A new restaurant has opened in the Lyles Office Bldg (PNC Bank building across from Longmeadow SC). I'm pretty sure it's called Aqua 103. Looks pretty classy. Someone I know went there recently for lunch but I couldn't pin them down for a critique. Though they did mention a crab cake dinner on the menu for over 30 bucks.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has gone there yet. Looks on par with LJ's, maybe.

I am planning on going there this weekend

Just wondering if anyone else has been there yet???

Evidently not. I'm curious to hear how it is too (that had better be a damn good crabcake for more than 30 bucks, though!).

Been there. It's nice. They have a few kinks to work out but it should do well.

Inquiring minds want to know more. What did you have? What's their general cuisine like? Is it on par with LJ's?

I went to Aqua 103 for lunch today with a friend ::waves frantically in Wildblue's direction:: and it was a great dining experience! The atmosphere was upscale without being overly pretentious (we loved the waterfall at the bar, and also the light fixtures). Service was friendly yet reserved, although there was a bit of a lull before dessert was suggested to us. We each had the pumpkin soup for starters, and already I'm craving another bowl of it. Truly it was one fantastic bowl of soup. I had the hangar steak sandwich as my entree, and it was a wonderful blend of flavors - the steak, cinnamon, chili, onions, and red pepper dressing -- on a roll which was crunchy and chewy, and tasted freshly baked. There was a great little side salad which came with the sandwich, so good that I wanted to lick the plate. Dessert was also fantastic; I had the chocolate mousse, an artfully presented and generous portion of decadence. (I'll let Wildblue share her thoughts on her own entree and dessert.) Overall I gave it a solid A, and would go back for lunch or dinner in a heartbeat.

(BTW, no, I have no affiliation with Aqua 103, this was simply my sincere and impartial take on the place. )

Clever, sounds good, but what's this going to do on our wallets?

Well, it's definitely not a place I could afford to eat lunch at very often, but it's not ridiculous either. I think my lunch -- soup, sandwich, dessert, iced tea -- set me back around $25. I felt it was worth it. The soup was $5, I recall.

Happen to see a dinner menu? Hmmmmm?

Their menu is available to download from their site, though the waterfall flash thingy on the home page crashed my browser twice.

http://aqua103.net/Menu.html

Thanks all.
And thanks SMan...crashed my firefox also when I tried to access the "Home" link.

Lunch looks "reasonable", but dinner sure is upscale.

I'd also like to add that the gurgling water sound effect made me want to pee. mute, please!

Well, to expound on Clever’s review, I agree that lunch at Aqua 103 was an enjoyable experience. I also tried the pumpkin soup, which sounded a little bit strange when I first read the description (“pumpkin soup with spicy Spanish sausage, pureed pumpkin, and shaved pecorino cheese”), but in actuality it was really tasty. I ordered the yellow fin tuna appetizer as my entrée, and while very good, it was a little skimpy—I could’ve gotten a heckuva lot more fresh tuna at Kobe or Sakura for $12, so that was kind of a disappointment. We decided to order dessert just for the hell of it (hey, I was still hungry after eating my mere morsel of tuna!), so I ordered the chocolate sponge cake with chocolate ganache. The waiter brought out a plate with a very generous portion of cake garnished with what turned out to be Cool Whip (I’m not a big fan of Cool Whip, so I took a few points off for that…I would’ve preferred fresh whipped cream). The ganache (fancy word for really chocolatey, thick frosting) was so rich, I couldn’t finish my portion.

Overall, lunch was about $25 dollars with iced tea…I could see where it could get extremely pricey if you were ordering drinks. It’s not a place I’ll be eating lunch at regularly, but for a splurge or a special occasion, I would definitely recommend it. Service was good overall, though as Clever said there was a lull before our server came back to check on dessert. The décor is understated and chic…the main colors in the dining room are shades of blue and tan, with some really cool light fixtures that look kind of like melted ice overhead, and an attractive bar area with stacked stone and a sheet of water running down the wall behind the shelves of liquor. I also like LJ’s, off of Eastern Blvd, and Aqua 103 has sort of the same upscale vibe as LJ’s. Again, kind of pricey, but worth it if you feel like splurging. My only quibbles were the scanty portion size on the tuna appetizer (although the sandwich Clever ordered was generously sized, and she couldn’t finish it) and the Cool Whip garnish on the dessert (just my own personal thing…not a fan of the stuff). I’d go back again just to have more of the pumpkin soup!

Do you have the Noscript add-on? My Firefox didn't crash but I have Javascript disabled globally and allow it individually for each site if I need to. Most of the time I don't bother.

The crabcakes entree I saw on the menu was $25 and a crabcake sandwich was $12.

The vegetable pinini for 7 bucks sounded good.

I don't have that extension. I go to quite a few websites that use javascript generously. Plus, my java just got updated right before I went to that site, which, though supposedly backward compatible, may have had something to do with it.

I don't remember for sure, but I think it had something to do with the Quicktime addon. My Quicktime for firefox is a bit hosed and I just haven't had the patience to fix it.

Back to Aqua, looking at the menu's limited choices, I don't expect I'll be going there anytime soon. I'll periodically check their menu though and see what the seasons offer.

Oh... Cool Whip? You've got to be kidding me!

Don't they do "I'm a Barbie Girl"?

Heheh, looks like an interesting place. I'd probably try it if I worked in the area.

I thought you'd be all over that 29 oz. Porterhouse Yoss.

That's about the only thing that looked good... but at that price???!! pfft...

And hold the foo foo sauces, gimme my steak nekkid! No sauces, no A-1, nothin'.... just some salt and peppa!

Sounds like McGee's been filling your head with talk of "junk spices", Yoss!

First, looks like a lovely place.
May I be so bold or gauche to ask a question. Is the dinner menu inclusive? Does the price of each entree include anything? I.E. the salad &/or vege or some bread. Just assessing what to expect.
Thank you, keep the dining ideas coming.

That's a good question, comm. My guess is that the dinner entrees don't include a salad, but that some sort of vegetable side dish would accompany them (they didn't have a la carte side dishes listed, like The Tasting Room does, for example). We weren't given a bread basket with our lunches, but maybe that's because my lunch WAS a sandwich...actually, now that I think about it, it does seem a little odd not to have been offered rolls or at least crackers with the pumpkin soup. Hmm.

Coma, you went there for dinner, correct? What did they give you with your entree?

I had a chance to read over the menu (thanks, SMan) and I agree, lunch looks reasonable - dinner a bit more on the expensive side. But, I believe I will try this place for my upcoming anniversary!

Had dinner twice there, it's okay. The salad is nothing but greens. The salmon was delicious and so were the crabcakes. To me it was kind of boring, but I will give them a chance. There's no candles on the table and no soft music. Hopefully, this will change as things get going.