Went to the Aria last night prior to a show in town and really wasn't very impressed. I ordered the Seafood Linguine in Pesto. My order came with one very fishy tasting mussel, two scallops , two or three prawns and some bits of fish. The dish was rather tasteless and all in all somewhat ho hum. Our meal came with a very small basket of bread that was nothing to rave about, although it was accompanied by a olive/tuna spread that was quite nice. I was dining with two other friends who ordered the same thing and no one commented that it was a great meal. Service was friendly enough and quick off the start, however later in the meal our server was a little hard to find and when I asked for more bread it took longer than I think it should have. With a bottle of $50.00 wine, no appetizers or dessert and just one of us ordering coffee the bill came to $139.00 which I thought was a little much for what we got. No raves and won't be rushing back to dine here anytime soon.

I went to Aria on a business lunch and was pleasantly surprised. The waiter was attentive without being annoying and the food was outstanding. I ordered a salad and the special of the day - smoked salmon and morel mushroom risotto with asparagus. It was cooked to perfection and the flavour was amazing. The portions were much bigger than I expected for lunch. My caesar salad was huge! Good thing I was really hungry or I wouldn't have been able to finish both dishes.

I thought the value was on par for not only what you get (food quality and portion size) but also for the neighbourhood. I've had more expensive meals that weren't really worth it, but at Aria I thought it was a pretty good value. My associate and I shared the bread with olive tapenade, then each had a salad to start (hers with prawns added), an entrée and a glass of wine and the bill was about $60.

I will definitely go back, and now that I know there is an entertainment coupon, it will be an even better deal.

I was absolutely disapointed in my meal. I ordered Ahi tuna, medium rare. It was pretty much completely cooked. It didn't have the 'ahi tuna texture' that I loved. If you want good ahi tuna, go to Diva at the Met, as the prices are similar.

My ahi tuna meal included about five strands of string peas, 4 small potato nuggets. and three small chunks of ahi tuna, the size of about 3 toonies each. This was, by the way, for over $35.

Ambiance was not good. The place is simply too open to create that 'cozy' feeling.

Service was the only saving grace. The servers were attentive, polite, and genuinely nice.

I was certainly glad to see that Aria was on OpenTable as it is harder to get a reservation on 'theatre night' in there than any where else in the city. I have dined in Aria on busy evenings before, but this instance was probably the best experience we have had there.
We made our reservations for 6:30pm. When we arrived, a pleasant young lady was there to greet us and made us feel expected. Even though the restaurant was bursting at capacity, we were placed at a very nice, private table on the restaurant side of this boutique outlet.
Our server, (Vanessa I believe), was gracious, casual, but not to a point that she made us feel like we were at a Denny's. She made us feel respected, but at ease, (like I expect all diners would like to feel).
The menu is limited, but not without variety. The best deal I found was the Menu 39. 3 courses for $39...best deal in town. My choices were Black Cod with Horseradish Vinairgrette to begin, Roasted Lamb Sirloin, Pomegranate Jus and Beet Spaetzle for the main course and, the piece de resistance, the Chocolate and Caramel Bomb with Eggnog Ice Cream...delicious! They should serve that first!
My wife began with the Mussels in pear-thyme broth and finished with the Mushroom Gnudi, that they hand-make at the hotel. The gnudi was cooked perfectly as, anyone who has had this type of pasta before, can get either chewy or rock hard.
Even though they were busy, the service was attentive and the wine flowing. The wine list is ambitious, but endeavouring to mature as they do try to offer something different than the norm.
I can't wait to try Aria again soon.

I used to go here for the breakfast buffets a fair bit when living downtown, I loved the variety of food I got and how helpful the staff was. Although I visit far less now I still enjoy it, although I feel as though I am getting less for my buck than before...but that could just be because my buck needs to go further these days! Overall a good bet. A nice place to relax on a Sunday morning.

For a Westin Hotel, the Aria restaurant was a huge disappointment. A cute and cozy venue overlooking the library turned out to be a culinary fiasco. We decided to split their offering of a two-course meal for $31. Big mistake! Cobb salad so tiny it would not feed a starving sparrow. Therefore we had to order another salmon from the regular menu. Both salmon came raw and had to be sent back, obviously a health issue, but waiter insisted that's the way they served it. $80 for 2 drinks and a substandard meal. Little waitress didn't refill water glasses, offer to remake the salad, didn't offer more lavosh. She spent so much time running around offering fresh ground pepper that she wasn't available much of the time. Our advice: go somewhere else. White Spot is better value and far tastier.

My daughter & I had a pre theatre at Aria. The service was very good, they were aware that we had a limited amount of time and we enjoyed our evening very much. The appetizers were superb, we had the prawn & tuna tower and the grilled camembert would highly recommend either. The entrees were good not outstanding the chicken was on the dry side, I will try a different entree next time, the scallops were also good but not great. It's very small so if you are planning to go before the theatre make a reservation.
We were also able to park our car right at the hotel and the theatre was just a few steps away.
Excellent service and certainly worth another visit.

Myself and my sig. other came here to celebrate an anniversary. It was quite empty around 8:30pm, which was nice.

FOOD- we both ordered steaks (10 oz) and frites ($34), I asked for well done, but it still had a red center, however to my surprise it was quite good.
The fries were soggy and tasted like white spot fries, so nothing great there.

SERVICE- was excellent, waitress was kind, attentive, and not annoying, no compliants

VALUE- the reason I give it a three is because without the entertaniment coupon our bill would have been at least $80, and soggy fries and steak are not worth that much, but with the 2 for1 coupon it was worth it.

AMBIANCE- Aria is beautiful inside, it is small but cozy and dimly lit. The furniture is not outdated and they have nice black granite countertops. The view looks down on Robson and Homer if you have a window seat.

OVERALL- great service and nice ambiance, but the menu price for the food is just not worth it, also no complimentary bread, but the bread basket is only $3 anyways. I would return only with the entertainment card.

AMBIANCE

My boyfriend and I went Christmas dinner last night. It was very quiet and the place looked very nice. I ordered the sable fish and he ordered the eggplant scallopino -- both were so small in portion and tasted just ok. Mine was very bland and there seemed to be no seasoning at all other than just the olive oil and the black pepper that I asked for. The salmon was good and juicy. The eggplant scallopino was more tasty but too much cream cheese. Service was quick and attentive so no complaint. While we were waiting they served us cold and hard bread with butter and humus spread (tasted good) but the bread was a disaster (I was expecting some warm and fresh bread). I had to eat the bread anyway 'cause my meal was so small and I was still starved after dinner. If without the entertainment coupon, it would cost us almost $100 with 2 entree and 2 glasses of wine (the 2nd cheapest on the list). With the money that we paid and still left with an almost-empty stomach, I WON'T GO BACK TO THIS PLACE!!!!

Fantastic food - if you like elegant plates, great service, creative tastes. Food is sophisticated, and simply tasty. We went several times making it a point to eat something different every time, and we weren't disappointed. Great bread with interesting spreads to keep you from starving while you wait for the meal to arrive.

And then - from steak, fish, even mushroom ravioli (not your supermarket frozen kind!) everything was delicious, and don't forget the desserts - they are to die for.

We compared it to Sandbar, where to food is great but you need to yell to hear your companions - Aria is a an elegant surrounding for people who don't need to hide in a crowd to feel comfortable.

However, we have made a mistake of booking the same restaurant for a party of 20 (wedding anniversary). The individual attention to the dishes was gone, I guess the chef cannot concentrate on so many dishes at once?

If you are looking for pre-theatre dinner, or quiet evening with your friends (make sure you don't have more than 4 people, that spells trouble), it is a great place to go.