Wow- this place is AWESOME! Came for dinner with the parents during a trip to the city and am so glad we did. The building is really cute- our table was in a quiet room on the 3rd floor. Service was fantastic- friendly server made great recommendations. Be warned- it's cash and Amex only. We tried two cocktails at the bar, and though I didn't love them, they had a good wine by the glass list. Best to come with a group so you can sample as many of their fabulous small plates as possible. Here's what we were able to try... *Scallop carpaccio- fresh, light, delish *Fava bean falafel- not my fave, but still very good. Small balls, crispy on the outside, soft inside with just a bit of pickled cabbage *Trumpet mushrooms- This dish was beautiful! Mushrooms were larger than I expected and served with a light potato espuma (cheesey foam), almonds, and pesto drizzle- yum. *Brussels sprouts- generous portion of crispy cabbages sliced in half with a few green apples, pistachios, and a creme fraiche. So good *Roasted octopus- with chickpeas and a pretty lemon pearls. Also recommend *Linguini pepperoncini- small serving of perfectly cooked pasta in a rich, savory, slightly spicy sauce *Mushroom flatbread- loaded with earthy porcinis and savory with a fontina cheese sauce I was worried we wouldn't have enough cash for dessert, but figured it would be worth it to do a quick ATM run if needed. Dessert was also delish- light, creamy, chocolatey goodness. Cannot say enough how fab this place is. Beautiful presentation, great service, fab food. Highly recommend. read more

Alta - Pre-dinner gin drink. Pretty, but just ok. - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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What a charming and romantic restaurant! We had little to no expectations as our original dinner plans fell through since the first restaurant we were going to had horrible reviews. Enter ALTA! Found this place via Yelp and we were pleasantly impressed. It is a surprisingly bigger restaurant from the view from the street.It is 3 stories!The building is from the 1800's! And the decor is rustic yet romantic. The mood was perfect for our first wedding anniversary. The service was great! The waiter and busboy were on top of it and we didn't have to wait too long for food or drinks. Best part was the food! Everything we ordered was delicious: Garlic Prawns, Braised Short Ribs, Brussel Sprouts and Hamachi. And the cherry on top was meeting the owner Christopher who showed us around and gave us an intriguing history lesson of the space and the restaurant that was there before. Very warm and gracious owner. read more

Alta - Braised Short Ribs - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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For those of us who love farm to table restaurants with a Mediterranean spin, this is a MUST. We snacked on Marcona almonds and olives with delicious cocktails to start, proceeded with brussel sprouts and cauliflower, then on to pasta, chicken shawarma and hanger steak! Every dish was better than the next! This will be a repeat visit for sure. read more

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The Brussels sprouts were my favorite out of everything we ordered. The pastas were average. It was really busy so service was really slow and it took a long time to wave down a waiter read more

Alta - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Nice ambiance, great margaritas and wine , service spectacular. We were passing by and saw this little Place and caught our attention and it was super cute and cozy and amazing read more

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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. read more

I really liked this place. A little on the pricey side but awesome tapas. We tried the gnocchi, shrimp, goat cheese and honey, fingerling potatoes and the rose sangria. All were really good!! The sangria is huge and definitely worth it! Unfortunately didn't take pictures of the food :( The entrance of this is also cute and somewhat hidden. It's below a very residential looking area. read more

I'm getting excited just thinking about the place even five days later. We started off with the castelvetrano olives. O-live for these (hah, sorry couldn't resist). If you like olives, order them. We jumped head first into the good stuff. 100% recommend the wagyu beef carpaccio. Yeah, it may be a bit off-putting if it's your first time having raw beef, but it is so so incredibly amazing. I'm salivating this very moment just recollecting the surprisingly creaminess + that almost sweet crunch of the sunchoke bits. Now I'm about to cry because I'm across the country now (I'll dream of you). The grilled wild shrimp was also pretty great. I didn't read carefully enough, so the little bits of chorizo with the shrimp was a wonderful surprise. Where do I get a bottle of the avocado sauce that came with it? The octopus a la plancha was also perfect. The perfect sear outside and it was so tender inside, it was almost fluffy. I have no idea wtf lemon pearls are but they beautifully complemented the octopus. It was a really close second to the wagyu carpaccio (although my cousin would argue and say it was better). Also ordered the braised rabbit because I hadn't had rabbit before. I thought it'd be gamy but it was super tender and creamy. I personally wasn't really a fan because it tasted like chicken, but it was good still. We also got a side of the homemade nan, which was fluffier and thicker than I expected. But yes, would order again if I'm ever back in the area. The salt flakes + carbs + whatever that tomato-y sauce was (matbucha?) = yummy. The pei mussels were also quite good. Not the most amazing broth ever but still pretty good. The service was also 10/10. They were on top of things: topping off our waters, offering more wine, timing the tapas, folding napkins when someone went to use the facilities, etc. Friendly, warm, and professional. Ambiance was great too. Decor made things look warm and inviting. Maybe a tad too dark (was squinting at the menu) but definitely a good spot for a more intimate dinner with a date or with a smaller party. There was a larger group celebrating a birthday though, so I suppose if you make a reservation in advance, it'd be good too. The restaurant got busy quick! TL;DR: 10/10 food and service and ambiance. Definitely order the wagyu beef carpaccio and octopus a la plancha. read more

