Aidriana’s co-owners and chefs, J.R. Hernandez and Mike Sader, appreciate their restaurant’s location at Renaissance Place along Holland-Sylvania, north of Sylvania Avenue.
Daily, 15,000 cars drive past. Opened last fall, their menu and creativity bring something Toledo hasn’t yet experienced. Aidriana’s combines a scratch kitchen (where everything—sauces, breads, broths—are made in the restaurant kitchen) with old world cuisine, presented in an upscale dining environment.
“We’re trying things that no one else is doing,” Hernandez said. “I believe restaurants copy each other, and they aren’t being as creative as they could be. You can evoke so many senses through food, and if you understand that, it can make you a popular chef.”
Serving the stars
Sader knows what it’s like to be admired. Locally, he operated Gianno’s (Maumee) and Cohen & Cooke (Bowling Green), but his talents are known in Seattle, Napa Valley and Los Angeles, among other kitchens. He’s served major Hollywood stars and become close friends with prominent chefs, including Wolfgang Puck and Rick Bayless.
Sader worked with Hernandez at Cohen & Cooke over a decade ago. Hernandez had also traveled the nation honing his craft, and a chance encounter with Sader last year led to Aidriana’s.
Inventive variety
Named for one of Hernandez’s daughters, at Aidriana’s guests will find dishes drawing inspiration from around the globe: chorizo del abuelo, seared scallops, puttanesca pasta, cherry smoked bone-in pork chop and cowboy crusted sirloin steak, to name a few.
Aidriana’s also offers a ‘chef’s pasta’ selection, a diner-chef collaboration, offering you a chance to customize your dish. Simply name your taste or culture preferences, and they’ll create a custom dish.
Hernandez invokes magic with the ‘chef’s sandwich,’ a wildcard menu item offering him the ability to fashion whatever brilliance inspires him in the moment. Through a stroke of good luck–or more likely Hernandez’s talents learned via Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts– I enjoyed an outstanding salmon sandwich on house-made whole grain with pickled red onions, greens tossed in a red wine vinaigrette, plus a side of pasta purses stuffed with goat cheese.
The price is right
Despite elaborately named menu items and elegant blending of tastes, Aidriana’s pricing is surprisingly affordable. Most lunch items are around $10, with dinners ranging from $10-$20. The menu also regularly offers several 5 or 7-course meals for a special culinary experience.
Aidriana’s, where you can appreciate chef-driven inventiveness and expand your culinary palate, all for reasonable prices. A place you shouldn’t miss.
11:30am-4pm Tuesday-Saturday | 5-9pm Tuesday-Thursday |
5-10pm Friday-Saturday | 11am-2pm Sunday brunch
Aidriana’s | 6060 Renaissance Place Ste. G.
419-214-0599 | aidrianas.com
