Taverna Opens This Week at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta

A year after Texas-based pizza joint Thirteen Pies shuttered at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta, another restaurant from the Lone Star State will open at the development. Taverna, billed as “a neighborhood restaurant known for serving authentic Italian fare and signature risotto dishes,” opens this Thursday, May 4, at 250 Buckhead Avenue NE, Parcel C.

The restaurant will serve lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Executive corporate chef Renato De Pirro’s menu covers a variety of salads, antipasti, fresh pastas, seafood, and wood-fired pizzas. The main attraction is a list of risottos made with Carnaroli rice, including risotto al parmigiano con salsa tartufata (parmesan cheese and black truffle sauce) and risotto con burrata (burrata, roasted heirloom cherry tomatoes, basil, and crispy prosciutto).

The beverage program features wines and cocktails with Italian influence, plus local craft beers.

“In Italy, a taverna is a special place where customers become friends and family, and we hope that this new location will be that place for the Atlanta community,” Alberto Lombardi, owner of Taverna parent company Lombardi Family Concepts, said in a prepared statement. “We are committed to delivering our guests a traditional Italian dining experience, along with the Southern hospitality they are accustomed to receiving.”

This is Taverna’s first Georgia outpost. Lombardi also operates locations in Austin; Dallas; Ft. Worth; Houston; Laguna Beach, California; and Akumal, Mexico.

Taverna will open for lunch and dinner seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Brunch will be served on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Thirteen Pies Is Out; Taverna Is In at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta [EATL]
• Taverna's Italian Fare Will Replace Thirteen Pies in Buckhead [EATL]