Well it was time for restaurant week again, and this time some friends wanted to try Aria. The wife and I had been here once before and had a really good meal. Unfortunately, this time Aria seemed to miss the mark. With it being restaurant week, it was 3 for 30$ and included appetizer, main and dessert. I do like that Aria offers basically their whole menu during restaurant week, since most other places have only a few choices. I had the mushroom pizza, scallop risotto and mascarpone cheesecake. 2 out of 3 very good and flavorful, but the scallop risotto was a disappointment as it was bland and not up to par with other risotto's that I have had in the past. Now, I am not really a fan of cheesecake, but this one really hit the spot, and the mushroom pizza was as tasty as the last time that i had it. The restaurant has a fairly boisterous atmosphere, so don't go here if you want a quiet, romantic dinner. There was live music on this evening, which was good, but it was drowned out by the full dinning room chatter. As I mentioned, this was my second visit here and I would rate that visit at 4 and 1/2 to 5 stars. This one rates only 3 mainly due to the service, which was spotty at best. It seemed that we were bothering our server whenever she came over. It was the second night of restaurant week, but she seemed to be hoping that the week ended soon. Don't get me wrong, I will probably return. I just need to figure out a good day to go when they are less slammed, like a week day. read more

Went today with a party of eight for a business lunch and I have to say Aria far exceeded my expectations. Service was quick and competent, although they never took a drink order so we all ended up drinking water. I'm sure if someone was really jonesing for a soda or tea they would have made it obvious, but instead we all just enjoyed the water and the frequent refills. My steak salad was phenomenal. The steak was served over arugula with fresh mozzarella and a balsamic vinaigrette with some roasted peppers. It was fantastic and I would order it again in a heartbeat. Everyone else really enjoyed their dishes too, from chicken parmesan to risotto. The first comments from the group as we started to eat were that the food was so much better than you usually get at lunch. I'm sure Aria has its ups and downs, but we clearly hit it at an "up" time. I will bring other people back for lunch again. read more

Ok. I ate at Aria two nights ago for a girlfriends Bachelorette party. We had a party of 20 or so ladies. For such a very big table, I was BAFFLED that there was only one waiter, but he did a spectacular job! We felt like everything came out in a timely manner! I had two drinks; "The peel" and the "DSL"... both were creative and delicious, but the peel was more grapefruit juice than cocktail... so I'm not sure the $8-10 pricetag was warranted for something that fit into a champagne flute. The arugula and pear salad was delightful and the Scottish salmon was buttery and perfectly cooked! I cannot say enough about how lovely the food was! All in all - I paid just about $55 for two drinks, a salad, my meal, and a generous tip. I don't think it's too much for a nice night out! Compared to some of the other "upscale" restaurants in uptown Charlotte, I'd say you could do MUCH worse than a visit to Aria. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would go again! read more

This was a decent little place that was nice and warm on a cold Charlotte night. Some friends and I stopped in for drinks after stuffing our faces at Queen's Feast, and we sat down at the bar right away. The live music was a nice touch. The bar was big enough for plenty of people to gather around, and there was a lot of other seating to accommodate plenty of butts in seats -- good for a busy Friday night. Unfortunately, the drinks weren't great, and the bartenders were less than attentive. I was disappointed at how long it took to order our first round, which because of the delay (and the weird drink flavors some of us experienced), ended up being our ONLY round of drinks. I'd probably come back, but their specialty cocktails wouldn't be on my list of things to try on my second visit, and I wouldn't expect quick or friendly service from the bartenders. read more

Went for Restaurant week. For $30 an appetizer, entree and dessert. Mussels in red sauce were cooked well, strozzapreti was good (I was starving, it didn't really stand out as anything spectacular) the cheesecake which I took home with me was just ok. I didn't like the wine list design, although they have some great picks. Waitstaff was friendly even though you could tell they were frazzled by my large party as well as 3 other large tables nearby. The manager had a bit of a snobby attitude, but he thought he was helpful. Bathrooms were clean and there's a coat rack in the back hallway. Overall, it was good. I'd go back read more

Walked in a got a seat at the bar right away. Full service there so uneasy in luck. Didn't recognize any wines by the glass, but the bartender's recommendation was very good and not the most expensive option. Had the Caesar salad which was very good, then sausage, broccoli rabe and oriechette pasta, which was great. Very fresh, tons of flavor and not a huge portion. I polished it off and still hungry so i attacked some tiramisu. Was good, but not great. Saw a lot of meals and considering the menu, could go many more times and try something new each chance. Would go back for sure. read more

Ok I LOVED everything I had here: I got the penne vodka (ask for it to be spicy if you like spicy food like me and say yes to the extra Parmesan! You won't be sorry ...your waistline might be tho - no promises!) the bread was warm and the prosecco was cool - the best combo! The dessert was the best gelato I've had in a LONG time - so creamy and rich! I would def recommend this place - great for girls night, date night, family dinners, corporate events! read more

Great food, service and location. Maria the bartender is excellent! Relax, have a Negroni and try the meatballs.

