If you're looking for a cheap night out, this probably isn't your spot. It's not absurd by any stretch, but it's certainly priced above the average for Quincy Center. It's not for everyone, but my god it is for me.What's the catch? Well for one, you do pay for the food and the experience. It's prepared with shaved parmesan, arugula, white truffle and grilled crostini. You know how sometimes when you're cooking raw beef you just want to take a huge bite out of it? This dish sort of lets you do that. My personal favorite is the Beef Carpaccio.

They seem to take great care with each dish they prepare, and they have amazed me with some of the flavor combinations they come up with. We've worked our way through every appetizer on the menu, and haven't been disappointed by a single one. Cait's already told you all about the revelation that is Alba's Sacchetti, so I won't go on about that, but the reality is that everything we've had at Alba has been great. The deck is wide open, has tons of comfortable seating including a few cushioned benches to stretch out on.As good as the atmosphere is, the food is even better. Lucky for me, I love both of those things, but it's still nice to class it up a bit once in a while. There aren't a ton of places to eat outside in Quincy (at least not ones that we've discovered), so finding Alba was huge.Alba's clean, modern and well-maintained roof deck is a welcome getaway on a nice day. The standard in Quincy is sports bar, dive bar, or some combination of the two. The atmosphere in Alba is definitely a departure from most of the bars in Quincy Center. We also caught Alba's roof deck when it was almost 100% empty, so we had it to ourselves. I love Italian food, and I'm a sucker for outdoor seating. In the case of Alba, the roof deck takes a great restaurant and makes it fantastic.Now, there are a couple of points that need to be made to clarify that 'fantastic' statement.

It's like a mini vacation, and it can elevate an average restaurant to a great one. When it's really done right, outdoor seating is an escape from the ordinary, and can make you feel like you left the neighborhood you're in and went somewhere totally new. A nice roof deck or patio is so much more than a place to sit outside and eat.

Alba quincy ma