For a restaurant that’s been around 25 years, Aria feels like a breath of fresh air.
The Buckhead institution changed hands earlier this year when longtime general manager Andres Loaiza bought it from chef Gerry Klaskala. Loaiza brought in chef Joseph Harrison from Savannah’s Common Thread, but many of Klaskala’s dishes remain.
Still, Aria doesn’t feel weighed down by the past.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
While it’s a white-tablecloth restaurant with an impressive wine cellar, it’s anything but stuffy. The personable, highly professional staff creates the atmosphere of a fun dinner party rather than a formal occasion.
The restaurant is not cheap; many entrées cost nearly $50. But in today’s landscape of $200-plus tasting menus, it feels novel to have such an elevated experience for less. A couple could have a three-course meal at Aria, including a glass of wine, for less than $200.
Loaiza frequently greets diners at Aria. He was a constant presence in the dining room during my visits. (His attention to detail worked against me as a dining critic hoping for anonymity — he greeted me by name both times I dined there.)
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
My dining partners and I clearly received special attention, although the staff didn’t go overboard. Observing other tables, I saw sommelier Remy Loet doling out tasting pours to typical diners and Loaiza escorting customers to their tables.
I did not feel that our level of service was an outlier, and the restaurant has been recognized in that area; Aria was one of five national finalists for the James Beard Award for outstanding hospitality.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Of course, the food is the most important aspect of any restaurant, and Aria’s no slouch there, either. The restaurant slowly is transitioning from Klaskala’s food to Harrison’s, keeping a few signature dishes and the general philosophy of sophisticated — if not boundary-pushing — cuisine.
Before getting to Harrison’s cooking, though, every Aria diner should try pastry chef Kathryn King’s fantastic bread service — an airy, muffin-shaped focaccia roll scattered with caraway seeds and served with warm butter lightly sweetened with sorghum.
Aria’s menu is divided into snacks, salads and soups, starters, entrées and side dishes. Of the snacks, my favorite was the crisped Berkshire pork belly with peach chutney, cucumber and peanut. The pork belly was masterfully cooked — fork-tender but with a slightly crispy exterior — and the chutney and cucumber cut the pork’s richness with of-the-moment summer flavors.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Among the starters, the butter-braised Maine lobster and seared foie gras were most impressive. Both were decadent and rich in different ways, and I always appreciate foie gras more in its original lobe form rather than ground into a pate.
Harrison worked his magic on another humble cut for an entrée of slow-cooked Berkshire pork over creamed corn with chipotle jus, more peaches and banana peppers. The dish sounds almost like it could be cafeteria food, but the intensely pleasurable experience of eating it instantly wipes away that thought. The tender, savory pork paired beautifully with the slightly crisp, creamy corn and batons of sweet peaches.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
If Aria is missing anything, it’s a few more dishes that really knock your socks off with surprise and delight. Harrison is one of those creative talents who has a sixth sense for flavor combinations that appear unusual but somehow taste inevitable.
If Aria truly can tap into his potential, the restaurant could ascend to an even higher echelon and cement itself as one of the best in the country, not just in Atlanta.
Credit: Arvin Temkar
Credit: Arvin Temkar
ARIA
3 out of 4 stars (excellent)
Food: modern American with European influences
Service: exceptional
Noise level: moderate, occasionally verges on loud
Recommended dishes: bread service, Kentucky rose cheese, crisped Berkshire pork belly, ruby red and golden beets, heirloom tomatoes, spinach soup, Clem’s carrots, seared foie gras, warm butter-braised Maine lobster, herb-crusted lemon sole, seared sea scallops, slow-cooked Berkshire pork, black truffle whipped potatoes
Vegetarian dishes: bread service, chickpea fritters, Castelvetrano olives, Kentucky rose cheese, ruby red and golden beets, romaine and hanson lettuce salad, spinach soup, Clem’s carrots, black truffle whipped potatoes, charred broccoli, ratatouille
Alcohol: full bar with a fabulous wine selection
Price range: $75-$100 per person, excluding drinks
Hours: 5:30-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 5:30-10 p.m. Fridays, 5:30-9:30 p.m. Saturdays
Accessibility: entrance accessible via ramp, ADA-compliant restrooms; reservations recommended for accommodations
Parking: valet, paid street
Nearest MARTA station: about 1 mile from Buckhead, Lenox stations
Reservations: yes, via Resy or phone
Outdoor dining: no
Takeout: yes, orders taken by phone
Address, phone: 490 E. Paces Ferry Road NE, Atlanta. 404-233-7673
Website: aria-atl.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
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