Amazing services and even better food. Our server Sport took great care of us. He was very patient with us! Great food! Highly recommend the lamb, the steak, and the rigatoni! read more

Good service and decor. Food sadly mediocre. A bit overpriced for the quality. Went here as we got a coupon for a free appetizer from the Omni hotel. All in all the food was decent but certainly nothing special. The ambiance and decor are both great however. read more

Came here after a long day of work and coworker and I ordered the artichokes, carmelized gnocchi and the scallops. The artichokes were just ok, not my favorite thing to eat to begin with. The gnocchi were fantastic, really interesting flavors and loved that they threw in some fresh cucumbers in there. Scallops were divine and really light which was perfect since I had a heavy lunch. They were cooked to perfection and paired well with the pork belly. The bread here was really good too and I liked that they did not just serve it with the traditional olive oil but gave us beans. Service was excellent and it was nice ambience. Would definitely come back again while I am still in Charlotte. read more

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Half portions of pasta make for a great dinner without being stuffed. Travel to Charlotte fairly often for dinner, Aria is a reliable restaurant for a good dinner, nice wine selection, and overall good value. I would recommend dining here, especially if you are dining alone and still want a nice restaurant. read more

I tried the five course pasta tasting for $30. It was excellent. Far more food than one person can eat, but you must eat it as it cannot be shared. They did let me take the last entree and a half home. I tried the panne cotta for dessert. It was perfect! The waitstaff was very helpful and friendly and the decor very chic! read more

Came here during restaurant week a couple of weeks ago. The restaurant itself was very nice. The hostess seated us upstairs (ladies in heels be careful). Our waiter was pleasant. I had the gnocchi for the appetizer and it was delicious. My dining companion had the crab cake which he enjoyed. The main course is where things started to go left. I order the lamb shank with mushroom risotto. It was pleasing to the eye but the taste was too pungent and overwhelming so I switched out for the penne with vodka sauce. The penne was better than the lamb but not the best penne Ive had. My dining partner had the salmon, which he stated was just ok. For desert we had the cheesecake which was pretty good. Overall the food was just ok, with the exception of the appetizers. Will only visit again if I'm in the area. read more

Aria - Try the Gnocchi for an appetizer. Delicious - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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My three friends and I loved this restaurant. We ate at a number of different places on our roadtrip, including Little Italy in NYC, and this was by far our favorite meal of the trip. We had reservations, which I would recommend. We didn't get sat exactly on time, but we loved sitting at the bar drinking wine and ordering their small appetizer bites. Definitely recommend the reduced price bar apps if you have to wait. We ordered the gnocchi, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmigiana, and chicken carbonara. No one complained that the food was heavy or undercooked, everything was just right. The service could have been slightly more attentive, but nothing that detracted from the overall great meal we all experienced. read more

More show than substance Ordered their most popular dishes and was underwhelmed to say the least. read more

Though I've had drinks at Aria, I had the opportunity to have lunch there last Friday and was impressed with their menu and varied/affordable options. Aria offers several 3 course lunch specials for 8.99 as well as other items for a few dollars more. I ordered the pan fried NC Trout w/ mashed potatoes for $12. It was excellent and a perfect lunch. I couldn't stay away from the warm bread and white bean spread (ridiculously good). Yum. Highly recommend. Great lunch prices & great food at a lovely restaurant in Uptown Charlotte. read more

I've always passed by Aria but today I decided to stop in to see how the food was. I opted for the Express lunch and got the caesar salad, fettuccine carbonara and cheesecake. First we got bread and beans with olive oil. This was a great started before our meal came. The caesar salad was good and crisp. The fettuccine was delicious but for me personally I love cheese so I would have loved some additional shaved cheese. The cheesecake was nice and delicious way to end the meal. The Express meal is not for someone who is extremely hungry -FYI. We went for lunch and as expected they were busy so service was a little long or longer than expected. read more