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Came here in a group of four and had a delightful time. Only downside for me (although this is typically whenever I go to any tapas spot) is that it's quite easy to rack up a huge bill because it's hard to restrain yourself from ordering nonstop haha. The place is a bit hard to spot from the outside, as it's found on a residential street. When you walk in, you feel like you're walking into a home until you enter and notice how spacious the place actually is. We had a reservation for four, and was seated upstairs, overlooking the main dining area. We actually much preferred this as it was more quiet and easier to have a conversation. Service was friendly and attentive. We ordered in waves, and never had issue finding our waitress. Here's a sampling of what we ordered: - Fried goat cheese: one of our favorites of the night! That lavender honey was to die for - Philadelphia surprise: piping hot flaky puff pastry with cheesy goodness inside - Bacon wrapped dates and olives: how can anything wrapped in bacon not taste good? - Brussels sprouts: absolutely delicious, and perfect meld of sweet and salty - Black truffle burrata: liked it because I like cheese, but didn't really taste any truffle - Mussels: lovely rich broth - Pork empanadas: good, but nothing to write home about - Braised short rib: so tender and bursting with flavor We racked up a pretty big bill because we ordered multiple servings of the above to satisfy the four of us, but I find myself in this predicament most times I eat at tapas places. They offer a "whole shebang" deal, which is $600 for one serving of everything on the menu, which might be worth it if you come in with at least six people. Reservations are fairly easy to come by, and still would recommend making one during busy times to guarantee yourself a seat. Oh and FYI: they only take AmEx and cash, so be prepared! read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE! Alta is a lovely, charming restaurant with an elegant, yet homey feel, in a converted townhouse in the West Village area. The place is easy to miss because there is no sign out front, so you have to be looking for it. My friends and I were seated downstairs near the fireplace and we ordered 5 dishes to share. First came the bacon wrapped dates and olives (I requested only dates since I don't like olives) which were stuffed with almonds. This was amazing! The bacon was perfectly crispy, full of flavor and the dates were sweet, chewy, wonderful. The roasted almond added a bit of crunch and wonderful taste. Then, the brussel sprouts, mixed with granny smith apple, creme fraiche and pistachio. The brussel sprouts tasted so good and were juicy, with great seasoning. I would have liked more apple in the dish though. The lamb meatballs had a charred red pepper sauce and some sort of white cheese. They were pretty good, but not particularly memorable for me. Roasted salmon came on top a summer vegetable salad of squash, corn, tomatoes and string beans. I enjoyed this dish a lot. The salmon was charred just a bit with the skin still on it and was slightly flaky, not fishy at all and was just delicious. And the salad was nice and fresh. We also ordered the roasted trumpet mushrooms, consisting of porcini caramel and breadcrumbs. This was quite good with a very savory, appetizing sauce with the best tasting breadcrumbs I have ever had! As for dessert, we tried two different ones: First one was the Chocolate Peanut butter Napoleon, which consisted of chocolate cream, peanut butter ganache and malted milk chocolate ice cream. This was delectable with perfectly flaky cake with layers of yummy chocolate and peanut butter. And the ice cream was creamy and sweet. The other dessert we had was the Georgia Julep Parfait, which came with roasted peaches, bourbon ice cream, mint granita and pecan praline. I really enjoyed this. The bourbon ice cream was superb, with amazing rich bourbon flavor and paired perfectly with the refreshing peaches and roasted/sugary pecans. The service was top notch and since one of my friends knew the host, our drinks and desserts were free! We weren't expecting that special treatment, so were pleasantly surprised. And I would absolutely come back to try other dishes and that's saying a lot, because I normally don't like dine in the same restaurant twice. read more

