My boyfriend and I went to ALEA for their 8-course tasting menu and wine & spirit pairing. We sat at the bar, which is a great spot to watch them cook and plate the courses. Everything was delicious and the pairings were amazing - not just the usual red/white wine pairings, but also other spirits, such as vermouth and amaro. The service and staff was fantastic and it was a great overall dining experience. For COVID safety, all staff had face masks, tables were placed far apart from one another, and at the bar, there were plastic barriers between parties. read more

ALEA - raw oyster / green tomato / nasturtium - Mediterranean Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

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Stumbled upon this place in Hingetown this past Friday evening with my family for a night cap of oysters and a glass of wine. We were blown away. A welcome addition to our incredible Cleveland food scene. Go there now. read more

I know by the beautiful kitchen build out alone that someone spent real time and money opening this place up. I know how expensive that equipment is and how much of a pain in the neck it is to install properly and functionally. And that is the last time you will see me refer to anything in this establishment as "well thought out" or "executed at a high standard". First of all; How does a restaurant at this price point not take reservations? Absolutely unacceptable, I should have known right there that they weren't prepared to provide a standard of service equatable to their price point. Alas, my excitement to try a new spot blurred my perception. Allow me to break down my experience; The host says it will be a 30 minute wait. I give my name and number. we wait AND WE WAIT. almost an hour later I call them because I'm starving and sick of waiting. Host claims that he texted me (he didn't) I let it slide, no big deal as long as long as the food's good. We are seated at a communal table that is way too small. My words won't do this part justice. Just look in the front window. There was barely enough room for my food when it arrived, no hyperbole. This table was at max, an intimate 6 top and it was being utilized as a communal 8 top. Insanity. To make things worse, they crowded the table with 6 water bottles that NO ONE USED. Which is a compliment to the back waiter who kept our water tip top, and he was very pleasant. One star earned! We order drinks. No bartender, server makes them themself they not only get the order wrong but the drinks suck too! Double whammy! We order dinner. They are out of half of the menu. it's 8 o'clock on a saturday night. their reasoning? they're closed sundays. Are you serious? I almost laughed in the server's face. The most important night of the week in the service industry and you under order ingredients because you're closed the next day? WHAT ARE THEY THINKING!? So we wait. and we wait. Our food finally arrives... And it's our entree. Singular, because they only gave us one when we ordered two. food was bland, sorry, no reason to elaborate further. We proceed to eat dinner in reverse, finishing with our salad. Honestly, just a terrible dinner. Lastly, and as always, Shoutout to whatever Owner is reading this, I completely blame you and not your staff. The fish stinks from the head. Your restaurant has been open for less than a month..... It's Saturday night...WHERE ARE YOU!? Handle your business and set some standards for your establishment. As always, I will gladly rewrite this review if, during my next visit I see improvement. I'm definitely going to give them a couple of months. This place was simply not ready to open.. update; I woke up the next morning to a text from ALEA telling me my table was ready LMAO. read more

Alea is a really cool space that has fit wonderfully into the Hingetown neighborhood. The inside is modern and bold with cement walls and a wide open kitchen that allows you to see every move the staff are making with your food. The menu is on the smaller side, with quite a few unique items. They don't take reservations unless you have 6 or more, and if you go in around the 6-8pm hours you should expect to wait a bit. The restaurant is very small; if I remember correctly there are 4 or 5 tables with limited seating at the bar area as well. Cocktails were good! I couldn't find too much on the menu I was interested in, but it was a cool place for a Friday night dinner. My boyfriend loved the mediterranean dishes, so I'm sure we will return. read more

Epic meal on a cold evening! Artfully presented little gems, pork chop and chocolate torte! Wine list created by someone with obvious passion, not run of the mill! Charming owner and team! I'll be back! read more

Food was amazing! Congrats to the team at Alea! Please keep it up. Favorite place in Cleveland secured!

