Aggio

It absolutely pains me to say that I was so disappointed with Aggio. I am a HUGE fan of Bryan Voltaggio. I’ve been to Volt a few times and the entire experience was just heavenly. I recommend it to people very chance I get. I also like Range.
We ended up having to refill our own wine glasses, which annoys me for a high end restaurant. Especially since we were the only table in the restaurant for a while. And trust me, we waited patiently. The pasta course with seafood started off well. I first tasted blue crab and was a really happy camper and then POW there’s the salt. So salty that it was sadly inedible because all you tasted was salt. And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t mind a little heavy handedness with the salt. They nicely removed the dish and comped it, and as a compensation brought us the salmon dish. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of salmon I’ve seen. Perfectly cooked. And then… where’s the salt? Or any seasoning at all? Did the chef think we were crazy people complaining about the salty pasta dish and decide he’d show us by sending a non-​seasoned piece of fish? (btw I RARELY complain about food in a restaurant. If I don’t like it, I just don’t go back). Baffling.
The saving grace was the scallops and risotto. The flavors were amazing, the risotto had the perfect bite and the scallops had a beautiful sear. The other highlight was the cake & ice cream dessert. I’m not a huge dessert person, but it was pretty amazing.
Oh, and the breadsticks brought to the table when we sat down were stale. Maybe because the restaurant itself was warm and humid.
I so badly wanted to love Aggio. Hoping that I could have a heavenly experience without going all the way to Volt. But I’ll make that drive 100 times before I ever go back to Aggio. I’m so disappointed. And so incredibly sad.

Amazing service, and chef is so attentive if you sit near the kitchen area, also quite a show, such teamwork, and you get to see all their array of amazing dishes, even encourages you to come again out of curiosity. The staff is great.
And the dessert was out of this world!

fabulous. just great!

I really wanted to love Aggio, in the end it was just like. The space carved out of Range is like entering a different world, it’s much cozier and romantic. The staff was gracious. Even though it was the day after Valentine’s Day they still had their special menu which looked good but being a huge fan of Volt we opted for the full tasting menu.
The Parmesan «funnel cake» was as good as the other reviews promised, quite delicious. The signature cocktails were interesting and they even knew how to make a proper Vesper Martini and even served it in the right glass. The courses were good and imaginative with no sign of being too salty as some other mentioned. The beet salad and the ravioli were really well done. It would have been nice if our server had explained the courses or checked on us more though. She was pleasant but hard to find and it was not particularly busy.
As the courses progressed (the pacing was very good) we were pleased with each but the final steak course was promised to be peppered seared with butter. It came very bland, no pepper no salt and was delivered by a runner, our server never checked on us at that point. The purée with it was very good but the steak was not as good as outback. Such a let down on the last savory course.
A runner then brought espresso while waiting for the dessert course which was good, he quickly returned with the dessert and ran off leaving us no utensils to eat with. We tried to flag down our server but she was MIA and as the ice cream was melting we ended up eating with the tiny espresso spoons. In the end for 2 people getting 2 tasting menus and 4 drinks, the bill with tip (no wine) was well over $ 300. Not against paying that for special occasions but you have to deliver like Komi, Kapnos and especially Volt. Will stick with those and pass on Aggio maybe the Baltimore location is better

talk about service! this place had fantastic service!
I came here for restaurant week and not gunna lie… but I was totally excited about it!
try the prosciutto and melon cocktail, it was absolutely delicious!
every dish that I got was fantastic.

Aggio is great. After a couple so-​so experiences at Range, we were unsure of what to expect. The food and service were both excellent.

The food is excellent, but the portions are minuscule. So, the restaurant is merely expensive if you’re willing to leave the table hungry. Alternatively, to eat till you’re pleasantly full, you’ll be facing a shortfall in tuition for your college student.
In addition to this restaurant being way too expensive for what they give you, the wait staff is obsequious.
In case it wasn’t clear, I won’t be returning.

Delicious, but consistently on the oily, over-​salted side.
Excellent service, although you can tell the staff is lesser-​experienced since the establishment is fairly new.
IMHO, the best thing on menu is the cocktail list. Aggio (and Range as well) is worth a trip judging solely on the cocktail menu. I think their meat/​seafood dishes are better than the pasta dishes, which tend to be really oily and salty.

