would have expected but still decent. Fava Bean Hummus [2.5/5] I found this dish strange. I wouldn't really call it hummus and it was kind of a miss. Pesto Pasta [4/5] The pasta changed but that was fine because this dish was delicious. Certainly on the smaller size but to be expected at a Tapas restaurant. Grilled Leeks [5/5] My favorite dish of all. Crunchy texture and full of flavor.

"Old tapas standby" Alta has been in this spot for as long as I can remember. It's morphed from purely Spanish to more small plates but retains core Spanish dishes. This is a reliably solidly option in the West Village for a great dining experience. What to celebrate - Stubbing decor, and I mean that! With a two floor, balcony over looking the dining room. Definitely sit on the top floor! - Beautiful lightings with wrought iron chandeliers - Romantic - Solid good that is mostly consistent - Unique takes in traditional tapas - Lots of options to make everyone happy What's not so great - Service can be a bit slow - Manager has a bit of an attitude and will not seat you until your whole party is there. I hate this!

We gave this place a try by ordering a little bit of everything. When we ate it we wondered how they would survive. The wine shop next-door was really good though

Not as amazing as I would have liked, but an enjoyable meal nonethless Thé tapas dishes were generally quite sizable, I'd order 5-6 for a party of 3.

My husband and I used to LOVE going to Alta. everything USED to be top notch. from the atmosphere, the service and the amazing food. like many others, since COVID we abandoned our regular food outings routines. but recently we've decided to renew our traditions and went back to Alta. we were horrified to find an almost EMPTY restaurant (on an 8:30pm reservation on SATURDAY). there was NO music playing. we were seated and waited for menus for 20 minutes (to find out from the waiter who decided to "visit" our table that they are obtained only by scanning a bar code). the only other table with guests was one that appeared to be the stage for the comedy act given by the only waiter seen in sight, who amused the diners non-stop with his presence and jokes. He ended up being the MANAGER whom we asked to see for the lack of not seeing our waiter for long period of time and not having ordered our meal for 45 minutes. This stand-up comedy "manager" argued with my husband over our complaint that we need a waiter, want to order, and would like to be served at least our drinks. the place was empty, and lacking service. once the food arrived, we found some dishes to still be very good, and some to be remnants of what used to be good and now is clearly no fresh. our waiter or the "manager" did not apologize even once for the lack of service and we were truly contemplating leaving for the fear our food would be "contaminated". let's just leave it at that. at 9:45 the waiter notified us the kitchen was closing in 5 minutes if we wanted to get something else. or desert. when we asked for the bill there was NO ONE left at the restaurant to hand us the bill. the bus boy was the only person in sight. I've NEVER written a restaurant review before. but felt this one is important for the OWNERS to see and correct so that this doesn't happen again. shame on the manager for being so loud, blunt, rude and absolutely not funny.

This place used to be my go-to spot in its heyday, and it pains me to say this - but it ain't what it used to be. Visited for the first time in a few years, ambiance is still beautiful, but everything else has fallen by the wayside. Service was painfully slow / inattentive (and snarky at times), even towards the end of our meal when the restaurant was half empty. We had to flag bus boys down multiple times. Our drinks took a solid 15-20 min after ordering to get them - we were told bc only 1 bartender. 1! For an entire restaurant on a Saturday night! Poor girl :( The menu itself is much smaller and MUCH more expensive than it used to be. Like prices are doubled, while quality is so-so at best. Menus are on cell phones now, definitely miss the paper placemat menus because at a tapas place, where it's suggested you order in "rounds" , your party ends up spending the entire time nose down in their phones scrolling the menu. Just cheapens the experience. Plates / food are now "pretty good" - for reference they used to be outstanding , you could tell they used to have pride in their dishes. (To be fair the Brussels sprouts are still outstanding :) And no background music at all. Just a weird vibe for a place that used to feel like the "it" place to eat in the village. Now it feels like a cash grab. I know all restaurants are suffering post pandemic but I think some easy fixes related to atmosphere and service would make a big difference. Maybe I'll eat there again one day and update this review to 5 stars but I'm not holding out too much hope.

