Ario — Restaurant in Marco Island

I never write reviews however I felt it was necessary in this particular experience with Ario. If I could give them zero stars I would.

I made reservations weeks ahead stating it was a birthday celebration. I asked for reserved seats at the Granite bar in which I was informed they don't take reservations, it's first come first serve. So reservations were made at a table inside. When we arrived, I noticed reserved signs on the Granite bar. I asked the hostess and she stated the customers reserved the seats. I informed her that I was told on the phone that you could not reserve seats at the granite bar. She stated that I received the incorrect information. That was the beginning of a miserable evening!!

We were seated inside where it was incredibly cold! My parents in there mid 80's were very uncomfortable so they suggested we sit outside on the patio. Sounded great, however they forgot to mention that there was a wedding reception going on outside right off the patio. We experienced blasting DJ music and loud partying! We couldn't hear each other to talk at our table.

The service was terrible! It took forever to have a server initially come to our table. They forgot appetizers that were ordered. My father is a steak lover and Ario is supposedly known for there aged and tender meats. His steak was tough (over $55.00 just for the steak) and other meals were mediocre.. Small portions, highly priced and very over rated. They also forgot it was a birthday celebration which we stated making the reservation and at the time of arrival.

We noticed the manager visiting several tables apologizing for angered customer complaints. We obviously weren't the only ones not happy. It was a nightmare! Don't waste your time or hard earned money at Ario!! It's definitely not worth it!!...

Myself and my girlfriend met Lexie at the hotel bar, and she let us know that she was a waitress at Ario (We were staying a few buildings down). We got to talking and found that they offered a chefs tasting menu that we might be interested in. When we were getting ready to head to the restaurant, we realized that the other two in our group were not going to be joining us. We got to the restaurant, we told them that we had changed our minds and would like to order from the menu instead. They were more than willing to accommodate us as we requested, and couldn't have been nicer about it.

When we sat down, we ordered a reasonably priced bottle of red, and the sea scallops as an appetizer. We were also greeted by the chef, and he gave us another small appetizer as well. The scallops were cooked perfectly, and we couldn't have been happier with them. Which brings us to our main course. I ordered the dry aged Ribeye with the truffle butter, and my girlfriend ordered the butter poached lobster. We also ordered the creamy spinach and the lobster mac and cheese as our sides. The food was phenomenal. Everything came out to us as ordered, and the staff was knowledgeable on everything from the wine and cocktails all the way through to the dessert. We were even lucky enough to be taken to and shown the dry aging room (If you get a chance to see it, I would highly recommend that you take advantage of it).

All in all this was a 5 star experience. The food was great, Lexie was understanding and extremely knowledgeable, and the location is perfect for a sunset walk on the beach afterwards. If you are in the area, and are looking for a higher end meal, this should be...

I recently visited Ario at JW Marco Island, located near the beach, and I felt compelled to share my experience.

Firstly, the dress code seemed peculiar. While they insisted that men wear collar shirts, they allowed Crocs and open-toe sandals. Considering the proximity to the beach, one would expect the establishment to be more accommodating to the casual beach attire. My husband had to be provided with a ' grey dress shirt' to be able to dine in. We have been to many expensive and better culinary experiences than this in Miami, etc., and this has never happened. We felt off already with this starting the night.

Our experience with the service was equally puzzling. Our waitress was notably intrusive. While I appreciate attentive service, her repeated interruptions hindered our private dinner moments. My son was particularly taken aback by the barrage of questions directed at him, making him visibly uncomfortable.

As for the drinks, we ordered two old-fashioned cocktails, but there was no follow-up from our waitress to see if we would like another round.

On to the most critical part: the food. For the price point, I was expecting an exceptional culinary experience. However, the dishes we ordered were underwhelming. The octopus was dry and served in a smaller portion than expected, the pasta was bland, and the ribeye, though decent, didn't justify its cost.

Based on our experience, I don't recommend Ario at all. We left feeling that there were better dining options in the area that we could...