Altera

I just visited Altera with a group of friends during their Restaurant Week special, and it was an incredible experience from start to finish. The ambiance felt new and refreshing, creating a welcoming atmosphere that set the stage for a fantastic courses of meals. They offered a three-course menu special, which we took full advantage of by sharing dishes to try as many items as possible. Their regular menu also looked impressive, and I’m already planning to return to explore it further. We began our meal with some cocktails, and I highly recommend the Black Sazerac, Claudel, and Sun Dream—each one was well-balanced and full of unique flavours, however one cocktail called self care felt more like some energy shot medicine rather than a cocktail. One of the highlights of dining at Altera is their commitment to making everything from scratch, which truly enhances the quality and depth of their dishes. For starters, the shrimp and pork mix gyoza were a delightful start, perfectly crispy and packed with flavor. The arancini, was well cooked and maintained the temperature—especially with the romesco sauce, which was so rich and flavorful that I could have eaten an entire bowl of it on its own. For entrées, the Pappardelle’s lamb was well braised in a tomato sauce that allowed it to melt in the mouth with an incredible depth of flavor. However, I felt that it could be more of a separated to side than mixed in the ribbon noodles and the quantity of meat was very less. 2.5/5 The Gemelli Verde was equally impressive, featuring a combination of ingredients that felt completely new and exciting to my palate; it could have been little more temperature hot but it wasn’t like ice cold. 4.5/5 The Lumache Pomodoro e Vodka was another standout, with the perfect balance of sour ricotta, chili oil, garlic, basil, and mint, creating a rich yet vibrant dish. 3.75/5 To finish, we indulged in dessert, and while the chocolate espresso cake was delightful, my favorite was the carrot cake with mango lassi sorbet—a refreshing and unique twist that made for the perfect ending to the meal. Overall, I highly recommend Altera for anyone looking to enjoy a meal that is both thoughtfully crafted and bursting with flavor. I will definitely be returning to explore more of their menu, especially the broiled miso salmon, which sounds like another must-try dish!

Pretty good. A few items needed salt. The server was excellent with the minor exception of correcting me about the origin of pok pok wings (I've been to the eponymous restaurant in Portland, but she claimed a Korean origin). Otherwise, a nice experience, if slightly pricey.

The cocktails and service were excellent. The food was ok, nothing was bad, but nothing was amazing either. Overall I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again but I also wouldn't avoid it, it just wasn't worth the price point. We ordered: - Irish Chips (ok potato with great garlic aoili) - Hamachi Crudo (overpriced for quality) - Dan Dan Noodles (needed seasoning) - Johnny Cake (best thing we ate, def recommend) - Pok Pok Chicken Wings & Marinated Cucumbers (not bad, not great) - Arancini (was gummy and lacked seasoning) - Gyoza (lacked flavor, very little filling) - Crispy Brussels Sprouts (just meh, needed more seasoning) - Altera Cheeseburger (pretty solid burger)

I have been here twice for brunch and both times the food and drinks were so good! My drink of choice is matcha and I can say you can't go wrong with hot or iced here! I added some vanilla syrup to my iced one and it was so good. Still earthy but not bitter and definitely not watery. The first time I had the kayanas, Irish chips (breakfast potatoes) and Johnnycake (corn pancake). All 3 were better than expected and the expectation was high for the Johnnycake. The sourdough in the kayanas was thick and sour. All the other ingredients worked so well together and my only critique is that the chili oil wasn't spicy. We accidentally ordered too many Irish potatoes and didn't finish them but they were good and the dipping sauces were varied. The Johnnycake was so good (trying to find a new corn pancake after the downfall of my previous favorite) but we couldn't taste the jalapeno in the maple syrup (this time). For my most recent visit we had the cinnamon roll (new item), Johnnycake and breakfast sandwich. Again, everything was better than expected. The Johnnycake was better (crispier edges) and you could taste the jalapeno in the maple syrup! The cinnamon roll was a nice surprise, the chai spices were there but not overpowering and it all tasted like a gentle apple pie without being too sweet. The breakfast sandwich was good but cinnamon roll and Johnnycake were my favorites! I don't know if it's just the time we go, or if it's a little underrated but it's so chill in there. Both servers that we have had have been very friendly and super accommodating by answering any questions and letting us make small changes or giving options for drinks. Food always comes out at the perfect temperature.

Went there for a friend's birthday. Drinks, apps, and every one else's dish was good until when it came to mine. I ordered their chicken dish and the dark meat wasn't fully cooked. They took it back, cooked, reheated, or whatever they did and brought it back. Still was not fully cooked so I had decided that I'll just take it home and fully cook it myself, that way, my money won't go to waste (mind you, the chicken was cut in pieces and I only had Three cooked pieces of chicken). What had happened instead of me taking it home, our server brought the chicken back a second time to show the manager and then never returned. I had asked what happened to the the rest of the chicken bc I was going to bring it home and cook it, was told that they threw it out already. Manager came out and said, we don't compensate anything so what would I like for them to do. I asked the manager what do THEY think would be a good compensation because I didn't even eat half of my entree and it got thrown out. They did offer to cook up another chicken but really, who has time to wait for a whole nother chicken when everyone was done already. So I didn't take them up on that offer bc I don't know how long the wait time of them cooking the chicken would be. What they did was give us two Johnny Cakes for the table instead. Receipt came, we got charged for one of them as well. Had to get it corrected. Overall, was I satisfied with the outcome of how the problem was addressed, no not all. Dessert to fill me up instead of an entree that I paid for, scoff. The food however was still good. The edible part of the chicken was very flavorful.

