Growing up in Botswana, chef Rob Roy Cameron was surrounded by wood-fire cooking from a young age. “It’s always been a base,” he tells Broadsheet. “And I’ve always cooked with wood and charcoal.” Cameron – who has experience in top restaurants in Spain including El Bulli, Tickets and Rodero – is returning to that base with the opening of Alta in Kingly Court.
Alta is backed by the newly formed Mad restaurant group, which is also behind Japanese-inspired, fire-led Moi, which opened in August. It meets the burning desire in London (pun intended) for all things flame-kissed.
“The flavour is easy for everyone to enjoy,” says Cameron. “A few years ago, it was airs and spheres and stuff. Now, you go to a restaurant to see what grill they have and what they’re grilling.”
Named after the Alta Navarra (or Upper Navarre) region in the Basque country, Alta is a departure from established Basque restaurants in London like Brat, Lurra and Sagardi, as well as the newer Mountain and Ibai.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a Basque restaurant,” Cameron says. He explains Alta is using its own techniques and approach to execute “Basque-influenced cuisine across very different cuisines”. The double wood-fired open grill and Spanish Josper oven grill set up in the kitchen are supported by the restaurant’s larder, with spices like paprika made in-house. “It’s a fun part of the cooking process,” he says. “It gives your kitchen its own flavour profile.”
Outside the kitchen, the dining room is designed with earthy, naturalistic interiors that feature muted tones, lots of wood, and elements of exposed brick and concrete.
The menu features dishes like razor clams in white saffron escabeche; mushroom fideos (short noodles); cod with tomato and piquillo pepper; turbot head; and chocolate mousse with bread sorbet, meringue and extra virgin olive oil. These are complemented by culinary-driven cocktails like the Little Pepper – a combo of smoked red pepper, tequila, tomato and vermouth – and low-intervention European wines from small-scale producers.
Cameron’s favourite dishes include the squid with lardo and Vizcaina sauce, which originates in the Bay of Biscay and is made with bread, dried chillies, sofrito, fish stock and pork. The squid is thinly sliced into noodle-like strips, served with the sauce and finished with house-made lardo and sourdough croutons. The dish represents one of Cameron’s key aims.
“We’re trying to put a bit more work into making the simple things a little more special,” he says. This is also achieved in a dish of smoked, grilled potatoes that he describes as “almost like puff pastry potatoes”.
“This is the basis of all the restaurants I’ve worked in. It’s putting a lot of work into the simple things to get something a bit more extraordinary.”
Hours:
Mon to Sun midday–2.30pm, 5.30pm–9.30pm