I rarely write reviews as so many restaurants fall into the mediocre to good enough category. But there are two occasions in which I will take the time to comment on my experience — when it’s truly atrocious (and it takes a lot to push me to that level of animosity) or when it’s truly fabulous.
Aggio clearly falls into the latter. From the moment I walked in I felt as though I was walking a red carpet and being pleasantly guided by each person with whom I came into contact — from the host/​hostess to the guy who delivered the water to the waiter to the manager — all were helpful and affable.
And then there’s the food… an even match with the stellar service. My friend and I asked the waiter if the bartender could whip up a couple of concoctions off-​menu, which they graciously allowed and those drinks somehow seemed to capture exactly what we sought.
I had the halibut and it could not have been better. Perfectly cooked and almost buttery as it seemed to melt in my mouth.
I ended with the «Pistachio in Olives» cake. To. Die. For. Gorgeous, thoughtful presentation. Between the cake, the sorbet, the sauces, the cherries and the meringue, the flavors perfectly melded together to deliver a perfect combination.
Loved Volt. Loved Aggio. Very pleased and can’t wait to go back!

We came here as a party of 5 to celebrate my mom’s birthday. We’ve been to Volt (ah-​mazing) and Range (has its ups and downs), and as my mom loves these restaurants, we wanted to try Aggio out for the occasion. Overall, I’d say Volt is a cooler experience as it’s so different from the experiences I’ve had before, but Aggio was fantastic!
We started the night off with a round of drinks (champagne for some and cocktails for me), which were delicious.
After we ordered our food, we received the funnel cake, which tasted really good and was something different from the regular bread service. We were then given the olive foccocia with goat cheese and the pork mousse, all of which we couldn’t get enough of.
We then each ordered an appetizer and some sort of main (despite being told we needed 3 – 4 plates per person). We tried the lentils with octopus (my dad devoured this!), the roasted artichokes, the lobster ravioli and I had the caesar salad. I loved that the salad wasn’t traditional and included kale as well as the oyster croutons (in my opinion, the smoked scallop was unnecessary and added no flavor).
For the mains, my uncle had the pork, which he didn’t let anyone share, my dad said the lamb was ok, while my mom loved her sea bass and I loved the lobster spinach tagliatelle.
For dessert, we tried their sorbets and the chocolate hazelnut concoction of a mousse (delicious). And then they brought out a few truffles for us to finish the experience (from the Range truffle bar — delicious!)
The service was impeccable, and the servers came and introduced each and every dish to us. They definitely didn’t hover but made sure that we had everything we needed and enjoyed our meal. This is definitely a special occasion destination, but I would love to come back and try more of their menu!

The good:
Excellent service.
Great drinks and wine list.
The funnel bread amuse-​bouche was fantastic.
Pasta was cooked impeccably.
The bad:
Incredibly over-​priced.
Ultra salty fish dishes. Very nearly inedible (and I love salt).
I had the experience, but wouldn’t return due to the price and the inexcusably salty fish.

