Alara — Restaurant in Cincinnati

Wow! I am completely speechless.

For my wedding anniversary every year my husband and I book a chef’s table. We always choose something new and adventurous. Alara checked all of the boxes. Setting up the chefs table was easy and quick.

First off, the food. I have lived in and out of the United States throughout my life and have enjoyed my share of fabulous food. My husband and I also enjoy cooking and creating meals that we love. Alara first entices you with the photos of their food. That is what gets you in the door. Once there, your first “bite” is with the presentation. That presentation is clean and crisp. Your second bite gives your palette a taste just as clean and crisp. The flavors continue to meld and give you a culinary experience that drives you to have more without the room for more. We enjoyed the Cold Seafood platter, the Lamb, Beef Tip and Shiitake Mushroom Pappardelle, and the Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash. The seafood platter had a salmon poke so fresh and vibrant that I thought I was right at the source eating as the fish is caught. The lamb was a perfect medium rare with three sauces. I honestly couldn’t pick one to favor. Brussels are my jam. I love them in any way. My husband doesn’t feel the same, however, he loved these ones. The pasta dish was homey and comforting. By the end, we were stuffed and completely happy. But of course at that point I had seen every dish on the menu come out of the kitchen so dessert was not a question. We ordered the Apples and Cream and it did not disappoint. Nothing was left on our plates by the end because everything was fabulous!

Second, the service. As soon as we walked into Alara we were greeted with a friendly smile and warm conversation. The hostess pointed us to an incredibly clean bathroom after taking our coats. From there we were escorted to our chefs table. Our server, Kristina, gave us the right amount of assistance while understand we were there to celebrate and converse. She always made sure we had water without interrupting conversation. She was quick without rushing and was curious about our lives. Her knowledge of the menu and what we were looking for implied a skill that cannot be taught. She read us, she knew us, and she was there to ensure this was the best experience it could be.

Third and most important, the experience. The experience was second to none. I was impressed by the little touches that made all of the difference from the small talk with the head chef to the congratulations from staff throughout our meal. I have done several chefs tables and I have menus from several restaurants but Kristina made sure this menu was special. After the meal, she asked if I wanted the menu. I hesitated because I didn’t want to admit the meal was over. She patiently waited for a response and finally my husband responded with a yes. She requested I give it to her reassuring me she would be right back. When she came back with the check, she handed me back the menu. To my surprise and utter delight, she wrote, “Happy 20th Anniversary, Love Kristina” and several staff signed it. I tried to not cry but I couldn’t believe how thoughtful and magic the night had been. Much more than I had planned or...

We had very high expectations that were not met. I took my wife here, along with her mom, for my wife's 40th birthday. The quality and taste of the food was extremely underwhelming for the prices being charged. If the prices were much lower, I'd give this place more stars, because the value proposition just isn't an equal exchange.

We had the following: Korean Hotdogs: It tasted like a regular all-beef hot dog with too much wasabi. You're blowing your nose after. Spinach & Arugula Salad (Shared version): This was actually the best item we had because it was simple and they used fresh ingredients. Why is a side salad we paid $17 for the best thing we got from the menu? Lobster Carbonara: This costs $56. It had zero flavor. It just tasted like Lobster water with frozen peas & corn. Something you'd buy in the frozen isle at a grocery store. Peas and sweet corn in this dish actually make the dish feel cheap as you're eating it. It wasn't seasoned at all. We're paying almost $60 for what should be an impressive main course with a complex flavor profile, and it had extremely weak flavors and cheap ingredients. The "Incorporating" of the egg was also weird to witness the waitress do. It didn't add, only subtracted from the experience. Garlic Shrimp Spaghetti: There's no way that the chefs actually tasted this while cooking the base for it. The amount of salt, sodium, or soy sauce used overwhelmed the sauce. My wife and her mom are turkish and LOVE salty dishes. This overwhelmed them. We force fed ourselves about half of it. Again paying $35 for this seemed insane based on the quality of the taste. Banana Bliss: They comped this for my wife's birthday. This was okay. The white chocolate surrounding the banana / vanilla mouse spoiled the quality of the mouse. Pinot Grigio House White Wine: This was worse than the $5 per bottle Kirkland brand at costco we buy.

I think the ambiance of this place is attempting to give you the illusion that the food is of "fine dining" caliber. When in reality the dishes we had just weren't at that level. Paying $200 for the meal (we would have paid closer to $300 for 3 people had we not shared the dishes) felt like a massive rip off when we chose to try this place over going to our favorite restaurants like Kitchen Social or Northstar Cafe to get something of higher quality for $15 - $20 per person versus $75 - $100 per person.

Other things, the waitress forgot it was my wife's birthday and then thought it was her mom's. They only brought out one spoon for the dessert, which was awkward cause she didn't return for us to ask for more spoons so we just shared a spoon.

I don't make a ton of money, so saving for this and spending that much on a dinner that we didn't enjoy felt really bad.

We shared the feedback about the food with the waitress as we left. So hopefully they'll take steps to fix the value proposition one way or another.

I wouldn't recommend spending your money here in...

I visited Alara this past Saturday evening for dinner. We went there because they have many gluten-free options. It was very trendy with beautiful decor and music that seemed to cater to a younger crowd. (That isn't me and I saw plenty of people that were in the 40-50 age range.) Our server, Grace, was extremely pleasant, knowledgeable, and attentive. She was very nice to talk with, and she made our dining experience perfect. I will request her the next time we go, and only hope she is there when we do. For cocktails, my wife had a Cucumber Collins and I had a Mi Amaro. Very different drinks and both were excellent. The CC was refreshing and a little bubbly. The MA was just slightly oaky and just the kind of drink I like. It reminded me of whiskey even though it was good anejo tequila. My wife had a second of her drink and if I wasn't driving I would have had another of mine - which was strong the way a good drink should be. Grace recommended the H.O.P. Cakes and the way she described them made us give them a whirl - she said they tasted like crab cakes. They are flash-fried heart of palm cakes, citrus frisée salad, avocado aioli, and five spice vinaigrette. Holy cow they were excellent. I'll get them again without hesitation when I return. We skipped salads because we were getting a lot of food, but the Caesar was highly recommended. We ordered the Lobster Mac & Cheese - which is radiatori pasta, cheddar cheese sauce, and parmesan bread crumbs (no chives on ours). The pasta was good for GF, but the star of that dish was the lobster. There was a lot of it swimming in the creamy and slightly spicy cheese sauce. My wife had the Blackened Snapper which was creole cream sauce, roasted Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and bacon, topped with a fresh shrimp salad. The creole sauce was really tasty with a creamy roasted red pepper taste. The snapper was fantastic. I had the Seared Sea Scallops, which sat on top of parmesan risotto, with caramelized fennel & roasted shiitake mushrooms, crispy prosciutto, candied carrot ribbons, and micro arugula. I added some Jumbo Shrimp Scampi that we shared. If you like scallops - this right here is calling your name! The scallops were cooked perfectly with an awesome sear. The mushrooms were extremely mild and a great compliment to the creamy risotto. The prosciutto and carrots were also great in this dish. The shrimp scampi were great! I usually like to try different things but I'd be challenged not to get this the next time I visit. We took a couple desserts to go - the Banana Bliss and Chocolate Espresso Torte. Both were great but I imagine they'd be even better served there with warm sauces. This was an excellent dining experience all around, and I eagerly look forward...