So, you know we had this party recently – I was having a conversation with someone and broke off to give context ‘ blah blah, because, I love food – like, love foo—” and they cut me off with ” YES, I KNOW YOU LOVE FOOD”. I don’t know if it translates through text how hilarious that moment was for me but I learned that maybe I need to tone it down a little with my declaration of food love outside of this blog….thank god I’m a vegetarian with a mother who raised me on mainly hippy ancient-grains principles otherwise I’d probably be the size of a house.
Moving on, as food is such an important thing to us – IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW – we like to make it a main feature of our birthday celebrations. I’m happy with a nice hike and a great dinner. We like to try new places for dinner and we love Italian. Most recently we went to St. Cecilia’s, the menu looked downright delectable.
All in all, despite the wooden soul-less quality of both the ambiance and service that is so typical of Buckhead restaurants, the food was good (the music, acid jazzy was too). There were some dumbed-down party pleasers like the ‘crispy punched potato’ appetizer we were suggested (which was actually my least favorite), but the rest of the menu was quite light and good. I ordered the “Casoncelli ravioli – roasted corn, goat cheese, ricotta, farmer onions”, it worked and was fun. Just to throw in a quick tangent wtf is a farmer onion…? This restaurant isn’t even the worst culprit, but I am so tired of restaurants doing this I’m gonna start presenting my food as such; here is my PASTA: herbanello tomato coulis, oregano garni on fresh scialatelli pasta with thinly shaved farmers parmesan cheese. Silliness. Back to the review – Nick got the gnocchi with black truffle, field onions, soft egg.The gnocchi was light and tasty with the heavy earthy flavor of truffle and a perfectly cooked egg. We had a nice beet salad and overall it was all good.
So onto the list,
Atlanta Italian restaurants rated: Updated Nov 2021
- a mano – Consistently fantastic food, affordable. Don’t skimp, order everything you want, it will be delicious and end with an amaro flight and the bread pudding please. Laid back vibes but reservations recommended.
- Lyla Lila – Tied for number one? Pricer then amano, the menu changes more often, lovely artful dishes. Chef can riff for veg’s which = a million bonus points. Good service, nice upscale dining experience which is really hard to come by in Atl. No parking is a downside.
- La Grotta – mostly good service, outdated, great food, old-school dining service ambiance.
- La Tavola – best if you sit at the bar, nice vibes, great food. Service isn’t always good, I even told our waiter we were veg and was delivered a meat dish once (when told, the waiter was sassy about it too!).
- Sotto Sotto – nice ambiance, good food. For a more laid back vibe visit Fritti next door for hilarious service but a great pizza.
- St. Cecilias – ok service and ambiance, a little Buckhead-soul-less, good food.
- BoccaLupo -I had a bad chewy farro here once…nice ambiance, ok service (a bit strained, trying too hard). Some inspired yummy dishes but equally some fussy failures. Not fab for vegetarians. It is one of the few on here taking risks, but they don’t always work.
- Double Zero – Vibes are a little sad and quiet, I have a feeling they might not last long? Don’t bother with the flatbread ‘pizza’, DO bother with the cauliflower.
- Pricci – they did something inexcusable like undercook a potato or something however as whole the food was ok – just boring and forgettable.
- Portofino – Also boring and flat. I got excited by a good soup but then it was just mediocre. Good ambiance.
- Bellina Alimentari – Don’t go to ponce city market for your Italian fix. The food was whatever, one dimensional. The service was really jolty and off and for the price it just was a total miss.
- No. 246 – This place is just underwhelming and inconsistent for me but it’s so low because of Nick’s 2 cents, he hates it. I asked him about it and he said he remembers tasting sugar in the doughy pizza crust, eating gummy chewy pasta, and having an under pepper-ed cacio e pepe. Outside of that it also is overpriced with stuffy vibes. Never again he says.
- White Bull – Flat Buckhead came to Decatur with some pop music and crispy brussels, ugh.
- Brezza Cucina – lol, pretty terrible. Awkward service, overpriced, disappointing food.
After reviewing the existing list I realize I’m not super impressed with a lot of Italian restaurants here in the city, many of them are overpriced for what they are, or feel a bit dated as opposed to classic. All in all I would say don’t bother with any under #3 unless its for a wine and an app. I’ll keep updating as I eat… and I know there are SO MANY restaurants missing from this list. Here is my future hit list (not necessarily all Italian): Babettes Cafe, Bacchanalia, Ecco, Ninos, Donettos, Pasta da Pulcinella, Antica Posta
So maybe I jumped the gun a bit on this post but I really wanted to come out with this relevant edition before we bounce to Italy next week! I’ve been dieting for a wedding (blegh) but don’t worry, after that wedding I intend on eating my way through Tuscany and I’ll be back next month to tell you all about it! In the meantime, snatch up any last tasty summer tomatoes and get ready for autumn (I can’t wait!).
