Avo — Restaurant in New Orleans

As locals, we had been hearing rave reviews about Avo from our neighbors for weeks. Having lived in Italy for years, I often find American Italian food disappointing. However, we decided to give Alo a try with a late reservation at 8:45 PM. I can't express how amazing the experience was. Our waitress, Mel, was incredibly kind and attentive, ensuring we never felt rushed. Every dish arrived freshly cooked and promptly.

The Japanese wagyu was the best I've had since living in Japan. The meatballs were tender and perfectly seasoned, and the green beans were crunchy and moist. The wine selection was incredible, and we ended up buying a bottle. The burrata was full of fresh cheese, and the watermelon was a refreshing surprise—crisp and delicious.

The main attraction for me was the lasagna. I haven't ordered lasagna since living in Bologna, and I wasn't expecting the flavorful sauce, fresh noodles, and short rib layered in between. When Mel arrived with a small, extremely hot personal cast iron dish, my heart dropped. A lasagna without a mountain of oily cheese is rare. I left full, happy, and in complete bliss.

This place deserves all the stars and awards. I will be back every week for dinner. When I learned that the owner's family is from Sicily, I wasn't shocked. The flavors, attention to detail in every course, and the loving staff made me feel like I was back home in Sorrento. A day later, and I'm still in awe. As an international foodie, I must say—this is THE best restaurant...

Went into Avo with pretty high expectations and was a little let down. The ambiance was lovely and the serving staff was attentive and polite. At the end of the day, though, you go to a restaurant for the food and I feel like it really let me down. The bag of focaccia that they start you off with was absolutely delicious. We ordered the grilled octopus and haloumi with watermelon to start. The grilled octopus was cooked well, very tender but the sauce they put with it was way too sweet and had no kick from the Calabrian chiles. The haloumi was delicious and the warm sweet watermelon beneath it was a welcome contrast to the hot salty cheese, maybe the best dish we ordered. For entrees, we got the lasagna and pork ragu cannelloni. Both dishes came out roaring hot, with untouchable plates. It felt like they might have been microwaved and then placed under the salamander to finish, but I might be wrong. The pasta on the cannelloni did not taste fully cooked and was too thick, crispy and crunchy. The sauce on the top of the lasagna was lukewarm compared to the lava inside. It was all ok, but not great and for the price tag of $100 for two people, I expect great.

I heard some great things about this place, so I may give them another shot, but for now I stick with a score as mediocre as...

We were very excited to visit this restaurant after finding it on a top NOLA brunch list, but it didn't live up to the hype. The atmosphere and staff were nice, but the food was hit or miss or inedible. We dined for Sunday Brunch and our beverages (Spicy Bloodys & Negroni) were both very good. As appetizers, we had the pesto deviled eggs w/caviar that were a great concept, but had too firm of a filling texture and had obviously dried out in a refrigerator for at least a couple of days as the edges of the filling were dried and discolored. The other appetizer we had was the meatballs and polenta that was by far the tastiest part of the meal. If you do visit, I recommend these as a must. For our main dishes, we had the Eggs in a Hole in Purgatory that was good but still standard Italian fare flavors and the Spaghetti Alla Carbonera that was way OVER SALTED and completely inedible. The panchetta in the dish and the grated cheese topping were not even contributing factors to the saltiness. When the waiter returned finally, we gave him the feedback that perhaps the cook forgot he already salted the pasta and salted it twice (or more) and the manager removed the dish from our bill but did not visit the table. Hopefully this was a one-off mistake and they know now, but we will not...