The Few Weeks That Matter
The white truffle has a short window each year, and you can taste the difference when it arrives at its best. In Piedmont, the season begins in autumn, with October and November bringing the truffle into its own before it fades towards the end of the year. Its appeal lies in that fleeting quality: it cannot be cultivated to order or kept fresh indefinitely, and little needs to be done to it beyond shaving it over a dish while its aroma is at its fullest. At ALBA, our Amalfi-inspired Italian restaurant opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge, white truffle takes centre stage for a few weeks each autumn. The Truffle Season menu is available from October through December, while the season lasts.
Why ALBA, of All Places
ALBA shares its name with the town of Alba, in Piedmont's Langhe hills, famous for the white truffle that bears its name. Every autumn, the town hosts its celebrated truffle fair, drawing chefs and enthusiasts in pursuit of Tartufo Bianco d'Alba, one of Italy's most prized ingredients. Our name has a different origin, rooted in the Amalfi Coast and the first light of day, but the coincidence feels fitting. Each year, when white truffle season arrives, ALBA marks the occasion.
Head Chef Cristian Ianni's cooking is shaped by the Amalfi Coast, where the flavours are those of the sea, bright lemon and fresh fish rather than the earthy intensity of Piedmont's truffles. The Truffle Season menu brings these two traditions together without overcomplicating things. The dishes are kept simple, allowing the truffle's distinctive aroma and flavour to take the lead.
How the Truffle Season Menu Works
The Truffle Season menu is short, and distinct from ALBA's usual menu. It focuses on the dishes that have long been paired with truffle: eggs, buttery pasta, risotto and other simple plates that give the ingredient room to shine. Fresh truffle is shaved over each dish at the table, priced by the gram, with a choice of white truffle from Alba or black autumn truffle. You decide how much to add, starting from one gram. With white truffle, even a little can make its presence felt.
The menu opens with fried eggs on sourdough, a classic pairing, alongside beef carpaccio to share, wood-fired Pizza Funghi, pink prawn carpaccio with burratina, and tuna tartare. The mains keep to familiar territory: Parmesan risotto, buttered tagliolini, Filetto di Bosco and a veal cutlet for sharing. The tagliolini feels particularly apt - this is the kind of pasta traditionally served with truffle in Piedmont, where the ingredient has been celebrated for generations. Dessert is white truffle and vanilla ice cream, served in two scoops. It may sound unusual, but the combination makes more sense once you try it.
White truffle is shaved raw over the finished dish, rather than cooked, so its delicate aroma stays intact. The slices are thin and pale, with a heady, earthy scent and a softer, almost honeyed note beneath it. If your experience of truffle has been limited to truffle oil, the real thing is quite different: more delicate, more layered and far less one-dimensional. Black truffle behaves differently, pairing well with heat, butter and richer sauces. It features in ALBA's year-round black truffle tagliatelle, while the seasonal menu gives both varieties their moment. The choice is between returning to a much-loved house dish or making an occasion of the truffle season itself. For more on how pasta shape affects the finished dish, see our guide to Italian pasta shapes.
Booking in Truffle Season
The Truffle Season menu runs from October to the end of December, and the best of the harvest comes early. Doors open at midday every day at 70 Brompton Road, directly opposite Harrods. Book a table online, or ring +44 (0)20 3985 4992, and say when you book that you are coming for the truffle - the team will tell you how the day's supply is looking. The menu is served in the dining room; the private dining menus are separate and do not include it.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is white truffle season?
The white Alba truffle is harvested in Piedmont from October to December, with the best of it in November. ALBA's Truffle Season menu runs from October to the end of December.
What is on the Truffle Season menu at ALBA?
Dishes made to take fresh truffle: fried eggs on sourdough, beef carpaccio, Pizza Funghi, pink prawn carpaccio with burratina and tuna tartare to start; risotto with Parmesan, tagliolini with butter, Filetto di Bosco and a veal cutlet to share as mains; white truffle vanilla ice cream to finish. White Alba truffle or black autumn truffle is shaved over the dish by the gram.
What is the difference between white and black truffle?
The white Alba truffle is rarer, more aromatic and never cooked: it is shaved raw over a finished plate. The black truffle takes heat and is cooked into sauces, which is how ALBA's black truffle tagliatelle is made. Both can be shaved over the Truffle Season dishes.
Where can I eat white truffle in Knightsbridge?
At ALBA London, 70 Brompton Road, opposite Harrods, on the Truffle Season menu from October to the end of December.
Is ALBA named after Alba, the truffle town?
ALBA shares its name with Alba in Piedmont, where the white truffle comes from, though the restaurant's name belongs to the Amalfi Coast and the dawn. ALBA marks the season each year.
Can I have the Truffle Season menu in the private dining room?
No. The private dining menus are separate and do not include truffle. The Truffle Season menu is served in the dining room.
