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Milan, Lee Hwy in Arlington - Closed


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The people that own Milan Bakery have opened an Italian eatery in the old pizza hut, cowboy cafe outpost. They are open and ready for business. Hopefully it will be decent enough to stick around. This place has plenty of parking.

Milan Restaurant

5731 Lee, Arlington, VA 22207

(703) 237-6606

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The people that own Milan Bakery have opened an Italian eatery in the old pizza hut, cowboy cafe outpost. They are open and ready for business. Hopefully it will be decent enough to stick around. This place has plenty of parking.

Milan Restaurant

5731 Lee, Arlington, VA 22207

(703) 237-6606

Is this the Charley Horse location and 'revolving door' site of many short-lived ethnic restaurants? What was the one that got a decent review from Sietsema and closed before/shortly after the review's publication?? Hope this venture is more successful!
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I haven't ventured into that building since it WAS a Pizza Hut (my God, how many years ago was that, anyway?) and I never really paid any attention to the various ethnic incarnations which followed, but I'm willing to bet that ever since Restaurant Vero opened up, practically next door, it spelled doom for whatever was in the old P.H. building. I've only been to Vero once, but it was a lovely evening and I believe that I said at the time that if I lived within walking/very short driving distance, I'd be a regular diner there.

Maybe it needs to be a good neighborhood bar first? Don't know, but I'll read any dining reports for Milan with great interest. Arlington always has room for another good neighborhood joint.

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I had dinner at Milan this evening. They've been open for a week, but still don't have their ABC license - they anticipate being able to sell beer and wine in about three more weeks. The menu is medium-long, but doesn't stray too far from old-school checkered-tablecloth Italian. Prices are moderate.

When a new mom-n-pop like this crops up, you hope that the owner is going to be the person working furiously behind the stove, an obsessed cook who just had to jump on this restaurant space. Unfortunately, from what I experienced this evening, that doesn't appear to be the case: Too much from the kitchen came across to me as being boxed (pasta, croutons), frozen (tilapia, broccoli), bottled (salad dressing), poorly executed (Caesar salad, lasagna), and bland (lasagna, tilapia). The basket of warm bread got us through the meal.

For the time being, Milan's competition doesn't appear to be Restaurant Vero (which is what I was hoping for) or Joe's Place Pizza and Pasta (which is what I was fearing). Based on my meal this evening, Milan rests squarely on the same level as a dinner theater in rural Idaho - a viable alternative to the cafeteria at Arlington Hospital, but not by much.

And that's my Saturday night. I wish them well and I hope I'm wrong, but my advice to people here is to wait awhile.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Well, that was a short-lived little catastrophe: Milan is closed, with signs up saying, "Coming Soon - Tap And Vine."

Wow, there's a surprise at the Location of Death. A mediocre restaurant quickly fails. Since the site clearly doesn't work as a restaurant, why don't they just blow the building up and put a bank there. We need more banks around here, right? :lol:

Rocks, how about a pool on the lifespan of Tap and Vine?

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