Alta Healthy Cafe

Kirkland has been sorely lacking in genuine Chinese food, so it’s great to have Alta Healthy Café. The other Chinese restaurants around here are way too Americanized… too much batter, too much deep frying, too much sugar, too much salt, and not enough flavor.
But the food at Alta is absolutely superb. There are so many good dishes, but I recommend «Spicy Chicken (Szechuan Style)». Prices are fair. Portions are good. Product is fresh. Plenty of parking. This is unquestionably going to be a regular restaurant for me. I recommend eating «family style» where you all order different entrees and then share them.
Now all that being said, I admit that it is a bit of an awkward place. The location is odd, the name is odd, the décor is odd. It reminds me a little bit of a hospital cafeteria.

The hot sour soup was perfect for a dark rainy evening in Kirkland. The spices were well balance with a good portion of heat. This is a must visit and a hidden gem in Kirkland.

This is the kind of place you only visit if a review tells you to. Go there! Super good food. And weird…
So first you see it’s in Totem Lake. Buried in the basement of what looks like a haunted/​abandoned hotel. You’ll want to turn back. Trust me; tough it out.
Then you find the entrance. It looks like anything but a restaurant. The room is basically a converted meeting room of the hotel. Don’t turn back. Deliciousness is inside!
The dining room has bright green walls and morgue-​like fluorescent lights. The shelves on the walls are populated with vitamins and supplements. It looks like a cross between a library and a GNC. Don’t worry. You’re here for the food.
There’s a refrigerated case at the front of the restaurant that’s eerily empty. There’s no music playing. The only server is not Chinese. Or even Asian.
Then you get the food and it all doesn’t matter any more. It is SO GOOD. This chef is amazing (and Chinese).
We started with Szechuan Wontons. They’re tiny and moist and come with a great spicy dipping sauce. Really good. And a generous portion.
The Pepper Chicken is like little bits of popcorn chicken laced with crack. It’s that addictive. Really good seasoning (I doubt it’s really crack). Really good chicken.
We got the Spicy Beef Noodles. Heads up cilantro haters, it’s got some. It was so good we ordered more (this time without cilantro). Chili sauce was just the right amount of heat. Beef was tender and flavorful. The noodles were kinda like udon. See photos.
Next was the Choka Vegetable Pear dish. It’s kinda like pasta-​sliced veggies. I thought it would be bland but it was surprisingly good. Hard to describe the flavor but it went well with the heavier fried goodness and oils of he other dishes.
Finally, we had the Mandarin Spicy Fish. Soooo good! Battered and deep fried, but somehow not heavy. Spicy seasoning and light sauce. Really really good.
I plan on visiting again soon and would order anything and everything again. I also want to try everything else on the menu! Really top notch.
So give this place a try; you’ll love it. Help them grow and continue serving this delicious delicious food!

Dry cooked chicken and string beans was really good, if a little salty. A large party came in (to this really small café with one waitress) right after me, but the waitress was still very attentive and nice. 4 stars because I wanted to try their smoothie/​juice bar selection, but the barista was not there (?). It was also a little hard to find, in the very back of a hotel.

This café is in the bottom of a hotel. It’s got a strange green décor with health related supplements and books around the room. Place is roomy enough to bring a moderate sized group. It wasn’t very busy when we went for dinner. The Szechuan food was good, but I feel like I prefer the dishes from Spiced in Bellevue.
GOOD
* Szechuan boiled fish — Fish fillets with nappa cabbage in spicy sauce.
* Spicy cilantro chicken — Stir fried chicken dark meat (with a decent amount of fat) with cilantro and spicy peppers.

Wow! I cannot believe this gem has been around the corner from us this whole time. The Dry-​Cooked Chicken and String Bean, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and Hot and Sour Soup were AWESOME. The Szechuan Wontons were yummy, but I made the mistake of dumping both containers of sauce on them which made them a teeny bit salty for my taste. I enjoyed the Pork with Eggplant, but I think I will opt for the Eggplant in Garlic Sauce next time because it had a strong pork smell which I don’t particularly enjoy. Overall we were all very pleased with our meal and couldn’t stop talking about it while eating. We even looked at the menu together after we were done to talk about what we’d order next time. Wonderful wonderful! Lastly, although we didn’t dine-​in, the service we did receive for take-​out was friendly and thoughtful. Our big order was put in a box for easy transportation and we left feeling appreciated and excited to eat!

