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.

La Grotta is a beloved Atlanta classic. This is white tablecloth, fine dining Italian complete with a secret garden right off of busy Peachtree Road in Buckhead. Come here for decadent pasta dishes like sacchetti (“beggar’s purses”) stuffed with fontina and black truffles dressed in marasala wine sauce or pappardelle with lobster and shallots in a rosemary-white wine cream sauce. Jackets are suggested, ties are optional. In other words, don’t wear jeans and a t-shirt here.

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.

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.

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. The team behind Storico Fresco also own Roman Italian restaurant Forza Storico at Westside Provisions District.

Italian-American restaurant Dirty Rascal is the latest dining spot from chef Todd Ginsberg and the team behind Rye Restaurants group (the General Muir, Wood’s Chapel BBQ). Located at the Thompson Hotel, and led in the kitchen by chef Josh Hopkins, head here to dine on red sauce joint classics like steak Diane, lasagna, chicken scarpariello, and eggplant parmesan paired with dirty martinis. Look for meatballs, shrimp cocktail, and hero sandwiches and paninis during lunch, too. Reservations encouraged. 

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.

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.

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.

Located in the heart of Inman Quarter, Sotto Sotto has been a popular spot for pasta and other classic Italian dishes for over 20 years. Order everything from tortelli di Michelangelo Buonarroti and cacio pepe to fettuccine Alfredo and spinach and ricotta gnocchi here. Reservations highly encouraged. Cashless restaurant.

Some call this the best kept Italian food secret in Sandy Springs. Sorry, not sorry for letting the cat out of the bag on this one. Located in a retail complex near the King and Queen buildings, Buon Fornello is a bare bones operation offering just 16 seats inside built around big, bold Italian flavors and fresh-made pastas. Run by Sicilian-born chef Giacomo Lazzano, expect plates of ravioli stuffed with butternut squash or lobster, squares of meaty lasagna loaded with beef bolognese, and bowls of linguine and meatballs here. Try the kitchen sink — a Sicilian pasta dish packed with meatballs, salami, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese tossed in beef bolognese. Warm up on cold days with minestrone or pasta fagioli soup, and don’t skip the cannolis for dessert. Keep an eye on Instagram for Lazzano’s pizza pop-up Kalura.

This cozy Italian bistro (and 2022 Eater award winner for best new restaurant) comes complete with red-checked tablecloths and candlelight. Nestled in the Candler Park neighborhood, Gigi’s serves super fresh takes on classic red sauce dishes made with in-season produce and house-made pastas. Expect everything from beef carpaccio and pasta primavera to rigatoni fazool with cowpeas and chicken marsala served with fresh focaccia bread on the menu. Dessert features Gigi’s popular tiramisu. A tight list of cocktails, wine, beer, and amaro round out the beverage list, which includes the Dirty Gigi martini and a rye Old Fashioned punched up with espresso and coffee bitters.

Chef and owner Pat Pascarella kicked off a pandemic renovation of his Decatur restaurant in 2020, reconfiguring the dining room and adding a large outdoor space in back with plenty of seating for dinner under the stars. Head here for Pascarella’s handmade daily pasta specials and pasta flights serving up to five people. End a pasta-packed meal here with affogato or panna cotta. Pascarella also owns Italian restaurants Bastone on Howell Mill Road, Grana on Piedmont Road and Dunwoody, and Alici Oyster Bar in Midtown.

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.

Open since 1988, this Italian restaurant and piano bar is as old school as it gets when it comes to the menu and the decor. Think warm, dark woods, white table cloths, and framed photos hanging on the wall. The delightful ambiance here is set off by nightly live music paired with heaping bowls of pasta like shrimp pomodoro, tagliatelle bolognese, and fettuccini alfredo. Order a slice of decadent chocolate cake or cheesecake for dessert. The restaurant is also known for its extensive wine list.

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.