Aldo's

03/30/11

The happiest birthday.

by Bubalicious at Citysearch

This was a surprise 78th birthday dinner planned by my family and their dear friend, Diane. Close to Baltimore Harbor, there are not enough words to describe this fantastic restaurant, the location, the ambiance/decor, the service, the kind, perfect attention to our party, treating us royally. No, trust me, I am not a relative....had never been there, previously. The wine, the food (Jumbo Maryland Crab Cakes....my mouth is watering as I write this), the Napoleon for dessert, and the Lemon Jello to cap off the most fabulous dinner I can ever remember. As if that was not enough, Sergio, one of the owners, and an unbelievable opera singer (I get chills just thinking about his magnificent voice) sang an aria, Nessun Dorma, at my request. This young man is a young Pavarotti, both in talent and looks (but better looking, trust me). If it was up to me, he would be singing at the NY Metropolitan Opera. I cannot stop bragging about his performance. As an added attraction, having dinner there that same night (Saturday, March 26th), we met Chazz Palminteri, the famous actor from movies (A Bronx Tale, etc.), and T.V. He was so very kind and gracious to pose for a photo with my son, and speak with us. Everyone in my party had an exceptional time, we were treated like family, the food, the wine, the hometown atmosphere made for one of the best birthdays which I will never forget. My sincere thanks to the Vitale family and staff for making everyone so very happy.

02/24/11

Worth the drive

by mendelsohn at Citysearch

When you think of Baltimore food you think of Little Italy. If you think about the best of Little Italy you think Aldo's. A staff that will do anything to make you happy, valet car service, a beautiful place but mostly it's the the food that keeps me coming back. Whether you have a guest/date to impress or a desire to make you glad that you ate those calories... Aldo' is the place.

01/28/11

Best in Baltimore

by DrJerry at Citysearch

Am a frequent visitor to Aldo's in Little Italy. Have read some of the recent reviews, and am mystified. I have always found the food to be exception - literally the best in Baltimore. I have never had any issue with service either. I can't imagine why other diners would not rave about this restaurant. You definitely need to try this place and see for yourself.

03/08/10

Poor service, poor seating, lukewarm food, expensive

by BSteveson at Citysearch

Don't believe the other glowing reviews, this restaurant is definitely NOT worth the effort. The good reviews must have been written by relatives of the owners. When we were seated on Sunday night, 3/7/10 @ 6:15p.m. there were only two other people in the restaurant, and we were seated right next to them in a table with barely enough room for our plated and drink glasses. We had to wait for the 5-7 minutes for a glass of water, waited to place a drink order, waited for dry bread and butter had to REQUEST a menu. Food came very quickly which surprised us, but it was because the food was barely cooked and only lukewarm. We would definitely NOT recommend this restaurant to anyone.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Unattentive host, waiter and kitchen/chef, expensive

01/29/09

Well executed cuisine but disappointing details

by groberry at Citysearch

We went to Aldo's last night, it's restaurant week in Baltimore. We were planning on Cinghialis for Italian, but someone told us to try Aldo's. My overall review is that the food was very good, but the experience was disappointing. It's all in the details. When we arrived, the host was uninterested and waited a few seconds longer than necessary before looking up, so a bit uncomfortable. We were seated immediately, which was nice since we were early. A waiter asked if we would like sparkling or still water. Still, please. Normally I'm pretty savvy with the water trick question, but I missed it that night. The bottle of still water was six dollars. I noticed another couple being served ice water from a silver pitcher immediately after the waiter walked away and knew I'd been had. My partner was reviewing the wine list when he burst out laughing, startling me. Apparently a couple of bottles that we frequent at home were on the list and the mark up was well, insane (and we're used to markup, right?) A David Bruce (normally around $18-20) was $95. And a Robert Mondavi Cabernet (reserve) is usually about $30 and was listed at $165. I'm pretty much a wino, but could not in good conscience order a bottle with a markup like that. That's just stupid. It made us really suspicious with the rest of the list, finally settling on a Francisco (?) for $55. Now the food. The Restaurant Week menu was great. I ordered the grouper from this menu. My partner wanted the veal saltimbucco which wasn't on the restaurant week menu, so he did that. His audible gasp of pleasure when he took the first bite was pretty funny. My entree was fabulous as well. Egg breaded pan crusted grouper seared in lemon butter chardonnay sauce with seafood risotto and spinach. It rocked. I would recommend this place for the food, but only if you've got a thick skin to deal with snotty host, ridiculous wine list, and slick servers with trick water question.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Wine List