Acclaimed Swedish chef Christer Larsson announced that ALTA Nordic Kitchen, a Scandanavian Bistro, is now open on Melrose Avenue. The menu will be seasonal, prepared from the restaurant’s wood burning grill and served Nordic-style: clean and straightforward. Alta’s opening marks the first time Larsson will be joined in the kitchen by his younger son, Ian in a father-son culinary venture.
Scandanavian style home cooking traditions and well-sourced local ingredients are the foundation of the menu which Larsson describes as a “crossover between time-honored dishes and today’s techniques and luxe ingredients.” Starters will include Nordic staples like Gravlax (marinated wild salmon with coarse mustard sauce and dill), Skagen Toast (Greenland shrimp with crème fraiche and bleak roe), and Leverpastej (calf’s liver pate on house made Danish rye bread).
“I’m drawing inspiration from my years spent in European kitchens as well as my own travels and family history to give a fresh interpretation to dishes that have been around for decades,” says Larsson.
Fricadeller (a Danish meatball served with plum compote sauce and parsnip puree), Pytt i Panna (a Swedish meat and root vegetable hash with fried egg and pickled beets), and Biff a la Lindström (an open-faced burger prepared like a grilled steak tartar, with caramelized onions simmered in red wine) round out the menu.
Dinner will be served daily with brunch available on weekends and the menu will be complimented with vegetarian dishes and a curated assortment of desserts. During the winter months, Larsson will mirror the seasonal shift in Nordic meals by introducing wild game and berries from Lapland, the northern part of Sweden. Old and New World wineries populate the wine list which spans bottles of all price points.
Larsson’s first West Coast opening brings his celebrated culinary career, which began at Los Angeles Century Plaza Hotel, where he worked as a rookie sous-chef in the 80s, full circle. After becoming the executive chef for the opening of Aquavit Restaurant in New York in 1987, Larsson owned and operated Christer’s in midtown Manhattan, and ALTA in Greenwich, Connecticut. Known for his love and culinary mastery of salmon and game, ALTA Nordic Kitchen is a natural progression in his quest to bring Scandinavian cooking into the mainstream.
Larsson and his family have resided in California for the past decade where they have enjoyed exploring the regional food scene and engaging with the local Scandinavian community.