I love Bryan Voltaggio. I love Volt — it’s my favorite all time restaurant. So I had high expectations for Aggio. I took my husband for his birthday, hoping to have the same sort of experience.
First, the food:
(note: we had the tasting menu)
They serve an appetizer that looks like funnel cake and is AMAZING. I’d eat that all day if I worked there. Seriously.
The halibut was quite yummy. There was a nice light lemon side note and the fish was cooked perfectly with a lovely crust.
My husband loved the lamb ragu. I thought it was fine… it’s a lot like goulash to be honest :-)
The short rib. My husband thought it was good. I thought it was ok, bordering on ick. There’s a dollop of bone marrow that looks like marshmallow sauce but tastes like dung. I have no idea why anyone thinks bone marrow is something to be eaten much less something to sully good beef with. Horrible stuff, left the nastiest after taste in my mouth. To be fair, I’d never had it before. Now that I know, I won’t EVER eat it again. I had to section off that part and eat the things not touching it, and even then the beef was disappointing and the porridge under it… reminded me of baby food. I dunno, was not thrilled with that at all and as it was the end of the meal it left me in a bad place.
But then the pistachio cake pulled me out of the gutter with such a light, refreshing note that it made everything better. I know it says olive, but I didn’t taste olive (I hate olives so I was worried). I tasted the sorbet and a light summery note of happiness.
So why 3 stars? read on…
The service was fantastic. Loved our servers, all of them friendly and our main server went out of his way to cheer up my husband after our initial issue… which I need to explain.
Aggio, like Volt, has a chef’s tasting menu. They also allow you to order «a la carte» I suppose would be the term. When we go to a Top Chef restaurant we love to order the tasting menu because you get to sample so many items and not leave over stuffed with food. It’s always a bit more expensive… but in this case the tasting menu is $ 95 each. Which is… ok, a bit pricey but doable. However, the first item on the menu was beets and neither of us like beets. Sorry Bryan, no matter what you do to them we’re not going to like them. And at that price I should like what I get, right? So we asked to substitute. That’s when the trouble started. Our server had to «check with chef» to see if that was OK. When he returned, he told us Chef would do it but it would be an extra $ 15 per person. That set my husband off. I have no idea why it was more expensive, but it just put us in a bad place. It felt as though we were being gouged when the meal was already expensive.
To make up for it, the server brought us several things they don’t normally bring out, to make it up to us. He worked extra hard to make it all better, but honestly what would have made it better was to not charge extra or to simply have said «no substitutions allowed». We’d have ordered very differently and probably left very happy, with more money in our pocket.
It’s a week later and the thing I remember most about my meal was that it cost over $ 300 by the time we were done. For two people. No alcohol. I’ve never paid that much for a meal before. Maybe that makes me a country bumpkin or something, I don’t know. But… I still feel guilty about it. I won’t go back, because now I’m just embarrassed that I was such a fool, to spend that much on one meal that was digested in a few hours.
My advice? Don’t do the tasting menu. Go with a friend, each of you order two or three things «a la carte» and taste each other’s. You’ll get more food, a great sampling, and it’ll be cheaper. Don’t get the short ribs… way too much money for the taste.
So to sum up, yes the food is good, the service was very good, the price is bordering on ridiculous. This is fine dining, not an Italian Inn. Study the menu before you go (they have it online) so you don’t have sticker shock.

The food was way too salty. The service tried, but failed in too many ways to describe. Both our waiter and sommelier goofed made our tasting menu an expensive real flop.

Bravo! Bravo! This restaurant is a gem inside a kick-​ass restaurant. I’ve been waiting for so long for a fancy modern restaurant on the edge of DC/​Bethesda = Chevy Chase/​Friendship Heights.
When you first enter into the restaurant within the restaurant, you totally forget that you’re in a shopping mall connected to an Embassy Suites. Everything in the restaurant is dark, except for the white table cloths bc that’s where the focus is, the dining table.
When seated, you are greeted with breadsticks, then the cocktail menu or the book of wine selections. Can’t decide? Just ask the pinned sommelier. Then you will be given the dinner menu, where the right consists of a la carte selections and the left is the tasting menu. Appetizers, salads and soups, pastas, seafood, meat and veggie sides. We’ve tried both sides of the menu and both are superb.
If it is a special occasion, go for the tasting menu and wine pairing. If you’re not that hungry, I suggest an appetizer, a pasta and a meat or seafood dish.
Before your selections arrive, you are presented with The Most Delicious Parmesan Cheese Funnel Cake. This I wish they served more of, but then bread with mortadella and mascarpone mousses is given as well. Yep, who needs butter or olive oil when you’ve got meat and cheese spread?!
What’s good?
— all the pastas, especially the Calamari Bolognese. All seafood yet, it still tastes meaty.
— Porchetta — Cooked perfectly with the right amount of fat and meat swirl. The cherries is just a bit tart enough to cut the delicious fat of the pork.
–New York Strip — Melt in your mouth beefyness.
Honestly, the Chef and his team are geniuses. Everything on the plate compliments each other. You must eat all ingredients on the plate in one bite. Just do it and you will be amazed. But stand alone, everything is delicious as well.
Make sure you save room for dessert and after dinner drinks. The satsuma orange cello is very refreshing with a side of seasonal sorbet.
Never disappoints, Aggio is definately a MUST whenever you’re in the area… or just hop on the Red Line and GET HERE.