I wish that this place would move to a different location. They would make a killing!!!
Looking on Unilocal to find a place to have a snack, I notice all of the ⁴⁄₅ star reviews for this place. It was on my way home, so I decided to check it out.
Upon entering, I notice that there is no music… or anyone else besides the three people working. This may have been a deterrent for some, but I was surprisingly satisfied that I could get some reading done in peace and quiet.
I ordered the Hot & Sour Soup, medium spicy. A HUGE PORTION… enough for maybe six bowl fulls. Great texture, all of the fixins you would expect were there with one twist… LOTS of black pepper. At first I thought it was odd, as I’m not a huge fan of pepper, but the taste was there and I couldn’t help but indulge bowl after bowl.
Also, I ordered the Garlic Brocolli. SOOOOOOOOO GOOD. The sauce was just sweet enough and made me want to drown my rice in it. The Brocolli was perfectly cooked and had a great bite to it.
I’ll definitely be back to try more!

Most importantly, Alta has healthy and tasty food. My wife and I appreciate the quirky nature of the restaurant. The staff are helpful, friendly and efficient. The last time I was there the manager asked for feedback and suggestions and that is the kind of attitude that makes for excellence.

Extremely random location but amazing food. Try the hot and sour soup it’s delicious!

Totally obscure but totally delicious. While I wouldn’t call the dishes «healthy», there is a health theme throughout with the supplements, cookbooks, and green décor. It feels like a cross between a library and a cafeteria due to the carpet, furniture, and shelving against the walls. But with piping hot Taiwanese and Sichuanese dishes coming out of the kitchen:
Pepper Fish
White flesh fish lightly breaded and generously seasoned with salt, white pepper, and red chili peppers. It’s got a «dry» heat to it. Enough of a kick but not so much your tongue goes numb and you can’t have more than a few pieces.
Dry Cooked Chicken with Green Beans
Fried chicken with stir fried green beans. I swear the first time we got this we got way more chicken than the second time. Unless there’s similar dishes that I’m confusing. Good flavor, love the balance between meat and veggies, no matter which meat: veggie ratio it sways.
Dried Tofu with Pork
Check the Unilocal pics. Big heaping plate of marinated pork and marinated tofu slices.
Chinese dishes like these are meant for family style dining. Order a bunch of items, share them with your group, eat with big mouthfuls of rice. In response to other reviewers, if you want more vegetables, you’ll have to order a veggie specific dish. And, green beans in Sichuanese cuisine is supposed to be soft and limp. They are not overcooking them by mistake.
There’s so much variety, you’re bound to find something you like here. Service is friendly, albeit a bit slow when they’re busy, the dining area is immaculately clean, and the dishes are a good value at about $ 8 each. I’m definitely going back for more!

Just like everyone has said the location is totally obscure.
the ambience looks just like the Evergreen maternity center’s cafeteria.
it’s bizarre.
yet they run transactions off a modern point of sale machine. it’s hard to connect the dots.
but here’s all that matters. the food is excellent. had a handshaven noodle stirfry with green bean and beef (pork normally but i don’t eat pork).
added spiciness.
equals = amazingly authentic chinese food in Kirland!

My husband and I came in for a quick lunch on a Saturday. There was a large party in the back and another table of 4 when we arrived. The staff appeared really busy, but immediately greeted us and said they’d be right with us.
Service — despite it being a one-​man show in the kitchen (I’m assuming), our food came out quickly. I thought for sure we’d be waiting a while since there were two tables ahead of us. Not the case. Also our waitress was really friendly and helpful. We chatted with her about the biz and the food. She was great.
Food — We ordered the steamed dumplings and the spicy beef chow mein. We were told everything is homemade (noodles/​dumplings), so we were excited. The noodles were really spicy, which I usually can’t handle, but enjoyed. The dumplings were good as well. Better than some of the other places we’ve tried lately that boast homemade dumplings. Not sure if food was necessarily healthy, but I told myself it was LOL.
Overall we enjoyed Alta. We’ll definitely be back, especially since we live nearby, and we’ve already started to spread the word about this place. Odd location, but worth seeking out.

Honey Walnut Prawns and Dry String Beans were so yummy! KARI was a great attentive waitress too with my 9 year old son.

Tucked away — located in the back corner of the totem lake hotel. They have signs to direct you. The restaurant has an interesting feel to it. Part health food store part restaurant. I ordered take out so I couldn’t speak to the dine in experience. However, the take out was
Ordered chicken with string beans and the special hot beef chow mein.

Wasn’t bad, the service was good but I ordered the chicken and string bean and the chicken was battered and fried which I would expect for a place with healthy in its name it would be healthier but it tasted really good.
My main problem were the string beans, they were over cooked and very soft, I like string beans to still have some shape. Overall the flavor was good and the women at the counter was very friendly!
It is a little hard to find btw, the entrance attached to the side of the hotel so not in view when you pull up.

