alleia restaurant

always great food that the amazing chef daniel updates with the freshest of seasonal ingredients. alleia keeps satisfying your eye and pallet with every visit making sure to keep you coming back. servers modify your dinning experience to suit by pacing your courses as you wish. servers are also very engaging and informative. the chef is open to modifications and suggestions--we have found he likes to change-up the dishes for special requests. this is by far my favoritechattanoogaexperience that never lets me down.

i decided to try this restaurant while inchattanoogaafter reading all the great reviews. the atmosphere was nice and the service was good, but the food was just ok and kind of bland. i was craving pizza, so i went with the mushroom pizza and a caesar salad. i noticed that the menu says all of their pasta is prepared in house daily, so maybe that would have been a better choice.

alleia is fascinating. traveling tochattanoogafor the first time to visit with life long friends, i was curious to see what this town - just some an hour away from greenville by plane but some 4 hours of horrendous driving via atl had to offer.

the downtown district has a great river front and they are doing their best to follow the mold created by greenville sc by adding charm, character, and building in history.

chattanooga has a great foundation and this restaurant is the one of the bedrocks of that foundation for the last 4-5 years as alleia is by far one of the top restaurants this gastronomic traveler has ever eaten at!!!

started the meal with a crafted pizza for the table of a fine helping of prosciutto, smoked moz and incredibly flavorful arugula with what appeared to be a dash of evoo atop the pie.

"perfecto!"

i continued with the "duck wing cannelloni". a unique flavor profile as i nor my palate would have arrived that this delectable bite was duck but more along the lines of a subtle and mild sausage. the sheet pasta that was rolled to contain the duck was perfect as well. the chef finished the dish under the broiler to add a slight char atop the dish.

the table split a portion of rainbow heirloom carrots. again, wonderfully simple and delicious.
this is an establishment that i would return to over and over and over again to enjoy every item on the menu and at the bar!

snobby. this place is good, but it's not as good as the staff apparently think it is. pretty uppity for a place that has rather typical food. it's good! but they are definitely feeding off the fact thatchattanoogastill thinks atmosphere and "homemade" is the height of culinary sophistication. like i said, it's good, but the prices are laughable and the staff is rather snobby. great place for work meetings and social gatherings, not for casual dining.

with thechattanoogafine-dining mecca of st. john’s restaurant and meeting place already under his belt, chef daniel lindley embarked on a new culinary quest in 2009. tying the fresh pasta laces of europe’s boot peninsula to the abundant thread of local resources around the southeast tennessee valley, would alleia succeed in capturing a rustic pairing of italy and the scenic city in a sleek, high-end fashion? read the rest of my review at nooga.com!

amazing!. my boyfriend and i came tochattanoogaon a whim, neither of us had been before, so we rely on reviews to suggest great places to eat. the guy where we stayed suggested a place the first night that we didn't care for, so i went online night 2 and found alleia. i had several restaurants in mind, as it seems there are many great ones to choose from in chattanooga, but alleia was exceptional. i've worked in the fine dining restaurant field for years so tend to have higher expectations. from the bartender, jason, to our awesome server, zach, to the delicious cocktails and food, we couldn't have had a better evening here. what a great place (the design and decor was beautiful) with great service and food to back it all up! we will most definitely be back upon future visits to chattanooga!

amazed at what some people are saying.... you are probably going to read many of reviews that go on and on about the decor and ambiance that this restaurant has gone well above and beyond what anychattanoogarestaurant has ever thought of achieving. it's really great and i will leave it at that....on to the food

we decided on alleia for our valentine's celebration (celebrated on feb 13 to avoid over booking and lines). our reservation was for the second seating at 7:15, which we were promptly seated upon our arrival. we were seated towards the rear of the restaurant just in front of the kitchen, which is open and can be viewed with some obscruity by guest. i thought this was a great table as it also gave us a view of the large wax waterfall (just have to go there to see it) our waitress greeted us with a smile and continued to have this smile throughout the service. we opted for the fried rhode island calamari for an appetizer ($12). it was served simply with a few slices of lemon. the batter was airy and crisp much like a tempura. the calamari itself was very tender and good; however it lacked some seasoning. a dash of salt would have made all the difference in the world. as there is no salt or pepper at the table i did request some pepper. overall i found it to be in the range or "ok" to "good" and with a $12 price tag i probably won't be getting it again.

for my main course i ordered the wood-fired pork shoulder ($19). this appears to be a "man favorite" and was highly reccomended by our waitress. my lovely date decided on the ricotta ravioli.

my dish was served with braised purple cabbage. (side note: i think i read in here someone challeging the validity of cabbage for an italian restaurant. i would assume that the savoy varity is selected for thier dishes as it originates from italy of all places) in addition to cabbage it is also served with new potatoes and grilled apples (seasonal) summer menu may subsitute with grilled peaches.