Took my family from Texas and my two toddlers to Alta last night after getting them lost for almost an hour walk in the rain... the host ran to help me with my stroller as I struggled to get it through the doors only for us to realize we needed reservations. They must have seen the defeat in our faces as they devised how they were going to seat us. I couldn't believe that they took the time to help get us seats for 6 on a very busy night, let alone pull it off! The food was perfect, as usual and we have three very picky eaters in our family. They cleared the plates! Service was on point and the staff, I mean I really can't thank them enough! They went above and beyond for us! I am so grateful. Felt like we were back in the south with the amazing southern hospitality! Alta has always been my favorite restaurant in the city but last night hit a little different. Thanks for taking care of us and showing your guests a wonderful time in the city!

Very good. We shared 10 plates between 4 of us and that was perfect. A nice variety of food and flavors all nicely prepared and presented. A vey sociable meal where food can be shared at a pace that allows plenty of time to talk and interact. Pretty loud. No good if you have limited time.

Came here with a friend last night to celebrate my 31st birthday. I turned to Yelp and typed in "tapas" in the Greenwich Village area, which led me to Alta. I made a reservation on Yelp and under special notes wrote "birthday"-- they were very sweet and printed a menu with Happy Birthday Marla on it. We were seated on the top floor which is stunning! Gorgeous warm ambiance with very attentive servers and bussers. Our server suggested a $60 bottle of Sauv Blanc which did not disappoint. Yum! However, the food just missed the mark for us... we ordered 4 tapas: Brussel sprouts, scallops with yuzu, black truffle ravioli, and crispy polenta. Brussel sprouts-- best thing we ate all night. Fabulous! Scallops with yuzu-- where was the yuzu? Only got a tiny lick of the yuzu on the plate which was disappointing. The scallops were also medium rare which was not stated in the description on the menu. I prefer a medium scallop due to texture. Black truffle Ravioli-- ages Gouda inside was good but I had no explosive black truffle flavor at all. So surprised. The sauce was grainy and black but very little truffle flavor. Ugh. Crispy polenta-- sauce was underwhelming. Polenta was nice texture but not cheesy in flavor or texture. At the end of the meal, we had witnessed another table celebrating a birthday which got a candle and the servers sang which they didn't offer me but it's okay. Overall, service was great, ambiance was pretty and food was very average (menu options look incredible but the flavors didn't deliver). For us spending $180 on dinner, I just would've expected more.

Excellent everything, food, drink, service, ambiance. Special occasion place or anytime.

It was surprisingly very easy to get a reservation here for a Friday dinner at 6:30. It is much more spacious inside than you might realize when you first walk in, and the restaurant is beautiful. My only complaint is that was very dim where my friend and I were sitting and I had to squint to see the menu, but this could be a plus if you want to have an intimate dinner. For food, the fried goat cheese and brussel sprouts were phenomenal. The goat cheese looks really small but it was actually very filling and I'm thankful there were no more on the plate or I wouldn't have been able to finish the rest. I normally intensely dislike brussel sprouts but absolutely loved the sprouts here. The crisp was balanced out by the creamy sauce and the bitterness was counteracted by a light sweet sauce. My friend and I also ordered the gnocchi and the paella. The paella was very seafood heavy and didn't have quite enough rice, and the gnocchi was a bit too tender when they came out hot - they tasted a little better (more chewy) after waiting a few minutes. We were stuffed with these 4 items but couldn't resist dessert so we ordered the panna cotta, which had the perfect amount of sugar and wrapped up the night well. Service was also great. I would love to return and try more of the vegetable plates in the future!

