Global Italian chain lands in Atlanta with 2 locations

This successful chain of Northern Italian restaurants — and the newest European export — chose Atlanta for its first two entries into the U.S. market as it expands globally, including France, India, China, Germany and elsewhere.

Walking into the newer location at Emory Point, it is impossible not to notice immediately the décor, which is like getting hit upside the head by Liberace’s candelabra. There are high, lavishly detailed wood-carved trap ceilings, countless gold chandeliers and a giant wall of ornate clocks set to varying time zones.

Like the décor, the menu is big in just about every sense of the word, with more than 400 combinations of pasta and sauce, some ill-advised.

Unfortunately, even when the dishes at La Tagliatella are at their best they still barely surpass the point of mediocrity, and they prove beyond frustrating when at their worst. Thin veal slices arrive tough and grey, and the old-bubblegum consistency of the gnocchi keeps a creamy mushroom and truffle sauce from appealing. Pizzas are fine.

Apparently, America does not have a monopoly on exporting mass-marketed mediocrity.