Altera — Restaurant in Saint Paul

First new restaurant review of 2025, kicking off in the highland park area of st. paul! We went to Altera on a Monday to celebrate a birthday, super excited to see a new restaurant in the area.The atmosphere is dimly lit, kinda moody, and overall very pleasant. Our waitress (forget her name), was very welcoming and kind, but she needed more knowledge and familiarity with the menu. She had a hard time answering our questions and only offered suggestions on what was commonly ordered among other guests. but to be expected with a new restaurant.

Onto the food. We ordered the hamchi crudo, arancini, and cucumber salad to start. For mains we got pappardelle, pork chop, miso salmon, and dan dan noodles. Overall, the meal was 3/5 stars. Some dishes were delicious but some lacked identity and direction, lacking in comparison to some of the other restaurants in the area. To note, the portions of the entrees are HUGE for great prices!

Hamchi Crudo: 3.5/5 stars. It was delicious, especially the yuzo. Our waitress said it was spicy because of the serrano, but i was not tasting a hint of spice at all. We went with this over the steelhead, at the waitresses recommendation, but to our regret. I recently had a tuna crudo with capers (more similar to the way the steelhead is served) and much preferred that. The hamchi crudo was by NO means bad. Overall, it was light and refreshing and I would order it again. I would probably go for the steelhead carpaccio next time, however.

Arancini: 3/5 stars. The romesco sauce was delicious! It honestly reminded me of a red bell pepper hummus. The arancini itself was good, but slightly cold. I probably wouldn’t order it again as I’ve had better and there really was nothing special about it. The flavor of the cheese was completely missing, along with any flavor from the rice or breading itself... The romesco was the only aspect that stood out to me

Cucumber Salad: 3/5. Light and refreshing but surprisingly spicy from that chili oil!

Pappardelle: 1.5-2/5 stars. This was the groups least favorite dish of the night and we left the leftovers. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good. I loved the thickness of the pappardelle (wider than normal) but the dish was begging for pecorino or parmesan. It was randomly topped with peanuts or hazelnuts (can’t recall), which we did not enjoy at all & honestly made no sense.

Pork Chop: 5/5. DELICIOUS. The pork chop was tender and had great flavor. The ginger orange vin was phenomenal. The icing on the cake, however, was the sweet potato. I’m not sure how they made that sweet potato SO delicious but it was genuinely wonderful. I would order get an order of just that if I could.

Miso Salmon: 5/5 stars. I only had a few bites, regretfully, but it was tied for the best dish of the night. everything about it was delicious, from the puree to the cauliflower, and of course the salmon itself. My grandma said it was the best salmon she’s ever had.

Dan Dan Noodles: 4/5 stars. I was expecting a peanut-forward sauce, but it was definitely more chili heavy. I enjoyed this aspect of the dish as I don’t love a peanut sauce. It was very good, and probably the best dan dan I’ve had in the area, but again, it’s because it was not peanut-heavy.

We finished off the meal with the carrot cake. It was phenomenal. Had a mango sorbet on top (but more nuts on top of that).

A few other notes. Overall, it was good! But Every dish seemed to be topped with a bag of nuts, which on some made really no sense and I actually did not enjoy. Also beware if you have a cilantro aversion (luckily all of us love cilantro) but this seemed to be on every dish, in heavy clumps. The menu itself also felt like it lacked identity. I think they’d be better off choosing some sort of theme and incorporating twists from there. I also think that some of the dishes were on the cold-side (especially the pork chop and arancini). For drinks, we tried the claudel and the old fashioned from the cocktail menu, i was told both were great. Next time we will be...

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...

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...