Varuni Napoli restaurant review, Atlanta

In tomorrow's AJC I have a review of Varuni Napoli , Atlanta's newest Neapolitan pizza joint. I gave it a grade of 2 stars.

At Varuni Napoli, the comparison to Antico is quite inevitable. This is particularly the case, given that this spot's chef/co-owner Luca Varuni was formerly Antico's prime pizzaiolo. Varuni is determined to distinguish this restaurant from its competitors. Here, customers will experience the togetherness that co-owner/architect 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, so passionate about the products he imports from his Napoli homeland. And patrons will come for the beautifully irregular handmade Neapolitan pizzas cooked in the wood-burning ovens on display, even if they aren't precisely the best specimens they've tasted. They are good enough.

Go for the red-sauce pies like the Amore Mio adorned with charred basil leaves, fat, fresh roasted artichokes, frayed strips of sweet sopressata, black olives and plugs of mozzarella. You could also make a meal from platters of tangy burrata or full antipasto spreads with soft Taleggio cheese, mixed olives and folds of prosciutto di Parma and a dish of house made ndjua.