Ariano

This place is fantastic! Get the Zia Rosa to start off its amazing! I have yet to find something on the menu that I don’t love!

We just ordered drinks and appetizers here. We got red wine and the special, ARANCINI ALLA PALERMITANA. Much happiness ensued, and we look forward to trying out the full dinner menu.

We’ve been coming to Ariano for a couple of years now, and unfortunately, the quality of our experience has lessened with each visit.

You know, it kind of hurts me to have to give this joint 2 stars. It really does. It must be done, though.
Let’s start with the good:
1. They take reservations!
2. They will seat you even if your full party hasn’t arrived!
3. The place looks very pretty, the décor is great, and I can imagine it being super cool in the summertime when they can open the windows/​doors.
4. The location is perfect! They’re right across from the free parking lot.
My primary, overarching complaint with this place was the prices. Basically every single thing is overpriced. The drinks, the apps, the entrees, the desserts. Everything was overpriced by about 2 to 5 dollars. Our meal came out to over $ 260.00 for five people (before tip). I didn’t even order an entrée, and two people only got pizzas. I really felt like I was being taken advantage of when the check came, as nothing that any of us had to eat was *that* great. As a matter of fact, all of us said we wouldn’t go back for the food.
Another thing I hated was that the dessert options are STRICTLY gelato. I mean, I love me some gelato, but why is it THE ONLY THING you can get here? And at like $ 7.00 for one order, it doesn’t come cheap.
The other thing I didn’t like was that the waiters/​waitresses seemed to be losing their minds and making side comments to one another. It happened at least twice that I saw, and I just thought it was unprofessional.
I guess you can boil my gripe down to this: for a place that is charging seriously premium prices, I expect more bang for my buck. I expect DELICIOUS, mouth-​watering food, I expect my table to be bussed after every course, and I expect that the waiters/​waitresses not be talking about their co-​workers or the guests to one another.
I’m afraid I won’t be back here; it just isn’t worth the cost.

We came in for dinner loving its sister restaurant Fellini’s. The Ariano Irpino was uneventful, loaded with previously frozen vegetables. I ordered the Esperanza, which was eggplant of unknown providence over what was distinctly a bed of minute rice. I was highly dissatisfied with a meal that had so much promise. I will continue to dine at Fellini’s, but this outing was my first and final at its otherwise orphaned sister.

Nice atmosphere, service was good and the food was good I had a chicken and shrimp Cesar that I enjoyed.

4 stars. Waitstaff is competent. Food came out slowly but that was ok since we had time to chat. Eggplant dish tasted great with good texture. Upstairs seating was perfect for us. Ground level was packed with patrons and noisy. Not what we were looking for that evening. Upscale pizzeria with a broad menu which happens to include pizza.

PART 1 of my Saturday bang-​bang.
I woke up this past Saturday, made some coffee and sat outside. The sun was shinning, the birds were chirping and there was absolutely no humidity in the air. I could not waste such a perfect day like this by sitting around, it needed to be special. In all of my glutinous glory, I decided that a bang-​bang in Media would be perfect.
What is a bang-​bang?
A bang-​bang is when you go to a restaurant and eat a full meal. Immediately after you’re done, you walk out the door and go to your next destination, followed by… you guessed it! Another full meal. Bang-bang’s are best experienced with 2 totally different types of foods.
Italian: Chinese
Indian: Sushi
The possibilities are endless… I contacted a friend who’s appetite is just as ravenous as mine and we were off.
As we were doing our menu window shopping throughout media, Ariano’s really grabbed my eye. I must have walked by this place a dozen times and never paid it any mind. The menu is classic Italian but also has some dishes that you don’t see very often. We agreed that this will be our first destination and we were seated in their outside, upstairs section. What an amazing view! If you decide to give this place a try and the weather permits, get the outside eating.
Down to business. For some reason I am unable to find the exact name of the dish I had from their online menu, which leads me to believe that it was fairly new possibly? It was a bed of risotto with their amazing home-​made tomato sauce, light oil, accompanied with little neck clams, shrimp, mussels and baby scallops. Wow! I could not believe how fresh the sea-​food was. Another great thing was that this meal was fairly affordable and they did not skimp out on the seafood ingredients. The only aspect of the meal I would change is less butter in the risotto. This by no means had a negative effect on the meal, it was more of just a personal preference.
This is one of those places where you cannot wait to really explore their menu. I like to think I may have played it a little safe with a dish like this but I am looking forward to trying some of their more authentic Italian dishes.
PART 2 of the bang-​bang, See «Dominic’s Hand Carved Roast Beef and Roast Pork».

