I've been here twice. I like the food so much! The service is also very friendly and attentive. I like the music they play as well as the cozy ambiance. It's a little bit too dark but it's not bad. The products they use seemed to be fresh and they care about presentation. I like that their bread is always warm. A couple of details I noticed that make me not to give this place 5 stars: dirty tablecloth next to me, and empty salt & pepper shakers on my table. read more

Cutie ambience and such awesome service! It's so cute inside and cozy. The food was brought out so fast and the waiter was so attentive. The fried zucchini was so good as well as the lamb sausage app. The spinach ravioli is really good esp the delicious tomato sauce. It was light and not super heavy. However the large portion wasn't that big at all - only 6 raviolis. Def want to come back and try other things here like the seafood! read more

Atmosphere: Very artsy-you can tell by the designs behind the bar and the plates they have set out. The owner said he ordered a bunch of this stuff from Europe. I like that he has vision! Food: I have to admit the food was 3 stars for me this time. (I will say my friends have been here a lot and says it's usually better). I recommend the Seared Scallops with risotto (you can mix and match the sides, so I didn't like the pesto pasta that it was going to come with so I got the spinach risotto). The scallops were really good and flavorful however the spinach risotto was bland. The spinach had a weird texture that didn't feel good on my teeth and it was overall lacking in flavor. The lamb was good but a big part was the bone so that was a bit disappointing. Overall good flavors. The Duck-that was definitely the favorite of the night. It comes with A LOT of food and the mushroom risotto which I will say is probably the best risotto just because of the mushroom flavors. Dessert: I like that they bring out a dessert tray so you can see all the desserts offered. They are big on cheesecakes (they had like 5 different kinds). Their creme brulee was yummy as were all the other cheesecakes. Pistachio was the most unique one. Service & Management: I think what brought this place to 4 stars was definitely the service, management and owner. The owner comes out to talk to almost every patron (or tries at least). He came over and described the plates to us because I complimented him on how pretty the dessert plates were. He told us a few stories here and there. He was so nice and you can tell he was passionate about his business. He also mentioned he just hired a new pastry chef from California and will be offering up lots of different chocolate desserts. He urged us to come back and try the chocolates. =) I can't wait! This place is really adorable and you should check it out. =) read more

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Such a delightful and wonderful Italian/French restaurant in the Rosslyn area! Was really blown away by the service and how friendly the staff was; also really appreciated that they took the time to explain that everything on the menu was fresh and never frozen. Everything on the menu looked delicious, will need to come back to try more of the dishes. I had the duck which was so good, and paired well with my wine. Overall, a great place to go with friends for a lively dinner; the atmosphere is very vibrant - could be a fun dinner before going out. Definitely recommend! read more

Delicious food but want really makes Mele Bistro a 5/5 restaurant is the staff. Owner came over to our table 4 times to check in and ensure we were doing well. He was joking around with us and made the entire experience so enjoyable. On top of that, the 4 cheese ravioli was delicious. The serving sizes are quite big so either come hungry or the small plates are a good option. Restaurant is a small and can get crowded so helpful to have a reservation. Went in the winter but outdoor seating looked really pretty so will have to come back in the summer! read more

Mele Bistro - 4 Cheese Ravioli - French Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

This was fantastic! The staff was very friendly and warm to great us. The food was excellent and so very fresh! They are farm to table which I really appreciate. I had a cup of coffee with my meal and it was fantastic. I was very pleased with my meal and so was my party! I forgot to take photos of my food but I've got photos of how cute this place is! read more

Mele Bistro - Decor - French Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Mele is the definition of charming from the unforgettable service to the artsy food presentation and the Mediterranean decor. It's an unassuming little place located in a strip mall, but it's brimming with character. The decor is cozy with homage to Greece--think ornate decorations and colorful plates. Overall, it was a lovely experience with very tasty food. The menu is varied but largely seafood. Mele prides itself on serving fresh meat, to include fish, and sauces. We ordered a small plate of fried calamari (lightly battered, seasoned well, and served with fresh, zesty marinara sauce) to start and it was delicious; I'm talking appetizer perfection! It was delicately cooked, neither chewy nor rubbery. I ordered a plate of radiatori pasta with tomato and fresh herbs. The herbs were flagrant and the sauce was flavorful. I opted for meatless pasta because each fresh, large shrimp would've cost $4 since Mele doesn't serve frozen shrimp. I've also ordered scallops and was equally impressed. The downside is that the menu is too complex. It's large, at least four pages, and categorized by two or three areas like type of meal, type of meat, and portion. Basically, it makes ordering too complicated. I haven't stopped recommending Mele since my visits. Sit on the patio, eat the fresh bread, and enjoy! read more

I came here for a birthday dinner and expected it to be excellent based on the reviews. It left quite a bit to be desired. It started off on a bad note when the server was being incredibly pushy about ordering alcohol. He asked 3 or 4 times if we were sure we didn't want various alcohol. He actually yelled across the restaurant to the bar "sprite NO RUM!" I found that incredibly rude, considering the person could be driving, could be sober, or have health conditions or dietary restrictions. The charcuterie appetizer was ok, nothing special but not terrible. The gnocchi was good, but the flank steak was essentially fajitas without tortillas. The server did not check on us once after the food came out and did not refill drinks. He finally brought the check, and made a display of handing the check to my bf even though I had mentioned it was his birthday. If it had been packed I could have overlooked the lack of drink refills or not checking on our food, but the restaurant was only about full. read more

