Had a super dinner at Alto.. highly recommend this place!
Drawing inspiration from the vibrant culture of the Rio de la Plata region, ALTO celebrates the time-honored culinary customs of Uruguay and Argentina with a contemporary twist.
Our dishes are crafted using traditional open-fire cooking techniques from the Pampas region of South America, complemented by locally sourced ingredients from California’s finest family farms.
Opened up by Argentinean and Uruguayan chefs with impressive backgrounds who have worked at Celler de Can Roca, Mugaritz, Amelia and Borago (tons of Basque influence). Naturally, just seeing those restaurants affiliated with the chefs brought me immediate interest. You will see them kicking ass and working hard at the restaurant and making sure everyone is enjoying their time and food. To create an excellent environment, it starts with a good team, and I think you have that here at Alto.
Before starting with the food, the restaurant is also very well designed. The space was designed by the Rebel rebel team who have done some incredible work around the world - this is how I initially found out about Alto. Worth noting that this is their first design in California. You walk into a nice bar with a green tile backsplash and a lounge room giving you a cool hybrid LA/CDMX cozy vibe before entering the beautifully designed main dining room with an open wood-fire grill in the back where you can see chef & team doing their thing.
Now the food, Argentinean restaurant.. you gotta be thinking meat all day and of course the meat is front and center and it is so so good. The highlight for me was the Cordero Patagonico (12oz Lamb Saddle house aged in beeswax for 14 days - Grilled over Rosemary leaves). Simply seasoned with salt, it was cooked to perfection over the open flame. Every bite offered layers of flavor and a deeply satisfying richness.
One of the perfect sides to pair with it was their potato dish, which features potatoes prepared in three ways: potato “rescoldo” style, a potato foam with black lime, and crispy fried potato curls. They also offer beets and corn done three ways and I’ll definitely be returning to try those. The OG empanada is a 10/10.. the dough was just right.
Also, their cocktail program was a very pleasant surprise, just really good stuff happening here. The jardin de altura - tequila altos infused with fig leaves (ton of prepping happening here just for this process), orange liqueur, magnolia flower nectar, herbs oil, corn salt was next level.. also recommend the ‘nunca es suficiente’ cocktail with a basil/cardamom profile as well. To finish, a vintage Uruguayan dessert wine wrapped everything up perfectly.
2 years in the making and the end result of Alto is a home run. New Michelin star contender in LA? I think so.
My photos won’t do the food here any justice but I will leave you guys with the menu!