We went as a large company party. The service was great and the food delicious! We started with a choice of salad. I had the kale and romaine Caesar. Not overdressed and tasty. We had a gnocchi mid course and I finished w swordfish. Not sure how the meal would be outside a private event, but I imagine good given our experience. read more

Note: dinner was for large group on a pre-set menu Started with the Caesar Salad that was somewhat light in flavor but they gave the option with or without anchovies. Had steak (wygo?) for dinner. Pretty good but again nothing to write home about. The service was pretty good. They started trying to take orders for wine by the glass but realized that was futile and simply opened numerous bottles... We also started in on the Cranberry and Kettle One...until they ran out of Kettle One. Normally that would disappoint me but knowing how many we're ordered, not surprising. Very cool staff as they put together special dessert for one of our party celebrating birthday. Interested to see how they do from the menu next time. read more

I work very close by, and frankly, I've never had anything bad here. I've been here for work meetings and by myself. The staff is always super friendly, and I like that if I'm undecided, I'll give them my super lost look, and they will make a suggestion (which always ends up being yummy). I love their bread and bean salad thingie in the beginning, and I'm sure that I will continue to go to this place. I especially love their express lunches because it's the perfect amount. At first I was like (is this going to be enough?) But really, it was. read more

Food and service were generally very good. We had family pasta dinner for $45 with arugula salad, three pastas and tiramisu for dessert. Oxtail was the best, lasagna was dry but good. Rabbit was so so. Only negatives were fake candles and seamless wine glasses that were more like water glasses. Wine pours were not very much. The dessert was brought in a jar and you had to dig it out with a spoon. It should have been put on a plate. There was live music, like blues or jazz. I would go back and try it again. read more

The food and service was wonderful. We went to celebrate our sons 22nd bday. Our waiter was very efficient and attentive. Unfortunately, a very disrespectful, obnoxious party of approximately 8 were seated behind us. They were loud, cursing, and having very inappropriate conversations, we asked for our desert to go. Some adults just don't know how to act in public. Sadly, it dampened our evening out! read more

Good food. Extremely tight quarters upstairs, tables are TOO close. To make it worse, the Elevator for wheelchair adds to the mix. People are interrupted to stand up from meal to allow wheelchairs and people to pass through. Staff is very nice but the hectic atmosphere makes it difficult for keeping up with water. They really need to fix this problem. read more

At first we were a bit put off that the wait was going to be over an hour but there looked like there were plenty of open tables. We assumed that there was a large party reserved. They offered us a table off the bar area that was better than most of the tables in the regular dining area. Great view of the people walking by and coming in to the restaurant. Our server, Dennis, was excellent. He was very attentive and courteous. It didn't feel like we were sitting at the bar at all. He even noticed when one of us dropped a utensil and came right over to check up on us. The food came out at a decent amount of time and was very good too. We hope to visit Aria again soon. read more

I came here with a group of 9 girls for a pre-bachelorette party dinner on a Friday night. We had made reservations beforehand and when we walked in, they had our table ready, which was great. The location is great and it's so close to everything else in Downtown Charlotte. The interior is very modern, simple, and clean. They have a way of making their place look spacious, even if it's a packed house. They can accommodate parties of more than 15 people. They also have bar seating as well. We went and were seated right away with the menus. The waitress made a great wine recommendation. However, it took almost 30 minutes for everyone to get their drinks -- not to mention that bread wasn't served until about 10-15 minutes after our drinks were served. We were all starving by then and chowed down the bread. We ordered our food after we got all our drinks and then it was another really long wait to get our food (about 20-30 minutes). By this time, the restaurant was emptying out and it wasn't as busy so I don't know what took so long. The food was good and everyone was happy with their choices. However, because of the long wait for our food, we were super hungry and we ate our food super fast. Then it took about another 20-30 minutes for us to get our checks and then another 15 minutes for us to get our cards back. Great location, good food, slow slow slow service. read more

Nice atmosphere. Lots of different characteristics depending on where you are sitting. Seems to be the place to impress potential business during the week and a great place to stun your special someone. Enjoyed the service and the food. read more

This restaurant probably has some of the worst service uptown. The food is mediocre and generally served like warm. I've been three times. First time was ok. The second the waiter was openly working with a head cold and gave us the wrong food. I caught a cold from him. I tried to give them one last shot today (3 months from the sick waiter incident). I was told they didn't have room to sit me and then sat a table of four standing behind me (who did not have a reservation). I only went here since it's near work. I won't be returning. read more

