Alta Linea
“A beautiful place to have one of their justifiably highly touted frozen negroni.”
“We shared the Grilled Flatbreads which was amazing, especially the ricotta spread, along with an order of the Pork Meatball Polenta and Frito Misto.”
“We came here for drinks and a bite while waiting for our table to open up at a nearby brunch spot.”
Alta Linea
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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KenScale: 7.5/10
Alta Linea is a new restaurant opened at the High Line Hotel behind the team from dell'anima and L'Artusi. It is a strictly outdoor space, so on a perfect summer idea, there is probably not a better place to have a meal. On the other hand, I felt the food overall was solid but not particularly memorable.
The food at Alta Linea is classic, rustic Italian, but I was puzzled why there was no pasta. Instead, you see a selection of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and main dishes. Crispy artichokes that came with salsa verde unfortunately were too salty, although I did like pork meatball polenta that came with bacon, tomato and parmesan. The balance between meatball and the smooth polenta was quite nice without being overseasoned. The "borough market" grilled cheese sandwich with white cheddar was alright, but I was expecting a grilled cheese with a twist, which I couldn't find any. The winner of my meal was grilled trout fillet that came with olives, charred tomato, fregola and fennel. The fish was well-cooked and the flavor was modest without being salty. For dessert, we had strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwiches, a refreshing but again not particularly memorable dish.
The restaurant doesn't seem to take reservations, and I had no problem walking in on a Tuesday night. The restaurant has a full bar, and I do recommend trying a glass of frozen negroni, which was absolutely refreshing and perfect for the summer. Alta Linea is probably best for day drinking with some bites after you explore the High Line area.
Alta Linea has a really enjoyable atmosphere for al fresco dining overlooking the High Line area. We came here for drinks and a bite while waiting for our table to open up at a nearby brunch spot. The prosciutto with melon and balsamic vinaigrette was perfect for sharing, and the flavors complemented each other well. I would come back to try other small plates and the frozen negroni once they open up again.
Nice outdoor bar/cafe. Stopped in about Noon on Saturday. Just had time for a Negroni – which was a nice drink. Servers were OK but a bit disorganized.
The restroom situation is odd. Go into the adjacent hotel lobby, make a left after the check-in desk, walk down a poorly lit hall and there is One single user WC. Or walk further along the hall and take the elevator to the second floor for additional facilities. A few people were not happy.
I tried out Alta Linea on a Tuesday night for drinks and apps with coworkers. There were 3 of us and we didn't have a reservation but it was totally fine. We got there around 6:30 and sat in the "garden" area (opposite side of where the bar is).
We Drank…
– Pomello Punch with Kettle One: this was the most refreshing drink I've had in a long time! It was delicious! A large grapefruit slice is also put into the drink. Highly recommend! Would love to try with tequila, too!
– San Giovanni Rose: we shared a bottle of this and it was also just as good. This rose has become a favorite of mine thanks to Alta Linea and its neighbor, Cook Shop
We Ate…
– Frito Misto (Calamari, Rock Shrimp, Lemon Aioli): The portion of this fried calamari was much smaller than you'd normally get. There also were minimal calamaris with the tentacles, which are my favorite. Overall it was good though!
– Grilled Flatbread & Spreads: So good! Perfect for sharing because they give you so much bread. The dips were amazing, too. You could honestly just have had this to share because it was so filling!
– Burrata: This burrata was unreal!!! I could eat this everyday. It was a mix of mozzarella and ricotta and it was amazing. It came with heavily buttered bread, too. Amping up the fat! The waiter also dropped some of our bread when she was bringing it out and promptly brought us over a tray of more bread. Just what I needed…. 🙂
– Arancini: Whenever Arancini is on the menu I have to order this. This didn't disappoint. Came with 5 of them.
Complaints?…
My only very small complaint was when the wind started to pick up the dust from the garden sitting area blew all over. The table was really wobbly, too and I almost knocked my drink over a few times. It looked like it was going to rain by the end of the night and we were wondering where we'd go if that happened!?
Overall, a great spot to try for HH in the summer!
I am with 2 others on a Tuesday night to try the frozen negroni. We went on a Tuesday because we figured it wouldn't be as crazy, and we were able to get a standing table in the patio by the bar immediately. And about 10 minutes after we arrived, the hostess alerted us that spots at the bar had opened up, so we moved over there. The frozen negronis lived up to their reputation – delicious and strong. All the food we saw looked great, so I look forward to going back and having dinner.
Docking off two stars for lack of service, and for exorbitant prices/small portions.
If you are looking for a place for after-work drinks and snacks with friends, this is perfect!!! The ambiance is awesome, especially since it's all outdoors in a modern NYC garden sanctuary type setting. I went yesterday with my BF for a small 1.5yr celebration on a nice sunny and breezy day, and I was really looking forward to enjoying the food there.
