Varuni Napoli — Restaurant in Atlanta

My parents were in town visiting and wanted pizza for dinner one night. I said we could go to any number of great local pizza places. But my wife said there was a new place that she wanted to try out and was close to Piedmont Park in Midtown.

Varuni Napoli it was.

Parking is located in the back and make sure that you park back there to avoid being booted by parking authorities. There is both dining inside and a cool outdoor deck you'll have to walk through when you park in the back. The ordering process is simple, grab a menu, figure out what pizza, appetizers, salads, and drinks you want and place the order at the register.

They will give you your drinks and a number card to put on the edge of your table. Best thing is you just grab a table whereever you want. From the big community tables to a quiet table outside on the deck for a date. Heck there are even comfy couches that you can grab and just hang out with a cocktail and catch up with your mates.

Now, onto the food.... we ordered an order of meatballs, a Varuni Salad, a Margarita Pizza with Pepperoni, and a round of beers. The meatballs arrived to the table pretty quick and included a nice serving of sauce and a couple of slices of toasted bread. They were hot and quiet tasty, as good as Mom's and Mom was from Sicily and her parents owned an Italian restaurant in NYC off of Mott Street (heart of what used to be Little Italy in the lower east side of Manhattan).

Next to arrive at the table was the mixed green salad, for this being a side salad one salad was enough for 3 people to share. Well dressed and fresh.

Finaly the pizza... they serve their pies on marble stones to help keep the pizza hot. Nice thin crust with just the right amount of chew. The sauce to cheese ratio was good, not too much of either. The crust had a nice woodfired char around the edge which made for a nice smokey finish. The nice thing about this place is the menu is pretty simple and there is only one size of pie keeping things simple in the kitchen.

We all enjoyed the food and the service was good. Even though the servers don't take your initial order at the table, if you need anything like another drink or want to order additional food, they will easily take care of your requests. So please remember to add a tip to your bill when initially paying at the register or whenever you leave take care of your wait staff they are working hard to make your meal is served hot and empty plates are removed from the table.

So will I be eating at Varuni Napoli again? Absolutely I will. Easy to get to when spending a day at the park playing sports or just hanging out and enjoying the Atlanta skyline from across the lake. You might even just think you're right in Central Park in NYC eatin a...

As an Italian food lover and overall good food connoisseur, I couldn't wait to check out Atlanta's newest pizzeria from Luca Varuni (formerly of Antico). I have several friends who Live-Breathe-Antico, but I am not as big of a fan of the popular Westside spot. So I was hesitant, albeit excited when we arrived last Wednesday night.

First Look: The restaurant is an open concept, just like Antico. You have to walk-up order, just like Antico. You seat yourself, just like Antico. But the comparisons stopped once the food arrived.

Us girls ordered the special which was a vegetarian option with pesto, tomatoes, cheese etc. The guys got a pizza with sausage, roasted red peppers and more. You cannot "special order" anything on the menu, which would stink if I were picky. The two pizzas were enough to feed the four of us just fine.

Let's get to the important part: IT WAS DELICIOUS! Just like real Italian pizza: crispy, thin crust, that rich taste of the sauce and quality cheeses and the toppings were so on par it was ridiculous. I couldn't believe one of my favorite things was the red pepper (which I filched from the guys pizza whenever I could) and I usually hate cherry tomatoes on top of pizzas, but these weren't overcooked like they generally turn out. I was actually trying to wipe my crust on the pizza plate to sop up any extra "goodness" while the server was clearing the table.

Other items: We sat on the patio which was very nice and shaded. The restrooms are in an additional bar area off the patio. Servers come by often to refill water glasses and take empty dishes.

Only sad part: If I wanted to order more food I would have had to go back to the front and start a new ticket (and I sort of did want to eat more after the...

The food was amazing! I definitely recommend coming here for a meal!!

But I gave it 3 stars because the customer service was not the best. The staff overall were great and our server was very sweet and attentive. However, the manager’s service and behavior was unacceptable.

I am a physically and medically disabled person who requires a service dog to function in life. I visited this restaurant last night and was told by a server that the manager requested I sit in the back of the restaurant because of my service dog. According to federal law under the Americans with Disabilities Act, businesses are not permitted to isolate me due to my service animal. Under the law, a service dog is recognized as medical equipment and is equivalent to a wheelchair or oxygen tank. Therefore, treating me differently because of my need for my medical equipment is an act of discrimination.

I did not comply with the request made and suggested that the manager speak to me himself so that I could further educate him. He did not make his way to my table once and I received uncomfortable glares from him for the duration of my visit. He did however visit every over guest in the restaurant and ensured that he skipped my table. And upon exiting, the other staff were polite and said “thank you for coming, have a good evening” while the manager turned his back toward us. He did not acknowledge me once and never offered an apology for his disrespectful behavior.

Although our server was perfect and the food was incredible, the manager made our visit uncomfortable and unwelcoming. I advise that he educate himself or how to properly treat a guest with a disability. Visit the government website ADA.gov to learn how to handle this better...