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Just went last night and were very impressed with wine, service, and the fact that we were at a roomy table with absolutely no rushed feeling. Sometimes, though, there is that one ingredient that is meant to be sublime that is really an acquired taste. For me, that was cod tripe which is, yes, cod stomach. This item appears in the squid ink pasta. So, if you like this particular (gummy) "delicacy", go for it. Other than that, there are very few "mis-steps". Duck, branzino, any of the OTHER pastas...all terrific. I will definitely go back but will be sure to order more carefully.

We had read some questionable reviews of Alto and were concerned about what our dining experience would be. Have No Fear. The food is fabulous, the wait staff was attentive without being intrusive. The wine list reads like a bible, but it is the food that is incredible. Try the duck and foie gras ravioli withwild mushrooms and a marsala-veal sauce. We also requested a dish of tagliatelle with white truffles to share - it is a taste that I will never forget! This is not your typical "red sauce" Italian restaurant. Foodies and cultured palates will appreciate this food.

I had dinner at Alto for the 1st time a few weeks ago and I must say I was disappointed in the food. First, I will give the good portions of my experience. The restaurant is impressive on a visual level. The service was top notch. There was an extensive wine selection, which appeared to be very good as well. And go for the delicious foccacia when they come around with the bread. Now, let's go to the subpar portion aka the food. Maybe I expected a little more Italian and a little less ecclectic, but check the menu before you decide to shell out a good amount of money for this place. I can basically find something on any menu and I had trouble finding an appetizer that I'd eat here. For entree, I went with the steak to be safe. I would have filled up on the foccacia and skipped an appetizer if I had realized what I got myself into. Maybe I'm not daring enough, but I won't be back.

Pleasant surprise after reading the past reviews I was a little apprehensive about what to expect. Service was beyond excellent. Food was delicious. I had the veal shank it was moist and fantastic. My dining companion and I each had the $38 expresso lunch prixe fixe. We were both pleasantly surprised. We would highly recommend.

Perhaps Alto has been reading its reviews on menupages.com, since one of the recent ones below complaining about long waits and poor service was the opposite of my experience. I arrived 45 minutes early (it was snowing, and I was not sure how long it would take to get there). My companion arrived about 10 minutes later, and we were seated within a very short time, well in advance of our reservations. The service throughout the meal was also excellent: not too fast, not too slow, and the waiter when he found that they no longer had the wine we ordered provided another exceptional one at a lower price! And the food!! I am still dreaming about my crispy sweetbreads on soft polenta with frizzled onions, my squid ink pasta with sea urchin, and my perfectly cooked veal chop. The atmosphere was nice as well: not too noisy (although the restaurant was full), and the floor-to-ceiling wine racks surrounding the room were very striking. Altogether a wonderful experience highly recommended.

I made the rez via Open Table and informed them that dinner was to celebrate a b-day. When we arrived 10 min early, we were seated right away. The waiters were dressed in suits, which made the setting more formal right away. We ordered the 7-course prixe fix, and the servings are small like some reviewers said. But all in all, after 7 courses we were full. Some takeaways, the branzino is perfect - we wished the serving for the branzino was a full size. Surprising to us, the polenta dish was rich and complex. The other dishes didn't wow us, but they were solid. The waiter went out of his way for special flourishes for the bday boy. We didn't order a bottle of wine but asked the sommelier to pair wines for each dish, and the wine pairing was done very well. Overall, the cost of dinner was comparable to the cost of dinner at Daniel.

I've given this restaurant 2 tries, and after the last one vowed to never return. I made reservations weeks in advance, but when my party of 8 arrived the other night, we had to wait for 45 minutes. When I asked the manager about it, he told me "that's New York - if you don't like, try another city." I am from New York & am NOT a tourist (unlike most of the other diners there). He didn't even apologize for our wait. When we were finally seated, our meal took over 4 hours & there were abnormally long waits in between courses. The food was overrated for what it was - it was fine, but not what it was hyped up to be. Avoid the meats - they were served in awkward cuts. Overall, the manager's attitutude ruined the night for us. The other top midtown restaurants do not have this cavalier attitude. The first time I tried Alto was for a business lunch, and we also had to wait for 20 minutes to be seated, despite a reservation.