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Came to Alta on a Saturday evening with a 8pm reservation for a party of 3. We were seated promptly in the cute back area of the restaurant. There was some light festive decor which made the restaurant feel really homey. My group ordered a few dishes to split. We got the black truffle burrata, scallops, steak, meatballs, beet salad, and the gnocchi with egg! The scallops were a bit fishy but seared perfectly. The steak had a ton of flavor. The burrata or beet salad was probably my favorite of all the dishes. The meatballs were definitely my least favorite. All of the food was very fresh and had a wonderful presentation. The plates all came out pretty quickly too, which worked out nicely because we were so hungry. We split a bottle of white wine that resembled a chardonnay. The service was definitely a little wonky. My friend had a dirty glass and asked for a new one that was still not totally clean. The waiters were kind of terse/abrupt. It was very busy for dinner, but there wasn't a very welcoming atmosphere. There were so many other dishes I definitely would have ordered too...zatarr naan, foie gras mousse, grilled octopus. Next time!! Definitely will come back. read more

"Don't do it", they said. "You'll waste food", they said. "It's for parties of 9, but really we recommend it for 12-15", they said. "Let's do it anyway", we said. 50 dishes. 8 people. Everything on the menu. The Whole Shebang. Killed it, we did. Then we had some cake. After going back again, I'd have to say that I still think that the food is good, but not amazing. I suppose now I can somewhat say that with authority as I've tried everything. Some 4-5 star worthy items, in order of preference: - Braised short rib with beet-Barbaresco spaghetti - Japanese grilled eggplant with feta and watercress - Lamb tagine - meat fell off the bone and the root vegetables, so delicious! - Fried goat cheese, lavender infused honey - Crispy brussels sprouts, apples were a great addition to this dish - Warm creamy polenta, not usually a fan, but always willing to give it a try in a different form, pleasantly surprised by this texture and preparation. - Housemade pizza - fontina cheese, crimini mushrooms, thin crust PS. I've attached a blurry menu. read more

Alta - 46 dishes. The Whole Shebang. - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Fantastic delicious great quality tapas, reasonable pricing, and inviting warm staff. A bit hard to find since the building# nor the name of the place was visible at all out front but once you do find the right door, the interiors is so inviting and beautiful. 2 levels of seating and they didn't do the "let's just cram as many tables as possible" thing either which I appreciate a lot. We ordered 2 rounds of tapas for 4 ppl but ordered 5 orders of their goat cheese croquettes with lavender honey because they were THAT amazing. Other stand outs are the crispy skin black sea bass, the naturally sweet roasted Brussel sprouts, refreshing beet salad, the fall off the bone short rib, creamy Burrata "dip" and the delicious Paella topped with what I think was a dollop of some squid ink concoction and fresh seafood. I LOVE their order everything on the menu option for $450!!!!! Especially if we were dining with a good sized group I think this would have been perfect! Sat us in a nice long table so never felt cramped as the dishes came out in a steady stream. Will most definitely be back! read more

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I just have to agree with everything Barbara D. said. I was here 4 months later and exactly the same. The waiter, who seemed like the manager also, could barely be bothered with us, two middle aged couples. You see, there was a table of three very young attractive model looking women right behind us, and it was very important that our similarly middle aged waiter/manager chat them up for long periods of time, certainly more important that getting us a wine list or bringing it out. The bartender was sort of nice, and came to help us a couple of times acknowledging with a wink that our manager/waiter was "busy", but she could be weirdly passive aggressive. The food is 4 star worthy, but there is just such a negative vibe to this place I recommend passing it by. Unless of course you're an attractive young woman who really enjoys being chatted up by middle aged restaurant managers! read more

Went here with two others, so I got a chance to sample six different dishes. Each and every one was excellent. The agreed upon winner was the the Paella. It had everything going for it, the shellfish was flavorful, the sausage carried some heat and the rice was rich with all the juices. Next was the Duck Confit. Just dense and good, much like the lively Lamb Tangeen. The Brussels Sprouts were a much better fried option than the Hen in the Woods mushrooms. Those were a touch over done. This is a lovely little place. The dining room has a cute balcony and rustic charm. Everyone should note that they have a quirky payment policy, only cash or AMEX. This policy is well announced via confirming text, menu and by the hostess, but it did nonetheless cut our evening short as we went elsewhere for another bottle of wine and dessert. read more

