Alta Toro is a ‘Bullishly’ Good Dinner   

A festive vibe and some real “cheffing” combine to make a vibrant dining experience in Midtown featuring modern Latin American inspired dishes with many mix-and-match and accurate menus.

“Latin” cuisine covers a lot of geography — from Mexico to Argentina with a mélange of tapas, paellas, tamales, gambas, and ceviche alongside very special clean, well-prepared seafood –seared tuna, halibut, salmon, and branzino with different preparations on just this one Saturday night.

The main dining room at Alta Toro has a nightly free show surrounding its recycled Tree of Life.

Alta Toro (High Bull) is more than dining out, it’s a passel of fun, with nightly free shows, salsa dancing and impressive art, the most impressive of which is a huge lighted 20-foot whimsical tree which serves as a backdrop for the sexy fire dancer, twirler and flame eater.

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Apparently, Jews don’t have a franchise on Etz Chaim (Tree of Life). Our server explained that the Alta Toro tree is also so named, and is composed of old motorcycle parts, bicycle spokes, and doorknobs representing both sustainability and a Latin composition created by Jonathan Emples. Other large unique art fills each wall representing the Day of the Dead, and “Day to Night” — a larger panel composed of hemp in yarn depicting people eating peyote. There are two perpendicular main dining rooms and a bar on one side of the Tree of Life, plus a verdant lined patio reminiscent of strolling down a street in downtown Miami.

Highly recommended: Mezcal Cured Salmon, and Little Gems Salad, which is not so little.

From the tapas menu, we started with Tostado de Salmon ($13) mescal cured salmon, avocado mousse, black bean puree, pickled onions, cream (we had on the side and the dish worked well without it) salsa macha, cilantro, sesame and salmon roe, which sure tasted like caviar. The salmon edges had a dark singe, which testified to its cured process. We also eschewed the tostado –wonder what the fuss is over avocado mousse vs. guacamole.

Next up, we split a large salad ($14 and the only one on the menu) jokingly mislabeled as “Little Gem.” Nothing petite about this portion, also rife with the blend of radishes in a honey lemon dressing, no bottles here. The extra zing was spicy roasted hazelnuts and roasted corn — seriously have never had fresher, more firm romaine.

The Paella de Verduras was served sizzling hot and with enough for leftovers.

For two shareable entrees, the Halibut Vera Cruz ($38) was a complicated preparation bursting with competing flavors: lime, garlic, olives, onions, jalapenos, capers, raisins, pineapple, tomatoes, mixed herbs with plenty of roasted potatoes to even things out. Vera Cruz translates to “True Cross” as in the one used in the crucifixion after the eponymous city, so named by Spanish explorers.

Paellas come in many versions. We went with the Paella de Verduras ($25) which came sizzling hot in a black skillet and with plenty to share. Putting the aioli on the side, the dish stood up on its own with cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, yellow onion, salsa verde, and dasca rice. Dasca, from Valencia, is white short grained arroz that is loose and creamy after cooking. Our server was ready with suggestions (that this halibut was “more special” than the Almond Crusted Branzino which sounded appealing to us); but how much can one eat when everything is so full flavored and plentiful?

For dessert, we chose the Passion Fruit Sorbet ($4) which was “so-so.” Better and more authentic choices were plentiful at $8 — Guava Swirl Cheesecake, Pineapple Flan, Sourdough Sopapilla, and Coconut Cinco Leches Cake with macerated peaches and hibiscus gel (Oy vey).

Latin art panels add to the colorful vibe.

Next time:
Flautas de Tuna ($18) — Ahi tuna rolled into flute shapes with avocado mousse, salsa verde, roja, black beans, micro cilantro.
Vegetarian Azteca Street Tacos ($8) — cactus, queso, tomatoes, jalapenos, corn, zucchini, onion, radish, corn tortilla. With a side of guacamole ($10).
Entrée ($38) — An artistic stack of rare black sesame cured tuna alternated with yellow and green zucchini, wasabi aioli artistically arranged on a palette of soy reduction.

Parking is free for two hours at the adjoining apartment garage, if not a tad complicated. Also, although it’s efficient for the restaurant to send text reminders of the reservation, at some point this was overkill.

The bottom line is Alta Toro is a “bull ramming” night of charm, entertainment and credible, if not incredible, food. Also, Alta Toro is an upbeat choice for out-of-towners and the college crowd as well as Baby Boomers. 470-995-8676.