Mileta — Restaurant in Lexington

THE happening joint at Fayette Mall. When you're from out of state you don't want to dine a restaurant you can go out to in your own home town. So when it came between Cheesecake Factory to the left and Mileta on the right coming out the door?...please, the choice was clear.

Now obviously food is important at a restaurant, but let's talk about the service first at Mileta. The host was able to get me seated on a very busy night without a reservation. That doesn't happen very often at fine establishments and was very much appreciated. My server Travis was able to navigate me through the menu which although was clearly Italian in style was very eclectic. Travis was also keen to recommend a great Lexington ale to a novice bourbon connoisseur and now because of that I consider Kentucky Bourbon Barrel ale among my favorite beers. These two things demonstrate to me that Mileta puts great importance in people--not just the customers they serve., but the quality of the people they employ.

Alright, let's talk food, which as I mentioned earlier was quite diverse. Their crispy potato appetizer is served with a chive cream spread and caviar. Potatoes and caviar--I'll let that sink in. Pasta was on my appetite that night and I love mushrooms so Travis recommended the radiatori in a red wine mushroom ragu with black truffle pate. At first I was worried that the crispy potato and red wine with mushrooms wouldn't pair well. But when you factor in the caviar and ale--nothing about my meal really made sense. And yet there's an order to entropy at Mileta. My dinner was both deliciously exquisite and deceptively simple: I had a beer with potatoes and pasta wrapped in literal caviar sophistication. Magnifico!

I alluded to being from out of state and this was my first meal alone as part of a very crowded business trip. So I appreciated the anonymity of Mileta's bustling dining area full of happy patrons, all laughing and conversing over ambient rock music made popular during my era. All in all a highly satisfying night! I can't wait to bring my wife here next time we're...

Not one to leave reviews typically, but this place deserves to know what they competing with in town. Up top, one of the most beautiful restaurants. I love everything about what they’ve done with the location. But unfortunately that will not be what you remember. I went with an a party of 8 on a Friday night. We were given a run down of typically ppl get apps to share, everyone get a pasta, and then couples split a main. Good thing she could speak over the very noticeable din of the restaurant, don’t be surprised if you find yourself speaking louder across the table.

The apps were the best part of the menu. Mussels seemed to be the only one worth the price for quality and quantity. Pasta comes, 2 folks don’t get what they ordered as in not brought to them. One couple spoke up, the other just moved on as they were not charged for the missing pasta. Only those 4 (2 couples) got entrees. So can’t comment directly, both called them mid. The biggest highlight and agreement among us was SALTY. Why was everything salt heavy??? Even the ice cream had a heavy dose of salt heavy Caramel sauce. One last note, one of friends actually decided not to join us because of the limited pasta & main selections. He’s dairy free so he didn’t feel like spending that money for an even more limited menu than it already was.

Please know all of this is keeping in mind the price. The food was all ok and a different variety than some Italian or fusion places, but not enough for this group to travel from our part of lex to the mall. If the food was better, the prices would make more sense. My suggestion for folks wanting to explore this restaurant, just go for a trial and get a couple apps and a couple cocktails (not our favorites at all compared to other restaurants of similar price point). There are more shareable options than mains. Even their bar snacks though are $10 for nuts and other munchies, in Italy these would be free with...

Our visit is best summarized as very underwhelming. Dined on Friday 11-08-24. I believe the mood was set when we arrived 5 minutes before our 8:15 reservations and we were told our table was, "occupied by others still enjoying their experience". We were not alone, as 3 other couples were also in the same situation. After a 20 min wait we were finally seated. We were told, "sorry" by a few staff, but the manager never came and apologized and I was surprised by being a new restaurant they did not offer a complimentary appetizer or dessert to make up for the situation.

The decor is very pretty, but it was also loud with the music they were playing, my wife and I both found it too loud for the setting. The menu was small, which I am perfectly ok with and I usually prefer, but the lack of some traditional italian options and very few Italian wines were disappointing .

For dinner, my wife ordered the Halibut and it was good. I ordered the Fiori (Ricotta and lemon) pasta and it was disappointing. The lemon was very overpowering and made the dish extremely tart instead of refreshing. We peaked at the dessert menu, but having been underwhelmed so far, we passed. I was also surprised the dessert menu did not include a take on tiramisu or a connolo.

In the hours following my wife and I both had diarrhea which we believed was caused by the meal, as it was the only meal we had both shared the past day. I wanted to email a review to the manager to find out if others had similar complaints, but there is no email contact listed on their website.

I can not recommend Mileta and we will not be going back. Having been to Italy multiple times, I can appreciate hand made fresh pasta, but if you are looking for good Italian, this is not the place to go. We both felt it was overpriced given the quality, portions, and selections, and the lack of hospitality...