Love Local: New Alta Toro Restaurant Takes You on a Dining Adventure

6/21/23

BY BRIAN CARR

Walk up to the entrance - decked out with lush foliage and layered with ambient Latin music overhead - and you can immediately sense the adventure and mystery waiting inside Alta Toro, the brand-new restaurant from Midtown resident and entrepreneur Ayman Kamel. The restaurant’s name plays off a bullfighting phrase to describe a formidable bull.

His team of culinary and design experts made multiple visits to countries in South and Central America to study how the food and the dining experience come together. And the sophisticated concept they brought home to Midtown is poised to truly stand apart in Atlanta’s dining scene.

We caught up with Kamel just before Alta Toro’s opening to talk about Midtown, his team and the incredible amount of detail that has gone into his new restaurant at 915 West Peachtree Street.

Midtown Loyal

An immigrant of Egyptian and Italian descent, Ayman Kamel lived with his family in New York for 20 years after they arrived in the United States in the 1990s. His Atlanta origin story began in 2016 when he and his family moved here to open 5Church at Colony Square. 5Church, with its distinctive menu and signature walls lined with passages from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” has become a landmark dining experience in Midtown.

“I love this community,” said Kamel. “It’s been a part of us. My kids are growing up here and my wife loves it here. When I opened 5Church Atlanta, the minute I laid my eyes on that location before we built it, I'm like, this is just a winner. This is the type of location you cannot say no to.”

When probed further about why the Midtown neighborhood made sense for a second blockbuster restaurant, Kamel was unwavering in his response.

“I mean, look around,” he said. “There's so much energy here.”

“I love food,” he continued. “I love the gathering. I love the energy that comes along with having a good meal. I really felt the perfect place for Alta Toro is Midtown. And the people that supported us originally, I think they deserve to have the absolute best Latin restaurant that is coming to Atlanta.”

Regional Latin American Dishes … and 40 Different Kinds of Tequila

So, what’s the inspiration for Kamel’s new place? His eyes light up when he describes the special attributes he and his colleagues will bring to Alta Toro.

“I wanted something new,” he said. “And I am so obsessed with the Latin culture. And the food there is just phenomenal. Every region in South America, they make different food, amazing food. But it also comes along with music, colors, dance. I wanted people when they walk in the restaurant, to feel the exact vibe that we all learned from the Latin culture. So I said, let me make a restaurant that is not only focused on one Latin cuisine, it's focused on all of them. So you're going to see a diverse menu, all types of styles.”

Some of the menu highlights include pollo al horno, a Mexican dish with yogurt and orange juice achiote marinated chicken; mackerel tiradito from Peru; and seafood paella. In addition to the regional dishes, the bar program planned for Alta Toro is also sure to become a popular feature. According to Kamel, Alta Toro will offer 40 different kinds of tequila and mezcal, 40 different wines from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, plus unique cocktails with an agave base and locally-sourced ingredients.

Dining Room Artwork Incorporates Mysticism, Mountains, Rivers, + Jungle Themes

Design touches throughout the 6,000-square-foot restaurant show the work of Latino artists and local artists. During the design phases, Kamel and his team traveled to regions in Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua, and other countries in search of ambiance and ideas. It was in Mexico City that they observed how restaurants there used greenery to cover the facades and walls.

Just as with the memorable (and very Instagrammable) 5Church dining room, dynamic artwork and vibrant interiors are also a hallmark of Kamel’s vision inside Alta Toro.

“We needed artists from Latin America, but we also love to support artists that are here in Atlanta,” he said. “So we got from both. What we put on the walls is a realistic reflection of all the colors in South America.”

But the wow factor does not just hang on the walls. It’s also in the middle of the dining room in the form of a large tree installation made of found objects. The tree makes a compelling focal point.

“When you are in South America, what's better than a tree?” Kamel asks. “It's life. It's a feel-good thing. And I wanted to make it a fixture. And the minute you walk in from the door, you have that wow factor.”

Team Behind K5 Puts it All Together

The K5 Hospitality Group owns and operates a number of popular dining destinations in the city. In addition to Kamel, their leadership team includes:
Chelsea Barto, sales director, Chef Ben Collins, pastry chef; Scott Gray, marketing director; Sarah Iqbal, accounting; Chef Gaudalupe "Lupe" Nanbo, executive chef at Alta Toro; Chef Rodney Smith Jr, culinary director; Tyler Snow, creative director; Maryee Solis, assistant GM; William Turner, beverage director; Valerie Vasilchikova, CFO and designer.

“I have the most amazing team, and I wouldn’t be anything without them,” he said. “They are essential in making decisions. Most of the ideas that went into Alta Toro - of putting lights here, doing this, doing that - it's coming from them. I challenge their creativity.”

Kamel’s message to Midtown diners?

“Expect something phenomenal. Expect something that's out of the ordinary. Something truly authentic."

Alta Toro just officially opened on June 15. Dinner service is currently available from Tuesday to Thursday (5-10pm) and Friday to Saturday (5-11pm). Make your reservations online at https://altatoro.com/

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