Aqua is Manhattan’s newest restaurant and yes! it has made the biggest splash! In all my years of Manhattan dining, never has there been a larger restaurant than Aqua. I was like, Wow! Aqua opened in the Flatiron district at 902 Broadway between 20th and 21st Street and is 24,000 thousand square feet. Yes, it’s that large and just when you’ve thought you can’t walk further-yes you can! Amazing!! Aqua is part of a group of restaurants behind the Chinese blockbuster, Hutong and it also has a London sister restaurant that opened well over a decade ago

The restaurant in it’s most simple description offers both Italian and Japanese cuisine. Now true confessions, I didn’t understand a lot of the menu descriptions but it was Restaurant Week and my friend and I both went there for that specific offering. But first some more information on the actual space before I post the Aqua dining experience.

The actual space in Aqua takes up two floors and has three private dining rooms. It also has a private lounge that might in the future become a speakeasy. There is, amazingly enough in addition to the main dining room part a 22 seat sushi bar (longer than a regular bowling lane) and then there is the bar area which has a 44 seat bar around a gigantic hemp rope sculpture which is magically lit.

Here are some of Aqua’s offerings if not dining there during restaurant week where you can select their prix-fixed dinner.

Their Italian food selections include raw bar items, burrata and arancini antipasti, pizzette with lobster, linguine with clams and entrees such as pollo alla diavola. Their Japanese menu offers wings and pork belly from the robata section of the menu, seafood fried rice or Japanese mushroom udon , a 12-piece sashimi platter , and “crystal sushi,” its signature dish served with seafood and a flavored jelly, like scallop, caviar, and kimchi jelly.

So here is the outside of the restaurant. It’s very unassuming until you walk in!

Here is the inside bar, dining area and then sushi bar area.

So let’s take a look at the prix-fixed menu.

Now let’s take a look at what was served.

Here is the Miso Soup and the Edamame that was brought out.

Then out of the Appetizer selection I chose Spinach salad and toasted gomo dressing.

Then of the three main courses I chose Chicken Milanese with Cannellini beans, lemon butter sauce and oregano.

Let’s not forget my dessert choice which was Black Sesame Chocolate Fondant which came with Valrhona green tea ice cream and white chocolate.

Well, since I loved every part of this meal, I totally needed a cup of Black Coffee to settle down and feel very grateful for all these new choices at a great New York Restaurant price.

So if you want an interesting dining experience with great food check out Aqua.

It won’t disappoint!