ALFA bar & dining room

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  We have allowed Alfa to settle in and begin creating an identity, so finally went last night to experience the new restaurant. If you are looking for another L'Adour or something akin to Saratoga, then you are going in with the wrong mindset.
  
  We were pleasantly surprised with the menu as we had been hearing that it was a "contemporary American restaurant" with eclectic sandwiches. But that may have been during the early days. One of the appetizers we had was the "faux escargot." Wait staff explained to us that it is very difficult to obtain snails, so they are using portobello mushrooms instead. Very ingenious and an excellent replacement.
  
  Our three dinners consisted of the sweetbread skewers, a spicy chicken sandwich and pork chops, accompanied by an excellent Bordeaux wine. The food was well presented, well prepared and the tastes were excellent. The shared poached pear dessert with grappa was an excellent ending to the meal.
  
  Wait staff allowed us to enjoy our meal without the usual, irritating American habit of interrupting us every five minutes to ask if everything is okay. We prefer to order, eat and when need be, call wait staff to the table for whatever we need. Alfa wait staff fit into our mold of how it should be done. We had a party and not a dinner.
  
  Finally, we love the new bright look of the restaurant and can't wait to see what is done in the fireplace dining room come fall (this is a favorite place to be seated on a cool winter day).
  
  Our rating would have been a 4.5 if we were able to do so. We are looking forward to experiencing the evolution of Alfa as it grows into a staple in the area of the city that is truly lacking good restaurants.

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  Posted on 09.12.13 Jim A.

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  We had a very pleasant experience here. It is not L'adour but it's still good! Everyone with whom we interacted was really pleasant. Our food was delicious...french fries were sooo good - just as I remember them being at L'adour. I know another person reviewed them as being soggy, but ours were perfect. Maybe they needed time to work out some kinks? Anyway, we will be back. The only negative is the decour. Brown paint and that ceiling is bad, no matter if you hang some fake candles from it. I hope they plan to change that once things take off, which I have no doubt they will.

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  Posted on 08.21.13 Susannah P.

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  My partner and I came to ALFA forewarned that it was not going to be SON OF L'ADOUR, but having given them enough time to get past their new house difficulties, we ventured out.
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  I was briefly dismayed by my first impression, but the walk up to the main door takes you past a long set of windows that are only partially blocked by taped up window-paper. It looks desolate and abandoned from that walk up... but IGNORE that, and go to the front door and get a seat.
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  The staff was welcoming and graceful, and the service never slowed or lagged behind what I wanted.
  The 'wine list' was full of more choices than I could make in a year of visits, and certainly appeared to contain something for every taste. YUM.
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  For appetizers, my partner had the Soup Flight, four small bowls of soup, and I had the cheese board. Both were delightful, and I have included pictures.
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  Partner had the scallops and I had the halibut, both of which were succulent fish dishes with good sauces (with some French food influences.)
  
  The desserts looked grand on paper, but we had no room left... and so resolved to return some other time.

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  Posted on 07.05.13 Adam C.

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  We have been to Alfa many times since its opening, and each time it gets better.  Yes, they had some initial glitches to work out as any new restaurant might have, but the food is wonderful and the atmosphere is great. One of the nice things about this restaurant is that you can get casual fare, but you can also have some more elegant dishes, all with an interesting twist. They have a section of the menu for pastas and vegetarian dishes. They have a bar menu and burgers, including a home-made veggie burger, served with fries and lightly dressed slaw.  We have also had beautiful scallops with Israeli couscous and scapes from Alfa's own herb garden (I am posting a photo). We also had Farro with Curried Vegetables (also posting a photo). It was one of the vegetarian dishes, but my husband added shrimp. The menu may change based on what comes in fresh, particularly the fish. For dessert there was a tart Key Lime Pie with Coconut Meringue. We have also had the White Peach Tart with home-made Lavender Ice Cream. My personal favorite, however, is the Chocolate Shortbread Tart with home-made Sambuca Ice Cream. They also have a great bar and an extensive wine list. Definitely well worth the trip!

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  Posted on 06.05.13 Gioia G.

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  Lovers of the now closed L'Adour resto will recognize the waitstaff at Alfa.  Sadly, this is where the similarity ends.  We have been twice, and both times were served just OK American food. Steaks-burgers-pasta stuff, very underwhelming.  Twice I had french fries, and twice the frites came out soggy.  Guys, there is no excuse for soggy fries in a place that inherits L'Adour's reputation.  So we honestly don't know what Alfa is trying to be. Are they, like Pascals, morphing into a Bar with the afterthought of a resto thrown in? Are they trying to be a bar and burger joint on a golf course? It's early in the life of this place, but ex-L'Adour patrons are watching with concern.  If the business decision is to go after the spaghetti and meatball, grilled steak crowd, then so be it.  If not, then the Alfa kitchen is going to have to start coming through pretty quickly.  We may give it one more try.

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  Posted on 06.02.13 Fo b.

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