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. read more

When I met my girlfriends for a Thursday 7pm reservation @ Alta, I literally walked past it a few steps until I saw the Dept of Health grade A sign which was slightly hidden. If it wasn't for that, I would have continued to think it was an upper high end elegant residential building (think Sex in the City). Off to a good start. Note: they're strict on the time and only allow 15 mins of grace. They only accept cash and AMEX so make sure you have enough dough. Upon entering, you'll see a long bar and the host/hostess are at the end waiting to greet you. They led us 3 flights up to a semi private dining area. It was quite lovely and cozy. The fireplace gave it a very intimate atmosphere while the decor with books and paintings along the wall felt like we were at Sherlock Holmes' den. Definitely transport you back in time a bit. My lovelies and I ordered white and red unconventional sangria. What's so unconventional about it? Alta uses rum and it's a lot stronger. Let's just say, my face turned apple red after a few sips. You'll get your money's worth and it's so fruity and good. Yum. Onto the tapas: - Fried Goat Cheese; these 4 little fried to perfection little ball of cheeses came on a skewer on top of lavender honey. Sweet and salty. It was also fragrant. There was another ingredient in the honey which I can't pinpoint... rose water? Whatever it was, it was delicious and light. - Lamb meatballs; now I'm never a fan of lamb because of the gamey taste but this little dish did not have that after taste at all. - Brussell sprouts with apple; a nice chard on the outside and the apple gave it a nice sweet finish. Not bad. - Mussle in lobster broth; one of my favorites of the night. Spicy, flavorful broth and the mussles were meaty. YUM!! Careful, the heat packs a punch! The tapas menu is so extensive. You'll need to come back about 5 more times to sample the entire thing. And if you're daring, they have an option where you can order everything on the menu for about $490. Better come with a big appetite! read more

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Very nice restaurant . We sat upstairs and it was perfect until it got too noisy . The food was good but I didn't fell the quality was good enough for the price . My favorite dish was the pasta . read more

Alta - Chocolate dessert - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York

The food was mostly awesome. Appetizers of bacon covered dates/olives was amazing, as well as the goat cheese balls with honey. We were off to a great start. The cocktails were perfect as well. I had the jalepeno something w/tequila and lime. The tuna tartare dish was also really good and a refreshing dish. The foie gras was excellent, but I felt that the raspberry thing on top was completely unnecessary. While it gives color to the dish, It doesn't taste good, and takes away from the foie gras. The ricotta gnocchi was amazing, and the braised short rib was just ok - although the pasta in the short rib dish was amazing, and could be made it its own little pasta dish. Besides a very chipped plate for one of the dishes, and a huge noisy group at the next table, the experience was quite good. read more

A group of girlfriends and I came to Alta on a Friday night at around 7 to celebrate one of the girls' birthdays. A few of us arrived early, so we decided to take advantage of their happy hour by the bar ($8 house red/white wine). When we were seated, we started browsing the menu and a lot of things popped out at us. Here are some of the things we ordered: Salmon tartare (truffle, black rice crisp, salmon roe) - this was probably the best one. The salmon tasted fresh and the black rice crisp complemented the fish well. However, none of us were expecting the portion to be so tiny. It was three bite-sized rice crackers with salmon. But it was so good that we ended up ordering seconds PEI mussels (harissa broth, preserved lemon, cilantro) - nothing special. I feel like I can probably make this at home. Seems and tastes simple enough Paella (crispy saffron rice, mussels, clams, shrimp, chorizo) - it didn't have as much flavor as I'd expect a paella to have. Also, the rice was a bit mushy Lamb meatballs (charred red pepper sauce, labne) - this was on the dry side Porcini braised short ribs (spelt pasta, beet puree, horseradish) - didn't try the short ribs but the pappardelle or whatever sheets of pasta it came with was pretty good Foie gras terrine (smoked eel, plum mostarda) - this was my first time trying foie gras. I got it mixed up with pate so my taste buds were definitely surprised upon that first bite. I don't think I like foie gras - too fatty for me Roasted pork belly (charmoula, lollipop kale, garnet yam) - had this weird leftover taste to it. You'd be better off grabbing some from Chinatown - half the price, double the flavor, triple the portion If you're looking to have a full and satisfying meal, Alta is not it. But if you're looking to try a bit of everything (and you're in the mood to splurge, because these dishes add up QUICK) then maybe you'll like this place. Just expect the dishes to be hit or miss. Tip - cash or Amex only read more

