Aria is a popular fine dining restaurant in Buckhead. It opened March 2000 and is owned by the same group as Canoe. Located in a small white building surrounded by hedges and a big tree, it's easy to miss this restaurant on the corner of East Paces Ferry Road and Maple Drive. The entrance is in the back next to the valet stand. Valet is complimentary.
The restaurant isn't terribly big, consisting of a small bar and a single dining room with two sections of seating. The interior design is nice, but also a bit strange. From the entrance, you have to walk through this curtain of heavy beads through the intimate bar/lounge to the white-colored dining room filled with classical columns and avant-garde decor. There's a bizarre light fixture in the middle of the dining room which vaguely resembles a tentacled sea creature. There are two jewel-encrusted dog sculptures on either side of the steps leading to the dining room. The monochrome floral patterns on the upholstery is beautiful.
The atmosphere is cozy, romantic, and intimate. There are white tablecloths and candles at every table. Seating against the wall is snug and you can hear the conversations of those sitting next to you and vice versa. If you don't like this, you can try to request to be seated elsewhere when making your reservation.
Reservations are recommended. Aria is on OpenTable and has offered 1,000-point reservations at times. Take advantage if you can.
The restaurant's menu changes nightly. The cuisine is New American with an emphasis on slow-cooked and sustainable foods made from high quality, local and regional ingredients. On any given night, the menu will feature about 10 starters and 10 entrees. Most starters run about $10-15 each and entrees $30-35 each. There's also a pre-set tasting menu that runs $68 per person. This is less expensive than comparable Atlanta restaurants such as Bacchanalia and Restaurant Eugene ($85 each).
I love tasting menus, so that's what we went with. At Aria, each course of the tasting menu is described on the printed menu. There are no substitutions or optional courses. Accommodations can be made for those with food allergies. Here's a rundown of what I had, course by course:
* Bread: House Focaccia
* Course 1: Creamless Celery Root Soup - black truffles, Parmigiano Reggiano
* Course 2: Crisped Tempura Octopus - roasted butternut squash, roasted peanuts, Fuji apple, mizuna, frisee, candied ginger vinaigrette
* Course 3: Blue Ridge Mountain Trout - butter fondue, melted leeks, Hakurei turnips, baby carrots, fingerling potatoes
* Course 4: Crisped South Carolina Quail - shaved Brussels sprouts, applewood smoked bacon, grain mustard vinaigrette
* Course 5: Pan Roasted Loin of Venison - charred broccoli, Hakurei turnips, baby carrots, pearl onion petals
* Course 6: Chocolate Espresso Cake - almond toffee ice cream
Unlike other fine dining restaurants, there are no amuse-bouches or gifts from the chef at Aria. Just one bread course and then the items listed on the prix fixe menu.
The food was fantastic. The House Focaccia bread was exceptional. It was freshly baked, warm, soft, and herby. Also a little bit oily, it was served pre-sliced into rectangular strips.
The Creamless Celery Root Soup was delicious. It tasted similar to a cream of mushroom soup, but lighter. The hint of truffles was absolutely mouthwatering.
The Crisped Tempura Octopus was my least favorite dish of the night. While the octopus meat was fresh, its consistency felt relatively soggy or mushy and the thin layer of tempura batter wasn't crispy. The rest of the dish was great though, from the julienned apple to the delicate mizuna and frisee greens. The delightful ginger vinaigrette tied it together.
The Blue Ridge Mountain Trout was very good. The skin was perfectly succulent and crispy. This dish normally came with a lobster bisque sauce, but due to my food allergy, the chef specially prepared a butter and cheese fondue sauce instead. I particularly enjoyed the tender baby carrots and sweet and fruity Hakurei turnips.
The Crisped South Carolina Quail was phenomenal -- one of the best-prepared quails I've had to date. The half-quail meat was juicy and flavorful. The little bird had been expertly deboned. The Brussels salad and pork belly bits were icing on top of the proverbial cake.
The Pan Roasted Loin of Venison was excellent. The venison was cooked medium rare. The slices of meat were moist, luscious, and flavorful.
The Chocolate Espresso Cake was superb. Rich yet airy. I had to eat the almond toffee ice cream quickly before it melted away.
Service was good though a bit slow. Coats were checked and silverware and plates were changed in a timely manner. We liked our server and the other staff were nothing but polite and courteous. However, course pacing could have been better and we had extended waits on the check.
Overall, Aria is a terrific restaurant. Do the tasting menu. read more