Alba

Elite '08

41

58

Sam H.

Boulder, CO

Alba is a new Italian Ristorante in Boulder, established by the same owner, chef and staff of the recently closed Blue Moon Grill.

Alba, in the Piemonte region south of the city of Turin, is known as il paradiso dei buongustai--foodie heaven! ( I stole this from an online review; I'm not that cultured =).

The ambiance left something to be desired, as the main area of the restaurant is relatively small and feels like a closed space.

The bar faces out to the breath taking view of the McGuckin parking lot.  

There is a very cool looking patio which is currently closed, but should be very nice to hang out on once the weather complies.  There is a large stone fire pit and walls that protect the patrons from the parking lot views.

Anyhow, enough about the locale, the meal was quite good and the server was very attentive and friendly

I was surprised by the very reasonably priced lunches.  I opted for the Duck Confit Linguini, and it was delicious.

I look forward to coming back here and trying other items, as well as some happy hour visits when they open the patio.

I have not enjoyed dinner here yet, but I understand that is awesome as well.

If you feel like having some well crafted Italian, check this establishment out.

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0

1

Robin M.

Boulder, CO

Literally everyone I've talked with about Alba misses its prior incarnation, Full Moon Grill. Another consensus is that Alba is pricey and moderately good (but nobody plans to return so far).  We went to Alba last night & for about $400 (that includes the tip) with seven adults, we received 2 appetizers, 4 salads, 4 glasses of wine, seven entrees, 2 desserts and 3 coffees.  The reception at the door was stiff. Oh well, not a big deal if the food's good.  The ambiance matched the reception.  The bread and its accompaniments, olive tapenade, herb butter and a bean paste, were quite good.  The salads we ordered, golden beet and caesar, were excellent (except the croutons for the ceasars were not good).  Pasta, gnocci and rissoto are available in half or whole portions.  Since a majority of us ordered these as entrees we ordered whole portions. They were very small.  All of our entrees were barely warm.  My lobster rissoto was so cooled off it was kind of filmed over.  While pieces of lobster were visible, there was no lobster flavor.  It had a tomato acidity with little other flavor.  You get about 1 1/2 cups, maybe, for $27. Hmmmm.  The gnocci was not well received either.  It had a pesto sauce was considered too dense, eclipsing the gnocci experience.  It was, as she said, like eating a bowl of pesto.  The penne bolognese was unremarkable, quite plain.  It could have been purchased out of a deli window.  Sad.  A recipient of what appeared to be mashed potato with little lamb pieces around it looked unappetizing.  The recipient took half of it home for the family dog but otherwise did not comment on her meal.  One guy ordered the halibut which arrived looking like a flacid square of unbeautiful fish surrounded by some kind of bivalve.  Generally, the plating was very plain, not beautiful.   The tiramisu was pronounced very good.  The other dessert (sorry, I forget what it's called) was a creamy raspberry gelatin thing.  My daughter loved it.  It had a lot of almond flavor with a touch of raspberry.  If you must go to this restaurant, enjoy the excellent wine, nice appetizers and salads but go elsewhere for your entrees.

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7

31

David Z.

Boulder, CO

incredibly good italian food. lunches are a great value.

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