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HANDS DOWN THE BEST TAPAS RESTAURANT I'VE BEEN TO IN THE CITY! So I love my tapas places because I think they're great places to go with a group of friends, pass around plates, drink sangria and gab it up! I've been to Alta a few times - both with large and small groups. This place is very accommodating for large groups and has plenty of space. I've sat on both the first and second floor and was very happy! It's also a great place for a date because the lighting is pretty low, especially on the second floor, and it's just a really beautiful establishment! The service is also good. So le't's get to the food - I'll list in order of my favorites: 1) Crispy Brussel Sprouts - Don't sleep on these!! Seriously, they blew my mind and I don't even like Brussel Sprouts. However, there are nuts so steer clear if you're allergic 2) Lamb Meatballs - the butternut squash foam is to die for 3) Smoke Eggplant And Lebne Dip 4) Bacon Wrapped Dates & Olives - Another thing I don't like - dates - but love this plate 5) Asparagus Tempura - Who doesn't love fried veggies! 6) Grilled Gulf Shrimp & Chorizo Skewer - this sausage and shrimp plate is tasttttty!! I'd definitely try them all if you can - it's well worth it - plus the sangria's awesome! Remember to bring CASH or your American Express Card(as they don't accept other forms of payment). There's not a convenient non-shady ATM close so I'd encourage you to make a visit before you go! read more

The Quick: Fantastic date spot with all of the charm of the West Village complimented by the incredible tapas. The Details: This is one of my "go to's" for date night and special occasions. It's cozy and romantic without being over the top. Alta has all of he charm of the West Village without an absolutely outrageous price tag. All the dishes are tapas so you can split multiple with your date or group. My date and I had 8 courses (no dessert) and were perfectly satisfied. I think most people would get less, but we like to EAT. Best dishes: The steak tartare is always my favorite. A generous portion served with pretzel chips. The spaghetti squash was also surprisingly amazing, tasting like full pledges spaghetti carbonara without all the calories. Best bang for your buck? The $5 fried goat cheese with lavender honey-- always a treat. The Damage: Without drinks we spent $100 on food, no tip. So overall about $150 per couple. Worth it to eat like kings and try a little of everything. read more

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Good food slow service. It was a busy night but didn't feel like we were checked on enough ~twice in the 1.5 hours we were there. We ordered wine and food at the same time and the wine came after the food (i had to tell the waiter). Overall service is important to have a good time and this place made us feel unimportant. read more

Alta - The tuna tataki and white asparagus tempura - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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. read more

Hidden away on a residential street with no signage to mark it in a beautiful brown stone you'll find Alta. The atmosphere is cozy, romantic, and beautiful. Rustic, low lights, candles. Great place to go with a group and share delicious tapas and excellent wine. 4 of us shared 7 plates and one dessert. Dates and olives wrapped in bacon, grilled octopus, paella, brussel sprouts, chilled eggplant, linguini pepperoncini, braised short rib, and the butterscotch foam. The highlights for me were the braised short rib - melt in your mouth beef over a wonderful beet pasta, the octopus - nice char on the outside tender inside with tangy cilantro gremolata, and the paella - shrimp, clams, calamari, mussels, chorizo, over charred saffron rice.. Nom nom. Great wine list and excellent sangria. Expect to spend some coin tho you'll be glad you did because it's a relaxing and lovely dining experience. read more

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This place is super cute. We came here on a Friday night and had reservations. However, we still had to wait a bit. We waited to get seats on the second floor b/c its a little more private. The tapas come out really really quick here. My suggestion is to order 2 or 3 tapas at a time. The sangria is AMAZING.... Definitely try the brussel sprouts, duck carpaccio, and the cheese balls. Those were my top 3. I could have passed on the meatballs. Definitely cute tapas restaurant. The entrance looks like an entrance to a house, so make sure not to walk past it. read more