Trying new places in Media is a fun habit of mine, and learning to find new, interesting ways they bring you in is always fun. I can say that Ariano was a completely unexpected, yet completely wonderful experience, and I will be back soon to partake in some of their great options going forward.
Atmosphere — Welcome to a distressed Italian restaurant, with both outdoor upstairs dining and lower level, people watching dining. The gentle sounds of a live acoustic guitar and aroma of warm baked pizza crust fills the air. Two things stand out when you first walk in: The large, extremely delicious looking gelato case with house made gelato, and a cozy, but well stocked bar. Nice greeting from our waitress as we entered.
Waitstaff — Our waitress did a good job of bringing out food, and working with runners to make sure our water glasses did not run out. She also recommended some of the specials (more on that later), as well as gave some personal recommendations of entrees to eat during our meal.
Food — We happened to dine here on a Monday, which if you’ve never been, is known as ‘Mexican Monday’. I was very confused because this is an Italian restaurant, but the waitress assured me that the head chef knew how to make this food well. We started with some chips/​salsa, & guacamole. it’s amazing that with another Mexican place across the street and a few blocks up on State, that this Italian restaurant has the best in Media. Chunky, and simple, my diners really enjoyed the flavor and texture. So we expanded, and went with a steak quesadilla, mahi-​mahi tacos, and a pizza to boot. While the pizza was liked by my other diners, it was not a personal favorite. What I did enjoy very much was the consistency and flavor of the other dishes. Tacos were perfect. It’s my standard order when I try a new place, and between the thick fish and quality sides, these were done right. Add on the great steak quesadilla, and it was an unexpected delicious surprise night.
Intangibles — Meal was not expensive at all. Dining for 3 before tip was less then $ 70! although we only had one diner get bar service. Right across the street from Media parking (which is free after 6pm) was nice for distance. They may move the gelato stand next door, as construction was going on what appears to be a smaller gelato shop so the restaurant can expand. We did not have any dessert on this meal, but will be back to try in the future.
Overall — Good on price, location, and flavor. Was pleasantly surprised with Ariano’s Mexican food. I’ll have to update my review in the future if we go again for pizza, but I’m sure a different pie would have a better result. Don’t forget live music some nights as well, so a great spot to get to as we move into the new season. Just another reason to love living near Media to try all these good spots.

Came here for dining under the stars as recommended by friends. We didnt make reservations so we had about an hour wait. We didn’t mind because we hit up another bar beforehand. We then went to the bar since a table wasnt ready. The bar has its’ own area. It was nice but nothing impressive. I got the Mackenzie black cherry cider, a pretty girlie drink that was just what i needed at the time.
As appetizers, we shared the bang bang shrimp and baselice. The shrimp was pretty bangin! Im not a shrimp person but I was pleasantly surprised. It was breaded amd crispy but the sipping sauce just topped it off. The other app was clams inside a pizza bowl crust– also pretty good esp since the sauce was PURE BUTTER! We ended up dipping the rest of the bread bowl into the sauce. Yum! We shared the zio luciano and zio nicola, both of which were pizzas. They have a large pizza selection. The pizza was quite good, and I really liked the crust.
We obviously were seated outside. The atmosphere was great– live music right next to us and happy people all around. The bar was kinda noisy though (however it is dining under the stars week/​month!!!). The service wasn’t bad. I may come back again if I’m in media and craving pizza.

The appetizer was innovative and delicious (see photo) the beef tips and risotto cooked to perfection. Add to a wonderful meal the atmosphere of the Wednesday dining under the stars it made for a perfect date night!

We came here for dinner expecting a BYO (as advertised on their website) but when we arrived it was written that it is only BYO on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays and it was a Saturday. We considered canceling out reservation to go elsewhere and when we notified (who I assume is) the owner that we were canceling and he asked why, we politely explained we were expecting a BYO and would come back another night. He promptly asked us to stay and said he would allow us to bring our wine and that «I don’t want to lose a first time costumer.»
That started me off in a positive direction for sure. Our food was good, we got the artichoke appetizer — which was heavy but amazing. We also got the tuna which was delicious and the filet minion — which was good but not great.
For dessert we ordered two of the gelato liqueur pairings which were delicious, although it’s probably hard to mess up, they have definitely come up with some great matches.
Overall it was a great experience, the service was amazing and the owner was gracious and welcoming. I will definitely be back, in large part for their hospitality!

This place is packed on the weekends and don’t even think about trying to get a table without a reservation during Dining Under the Stars. Entrees can be a little pricey but this is a great spot for date night in the spring and summer. Get a seat upstairs where you can enjoy the artwork on the ceiling and the breeze from the open windows.
They have a bar but offer BYOB on certain nights. Can’t go wrong with the personal size brick oven pizzas (but beware they can be burnt on the bottom sometimes) or one of their daily specials. They have a decent selection of gelato for dessert as well.
From my understanding, Ariano is owned by the same people as Fellini’s.

Came in for dinner with two friends 25 mins before closing and they were super nice about it. Waiter and other staff member made great food suggestions. Service was quick and attentive. Food was delicious. Would definitely recommend and will return. Prices for pizza aren’t bad. Entrees and appetizers are on the more expensive side but not terrible.

I wish this was better. I was psyched on eating one of their many pizza’s, since I was told they have great pizza. Upon entering and heading up to the second floor we were created with an odd fishy smell that was quite disturbing but I really wanted pizza. Yes it’s made differently then other pizzas around, however their descriptions do not match the actual pizzas. The one pizza we ordered came out entirely wrong. Another, a white pizza, came out with cold ricotta on top, no garlic sauce base or layer of cheese directly on the crust like NORMAL white pizzas out there. It was really dry and other then the sausage it was disappointing. I also ordered a mojito and it was served in a warm glass. Killed it right away for me. Three pizza and two drinks for $ 68… Not worth it. Simple as that, pretty disappointed.
By the way no soap in the bathroom I was in, so we know the employees can’t wash their hands before returning to work. GROSS!