For visibility sake, this place only accepts cash or American Express. Whyyyyyy? It's 2021. Did you notice we just went through a pandemic for a year? WHY ARE YOU HANDLING CASH THAT EVERYONE HAS TOUCHED?!?!? Anyways, wanted to take my date out to a nice spot. This was not it. All the other places were booked solid for the next 2 years. So here we are. Welcome back NYC! I booked through Yelp, but changed it to 15 minutes later. I was also another 15 minutes late. I called ahead and asked if our reservation would be kept and they were willing to accommodate. I'm literally that guy. And I HATE that guy. They decided to sit us in the cozy upstairs seating where there were only 4 tables that sit 2 people. It's super cozy, but I don't think it's romantic. I felt like I was in your grandparent's dining room. The downstairs seemed more intimate and vibrant. Anyways, our waiter seemed a bit rude. But then I realized, he was trying his hand at stand-up comedy. Some bits were funny (e.g. "What can I get you drunk on?"), but the rest fell flat. Read the room buddy! He eventually became more amiable, but that's probably because I got more drunk. Asked if the portion sizes are enough to feed our phat azzez and he recommended we order 3. Good call! It is tapas after all. Got the Paella, which was fantastic. Good balance of seafood with the sausage. Saffron rice was fragrant and flavorful. My date complained about it not being crunchy, but I've never had it that way, never in Spain. Lamb tangine was also great. Not too gamey, tender, juicy, cooked to perfection. The octopus a la plancha was a big bad miss though. Octopus was too chewy, not tender at all. The sauce was essentially mush with no texture. Couldn't taste any flavor either. For dessert, got the panna cotta. Creamy, delicious, not too gelatinous, good mix of fruit. And also got the Basque cheese cake. Terrible. The cream cheese was close to solidified and tasted more like dry pancakes. It was very bland. Also got a bottle of wine, which was recommended by I think the owner. A Rioja. Not bad. The markup was only 300%, also not bad. Total was $260 after tax and tip. $130 before the bottle, so the value is definitely there. Overall, not a bad place, but I think there's definitely better out there.

An intimate environment hidden behind a residential basement stoop. Nice variety of tapas with a Mediterranean theme and a sensible list of craft cocktails. Would have liked a bigger beer list. The prices were a little higher than other tapas locations but the service and surroundings were worth the differential.

Had difficulty finding the place because there is no sign outside. Once inside the fireplace was beautiful and the whole space seemed to have a romantic lighting. The scallops were very delicious. The octopus was sub par in my opinion chewy. Have had better at various other establishments, and the fish was unremarkable. Overall for around 28$ a tapa, for which you can get a full entree in NYC, not worth the price. The service from our waiter was not great, had to flag down a buss boy for our check, barely checked on us and seemed to run away after 1 min of interaction. Overall lackluster in my opinion.

This is a cozy restaurant with good food and even better staff! I met with a friend for dinner after work and would go back in a heart beat! The only comment would be that it was cold at the restaurant. The fire place did not emit enough heat for NYC cold winter night.

I booked a reservation through Yelp and chose this place because it was the top restaurant in the area that had reservations available. The restaurant was about half packed on a weekday night. My favorite dish was the bacon wrapped dates. I've only had paella one other time but I personally prefer it to be crispy. The paella we had was really wet, which I didn't like but maybe that's just me. The gnocchi was standard and fried goat cheese is exactly how it tastes. Bacon wrapped dates is always good! To be frank I thought the food would be better than what we experienced based on all the good reviews and high ratings but maybe we just didn't order the right dishes. I went on a random weekday so maybe it was just that day but there was no music. Perhaps it broke that day? I didn't like how quiet it was because felt like I couldn't talk too loud. Still decided to give 4-stars because service was great.

This is the deranged message the Owner and Manager sent me today. Completely unhinged and unprofessional--and proves my point. Apparently our not wanting to pay full price for plain tomatoes really stuck with him all these months later but he remains oblivious to his disagreeable manner and the overall poor service previously mentioned (on which he of course did not comment). Pro tip: search "rude" in the reviews of this establishment and you'll unsurprisingly get lots of results.

The best food the best space in Manhattan you will be blown away when you walk inside and when you try the tapas

