Review: Not your typical South American steakhouse. Alto is modernist, bread-centric and groundbreaking

"Galleta de campaña, a Uruguayan quick bread known as pan criollo in neighboring Argentina, has a height and crumb that biscuit lovers in the American South would recognize. Bakers roll out the galetta dough, slick the surface with beef tallow or pork lard and then fold the mass in half, repeating the steps four or five times before cutting pieces into squares and poking the top with fork tines."

"At Alto in Studio City, chefs Juana Castellanos Lagemann and Esteban Klenzi reshape this breakfast staple into a dinner appetizer, fitting the dimensions of their imaginations: the form is higher and tighter, like a contracted accordion bellow, and the crisp-soft textures more delicate. It's one of the purest joys on an ambitious menu that expresses and reinterprets their respective Uruguayan and Argentinian cultures."

"Los Angeles has relatively few stellar dining options representing the Southern Cone. At their debut restaurant, Castellanos and Klenzi acknowledge prevailing culinary tropes: A few strapping cuts of meat sizzle theatrically over surging flames on a gleaming hearth, but this is pointedly not a South American steakhouse. Many dishes reconceive homier, regionally specific aspects of their cuisines."

Galleta de campaña, a traditional Uruguayan quick bread also known as pan criollo in Argentina, features a flaky, layered texture created by repeatedly folding dough with fat before baking. At Alto restaurant in Studio City, chefs Juana Castellanos Lagemann and Esteban Klenzi reimagine this breakfast staple as a dinner appetizer, elevating its form and refining its textures. The restaurant represents a rare Los Angeles dining option dedicated to Southern Cone cuisine, moving beyond typical steakhouse offerings to explore regionally specific, homier dishes from Uruguay and Argentina. The menu reinterprets traditional foods through innovative techniques, creating dishes that blend cultural authenticity with contemporary culinary approaches.

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