Originally came in for Winter Restaurant Week; I had heard some great things about Altera in an Esquire magazine's travel section while I was at the airport. Also this is local to me in my hometown of Saint Paul so I couldn't wait to try it! For RW we had the Hamachi Crudo (fresh but little too sour with the lime), Johnnycake (best thing I've had in a minute), Gemelli Verde (crazy flavorful but shrimp forward), Pappardelle (hearty pasta with tomato braised lamb shoulder), Carrot Cake w/ mango sorbet (it was alright), and finally the Chocolate Espresso Cake (dry dry dry). Initial thoughts were 4/5 stars but came in for dinner a second time tonight and was impressed by just about everything we tried! Tonight my friends and I split a bunch of appetizers. We had another Johnnycake (one of my favorite things on the menu, comes with whipped honey butter, maple syrup, chives and choice of regular maple or jalapeño maple syrup), Arancini (not as flavorful but relied heavily on the romesco to add depth), Crispy Brussel Sprouts (unique with mojo verde, ricotta salata, pepitas), and Pok Pok Chicken Wings (savory and drenched in fish sauce in the best possible way). We also had Hugo Spritz's (Prosecco, St Germaine, and mint). The interior is a little loud but a fabulous well decorated space for happy hour drinks and elevated eats with friends! This is one of my new favorite local spots, 10/10 recommend a try. Probably skip on dessert, it's not their strong suit, however everything else, fantastic!

Beautiful restaurant with very nice servers. I went for brunch and I would recommend each party ordering a dish then getting a dish to split like the hash brown, Johnny Cake, cinnamon roll.

I really love this fairly new restaurant called, Altera. It's located at 721 Cleveland Ave. S in the Highland Park neighborhood of St.Paul. It's upscale, innovative and more like a New York City,Los Angeles or San Francisco restaurant.The food is really good and they use the best ingredients. It's an American style restaurant.The presentation, taste and quality of the food makes this restaurant a total winner! Every once in a while an exceptional establishment opens in your area. Let me explain to you, why I rate it so high. So, you can enjoy Altera for yourself. Read and enjoy! Altera is mainly a dinner restaurant. However, on the weekends they are open for breakfast from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for an exceptional dining experience. Let me explain to you my last visit to this place with photos and my words. Well, I sat at the bar and the first thing I had was coffee. Altera has a bar with a counter where you can dine. They also have a sit-down dining room area as well. I guess, the way they organized the restaurant is the best of both worlds. A bar and dining room, my, my just a wonderful idea! I need to get back to my dinning experience. I just like to talk and write about places I enjoy, especially when it comes to food. Well,I was talking about the coffee I ordered,let me tell you about it. I had it black with a little sugar and it was just right. The aroma was exceptional and the flavor was very good,so I had three cups with my breakfast. Coffee to me is like wine,so many varieties and tastes. This coffee was simply exceptional. I couldn't have been more pleased. Let's move on to my complete breakfast and what I ordered. My main item for breakfast was the " MUSHROOM OMELETTE" this omelet contains: crispy brussel sprouts, gruyere cheese, mushrooms and carmilized shallots. You can also add City Ham to it for $ 5.00 bringing the total price to $24.00 dollars. This omelet without the ham is $19.00 dollars. This omelet is very large,well prepared and made extremely tasty with that gruyere cheese. This is my favorite breakfast item when I come here. I also had an English muffin with butter and marmalade. Irish style chips was another item I ordered. These chips are triple cooked potatoes and come with ketchup and they are another outstanding breakfast item.I did share those with my wife because you get so much. Saving something tasty and sweet for my last breakfast item,I ordered the Cinnamon roll. This is such a fine dessert item. It comes with Chai spices, apple and toasted pecans. A fine way to end your breakfast meal. Well to conclude this review, my aim was just to get you to Altera and enjoy their fine food. Wether you come for breakfast or dinner, you will find that this establishment is like a symphony of food. Each item you order is like a movement in a symphony,each food item complementing each other making a beautiful and delicious meal. The Twin Cities has some fine eating establishments. Altera is one of them. The phone number is : 651- 788 - 7009. Make a reservation and enjoy!! P.S. The two ways I spelled omelette or omelet are correct. The menu uses both spellings to describe the word omelet. The spelling with two Tees is British. The one T is American english. I am a Google guide level 10 which is hard to achieve. You can check my home page that shows I am at level 10. I want people to find good places to eat and shop. I spend a lot of my time doing this,so please enjoy this restaurant.