While we were waiting by the bar area, we ordered some drinks – their most popular drinks are the frozen negroni ($14) and the Pomello Punch ($15 – Choice of Vodka or Tequila, St. Germain, Aperol, Grapefruit). Both were SUPER refreshing, but I would definitely go with just the frozen negroni if I had to choose! They often times run out of these as there are only two slushie machines haha.
They don't take reservations, so we had to wait about an hour to get seated (which wasn't too bad at the bar). Again, keep in mind that ALL tables are outdoors…so if you are sensitive to the heat, I'd probably come here at the end of the summer. A lot of their menu is made for sharing, so we just selected a few for us to split – Here are the items we picked:
Grilled Summer Beans | $13 | Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette, Chilies, Feta, Pine Nuts, Mint
This was definitely one of the highlights of our dinner. A friend recommended it and I'm sure glad we got it. I never would have picked this out to order on my own!!! There were so many layers of flavors and textures; loved the fact that there were pine nuts sprinkled throughout. Once you reach the bottom of the plate, it tends to get a little too salty and acidic, but I didn't mind that as much as the plate of summer beans was huge.
Arancini | $9 | Salumi, Fontina, Fried Sage
I love anything that has a crispy exterior and soft interior. SOLD :).
This had a nice crunch to it, and a creamy cheese and risotto center that wasn't too heavy. They also deep fried some basil to accompany it.
Burrata | $20 | Tomato, Roasted Garlic, Basil
This was also a nice plate!!! Pretty simple burrata in the center, and four pieces of garlic spread toast…which definitely made the dish. That garlic spread was to die for. What I hated about this dish was the $20 price tag. Didn't understand it.
Grilled Flatbread | $17 served with housemade spreads (Romesco, Housemade Ricotta, Roasted Eggplant, Cannellini)
This was another dish that had a crazy price tag. This dish was literally pieces of grilled flatbread (didn't even have anything in the flatbread like…onions, zucchini, or whatnot), with 4 simple spreads. Good, but nothing to rave about, and definitely NOT something I would ever pay $17 again for. If it was $10, I'd think it's reasonable.
Pork Meatball Polenta | $18 | Bacon, Tomato, Parmesan
I'm pretty sure they forgot about this dish because it came maybe 40 minutes after our last dish came out…sadly, I was super disappointed by this dish. Not only was the portion super small, the meatballs were tough on the outside, and the polenta was pretty bland. And again, with the $18 price tag, it's really not worth it. Since it took so long, they were nice enough to comp this dish.
Service in general was really slow and splotchy, it was pretty hard to track down our waitress most of the time – I'm not sure if this is because the food comes from inside the high line hotel or what. Our waitress had a small section to cover, and every time after she'd help out the table next to us, she'd leave without asking us if we needed anything (happened maybe 4 times). We had also asked about the frozen negroni since they ran out earlier – if I were working there, I'd probably inform the customers when they were available again. But we had to basically ask again ourselves after we saw some being served to others.
Later on, a waiter came by to help us out who was much more attentive! But if you are only coming for drinks by the bar area, I'm sure that won't really be a problem – frozen drinks are difficult to down real fast anyways :).
Honestly the atmosphere is so much lovelier than earlier photos suggest. Candles, lovely green, intimate tables. Our waitstaff was phenomenal, albeit very very busy. I had made a reservation for 8:30pm and was seated about 10 minutes later. My friend was running pretty late, but the staff didn't really bother me– they were happy for me to sit alone drinking my wine. This was a luxury, since many restaurants in NYC won't seat you unless your party is complete.
We had a lovely rose, and in true "when in Rome" style, my date ordered us a frozen Negroni to share. It was every bit as decadent and yummy as you'd hope on a summer night.
We tried the Crispy Artichokes and the Funghi Misi Bruschetta (because fried egg). So delicious!
Definitely romantic, sharing kind of meal. You pay for the atmosphere, but I think it's worth it to be guaranteed al fresco seating in a garden in Manhattan.
From the team that brought you L'Artusi, L'Apicio and dell'Anima, comes their latest venture, Alta Linea on the High Line. This is a much more casual restaurant and occupies the area right outside the High Line Hotel. My friend and I ducked in here on a Tuesday evening and sat in the bar area, but they serve the entire menu there and this way we were seated pretty immediately!
Shockingly…there were no pastas on the menu, but what we did order was very good. We shared the Grilled Flatbreads which was amazing, especially the ricotta spread, along with an order of the Pork Meatball Polenta and Frito Misto. I would probably skip the Frito Misto but I'm generally not a huge fan of fried calamari so perhaps that's why. Service was a bit slow, but we were in no rush so not a problem. I had a fly die in my glass of wine too (that's the risk with an outdoor space I guess) and they were more than happy to replace my glass in its entirety!
This is a great spot for a first date, or for catching up with friends. No reservations though so do be prepared to wait!