Aria

Aria is a Buckhead fine dining restaurant featuring modern American fare. Their daily changing menus showcase great ingredients & simple preparation. It was a 2017 James Beard Foundation Semifinalist for Outstanding Service. After finally participating in one of Aria's periodic pop-ups (join their distribution list or follow them on IG for updates), I made sure to visit during Buckhead Restaurant Week. Aria is cozy and intimate. They truly maximize seating in a very quaint spot. Aria is equal parts fine dining & community. There is constant chatter from happy, well-fed patrons & everyone is treated as if they are family. I sat in the bar & received outstanding service from the staff. While Jen was the table lead, it was truly a team effort & everyone was friendly, attentive, knowledgeable, & efficientThe 8-course tasting menu was way too tempting to pass on. Here were the courses:Cocktail: HowitzerYellowtail Hamachi SashimiRuby Red & Golden BeetsLobster BisqueSeared SalmonTenderloin of Berkshire PorkShort Rib of Painted Hills BeefPassion Fruit SorbetValrhona Chocolate Cream PieI loved the Howitzer, as the spiced pear paired well with the brandy, and everything is better w/sparkling wine. The hamachi was subtle, but you could taste the sweet, spicy, & salty notes of the accompaniments. I loved the pairing of Fuji apples & sashimi.I loved the beets. The tender ones were divine w/the tangy, smooth Meyer lemon yogurt. The crispy quinoa sprinkles elevated the dish.The lobster bisque was velvet.I wanted to take the crispy sunchokes home w/me for a snack. I felt the salmon and cauliflower mousseline lacked salt & I wanted more lemon. I loved the pork tenderloin & the mixture of the carrot puree w/the natural jus.The short rib plate was a comforting elevation of a Sunday dinner. The beef was so tender that I did not need a knife.I experienced their heavenly sorbet at the pop up. So I was delighted that it was again a meal highlight. The merengue was ethereal. The chocolate pie was good, but I was still savoring the sorbet.

My husband and I recently moved to Atlanta and have been very excited to check out the local fine dining scene. After hearing some great word of mouth and seeing accolades in last media, we decided to give this Atlanta mainstay a try on Monday, 9/24 to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. Sadly, it didn't come close to living up to the hype. The space is well designed and well lit, although it could use a little background music. The staff was cordial enough, although our server was downright unpleasant at times (although we all have bad days). We both appreciated the detail of offering both white and black napkins upon being seated. It does downhill from there. We started with the lobster and black truffle burrata - both sounded amazing and we were so excited to kick the meal off right. Sadly, that was not the case. The lobster lacked any flavor and the burrata was boring and served on a bed of arugula that didn't taste fresh at all. For entrees I had the duck and my husband had the short rib, both of which were just fine. The duck felt tough and was a fatty. For dessert we shared the blueberry upside down cake with lemon ice cream, which was just fine. The ice cream was tasty. We have no problem at all spending on a great meal, but we left here hugely disappointed and sick to our stomach that this meal cost us $400. We were expecting to be WOWed, but didn't even leave satisfied.

This place had been on my list for a while so I finally decided to try it. I didn't have a reservation so I sat at the bar. David was my bartender and he was very attentive. He made great drinks, gave good entrée suggestions and was friendly. This place is a hidden gem and I look forward to coming back and trying dinner service.

Pricey but great experience. Server was excellent. We did the tasting menu, 8 courses, with everything from salmon and crab cakes (smaller portions due to the number of courses) to short ribs. For.the two of us, with drinks, the bill was just over $300, which I expected. Very classy place and laid back part of Buckhead. She's a foodie and frequest fine diner...she really enjoyed it. Valet parking was inexpensive and probably not even necessary. We would definitely go back.

Aria has the perfect ambiance for an unforgettable date night. With daily printed menus, they are sure to please.Tonight, we tried the sole and the trout. Everything was seasoned perfectly, coupled with sides that truly rounded out the dish. Even though I am still giving them 5 stars, I am slightly annoyed that nothing was mentioned regarding the person with a birthday (we let them know through RESY). I'm not sure what the system is, but a restaurant of that caliber should continually pay attention to the little details.Nonetheless, I give them a 9.4 out of 10. This restaurant is a standout in the Atlanta food scene.

Came here earlier in the year as I read raving reviews online. They have a prefixe that looks very appealing . Although I had a nice time and the service and presentation was nice, I felt the food was lacking the same standard. Nothing wrong with the food but I felt like some things like an avocado or apple were simply placed on a dish for the aesthetic but did not fully compliment the other ingredients nor the dish as a whole. It was otherwise filling, just felt lacking. The ambience and the staff are wonderful though.

I had dinner at Aria on a Wednesday night and had a good dining experience -- no aspects of the meal stood out as incredible but it was all pretty good. Menu pricing is fair. I'd probably go back with a group and/or if I had some older guests in town since it feels very "old Buckhead".To eat, I had the lobster bisque, beet salad, steak skewers, and the pork entree. It was all pretty good and reasonably priced given the portion sizes, but none of it was super memorable. The beet salad was probably the most unique given that it has different types of beets prepared differently and a good flavor overall. The menu is pretty confusing and feels like they're trying to offer too much -- it has snacks, starters, salads, entrees, and desserts with numerous options in each section. I'd prefer they just do fewer things well then offer such a vast menu. We over-ordered given all the sections (perhaps their design).The server wasn't very friendly and seemed offended that we didn't order drinks. The food came out quickly so it wasn't an overly lengthy dining experience which I appreciated, but they did seem to try too hard to "course" it when we clearly just wanted to eat as it was ready. The space itself is large and open -- we didn't feel too close to the other tables but it got a bit loud due to other diners. The bathroom is small and a single-service room per gender (why do they even have gendered single-room bathrooms in 2023!)

Chic Ambiance, incredible menu, special occasion spot. An experience not found elsewhere.

We did the tasting menu, and it wasn't worth it. Sure, all the food was good. And I appreciated that it was 8 courses. But I can't say it was super filling. The big negatives:Waitress asked if we wanted more bread. Husband explicitly asked if it was an extra charge, and she clearly said no. Yet later we learned it was. Similar thing happened when we arrived. Our table wasn't ready. Rather than ask us to wait, the manager came over and invited us to join him at the bar. It seemed like a drink would be included but no. Just tell us to wait. It was weird. The tasting menu was not at all inventive. Food was good but nothing special or interesting. Dining room was very loud. If it's a dining experience at a lower price point, it'd be fine. But they're pricing themselves as a high end restaurant, and it's not.

Had a late Valentine's Day dinner and it was amazing! We both had the tasting menu and everything was delicious! The service was impeccable as the wait staff was very attentive. The ambiance of the restaurant is very nice and we even spotted Don Cheadle enjoying dinner with his wife Bridget Coulter which was a nice surprise. I highly recommend the Salmon as it was the star protein in my opinion. That said, the Braised Beef and Center Cut Pork Loin were amazing as well.