An absolute gem--I'm in love with Alta. Sitting unassumingly, but looking gorgeous from the outside, on a tree lined block in Greenwich Village one can easily pass by Alta. Once you step inside, the ambiance will take your breath away. At least it took mine. It was dimly lit and cozy with different seating options across several floors. A true townhouse with a beautiful vibe that sets the mood for a date (lucky you or me in this case) or dining with friends/family. Service was extremely good as I wouldn't expect it to be otherwise and the waitress was helpful by answering any/all questions. Alta serves Mediterranean inspired tapas or small plates and it was recommended at least 2-3 per person. We both got things started with a glass of Rose (mine being the less dry option) which was delicious. As far as food, we stuck to a seafood and chicken theme to accommodate my eating preferences. And once we placed our order, the plates arrived individually (I appreciated that a lot) to savor each and every selection. We ordered: Tuna tartare--5 perfect slices of fresh and delicious tuna garnished with dollops of sauce and greens. Fried goat cheese bites--4 small balls sitting on a coating of honey. Absolutely divine and must try. Scallops--3 pieces nicely grilled and delicious. Paella--one of my favorites. A medley of different seafood that tasted lemony and fresh. Chicken shawarma--pieces of chicken lying on a bed of hummus. Very delicious and nice accompaniment to our mainly seafood selections. Black Cod---a few pieces that was combined with tomato and greens. (Refer to the menu for a more detailed description of each selection). There was not one misstep regarding the meal as everything was excellent and executed very well. The flavors of each plate were amazing but keep in mind, they're not generous portions (nor are they inexpensive). Since they're small plates, the option remains to double up or order more. There was a large variety from the. menu. Your choice. I think it's fun and appreciate making a meal of small plates on occasion. By the way, for $600, Alta will serve the entire menu of plates to your table! Alta is an elegant, well run restaurant that does everything right. You'll leave impressed. I did.

Always solid!! A hidden gem. Perfect date night place or birthday with friends. I'm surprised it's not always fully packed. And our waiter was ON POINT! Thank god good service is still a thing at some restaurants. Go!

Where to begin. We had reservation for 7 and arrived at 7 and were immediately seated. Great! 15 minutes later a server finally arrives to take our drink. Yay! My girlfriend ordered a Moscow mule and I a dirty martini. A bar back came with our drinks and my girlfriends drink had mezcal on it. There was a language barrier with the waitress so that's fine. We then told the bar-back that it was supposed to be a Moscow mule. He leaves and then a different man shows up in a blue button down saying "Mezcal Mule". Again, now we wanted a Moscow mule. Cue 25 more minutes go by we finally get her drink. It's not 7:50 and it took 50 minutes to get our first drink and cheers. My dirty martini tasted like 3 parts olive juice to 1 part vodka. No apologies for how late the drink came. No apologies for the mistake of the drinks. They acted like this was all completely fine. Whoever the man in the blue shirt was, assuming they were the manager, should have read the room that this was severely disappointing and if not apologize at least comp a drink. There was a 4 top right next to us who was also constantly looking around for a server but none to be found. We had 3 servers that night ask us the same questions. What would you like to drink, eat etc. no organization. We didn't bother to get food because the manager in the blue shirt said the steak that's $32 is the size of a skewer. And when we asked how many ounces he didn't even know how to answer this question and kept just showing us with his hands. What a pitiful experience. Would never recommend anyone to go here.

The atmosphere is cozy as you are tucked away in a greenwich village brownstone-- that was my favorite part. Unfortunately, the service is not great and the food is mediocre at best. Our first dish came before our drinks arrived. The food was half cold and lacked flavor. (We ordered the mushroom flatbread, lamb meatballs, short rib, and smoked trout.) Our waitress never checked in on us either. We had to flag down for more drinks and eventually our check.

We had a really nice dinner here on a saturday night. Here's what we ordered: 1. fried goat cheese (4.5/5)... magical little bomb in your mouth. they were perfectly fried and the honey was an amazing touch. Wish the goat cheese was slightly creamer/warmer 2. brussels sprouts (6/5)... probably the best prepared brussels I've ever had. such an interesting combo of flavors that just worked. 3. ricotta gnocchi (3.5/5)...sauce was delicious, but gnocchi was a bit over cooked. 4. hen of the woods (3.5/5)... delicious but not worth the steep price tag. Our waiter took great care of us. Only wish the food came out slightly slower... we got our first plates maybe within 8 minutes of ordering. Had gotten our cocktails just before.

Sorry to leave an awful review but this was a major disappointment! Went here last night for dinner and everything from the food to the service to the drinks was awful. While the food tasted moderately OK, the portions were ridiculous. $20 a plate for literally an ounce of food. We spent almost $600 and left starving. Also the drinks were poured like a half a glass. Waiter had a horrible attitude the entire night and our table was basically left dirty most of the meal. I used to work in the restaurant business so I totally get how things go but the place was not even busy. Even if you are super busy, not even a heads up that he was coming our way or give us the eyes that he will get to us shortly. Not to mention, didn't even say thank you at the end. Dropped the check, walked away with no eye contact. Horrifying. Not sure why this place gets a good rap but I was severely disappointed all around and would not return.