About Altura
The Restaurant
At Altura, the ingredient-driven principles of Italian cooking are given new life with the bounty of Pacific Northwest ingredients. Service is designed to put our guests at ease—and should you be curious about anything happening across the chef’s counter, we’re only too happy to invite you into the processes, sources, and traditions of what’s on your plate.
According to Chef Nathan Lockwood, everything at Altura starts with well-sourced ingredients:
“If you gather the best ingredients you can find, you're going to end up with the best result on the plate—and the best product tends to be a local product. We take pride in our relationships with local foragers, fishermen, farmers, and producers. The search for the best possible product also inspired me to start two gardens where we grow herbs, vegetables, edible flowers, and novelties like kiwi berries for our restaurants.”
In Italian, “Altura” is the summit—a great height, or conversely, a profound depth. To dine at Altura is to sense that ultimate distance Chef Lockwood has gone to make the entire experience possible: the greatest lengths for the best ingredients; care and support in his local relationships; and thoughtfulness for the wellbeing and future success of his staff.
The Team
Chef/Proprietor
Nathan Lockwood
Chef de Cuisine
Ian Simpson
Kitchen Team
Keaton Hunter
Matthew Gallagher
Anthony Meriwether
Diana Marian
John O’Byrne
Chloe Scofield
Elvia Ramirez
General Manager
Andre Godsil
Maitre D
Elysa Charles
Sommelier
John Fisher
Bar Curator
Thomas Fennell
Front of House Team
Alejandro Sandoval
Kadianne Polloni
From Chef Nathan
In college, I stumbled into employment as a dishwasher at a local brewhouse. It was a scratch kitchen, it was loud, raucous and the cooks were mean. I was captivated by the raw energy and potential danger of the work. I never knew exactly what was going to happen next, and I couldn’t get enough. Eighteen months later I cut off my hair and applied to culinary school.
After school I landed at San Francisco’s Acquerello in the incredible company of chef Suzette Gresham and sommelier Giancarlo Patterlini, and I began to develop an understanding of Northern Italian-style pasta, the simple harmony of egg yolks and flour. After accepting a tournant position at Fleur de Lys, chef Hubert Keller’s famous San Francisco institution, I continued to produce pasta for Acquerello in the mornings before work. Suzette eventually offered me a management role and over the next few years we earned our first Michelin star—the only Italian restaurant west of Chicago to be recognized at the time.
When I moved on to a head chef role in west Marin, my rural roots grew into my cooking. The natural rhythm of the garden guided the creation of my menu and became the cornerstone of my approach. I’ve stayed connected to the seasonal inspiration that comes from the land and sea—and the pure fun that comes from sharing great food in a high-energy restaurant.
Seattle is the ideal place to connect to the bounty of both.
In 2011, my wife, Rebecca, and I opened our fine-dining restaurant Altura in the same Capitol Hill neighborhood where we met over a late-night burger at Dick’s Drive-In. I designed Altura without walls intentionally welcoming guests into our kitchen. The chefs and service staff work in tandem to present a menu that brings together Italian flavors, French technique and the Japanese culinary tradition of reflecting time and place through cuisine.
We are excited to share our flavors, our stories, our garden—and especially our table—with you.
See you here.
-Chef Nathan Lockwood