Visit #1 ·
★★★★★First time at AGA and I went in pretty blind — just walked past it on Third and figured the room looked serious enough to try. Ordered a few things to get a read on the kitchen: some mezze to start, worked my way through whatever looked interesting on the menu.
The space is clean without being cold. They've got the Mediterranean thing dialed in without leaning too hard into the aesthetic — no fake olive branches or whatever. The food came out at a decent pace, which tells me the kitchen has some coordination.
What stood out: the olive oil quality. That's always my tell. A place that's cutting corners will use garbage oil and hope the spices distract you. These guys weren't doing that. Whatever they're sourcing, it's doing real work on the plate. I've cooked enough line to know when fat is carrying a dish versus hiding behind seasoning.
The bread situation was solid — came out warm, not reheated-warm, actually-warm. Small thing. Not a small thing.
What I'm still thinking about is the balance of acid in a couple of the dishes. Not off, but I'd be curious whether that's intentional or if it shifts depending on who's prepping that day. That's exactly why I don't trust first visits. You can catch a kitchen on a good night and think you found something, then go back and realize it was a fluke.
I've got a receipt and one photo from this trip. I'm coming back. Third visit is where I actually make up my mind — first visit tells me if it's worth a second, second tells me if it's consistent, third tells me the truth about a place.
AGA is worth a second visit. That's not nothing.