This place is SO good! My friend and I are from out of town. We got dinner here and it was exactly what we needed. All the food was AMAZING! Best Italian food I've had in a long time. We got the cheese board to start. It was delicious. I got the short rib ravioli and she got the carbonara and they were both sooo good. We also got drinks and gelato for dessert. All wonderful! Our waitress was an angel, she was so sweet and helpful. The service was great. Overall would 100% recommend and come back! read more

Fantastic service, huge wine selection and delicious food! I had the Carmelites gnocchi and the seafood pasta (can't remember the name of the dish). Everything was superb! Highly recommend!! read more

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We had plans for dinner and a Broadway show and originally wanted to stop by Coco Osteria. Unfortunately, they were booked so I made reservations for Aria. While not one to try new restaurants with too much optimism, we decided to give Aria a try. Consistent with most previous reviews, Aria's broad menu of contemporary Tuscan fare was spot on. For starters, we ordered steamed mussels which was amazingly fresh. The portion was just right... generous but not too much. This was a good thing as we then had the main course, which was papparadelle pasta with braised duck ragu for me and grilled salmon for her. Both dishes were competently prepared, well portioned and really good. To finish our meal, we split two desserts a chocolate hazelnut cake and mascarpone cheesecake. While both were delicious, the chocolate hazelnut cake won our vote hands down (and I'm not even a chocolate lover). Definitely coming back here and with more success could become one of our regular restaurants. read more

The cocktails, food and wine here is fantastic! This restaurant could survive in any big city in the country and it's an amazing find in Charlotte. Service is always friendly and prompt. read more

Aria - Braised lamb shank with roasted vegetables and polenta - Italian Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Took my wife for her birthday dinner, good ambiance, ok food, good service. I think I had better expectations from the place than what we experienced. For a weekday quite dinner, waiter seems to be little pushy for us to order dinner, while we were still enjoying our drinks and appetizers. Most weird part for me was the super fast entree to our table, not more than 3-4 minutes of ordering, while we were still enjoying our drinks and appetizers. I liked everything, except the fact that we felt little rushed by the service. Not sure if we will be back... read more

We had a great time and our server was wonderful. He handled the separation of checks as well as dividing the birthday girl's bill between the rest of us with ease. My only complaints (why I don't give 5 stars), are that my request for very little ice in my mixed drink was not accommodated, and they don't have the appropriate forks for their mussels. read more

One of my favorite spots for Happy Hour! They have bar bites available on weekdays, and usually serve some type of drink special. The carmelized gnocchi is outstanding, the sliders range from very good to delicious, (flavors rotate often,) and the wild mushroom goat cheese pizza has tons of flavor! The calamari are not as good as some which I've had, and the rings are very small. Not a fan of the desserts, but I like supersweet desserts, and none of theirs are. A great place to come with friends, family, or for a romantic dinner. Even though the setting is upscale the environment is casual. Staff ranges from helpful to helpfully friendly, and valet eliminates the uptown parking headache. read more

From a New Yorker who grew up with some of the best Italian food (in America), Aria's food reminded me of home. The waitress was great and set us up with a red wine that matched what we were looking for. We started with the caramelized gnocchi and it was awesome. Highly recommend that as a starter. We then had the orecchiette and lasagna, which were both delicious. I'd recommend the lasagna over the two. For dessert we had the cheesecake and chocolate hazelnut cake, which hit the spot. Highly recommend this place if you're craving some Italian in uptown Charlotte! read more

Went there for my moms birthday, showed up and our reserved table was going to be a 20 minute wait. They carded my 70 year old godfather and then didn't have any of the ingredients to make the drinks we wanted anyways. Poorly handled. read more

By far my favorite restaurant I have ever been to. Went a couple months ago and again last night for my 23rd birthday. Incredible service, incredible food, incredible atmosphere. Highly recommend the caramelized gnocchi with prosciutto and pear appetizer (can also be made into an entree). Also had the kale salad, mussels, and bruschetta. So so so yummy! read more

We had an amazing dinner at Aria last night! We started with their house made limoncellos...SO good, we each had two! Then we had the appetizer that had a variety of seafood, with squid ink aioli. That, too, was VERY good! I had the scallops with lobster risotto and my dining partner had sweet corn with mascarpone ravioli. Both dishes were outstanding!! If we ever return to Charlotte we will definitely be doing there again!! read more

The service is GREAT and the food is AMAZING and the homemade limoncello martini is to die for!! Next time I am in the Charlotte I will plan everything else around eating here again. read more