Excellent fish and Italian food. Inside is decorated as a fun, upscale place. Outside has tables also. Deserts excellent too. Service is not fast, but is leisurely. read more

Visiting town with colleagues for work event and tried this restaurant given we couldn't get into Pho 75 next door, the reviews sounded okay and our backup plan was Italian. To call this Italian food does a huge disservice to both Italy and food in general. I can't recall a time that I have ever been to an Italian restaurant that served pickled ginger on top of fish. Or served risotto that was as dry as the desert and without any sort of creaminess to it, tasting like it came out of the ready to serve packet. Now I normally wouldn't slam restaurants in a review but the quirky gentleman who ran the front bragged at length about the freshness and homemade quality of the food. It was simply terrible. All 3 of us at our table agreed. The lone savior that managed to gift this terrible establishment a 1 star was the shrimp cappelini we had as a first course. While not great, it at least showed up with some intent to impress. I would avoid this place. read more

Food was delicious but service is routinely very slow at Mele. It took us 30 mins to get a drink and was difficult to flag down a waiter to order. Really nice ambience, so didn't mind waiting a while, but don't come here if you're in a hurry. read more

Excellent food, terrific service, fun vibe, caring attentive owner and staff. A go to I the DC area ever since they started. The freshest of the fresh and very tasty preparations. Try it a wonderful establishment. Worth the drive. read more

This was a fantastic find in an otherwise unassuming location! You don't need a reservation but it is popular so I would recommend making one! They've removed bad seating during this time so that won't be an option but the food is worth the visit! The pasta was absolutely to die for and the owner will treat you like you're family! Cannot wait to make the trek again! read more

Mele Bistro is a beautiful little gem hidden amongst the complexes in Arlington. The food was amazing, the ambiance was great and the service was nice and efficient. I ordered the Blackened Bluefish with the mushroom risotto and steamed veggies. The fish was flaky and light, the risotto was cooked perfectly and the veggies balanced the entire meal. This is a great restaurant and well worth the price. read more

My go-to place to eat when I am in Arlington. I've tried a variety of pasta dishes and have never been disappointed.

Outstanding dinner featuring mahi mahi cooked to perfection, pan seared trout and cast iron chicken. Mele serves the freshest seafood, and the maitre'd, Frank, explains the specials and origins of the fresh seafood and organic meats and poultry. We will be back. read more

Love, love, love this place! My foodie friend introduced me to it about 8 years ago, and it became 'our place'. The food is always excellent! At a certain point, I was living overseas, but would come back to DC a couple of times a year. I always made sure to swing by for something from Mele Bistro. I always get a seafood dish, as I'm leaning pescatarian. Never been disappointed! read more

Mele what a beautiful surprise! Atmosphere was so comfortable and warm. My friend and I ordered the sautéed calamari which was the star dish of the show; we ordered more bread to soak up the sauce. I ordered the pesto and my friend ordered the bolognese sauce. The pesto would have been better with a protein source and I was not crazy about the almond slivers. The bolognese was tasty and was a great portion of meat. read more

We dined at this amazing restaurant last night and I cannot begin to describe how delicious the food was, how amazing the service was and how wonderful of an experience the entire meal was. From the moment we walked in (with a large party of 8) we were greeted and welcomed as if we were regulars. The owner passionately explained his dishes and where each item was sourced from. To hear his love for the food he would be serving was just an experience in itself. We had the calamari for an appetizer and I think it's one of the best things I've ever eaten in my entire life! Next we had the beet salad and the flavors throughout were so wonderful. For entrees our group had the seafood fettuccini, lobster ravioli, red snapper, steak and burger for my son. Everything was just EXCEPTIONAL! I cannot recommend this restaurant and staff enough. We had such a great experience. I look forward to our next trip to DC just so we can come back and enjoy this restaurant!! Thank you for such a wonderful experience! 5 stars!!!! read more

This place is a gem! Probably the best dining experience I have had in Rosslyn and in my opinion, the best Italian in the area. We went for lunch and had a pasta dish and raviolis. The service was amazing. The owner is such a sweet man and told us all about the restaurant and the food. Everything is locally sourced and nothing they cook with comes canned or pre packaged. Its all fresh and delicious! Great service, cool spot with nice out door seating, and delicious food with an important, healthy mission. We will definitely be going back! read more

Came from out of town to meet friends. Owner gave a really long speech about the menu options. After we left realized two credit cards had been taken out of my wallet and $4500 worth of gift cards charged on these at the store next door, while we were there eating. The table behind me was empty so figured wait staff crawled under table to swipe my cards during owners speech. read more

From the warm romantic ambiance, exceptional service and delicious food, this bistro is one of the best dining experiences my friends and I have had on a long time. Highly recommend!! read more