Went here on a date last weekend, and had an absolutely horrid dining experience in (almost) all aspects.
First, the positives: the wine list was comprehensive and nicely-​arranged; the server was pleasant; and the décor was excellent.
Unfortunately, the service was also incompetent. Three of our four courses were given to the wrong person (for a table of two, that’s worse than if they had just randomly placed dishes anywhere on the table). Twice they brought us food that another table had ordered. By the end of it, my table and the two near us were commiserating about how bad it was. Also, after we finished our first bottle of wine (halfway through the meal) it was about half an hour before anyone came to ask if we wanted another. By that time, we didn’t.
I could’ve dealt with the service if the food was decent, but it was incredibly disappointing. Most of the dishes looked excellent on paper but the ingredients either weren’t fresh or weren’t properly prepared. Every dish (and even the focaccia!) was excessively salted. Several of the dishes came out extremely hot to the touch, which is often a sign that they’ve been sitting under a lamp in the window (see also: service, incompetent).
And to be pedantic: pronounce things in proper Italian if you are going to have an Italian restaurant! My (correct) pronunciation of three different dishes was corrected. Example: I most certainly wanted the mineSTROne, not the «MIN-​stroan.»
I sincerely hope that this was just an off night for the service and for the kitchen, and that this is not indicative of the chef’s other restaurants. I can promise, however, that I won’t be finding out.
Absolutely horrid.

Aggio has converted that sad looking back room at Range into a lovely restaurant — it’s perfect for a special occasion. Four of us came here last night to celebrate a new job, and based on other Unilocaler’s reviews we knew that it would be an expensive night. This is not a restaurant where you come in and order an appetizer and an entrée and call it a day. The portions are small because the entire menu here is basically a tasting menu (at least that’s how our waiter explained it to us). You have two options: you can choose to have the Chef’s 6 course tasting menu for $ 95 OR you can create your own «tasting menu» of 4 – 6 courses chosen from the a la carte side of the menu. In my opinion, if you choose to have less than 4 courses you will probably walk away a little hungry. This place is nothing like Range. You aren’t getting sharing plates. You are being served individual, tasting menu sized portions. Ok rant over, moving on.
To start the meal, we were brought over tiny, savory funnel cakes topped with Parmesan. I could have eaten an entire basket full of these, they was delicious. We were also brought bread with mortadella and ricotta spreads, both were great and a nice change from butter. For the 1^st course I had the beets which were refreshing and very tasty. Then I had the crab polus, which was like a minestrone soup with lump crab meat and fried sticks of something called socca (I don’t know what that is, but they were awesome!). I then had the crab tagliatelle (*see final paragraph) which had two large lumps of crab and the pasta was cooked perfectly. For my final course I had the prawns– there were only 3, but at this point I was filling up anyway, and I really enjoyed the flavor of the sauce (I think it had old bay?) and the polenta.
We ordered two desserts to end the meal: zeppole and olive oil cake. When they brought out the desserts, the olive oil cake had a chocolate card with «congratulations» written on it, which was a nice touch since we were celebrating. However, they brought out the chocolate box dessert instead of the zeppole by accident. They told us the chocolate box was on the house and then brought out zeppole when they were ready. Aggio clearly takes customer service very seriously, and they only charged us for 1 of the desserts, a generous move on their part. When our bill came we were also served two different types of chocolates for each of us: pomegranate and something with nuts. Our total bill, which included a few drinks and 4 courses person, came to about $ 450 (without tip).
The only part of the evening that slightly annoyed me was when I ordered the lamb ragu for my pasta course. The waiter said something to the effect of, «oh you should really have the crab tagliatelle. It’s much, much better than the lamb ragu.» He also said something similar to my friend when he ordered the Caesar salad and encouraged him to have the tuna tartar instead. It was just a little odd because if I had asked for a recommendation, I would have liked to hear his opinion. But for him to state his opinion on the menu without being asked was a little off-​putting. I gave into peer pressure and ended up taking his suggestion and the crab tagliatelle was great, but I couldn’t help wondering what the lamb ragu tasted like! Otherwise, our waiter was very personable throughout the night and the rest of the staff was great too. I will definitely come back here if someone else is paying :)

