Eat In Atlanta Blog

We had talked about Aria and passed it at least a dozen times, saying, “Wow, we’ve heard such good things. We’ve got to go there!” What better time to go there than Jenny’s birthday?

It was a quiet Tuesday night and we called on Tuesday afternoon for reservations. No problem. We walked in and the restaurant is decorated very elegantly with a relatively small dining room. There were plenty of 2 person tables, which make the place great for a date. We ended up sitting next to a loud group of ladies who were celebrating a birthday and didn’t allow us to have a very romantic dinner, but the restaurant is set up for such an occasion, for sure.

The menu was much less intimidating and expensive than I originally thought. I was expecting one of those dinners with $50 steaks and no appetizer under $15, but it was much more reasonable than expected with appetizers ranging from $8 up to $20 for a crab cocktail, and entrees ranging from $17 for fish or scallops to $34 for a veal chop or 16 oz steak.

We ordered an arugula salad with blue cheese crumbles and lamb loins for appetizers. They brought two separate plates with a divided portion for each of us, which is very unique and was a very enjoyable way to share the appetizers and taste more than one thing on the menu. Lamb loins were very juicy and tasty with some good mayo-based sauces to accompany, and the salad was rather large divided to two servings and tasted very fresh. The mix of bleu cheese and vinaigrette dressing made for a nice pre-dinner taste.

Jenny couldn’t decide between the pulled pork or the veal chop, but opted for the pork, which the waiter claimed was one of the restaurants signature dishes that stayed on the menu through all of the seasonal adjustments to the menu. SEE SERVICE COMMENTS BELOW. The pulled pork was tender, but didn’t seem all that juicy. Definitely a suggested dish if in the mood for shredded meat that was tender and saucy. I got the beef short rib, which was exactly what I was in the mood for. After the heavier than expected appetizers, it is good that we decided on the less filling entrees. The short rib was extremely juicy and tender, but wasn’t oversized. The potatoes that it was served with, were a nice compliment to the beef dish. Both our meals were solid decisions and would be suggested for first time visitors, but we agreed that they weren’t dishes that if we went back next time, we wouldn’t HAVE to get them; we would try something new.

Nothing absolutely special about dessert. It was some sort of chocolate crème cake, that was a nice finishing treat to the meal.

Overall the meal was very enjoyable and we will return. The service was less than stellar, with a waiter who would take a while to fill our waters and never really offered his honest, experienced opinions on entrees. He was very nice, but just one of those waiters who said everything on the menu is good. That’s no good when you want help making a decision between two great meals. But-not enough to keep us away……….

Aria site