Service was terrible. Took 1 hour to receive drinks and 1 hour to place our orders, 2 hours until our food came. The food, however, was delicious, so that was a plus. If you go during NON-peak hours, have at it. They also told me they had a liquor they did not have and just brought me a drink hoping I wouldn't notice. I sent it back twice. All good, just say you don't have it, don't double down and lie and say it IS that drink. Yikes. But they at least took it off the final bill. read more

Mele Bistro's food was delicious and the service was outstanding! We sat outside and it was a little noisy from traffic but otherwise very comfortable. We will be back! read more

Disappointing. Their website mentioned prime rib, but they do no have it and it is not on their menu. So, I had a steak. They want about fifty dollars for a steak (I believe $39-$57). I went for the best. I ordered it medium rare, However, it was only about a half inch thick, and of course, overcooked. No pink. The service was good and the outdoor seat comfortable. I do no think we will go back, however. There are much better and less overpriced restaurants in Arlington. read more

Incredible food and awesome locally owned with such a gracious host. Highly recommend!

Ate here this past weekend, I got the lobster ravioli and it was divine! Beautifully seasoned and you could tell the lobster hadn't been frozen. I ordered a mojito as my drink and it was pretty heavy on the club soda and I couldn't really get a sip without mint leaves attacking me but overall the service and food was amazing. read more

DO NOT RECOMMEND tomato and buratta app. Geez. Literally 1/3 a sliced Roma tomato at best and then equally SSSMMMAAAALLL slices of buratta (3 slices). Such a ridiculously small serving size (I don't know, let's go for entire sliced Roma). Pasta Bolognese just ok. The Seabass and risotto was good. read more

Nice ambiance. Food & service were great- make sure to reserve, this restaurant is very popular

Staff is nice, but the food is below par. As a group of 10-12, , none of us were very satisfied with what we ordered. Here's our order: -Onion Soup -Fried Calamari -Living in the Garden -Grilled Eggplant -Seafood Fettucini -Scallops Ravioli -Seafood Ravioli -Penne Neopolitan -Fusilli Diavolo -Linguine Mussels -Spinach Ravioli -Prosecco read more

service was slow, food was ok tasting at best, ambiance was cool. the actual servers were very nice, but I would not be returning as the food was below average at best read more

Delicious fresh seafood and house made pasta. It is clear that the owner takes great care to have quality food and wine. We came with children and a big party, they took great care of us. Free parking too! We will be back. read more

I've been to Mele Bistro a few times now ordering take out. I've had the fried zucchini, Caesar salad and pasta with cream sauce and seafood which were always delicious but this time I decided to try the smoked seafood ravioli and it was just not good at all. Thick doughy ravioli with like a smoked fish spread on the inside? Like the smear you get blended up in a plastic container at the grocery store. I can't believe the price. This is the first time I've been disappointed here. I literally could not get past one ravioli. It tasted sour. I'm not sure what happened. I might not return again. 24$ for garbage read more

This place completely ignored my Grubhub order for no reason and the driver waited 40 min before they told him they will not prepare the order, even though the Grubhub customer service showed that they received the order. No reason given. This place sucks and has terrible management clearly. Never again. read more

I cannot recommend this place enough. Mele's atmosphere and service was out of this world. Frank is the nicest person I think I have ever met and so hospitable and knowledgeable about their robust menu. We got the Squid Ink Scallop Ravioli and the Greek Bronzino hand carved at the table. Paired with a bottle of very solid wine recommended by the server. Amazing meal! This will definitely be our go to. Everything is farm to table. Portion sizes were great! read more

Overall the food was good but the service was not. Our order was forgotten, but they brought out enough bread that we were happy. The bread was actually amazing. The seafood fra diavolo and calamari was quite good. The pesto was more meh. read more

Fantastic restaurant. Food was amazing and the customer service was also top notch. I will most certainly will be returning.

So came from Boston to DC for a wedding this weekend and staying at a hotel in Arlington, spent A fair amount of time looking for a good restuarant and always check reviews to see others experience. Zeroed in on Mele Bistro, saw a couple of recent reviews that were not complimentary despite many others singing its praises. Almost made me rethink and go to another place but that would have been shortsighted. Turned out it was a great choice. Never seen a menu with more choices and the menu may have been 5-6 pages. The waiter came over and started to go through the menu, he had to be the owner as he was fabulous and only surpassed by his enthusiasm for each dish with pride over the freshness and the source of each dish. I ended up ordering the Calf's Liver from Wisconsin and honestly best I ever had, it had to be from Wisconsin because never tasted anything so good. We also had the Lamb Ravioli which was very good. The staff works hard and never rests for a moment. I was impressed with the effort, the warmth and especially the quality of the food. Great experience and suggest you give it a try. read more

Food was super fresh. Staff was very attentive and stopped to chat after our meal! Will try this place again next time we are in Arlington

We always go to Pho 75 next door, but a friend was in town so we decided it would be a nice occasion to finally try Mele. Their outdoor space is absolutely adorable. The owner came out and explained how everything is super fresh and made from scratch, with only the highest quality of ingredients - and it tasted like it! Everything we got was good, but the mussels really took the cake - we ordered extra bread to soak up all the buttery broth. Overall a great experience! read more