Piastra is a family-owned and operated Italian restaurant located on Marietta’s historic town square. The old school pasta dishes on the menu here are all made fresh using local and non-GMO ingredients. Order the classic tagliatelle vongole with little neck clams tossed in white wine and garlic.

An old school Italian restaurant to head to for comforting classics, Scalini’s in Smyrna may be best known for its labor-inducing eggplant parmigiana. Many an expectant mother past their due date in Atlanta swear by the dish and its magical powers. Scalini’s claims the eggplant parm here has brought about labor for close to one thousand moms-to-be.

Forza Storico is the Roman Italian restaurant from Pietro Gianni, chef Michael Patrick, and Stephen Peterson of Storico Fresco. The restaurant drifts easily between the bar-like setting of an osteria and a casual neighborhood trattoria. As in Rome, the food here incorporates the ancient city’s core ingredients: butter, black pepper, bitter greens, and the sharp and funky pecorino cheese. Expect to find classic pastas such carbonaras, amatricianas, and cacio e pepe accompanying fried foods like artichokes and squash blossoms, and larger courses of slow-cooked meats. Outdoor seating. Covered patio. Order online.

Chef Craig Richards describes the food at his Midtown restaurant, Lyla Lila, as “Italian in spirit and technique,” but with an “expanded pantry” featuring Georgia grown ingredients. The menu spotlights flavors and dishes found throughout Italy and southern Spain, and offers several of Richards’ handmade pastas and risottos. Outdoor seating available.

Mission and Market chef Ian Winslade and brothers Ryan and Jonathan Akly opened this Italian restaurant and market at the City Walk complex in 2021. Billed as an all-day dining establishment, Tre Vele really shines in the evening with a menu of classic pasta dishes, including cacio e pepe, strozzapreti with vegan kale pesto, pappardelle topped with lamb ragu, and spinach pasta lasagna. Beyond seating in the dining room, the restaurant also features a rooftop terrace bar and lounge complete with fire pits. Reservations encouraged. Patio seating. To-go options from market and cafe. 

Campagnolo is a comfortable and casual neighborhood trattoria with a large patio located in the heart of Midtown one block up from Piedmont Park. Favorites to try here include the pappardelle with duck confit and the fettuccine capricciose with wild mushrooms and arugula topped with pecorino cheese. Patio seating. Order online.

Located in Sandy Springs, il Giallo offers Italian classics and pastas along with fresh-caught seafood from the Georgia coast on its menu. Regulars rave about the Caesar salad, complimentary freshly baked focaccia bread, and the polpette (beef, turkey and duck meatballs swimming in mushroom gravy.) As for the pastas, try the roasted duck and fontina agnolotti, gnocchi with gorgonzola and speck, or the lasagna matta made with braised beef short rib. Order online.

Part-restaurant, part-market, and part-pasta company, Storico Fresco in Buckhead is likely one of the best places in Atlanta to buy and consume freshly-made pasta. Portions here are easily shared. Order a couple of pastas for the table like the cacio e pepe, the squid ink ravioli with salmon belly, or lasagna alla bolognese. Storico offers pasta-making classes, too. Covered patio seating. Order online.

This cozy, wood-laden neighborhood bistro in the Old Fourth Ward serves a tight menu of pastas with a bit of Southern flare on its menu, and lots of in-season vegetables, too. Order the classic cacio e pepe or try the fusilli with diver scallops, chard, and mushrooms tossed in a light cream sauce. Be sure to order a cocktail or wine here. Patio seating. Order online.

While widely known for its wood-fired pizzas and meatballs, the menu at Grana also features a small section of handmade pastas from chef Pasquale “Pat” Pascarella (the White Bull) that folks shouldn’t skip. Consider ordering stuffed shells filled with ragu and bechamel, rigatoni tossed in fra diavolo and topped with sausage and garlic, or the gnocchi sorrentino baked in tomato sauce and topped with mozzarella and basil. A second location opens at Perimeter Center in 2022. Rooftop patio. Call for takeout.

Bellina Alimentari inside Ponce City Market is an Italian specialty shop and market from Tal Baum (Aziza, Atrium) with a small osteria in back focused on wine and fresh pasta. The menu often changes with the seasons. Don’t pass up the chance to order the basil lumache with basil pesto and pistachio topped with parmigiano reggiano or the slow-cooked beef and pork ragu served over fresh-made pappardelle.

Osteria Mattone from restaurateur Ryan Pernice (Table & Main) and sommelier Dan Pernice brings Rome to the heart of Roswell’s historic district. Try the classic and simple spago pomodoro with tomato, basil garlic, and parmesan or the hearty tagliolini bolognese with beef ragu and ricotta salata. For a taste of the sea, there’s the frutti di mare with calamari, mussels, and shrimp. Make sure to order wine here, too. Patio seating. Fire pit. Order online.

Located on Cheshire Bridge Road, Nino’s has been doling out old school red sauce pasta dishes in Atlanta for over 50 years now. Keep it simple with the spaghetti and meatballs or the lasagna or order the fettucine with shrimp and scallops tossed in Pernod and saffron cream sauce. There’s also the classic veal parmesan. Reservations highly encouraged. Order online.

La Tavola in Virginia-Highland is a neighborhood trattoria in every sense of the word tucked inside a cozy, narrow dining room off of Virginia Avenue. Keep it super simple with a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs or get a bit fancy with squid ink spaghetti made with calamari, Calabrian chilies, and Thai basil pesto. All pastas can be ordered in both appetizer and entree-sized portions. Cashless restaurant. Order online.

With its relocation to Emory Village from Sandy Springs, modern Italian restaurant Double Zero from the Castellucci Group (Cook & Soldiers, Iberian Pig) is now an ITP destination for those in search of pizza and pasta. The small list of pastas here include updated classics using in-season and local ingredients. Order the pork cannelloni with Berkshire pork shoulder, shallots, and herbs in a béchamel sauce or orecchiette with spicy sausage and broccolini. Order online.

Located in the heart of Oakhurst Village, Saba returns to its former home there as Paolino Italian Restaurant and Gelateria. Owned by Shane Mixon, the menu for Paolino’s centers around classic Italian dishes and pastas, including fettuccine Alfredo, linguine and clam sauce, and lasagna, along with lobster ravioli and eggplant pappardelle. Patio seating. Order online.

Ford Fry retooled the menu at his popular Decatur Italian restaurant in 2021, transforming it and the dishes into an old school red sauce joint. Look for classics like spaghetti and meatballs, cacio e pepe, and rigatoni with vodka sauce, along with pizzas (including a clam pie), shrimp scampi, and chicken scallopini here. Patio seating. Order online.

This family-owned, old school Italian restaurant is named for its matriarch, whose parents hailed from Torino, Italy. Expect comforting pastas like baked ziti and lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, and carbonara on the menu here. Bambinelli’s eggplant parmigiana is one of the most popular dishes on the menu. It features lightly battered eggplant simmered in red sauce topped with mozzarella cheese and served with a side of pasta marinara. The restaurant also includes locations in Roswell, Midtown, and Lilburn. Order online.

Dominick’s in historic Norcross is where to head for heaping bowls of pasta slathered in sauce and cheese in Gwinnett County. Dishes of pure comfort are on the menu here, like baked ziti or spinach and sun-dried tomato manicotti baked in Alfredo sauce and topped with marinara. There are also locations in Lawrenceville, Buford, and Watkinsville.