• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Wellesley Square
  • Private schools
  • Camp
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Live government meetings
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley Business Buzz: Bach to Rock instrument petting zoo; Fleuri reseeds across the street; outdoor dining at Alta Strada

August 1, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Our roundup of the latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:

Bach to Rock instrument petting zoo at Linden Square

Bach to Rock is holding a series of free Friday instrument petting zoo events on Aug 5, 12 & 26. Each event will take place at 1pm in the Linden Square Courtyard.

The music school, which opened in Wellesley in 2016 and is now under new ownership, provides lessons in guitar, piano, drums, voice, violin, trumpet, and more for students of all ages and skill levels.

Fleuri Designs makes a move

Fleuri Designs has moved across the street in Linden Square, from the Roche Bros. side to the its new location next to Tatte Bakery. Owner Zoë Forbes has kept the store’s signature clean and beautiful Fleuri aesthetic with plenty of faux florals and plants, gifts, décor items, and chic home accent pieces. New to this location: occasional furniture, and a refrigerated case for fresh flowers. Zoë and her team can now let loose and make gorgeous fresh floral arrangements, something they couldn’t do across the street due to a non-compete clause with the Roche Bros. floral department. But non-compete clauses can’t cross the street, which is valuable information you heard here first.

Fleuri, Wellesley
Fleuri, Wellesley

 

Fleuri, Wellesley
Fleuri’s new fresh flower refrigerator.

Fleuri also has a location on Beacon Hill at 98 Charles St.

Restaurant visit: An outdoor dinner at Alta Strada

It’s hard to believe that Alta Strada in Wellesley Square has been serving delicious Italian classics for 15 years, but here we are. The popular local spot is owned by Michael Schlow, who runs four additional Alta Stradas as well as the Hermitage Inn in West Dover, Vermont; the Tico in Washington, DC; Monti Roman Pizzeria in Boston; and other restaurants. Many publications (Esquire, Food & Wine, Conde Nast Traveler) have joined The Swellesley Report in writing up aspects of the busy chef’s culinary empire.

The outdoor patio with its cheerful red umbrellas beckoned us on a warm night, the kind when ordering off the creative cocktail menu seems mandatory; We tried out the spot’s namesake Alta Strada, a vodka, pomegranate, and blood 0range mix served in a martini glass, a fun and summery way to start out the meal. In addition to about 10 specialty cocktails, there are several beer choices (including Peroni, an Italian beer), a few mocktails, and a wine list with many well-priced wines by the glass.

Crispy artichoke hearts with a light-tasting pesto bianco made with walnuts, garlic, and ricotta, and pickled fresno chiles served alongside the dish was an amazing and flavorful appetizer ($15), which we highly recommend. The garlicky sauce was the perfect foil to the crispy, but not greasy, artichokes. We went all in with the ricotta theme and also tried out the ricotta spread with crostini appetizer($14), a light and delicately flavored choice.

Alta Strada, Wellesley
Alta Strada appetizer: crispy artichoke hearts with pesto bianco.

 

Moving along, the tomato-based pasta Vongole served with five fresh, briny and sweet manilla clams, cherry tomatoes, lemon and parsley ($28) struck the right note, although we found ourselves wishing for more clams. The kitchen staff honors special orders and didn’t blink when one of us ordered cheese ravioli ($24) without the tomato sauce. Unhurried servers can guide diners to vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free menu options. Other choices that were popular among diners around us that night were the meatballs with whipped ricotta and spicy tomato basil sauce appetizer; the pasta lune filled with mushrooms, truffles, and parmigiano; and the garlic bread (which is so in demand that it never goes off the menu).

Alta Strada, Wellesley
Alta Strada, pasta Vongole with manilla clams, cherry tomatoes, lemon and parsley

Plenty of parking either on-street or in the parking lot is available at this long-time Wellesley spot. Note: we went on a Tuesday night and got in without reservations, but within a half hour of our arrival, every outdoor table was full. Tuesday night seems like a big go-out-to-eat night in Wellesley these days. You know how it is. Go to the Cape house Thursday-Sunday and eat at your favorite spots there; come home and actually make dinner on Monday, just to keep your own kitchen in fighting form; then by Tuesday, remembering all those dishes and pots and pans from Monday, who wants to make anything besides reservations?

Don’t ask about Wednesdays. They’re kind of a mystery to me in Wellesley.

RESTAURANT: Alta Strada
LOCATION: 92 Central St, Wellesley, MA 02482


More: 

  • Where to eat in Wellesley
  • Subscribe to Swellesley’s daily email
print
Share

Filed Under: Business, Food, Music, Shopping

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You have to agree to the comment policy.

Linden Square, Wellesley
Wellesley United Soccer
Wonderful Wellesley

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Cheesy Street Grill
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Congrats to all those sweaty, determined Pan-Mass Challenge riders
  • Wellesley High holds special August ceremony for grad injured in car crash
  • Wellesley arts news: Davis Museum previews fall exhibits; Abstract art welcomes you to the library
  • An hour in a Wellesley garden—a visit to Little Red
  • Upcoming political debates & forums

Upcoming Events

Aug 12
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Fay School admission information session

Aug 12
1:00 pm

Bach to Rock free instrument petting zoo

Aug 15
1:00 pm

Wellesley Neighbors, Open Lunch

Aug 17
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Tour at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Aug 17
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Al Fresco Dinner and Music on the COA Patio

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • Ellen S on The Underrated Cure: Gardening’s Effect on Mental Health
  • Mary Ann on First taste: Wellesley Square’s new Lockheart Restaurant
  • Mary Ann on First taste: Wellesley Square’s new Lockheart Restaurant
  • Michael Maggard WHS '85 on In remembrance: Martha ‘Martie” Cherry Fiske, award-winning Wellesley teacher who fought for job rights
  • Katherine Fellows on Wellesley outdoor watering restrictions to come with a bit of ‘enforcement’

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • Animals (418)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (581)
  • Beyond Wellesley (49)
  • Books (368)
  • Business (1,514)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (49)
  • Churches (81)
  • Clubs (229)
  • Construction (296)
  • Dump (127)
  • Education (3,125)
    • Babson College (251)
    • Bates Elementary School (16)
    • Dana Hall School (34)
    • Fiske Elementary School (9)
    • Hardy Elementary School (44)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (43)
    • MassBay (55)
    • Schofield Elementary School (24)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (610)
    • Wellesley High School (970)
    • Wellesley Middle School (204)
  • Embracing diversity (70)
  • Entertainment (792)
  • Environment (754)
  • Fashion (141)
  • Finance (14)
  • Fire (164)
  • Food (347)
  • Fundraising (615)
  • Gardens (160)
  • Government (565)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (14)
  • Health (853)
    • COVID-19 (200)
  • Hikes (4)
  • History (389)
  • Holidays (406)
  • Houses (157)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (854)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (6)
  • Letters to the Editor (63)
  • Media (70)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (11)
  • Morses Pond (108)
  • Music (571)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (273)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (76)
  • Outdoors (643)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (757)
    • Crime (386)
  • Politics (551)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (334)
  • Religion (132)
  • Restaurants (335)
  • Safety (151)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (123)
  • Shopping (148)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (986)
    • Athlete of the Week (6)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (164)
  • Theatre (395)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (232)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,231)
  • Volunteering (347)
  • Weather (178)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (277)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (19)
Deland, Gibson Insurance, Wellesley

© 2022 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login