Wow what a disappointment. Very expensive tasting menu and accompanying wine pairings. Beautiful plates visually but the taste was not up to the visual presentations. Portions are sadly small and just overall underwhelming.
Wine pairings were actually quite nice though.
Wouldn’t return for over $ 400 meal for two with tip!

the food was excellent, i would give this 5 stars. Very creative take on italian food, nothing was boring and the flavors were unique.
But the service made all this wonderful food almost unpleasant (almost). it took them 20 minutes just to aknowledge we were sitting down plus another 20 to bring us wine Wait times between courses were 40 minutes,
our meal took longer than the table next to us who had 6 courses tasting menus.
at some point the manager came to apologize but we still didnt get our food any sooner or we had anything complimentary.
we didn’t have dessert because i couldn’t bare to be sitting for another 30 minutes.
We will go back because the food was great but it left me a bad memory on the all experience.

This restaurant is inside of Top Chef’s Bryan Voltaggio’s Range restaurant. Bryan Voltaggio is a very talented and innovative chef. His food is amazing and memorable. With that said, it is also very expensive and portions are small. If you want a unique, one of kind experience and don’t mind the high price tag, I highly recommend. You won’t be disappoint. Service and Ambiance were pleasant. This food is high end and not common.
The waiter recommended ordering 4 – 6 plates so we tried the $ 95 tasting menu and there were hits and misses. My sister doesn’t eat red meat and they replaced those items with a pasta and red snapper.
Complimentary spicy funnel cake: miss but I liked the concept. too fried for my taste but i ate the whole thing
Beets — Hit, excellent, so flavorful for being so small, delicately prepared
Lentils with grilled octopus — Miss, lentils were al dente — waiter said that is the way they are supposed to be, i think they should be softer, octopus should have been bigger
Lamb Ragu — Miss, good not great, lamb was from Shenandoah
Halibut — Hit, nicely prepared, small
Beefcheeks — Hit, largest portion, delicious
Olive Oil cake and sorbet — Hit, flavorful
Complimentary truffles: nice ending, campari liquor chocolate was too strong for my taste

Cyndy’s Bottom Line: Great ambiance, service, food, and wine program.
Carolina provided excellent service! Mahalo!
Enjoyed a nice bottle of wine recommended by Kathy.
The wine paired with our food excellently!
Loved the bread sticks which was crispy delicious and fun to eat! It was exciting to be served the parmesan funnel cake. The parmesan was so robust in flavor and the cake was tasty good. A great start to our dinner choices!
This is what we ate:.
1. Tuna pistachio, castelvetrano olive, blood orange sugo, citrus pith, and black radish.
A very light and refreshing dish with high grade tuna with a nice saltiness coming through from the pistachio and olive and the citrus note rounds the flavors.
2. Lentils charred octopus, calamari, sprouted wheat berries, and sour grapes.
The lentils were delicious and flavorful. The octopus was charred perfectly.
3. King crab spinach tagliatelle, buttered popcorn, our bay seasoning.
The pasta is so delicate you know it is hand made in house. The sauce is delicious and compliments the crab with just the right amount of sauce.
4. Calamari Bolognese squid ink spaghetti, pepperone, and parmesan.
Another excellently made pasta. Delicious combination of flavors.
5. The pork loin was a tad bit over done but tasted good. The crispy skin was divine. A crispy crunchiness and saltiness.
6. Halibut was cooked perfectly served with an understated seasoning as to not overpower the fish.
7. Zeppole with ice cream
The Italian doughnuts were soft and fried well.
We were served the complimentary beet sambucca which was a rich, deep color sambucca but unfortunately a bit too much for my taste.
The chocolates to end our dinner were very good.