Stopped in for a Friday night meal with the boss about 5:30. Didn’t have reservations but they weren’t crowded yet. Manager? took us to the second floor– nice place overall.
ATMOSPHERE: The place is very nice and the second floor has incredible views of the town. Can get crowded and be close quarters but we didn’t experience that phenomenon. Very upscale place.
FOOD: Food was good but there weren’t any pasta dishes. The owner is the same as Fellini Café around the corner and as I understand the idea behind it… CAN A MAN GET SOME SPAGHETTI ATLEAST?! I ordered the chicken caprese. (¹⁰⁄₁₀) and the boss ordered the clams. Snapper thing. (⁸⁄₁₀)
COST: Higher end but worth it.
OVERALL: This place was good but I think the menu can be expanded a bit. I would definitely recommend it and I will be back as well.

Love love love!!! Did I say Love!!! My first time at Ariano was new years eve 2013 and I fell in love the food is amazing, great atmosphere cozy but very very nice. The owner personally said hello during my dinner. Needless to say Ive gone back again and again and again, I have yet to dislike anything on the menu the food here amazes me over and over again, if I had to pick my favorite dish I’d have to say the entire menu! They always have specials which I highly recommend. Drinks specials are also yummy the sangrias are the best, and BONUS Sun-​Tues is BYOB. Staff is very friendly and helpful. And I absolutely must not finish this review without mentioning their homemade gelato! To-​die-​for the flavors are always different and are sure to leave you wanting more. Enjoy!

I have been here several times after I first saw the place featured on a local TV show about places to eat out in Media.
Service here is always pleasant, eat-​in or take-​out. My understanding is that t is owned by the same folks that own Fellini’s around the corner so their menus do not overlap, hence the lack of pasta dishes on this menu.
Food here is fine. We like the artichoke appetizer the best, and usually find ourselves ordering one of the pizzas or homemade gelato. You will get an interesting combination of choices for pies.
Gelato was very creamy this visit. We got the hazelnut which did not have a strong taste of hazelnut but was perfectly creamy.
I don’t come here as often as I would like because I am often out with someone who can’t get up the steps to the second floor. There are only several tables on the first level, then a bar, and the takeout gelato area. It’s very busy, sometimes noisy, and very fish-​bowlish.

This place is heaven. I left the area this past June, and I still have dreams about this place. The food is priced well, the décor is great, the servers are super friendly, and the pizzas (and appetizers and rustichelas [sandwiches]) are AMAZING.
I’ve been here a few times, but the dishes that I still dream about are:
1. Melani: the portabella mushrooms, artichokes, peppers and islands of cheese on top of a spicy tomato sauce make this one hell of a pizza. I HIGHLY recommend this pizza to anyone (even to non-​vegetarians like myself!).
2. Venditti: this is my girlfriend’s favorite, and for good reason. It’s simple, just ricotta cheese on tomato sauce with a bit of olive oil, but it’s delicious.
3. Alla travaglini: this is a sandwich made with flatbread and it’s just delicious. The pesto and red peppers really give you a burst of flavors. A plus is that is comes with a side of pan roasted potatoes, which are also amazing.
4. Arancini: if you liked fried things, cheese, and tomato sauce (and let’s be real, you’d be crazy not to), you simply have to order this. This appetizer is good to share, but if you’re like me, after one bite, you’ll want the whole thing to yourself.
Special Mention: Finalmente. This is just a bunch of mussels stewed in a delicious tomato sauce served in a bread bowl made of pizza crust. My sister ordered this a few months back and says she craves this everyday (and note, she lives in the Bay Area where amazing food is on every corner).
Whenever my girlfriend and I used to come here, we would get 2 pizzas and a rustichela during the lunch time (smaller pizzas, lower prices), and would finish all of it (granted, I ate about 70% of the food).
Their dessert pizza, I hear, is to die for. If you live within a 10 mile radius of this place, you really have to come here at least once.

We came on a super-​busy Wednesday for Dining Under ste stars — and miraculously our table was ready & waiting even though there were throngs of others. The service was surprisingly good.
The food? Just OK — and yes, I had read the reviews on Unilocal and yes, they are accurate — this place needs to step up their game on the food front. Pizzas are not my thing — but 3 of our group of 6 (well — 5 and an infant) have pizza. They seemed very doughy to me and many do not have sauce. (Cheese and coldcuts on bread.)
My kid had the lobster-​stuffed arrancina — and they were leaden with a greasy crusty exterior. I have had better but the 9 year old loved them.
My dish was a fail. Tasteless salmon with too-​vinegary chopped tomatoes on top. I ate the mashed potatoes and brocolli but left most of the fish.
Azie’s Salmon Teriyaki puts Ariano’s salmon to shame!
I will not be rushing back here.
Disappointing menu and food.