my pork was presented beautifully with a stunning glaze. the pork shoulder itself would and could rival just about every cut of a meat in a steakhouse. the wood grilling adds a melt in your mouth tenderness. the natural juices of the meat along with wood grilling and glaze adds a superb depth of flavor. the pork along with the cabbage, potatoes, and apples has a rustic nature that speaks to the heart of what a winter meal should consist of.

the ravioli was served in a vodka sauce that was very good. the freshness of the tomato along with the prominant vodka flavor was combined nicely to make a well prepared and thought out sauce. the ravioli was a bit al dente for both our likings; however was still very good and would be ordered again in the future

cons: while i enjoyed my meal and would certainly return there is always room for improvement in any fine dining establishment. #1 the chairs in the dining room have got to go or be improved upon. their artistic and industrial looks leaves comfort to be desired for. the chair's metal reminds me of something you would see in a jail. also keep in mind that there is an oven operating at over 700 degrees so obviously the dining area will be a bit chill other wise you will be sweating like the guy in back cooking pizza. cold air against metal makes cold chairs accompany that with zero comfort you might find yourself twisting and adjusting to get comfortable.

#2 i had a few minutes to view the kitchen and expediting. there was a couple points where i was watching dishes remain in the window much too long that would certainly kill some dishes. i noticed that a few time the person expediting was actually turning around talking to guest, etc. if you are talking to guest there is no way you can focus on what needs to be done in the kitchen or what needs to go immediately. let someone else worry about guest

#3 in this day in age an establisment's web page is crutial to it's vitality. i understand that the web page is still being constructed and i have no doubt that it will be outstanding. at the very least the menu should be updated when the season changes. it is very off putting to people that don't understand why apples are served instead of peaches, etc, etc. this restaurant is far too advanced to lack in that small area. minor things like this may some people think that the restaurant will lack consistency.

overall this place is nothing like what some will make it out to be. "sauce and pasta from a can" c'mon, get real. if you cannot tell the difference between alleia and chef boyardee then you probably don't need to be eating there. it's not overrated, but a simply inspired cuisine that may not be for all that are used to jazzed up food that is drowned in some sodium or sugar stricken sauce. this is real food, that is real good!

overrated!!!. what a letdown! we had been told by a few people, including the five stars from urbanspoon, that this restaurant was great -- not so... first, we were seated at a metal table in a booth overlooking the kitchen and a long empty table. i'm not sure why we weren't seated up front in the romantic part of the restaurant, which looked more romantic. my husband and i both had pasta dishes -- his tasted like hamburger helper and mine was like chef boyardee ravioli. so very disappointed!!! we both were looking forward to a wonderful italian dinner, but could have had better at olive garden. the server was really fantastic, which made the food and atmosphere bearable. the photos of alleia are a bit of a letdown as well. we were visitingchattanoogaand ate at some great places -- this one is biggest disappointment.

this place was wonderful! the food was all delicious, the atmosphere was very nice, and the service was exceptional. if you come tochattanoogaand don't eat here, you are missing out! can't wait to bring my husband here!

first class. possibly the best meal i have had inchattanoogaand definitely the best service!

best fine dining in the area. alleia has not only the best atmosphere and decor out of all the restaurants have visited in thechattanoogaarea but also the most knowledgeable staff. during my visit our waitress told us extensive details about there entire menu, everything from the local honey and bacon to where and when the fish of the day was caught. now i am getting the best part. the food. the bruschetta and ravioli are the best i have ever had, the steak is good but not their specialty. i have eaten at this establishment as well as boccaccia and hands down alleia is far better.

alleia, good food, romantic atmosphere. in an era of corporate dominance in italian dining (ie. carrabba's, olive garden, mac grill, etc) it was nice to enjoy a restaurant inchattanoogathat provided quality food, service and atmosphere. pork was as described in other reviews, wonderful crisp outer crust with a juicy inside. flavorful and balanced accompaniments.
the dining room is dimly lit but eyes adjust and you truly begin to enjoy lack of bright lighting. bar area looked like a great place to have a casual drink or two with friends. overall my girlfriend and i truly enjoyed it, and we have dined almost everywhere in chattanooga. i recommend it.

excellent. my date and i were both traveling and decided to meet inchattanoogafor a night on the town. i selected alleia due to rankings and use of local ingredients. it was absolutely amazing! the wait staff was exceptional. the menu is authentic italian (i'm not very familiar); so i requested suggestions and explanations. they were very detailed and offered excellent advice based on my preferences. they also went out of their way to make sure we were very accomodated in every aspect. it is dimly lit, making it a perfect place for a romantic night, but i do not think i would choose it for family outing or large group business dinner. 100 % recommendation.

great pork shoulder. i didn't think i'd go to a restaurant like this and order a pork shoulder, but it was amazing. cooked perfectly, it was crispy on the outside but melted in my mouth. my wife got a pizza, which was good (very simple, authentic.... dont expect papa johns) but she loved the pork as well. one of the best dishes i've ever had, and the best inchattanoogafor sure.

love this place!. we come to visit family inchattanoogaoften and if we want delightful service and great food, this is where we go! love the waiters there.