VARUNI NAPOLI
1540 Monroe Drive N.E., Atlanta. www.varuni.us.
[2 of 5 stars] A worthy addition to its neighborhood and the food is consistent. $$-$$$
Food: Neapolitan pizza
Service: responsive
Best dishes: red pizzas, including the Margherita and Amore Mio
Vegetarian selections: salad, pizzas
Price range: $$-$$$
Credit cards: all major credit cards
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays, 5:30-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 5:30 p.m.-midnight Fridays, 11 a.m.-midnight Saturdays
Children: definitely, particularly for weekend lunch and early evening
Parking: valet or free lot behind the restaurant
Reservations: no
Wheelchair access: yes
Smoking: no
Noise level: moderate to high
Patio: yes, a nice space
Takeout: yes, but you have to order in person and wait
Address, phone: 1540 Monroe Drive N.E., Atlanta. 404-709-2690.
Website:www.varuni.us
At Varuni Napoli, the new Neapolitan pizza joint in Morningside, the comparison with Antico is quite inevitable, given that this new spot’s chef and co-owner, Luca Varuni, was formerly Antico’s prime pizzaiolo.
Here, customers will experience the togetherness that co-owner Giancarlo Pirrone’s design fosters, with tables large enough for communal dining and separate dining spaces conceived for varied experiences. They’ll return for table visits from a smiling Varuni and his beautifully irregular handmade Neapolitan pizzas cooked in the wood-burning ovens on display. Even if they aren’t precisely the best specimens customers have tasted, they are good enough.
Go for the red-sauce pies like the Amore Mio, adorned with charred basil leaves, fresh roasted artichokes, frayed strips of sweet sopressata, black olives and plugs of mozzarella. You also could make a meal from platters of tangy burrata or full antipasto spreads with soft Taleggio cheese, mixed olives, folds of prosciutto di Parma and a dish of house-made ndjua.
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