great ambience and smells delicious from the oven in the back. they have a lovely selection of wines and very knowledgeable servers. we got the parisian oysters which had a tiny sprig of herbs and a thinly sliced jalapeño (utterly delightful flavor), the cabbage which was roasted and deliciously seasoned, and the lamb ssam for two. this was a build your own adventure with many different condiments and was my favorite thing. If you can get a table here, highly recommend! read more

Went on a recommendation, and was not disappointed! Friendly service, cool vibe, and interesting menu. Starters and entrees are big enough to share, but we wanted too try several dishes. The food was delicious all around! We were absolutely stuffed but still ordered desert. Do not miss the panna cotta!!! P.S. I advIse going early to avoid the wait read more

Tried Alea for the first time last week and I would say it's definitely a place I would go back but I'm also not needing to rush back. Proof of vaccination was required to dine which was appreciated. The atmosphere was very lowkey and intimate - being that there aren't many tables in the restaurant. Cocktail wise, they were just OK. The specialty cocktails on the menu were all pre-made which was kind of let down and they were just average overall. We ordered 3 apps - ricotta toast, potatoes, and oysters. The potato app was bright and delicious with fresh citrus segments and briny capers. My favorite of the night. Very delicious. The oysters were great but the lardon kind of just made it taste like a bite of bacon, which I'm not complaining but keep that in mind. The kale ricotta toast has so much potential but it was a bit lackluster. The kale to ricotta ratio is very off and could use some acid. For entrees we ordered the porkchop, steak, and chicken milanese. All were pretty outstanding. All meat was cooked to perfection and the accompanying romesco, aioli, and agrodolce were extremely flavorful and rounded out each dish. All food is encouraged to be shared amongst the table (similar to family style) and comes out of the kitchen as each dish is ready. This is not a restaurant if you are in a rush and I appreciated the more intimate dining moment. One major con I had is because it's an open kitchen and they use a lot of the grill, my clothes reaked of smoke. Days later my coat and shirt smells like a bonfire and of course I wore things that are dry clean only. Next time I will plan accordingly. Overall a great experience but rather expensive for what you get. I would recommend you try this place out at least once. They change their menu each season which is great but also because we ordered several things on their winter menu, I can't say anything was wowing me to go back to experience the same limited menu again. read more

This is a wonderful restaurant. I went to celebrate my daughter in law's birthday with friends and we had a wonderful evening. We thought the chicken wings were the best we'd ever had, the ribs were amazing and the shredded lamb served with several toppings and lettuce leaves for wraps were extraordinary. Our waiter was completely knowledgeable about the menu and made great recommendations. There were some excellent drinks as well. I recommend this restaurant for celebrating with family and friends.I will return, no doubt! read more

Came for dinner with some friends on a weeknight, wasn't too crowded. The food is wonderful! I tried the orange/almond/onion salad, and the flavors blended together beautifully. The malfatti were also great, a sort of cheese dumpling. The roasted chicken is MASSIVE, so completely understood why it takes to long to cook. But well worth the wait. I had a bit of the lamb and that was also excellent. read more

We arrived at 7 PM knowing we would have to wait as they don't take reservations. We were told it would be about 80 minutes which was great. After about 90 minutes and not hearing anything we decided to walk back over to make sure we were still in the queue. We were assured we were and the host even pointed out a table for us. He said give them 15 more minutes and we would receive a text. 30 minutes later (2 Hours total wait) one of our guests walked back over to the restaurant. Sitting in the two tables the host noted would be ready for us were 2 completely new groups. The Host proceeded to apologize but, stated they are some of his best customers arrived and he couldn't turn them away? Wow, 2 hours of wait and we were left out to dry with no table and no food. read more

The best food in Cleveland. Every dish is amazing! The atmosphere is so unique and the overall experience is like something from anywhere in the world. read more

Go! Definitely sit at the counter if you can. Order a drink and relax into the entertainment of the professional chefs, and enjoy a long and exquisite dining experience. We ordered the hamachi crudo, grilled oysters, orange salad, pork, and picanha. Everything was beyond perfect. We shared everything and fought over the last bites. Can't wait to visit again! read more