Metrowest Boston Dining Guide

http://www.altastradarestaurant.com/

Located on Rt. 16 in the heart of Wellesley center you’ll find Alta Strada (which was once the home of Fig’s). The friendliest and most attentive waitstaff that I’ve encountered in a long time. Customer service was excellent and the staff is hugely knowledgeable about the offerings. Our server even knew the wine list well enough to describe the grapes and the regions in which the selections came. Impressive for the ‘burbs.

The menu is well comprised of Italian selections from anti-pasta starters, a good selection of salads, pizza, and pasta dishes from which to choose.

I ate out with a group of 5 and we all enjoyed our meals. We started with a homemade ricotta appetizer served with sage and olive oil along with some marinated eggplant. I recommend the ricotta. It was wonderfully creamy with just the right amount of sage. We sampled a chicken dish, beef, pasta, and seafood dishes which were all well prepared and tasty with proper portion sizes - not the crazy overloaded plates you’ll find at some Italian restaurants.

The restaurant is a bit tight. Tables are close together and the restaurant does tend to get a bit loud on a weekend night. Alta Strada tried to counter this by lining the brick walls with acoustic tiles to cut down on the noise but it doesn’t help much. The decor is clean and modern with accents of brick and stainless steel. Most patrons were in jeans so you didn’t feel as though the place was too pretentious but yet it still felt sophisticated.

If you don’t try dessert, be sure to stop downstairs in the market for a bag of their freshly made chocolate chip cookies to take home with you. Alta Strada should offer these as a dessert served warm with ice cream because they are some of the best around, topping a few of the local pasty shops.

Reservations are highly recommended. It is a popular place, in an easy to access location and small so be prepared to wait if you haven’t reserved a table. If you are trying to make your reservations on Opentable.com; the hostess has informed me that you can’t make them for over 4 people so you’ll have to call the restaurant directly.

Alta Strada is a wonderful little restaurant with freshly prepared Italian food and incredibly great customer service. Not to be missed.