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One of my new favorite tapas restaurants- it's a bit difficult to spot on the outside, but it opens up to a large 2 floor dining area. What to get: Fried Goat Cheese with honey Iberico Pork - seared to a perfect medium rare with a salted crust definitely my fav Hen of the Woods Mushrooms - while fried still really good And many more... but I'd skip out on the short rib, it was a bit dry and could be missed (the beet pasta was very good tho) and the Waygu beef carpaccio - was just okay, definitely don't think it was waygu With regards to the drinks, great cocktails, Rose, and Red wine. I was not a fan of any of the whites, but they do offer a small taste before hand if you're unsure read more

Alta - Fried Goat Cheese - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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The service was ok. The food came out too quick and we couldn't fit all the food on the table at one point. Good ambiance. Food was very disappointing. Server and hosts were pleasant but other then that don't have any other positives to say. Maybe a bad night but wouldn't plan on going back. read more

Food wise I would give this place 5 stars all day long. The back of house, kitchen staff and busboys are fantastic. Sadly front of house killed this place for me. I want to make note that I have been in the service industry for 22 years. I've worked as a waitress, bartender and manager. My boyfriend was with me and has been in the industry even longer also in all capacities of the industry. Two other people at our table used to work in restaurants and bars as well. I say this because it takes a lot for industry people to leave a negative review or really even get too upset. We are the most easy going customers and over tip every time. I went here once before for my b-day and had an amazing experience so last week when I had a friend in town I decided to go here again. We were 6 of us. We had a 6pm reservation so we were the first table to arrive to a very quite place. The waiter saw us and continued to clean menus. After a minute or two I asked if we could check in. We get to the table and order drinks. One of my friends is from Chile and ordered sparkling water. He didn't know that in the US it's called club soda so when the bartender brought our drinks there was a moment of confusion where we didn't know who ordered it. Another friend said, it's fine, sometone will drink it, no problem. To which the bartender said "well it's on my ticket so one of you ordered it" with a very aggravated tone. I almost responded but my boyfriend told me to just drop it. Next he asks the waiter who I think was also a manager for a wine list. The waiter responded by telling him that there were over 400 wines on it.. so.. We told him that we would still like to see it. We asked for a recommendation to which he said he didn't know much about wine which is fine but then also said he didn't know where certain bottles were and called the owner who was apparently in Europe to get a recommendation. We order per the recommendation a $100 bottle of wine. They come over to show the bottle then take it to the bar and come back with it open. My partner asked why they didn't open it in front of him at the table to which the angry bartender walked away. The waiter then said "the owner wants us to open it at the bar and taste it first to make sure it isn't corked". I have never heard something like this in my life, isn't that the point of the person who ordered it to taste it? Much less, why are you drinking our wine at all? And it's from 2018...odds of it being corked? Still we are like, ok then. The food is served tapas style so you order in phases. We first ordered fish and salads and then red meats. They never changed our plates between the two courses so we ate steak off a fish plate but this was probably the least offensive thing that happened. 5 people drank wine so that comes out to a glass each. We finished during our meal but were never asked if we wanted another bottle (which we would have ordered cause the wine was great) or another drink which yes we did. We then ordered dessert. For about 20 minutes our dirty dishes sat in front of us despite my partner asking nicely 3 times of they could clear them. My friend then asked if they had any ice cream. We were told that no because of covid it needed to be in sub zero freezers which they didn't have.. not even sure what to say about that. A simple no would have been fine. We get our dessert and realize we wanted a second chocolate cake, when asked he responded with, ok well it's going to take 20 minutes... but in a manner of saying we shouldn't. We ordered it anyways. We are never asked if we want coffee or a digestif which we also would have gotten. Finally we get the check and there was a price for if you used a credit card and another for cash which is suss but not really a big deal. We paid cash and then he said it wasn't the right amount because the computer messed it up etc. I think if you have exceptions on a bill you could explain it first and circle the right number but ok. They added gratuity since we were a table of 6. I don't mind this although I'm pretty sure you can only add 18% and they added 20%. Unfortunately for them, we are service people and probably would have tipped on top as we generally tip anything from 30-40% when we go out but for perhaps the first time ever, we did not. We will never be going back there and I write this review in hopes that the owner makes some changes in his front of house staff because it's so unfair to the kitchen that does such an amazing job. In addition had anyone asked us if we wanted another bottle of wine, a coffee, disgestif or even another cocktail the check could have been a few 100$ more and good for business. Food 5 stars. Back of house 5 stars. Get a bartender that understands customer service and doesn't hate her job. read more

