Alba: User Reviews
Alba
524 E. Sixth St. - Des Moines515-244-0261
We started with chicken liver bruschetta-it was WONDERFUL. We had the Lamb shoulder and the wild salmon dinners. The were okay. it seemed the signature sauce with each was a bit skimpy. don't know if the chef had a cold but the dishes needed salt-and I am NOT a salt-a-holic. The atmosphere is funky but can be loud at times and you sit close to other diners. definitely not a "romantic" setting. The wait staff are not beginners--their attention is 5-star! Also had the wedge salad and lava cake, which both were excellent! We will definitely go back
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My wife and I had dinner at Alba last Saturday and the whole experience was nothing short of fantastic. We had a nice drink in the bar before our reservation and proceeded to have a great evening. The entrees were wild boar spaetzl and rabbit stew and both were terrific. I would highly recommend Alba. Plus, our meal of an appetizer, two entrees and shared dessert + $10 corkage fee for a bottle we brought was $72 before tip, which I think is very reasonable for food that good.
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For $195 ($25 tip) one would think that you would deserve fine dining - suepurb food and service - sadly Chef Jason Simon, disappointed. My wife and I joined another couple for a nice New Year's Eve dinner. We've been to Alba before and enjoyed ourselves, but I will never ever return. For $195 my wife had two glasses of wine ($24). I had two Captain and Cokes ($13). My three course meal consisted of a Duck tureen appetizer, Arctic Char with vegetables and a potato, and an apple crisp with ice cream ($62). My wife had a spinach salad, Pork Loin Duo with vegetables - with chorizo (I believe). For dessert she opted for the butternut squash soup appetizer since she doesn't like dessert ($55). I also had a coffee to go with my dessert ($3.35). Tax was $9.65. I left a $25 tip (14.7% for barely adequate service and an over priced meal). My tureen appetizer was good and included chips of fried cheese. The Arctic Char and vegetables were cooked well, but by the end of the dish I didn't like enough to finish it. The dessert was ok - but I would like a little more crisp in my apple crisp - and the apples were overcooked. My wife liked her spinach salad, thought the pork was so-so, and remembered liking the soup much better the last time we are at Alba. All the portions were right sized not huge not tiny. My coffee was good and strong. Fortunately for our friends, they didn't pay as much (only $130 before tip) as the restaurant gave them a partial credit for the main course they sent back for being to spicy to eat (in the opinion of three out of three of us who tried it). At this price level one deserves a meal and service that is excellent - not adequate. I don't remember the prices being this high - but Alba doesn't have a WEB site to review their menu (quite unbelievable in this day and age). As I said, we've been there before and enjoyed ourselves, but before you go, I would ask to see a menu and know what you are going to pay for hit and miss food and barely adequate service. (BTW - our three course meal took over two hours)
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I laughed when I read KimCH review of Alba. We also dined there on 5/16/11. The scallops we ordered were wonderful! Nice sear on the outside and perfect on the inside. I had the pork burger - DELICIOUS! My husband had the veal and he said it was awesome. My absolute favorite was the bread pudding. We even ordered one to go, because we split the first one and wanted more...but we were full. I thought to myself, Alba is one of our favorite restaurants and we have ALWAYS had wonderful, fresh food, top service and a GREAT time. I learned a long time ago, you usually get what you deserve.
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My girlfriends and I went there a few weeks ago to take advantage of 1/2 price bottles of wine.
Our server and other staff were great to us. We were all thrilled with our entrees, and loved that the menu was eclectic.
We were so impressed with our service and dinner that we are going to routinely make a date for Alba nights.
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Nuanced, creative, and delicious cuisine of the highest caliber. I cannot rave enough about Colin, our beautiful and amiable waiter, the sumptuous dishes served, and the profound dining experience. We will most definitely go back again.
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Alba- A great restaurant that deserves more attention. Chef Jason Simon and crew create an interesting menu while Shannon rocks behind the bar. The tuna tartar was fresh and bright with the mango sauce, but needed more crackers or homemade flat bread. The scallops, as always, had a great, creamy texture and sweet flavor which paired well with the veal sauce. I was a little disappointed to see that they had been moved from appetizer to entrée with a jump in price but no increase in portion other than a small side. Our other entrée was the duck, cooked perfectly pink inside. Both entrees were well prepared, but were somewhat lacking when it came to side dish and plate presentation, especially as the side listed for the duck was haricot vert, which we did not receive. Granted, it was a Saturday, the place was packed and it was towards the end of the main dinner rush (8 pm), but if substitutions need to be made the guests should be notified when ordering. The dessert menu was mostly unchanged, so we stuck with the molten chocolate cake- always warm, rich, and delicious. Overall, a good experience, but I left feeling it could have been great. Just a few improvements in the side dishes or garnishes would give customers an increased sense of overall value. With a smallish menu, I would like to see more frequent changes in the appetizer and entrée lists, as well as desserts.
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I have been to Alba a few times now and love it! The menu usually has seasonal changes, and I am always happy to see fresh, in-season, and when appropriate, local foods featured in the dishes. The chef has no fear with creativity and still pulls off super yummy dishes. I also enjoy seeing the same staff there every time. Greg and John are fantastic and professional servers and Shannon does a wonderful job bartending (I recommend ANY of her martinis!) One thing I have noticed is that the chocolate lava cake is always available--Heaven on my plate!
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This evening (Saturday) my wife and I went to Alba for appetizers and dessert. We read good reviews and Alba lived up to every positive comment. Our waiter, John, described each dish in such vivid detail we wanted to try everything, immediately. Never before has a waiter provided us such an effective and entising description of each dish's unique qualities and highlights. Gnocchi is always at the top of our list, and John's elaborate description sold us on the chive gnocci which was served with a creme fraiche sauce and prawns...delicious. We also chose to split the chocolate lava cake (a Alba speciality) served with a scoop of buttermilk ice cream. Everything from the food to the service was amazing. We will definitely be returning!
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Review Summary
The following scores represent the average rating submitted by 1333 users:
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