This place was hidding behind a hotel，not easy to find but worth going if you are looking for some
good Chinese food

My friend and I decided to eat lunch one day, but we weren’t sure where to go. When we saw the good reviews on Unilocal,we decided to give this place a go. Let me tell you, getting to this place was a little strange. It’s in the back of a hotel, so when we parked by the dumpster, we weren’t sure if we were in the right place. Sure enough after wondering around the hotel, we saw a sign and walked in.
Once you walk in, you’ll notice that there are a lot of supplement/​vitamin bottles on display around the room, which is really weird for a restaurant. I’m not quite sure how this place stays in business because it was completely empty when we walked in. But don’t let the lack of customers fool you. This place is very very clean and The food is delicious. The food had so much flavor packed into each bite that I couldn’t stop eating even though I was full.
I do recommend staying away from anything with beef. They use poor quality beef, so you could be sitting there chewing on one piece for hours. When I go back, I will definitely be sticking to chicken or pork.

The food here is fantastic. The staff is friendly and provide fast service. Others have covered the location.
Szechuan wontons are outstanding. Excellent hot and sour soup. Cilantro chicken was a nice surprise, and a new menu item for me. Noodles with spicy beef was a little on the hot side for me, and overpowered the other ingredients, but the noodles had that nice firm consistency of fresh made. Dry fried string beans are outstanding with chilis and lots of Szechuan peppercorns.
The staff is very friendly and happy to tell you about the healthy food, fresh, non GMO, etc. They do a good takeout business, but I don’t see many diners in. For great Chinese food in Kirkland, get in here. I want to keep this place around for a long time.

Hidden gem that appears to want to stay hidden.
Who would think to find a Szechuan restaurant in an obscure small hotel, and one with a name like Alta Healthy Restaurant? The dining room is a sterile, institutional feeling space with walls displaying vitamins and supplements. Dominant color is hospital green. The healthy part is that they use less oils and salt, and avoid GMO products.
Lets get to the good part. The food was wonderful. We started with Szechuan Wontons. They were very tasty as was the sauce. The Spicy Cilantro Chicken and the Dry Fried String Beans were delicious.
Their menu is huge, and includes lots of non spicy items. We will get deeper into it in the future. So far, they seem to be in contention for the best Szechuan on the Eastside.

OK, everything the other reviewers have written about the location, décor, lack of customers, etc. is spot on. I think it’s a good thing my family and I were prepared by the Unilocal reviews, because it was all very bizarre… except for the food. When we drove up to this hotel that we had no idea existed in Totem Lake, we followed the signs to the back of the hotel, which led to a basement-​level entrance. We knew we were in the right place, because there were a couple of older Chinese kitchen workers smoking in the parking lot.
The restaurant/​supplement store was completely empty. The hostess/​waitress was very kind and seemed genuinely appreciative of our business. We focused on ordering our Szechuan favorites to include Szechuan wontons with spicy chili sauce, shredded pork with dried tofu, fish with soft tofu, spicy chicken with cilantro and hot and sour soup (because we order this everywhere we go!).
THIS PLACE IS LEGIT. We were tentatively hopeful going in, but oh my goodness, my husband and I agreed it was the best Szechuan food we’ve had on the Eastside (and he eats at Spicy Talk Bistro 2x-​3x a week for lunch). Everything was full of flavor, cooked well with good quality ingredients and oh, the heat… the waitress asked if we wanted very spicy or medium spicy, and I was pouring sweat from the medium-​spicy. And I am not a wimp when it comes to heat!
The hot and sour soup is also better than traditional Chinese-​American restaurants — it is spicy and soothing at the same time. I will be craving their hot and sour soup next time I’m sick. The chicken in the spicy cilantro chicken dish is lightly battered and deep fried, so it’s a nice texture to accompany the cool cilantro and hot peppers. We asked for the chili sauce on the side so our kids could enjoy the Szechuan wontons, and the kids fought over them. Next time, we will definitely order two orders of the wontons for our family. Shredded pork with dried tofu was a huge hit at our table — so perfect for the kids, because the pork is soft and they love dried tofu. And the fish with soft tofu doesn’t sound exciting, but man, talk about authentic Szechuan food — a huge bowl of breaded fish and soft tofu was served in a spicy garlicky stew, topped with chopped peanuts, cilantro, scallions and even more hot peppers.
LEGIT!!!
I really hope more people discover this restaurant so that it doesn’t go out of business. We can’t believe our good fortune of finding such an excellent Szechuan restaurant right in Kirkland. Again, try not to be thrown off by the weird hotel/​health store location. My husband said he felt like he was in The Shining when he went looking for the bathroom in the hotel. Yikes!