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

Amazing food in a great location with a very rustic vibe. Every plate we tried was delicious. Standouts include the fried goat cheese and the mushroom flatbread. Octopus, Brussels sprouts and burrata were mouth watering as well. Drinks, especially the spicy margaritas went down way too fast. Will definitely hit this spot again. read more

Alta has gone far downhill. They used to have great food, drinks and service. Now you go and the restaurant is basically empty but you still have to wait 25 minutes for your drinks, 12 minutes to be greeted. Half the menu is 86'd, and each course had a 25-30 minute lag time from the time we were cleared and reset. Really junior staff in FOH operating at diner level. Used to be my top 5 and now... well this last experience was my first birthday post Covid with family and friends. I will not be going back I was incredibly embarrassed especially after raving and seeing the restaurant was basically empty and we just weren't a priority. read more

3.5. I had my Valentine's dinner here and to be honest, it was okay. Nothing stood out or was memorable for me to return. No happy hour on Valentine's day. I'm guessing this applies to other holidays? We were seated upstairs around 6:30pm. It wasn't busy. The ambiance was intimate. The service was quick and efficient. The food came luke warm. We ordered: - Salmon tartare: Don't reccomend at all. I somehow had high expectations being that the portion was extremely small. It tasted very fishy and I didn't like how the salty cracker overpowered the fish. - Brussel sprouts: Very good. Possibly my favorite dish of the night. They were cooked nicely and the creme they served it with was addicitive. - Ricotta gnocchi: Average. The sauce was too bland and watered down for my taste. Might just be my preference. - Braised short rib: Average. I was a little upset they didn't serve it with spaghetti but instead pappardelle. But it tasted good. The short rib was tender but I felt like something was lacking in flavor. - Red sangria: AWESOME! It came in a large glass. It was absolutely delicious. We weren't impressed to stick around for another drink or dessert. read more

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The restaurant is beautiful inside. The food was decent but overpriced. Service was mediocre. Won't be going there again.

An amazing food journey paired with phenomenal cocktails and excellent service. Highly recommend.

Really digged the cozy and homey ambience; my wife and I came here on a date night and yeah, a common refrain about this place amongst other reviewers is that it's a nice space without being snobby. Staff was warm, food was pleasant. We ordered a number of dishes, most of which were decent to good. I tried taking pics but the restaurant was pretty dimly lit (nice for a datey ambience but not good for taking pics of the food); ones that stood out were the BRUSSELS SPROUTS, the HEN OF THE WOODS with a squash puree, and the GRILLED SKIRT STEAK with salsa verde. The other dishes we ordered (OCTOPUS, PEI MUSSELS, HAMACHI CRUDO) were okay. In terms of presentation, they had a tendency to top most of our dishes with parsley and/or microgreens, which I didn't think was totally necessary. It covered the food which was otherwise nicely presented and didn't really anything to the flavor. The ambience and the warm service is what kicks up Alta to a 4. Definitely a place for a date. FYI: As of this writing, Alta takes cash or American Express, so plan accordingly. read more

Disappointed! I've come here pre COVID and the food was phenomenal! This time around it was just ok! For the price I'd expect top notch food. They were also very limited on the menu. I'd hope they would get their game back on soon. read more

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

Everything was terrific. Lamb tangine was a Personal favorite. Lighting could use some work but overall the rustic vibe is welcome.

Had dinner here recently with a group of friends. We were celebrating a birthday, and there were about ten of us. It was a Saturday night, so the place was absolutely packed. We had a reservation, but were unable to secure a table on the second level. Instead, our table was tucked all the way in the back on the ground floor. In retrospect, that worked out well for us because of the group's size, and service was never lacking despite the location of our table. The food and drinks were generally quite good, and there was a decent assortment of vegetarian options for the one such person in the group; his favorite plate was the grilled Japanese eggplant. On the non-vegetarian side, we ordered the lamb meatballs three or four times, and the spiced beef kofte kebabs were also popular. I personally enjoyed the bacon-wrapped dates & olives very much. Las Ramblas is still my favorite place for tapas, but there's no way such a large group would have worked there, so this was a nice find. With drinks and dessert, it worked out to ~$75 per person. This group drinks a lot, so your mileage may vary. The location is perfect, as it's within walking distance of a lot of fun post-dinner spots. read more

Alta - Dessert! - Tapas Bars Near Me - New York, New York