Nino’s Italian Restaurant opened in 1968 and has been owned by Antonio Noviello’s family since 1982.
Nowadays, Noviello’s daughter, Alessandra Noviello Hayes, and her chef husband, Micah Hayes, operate the restaurant and recently have added a new window-lined bar space.
“I grew up in the business,” Noviello Hayes said. “I started working the hostess stand when I was 14. When I was about 18, I started managing. Essentially, I’ve been in the building my whole life, so our regular customers have seen me grow up, and they’ve seen my children grow up.”
The original part of Nino’s mostly has stayed the same. It includes a wine cellar, a space for private dinners and a patio. The core menu hasn’t changed much over the years, either.
Credit: Drew Furr
Credit: Drew Furr
Nino’s red sauce, baked clams on the half shell and a selection of pastas that can be ordered in half portions are among the comfort classics. And its veal dishes, made with freshly butchered veal pounded super thin, are customer favorites.
“We try to stay true to our timeless atmosphere and our timeless food and elevate it a little bit — little things, like plating and making sure that everything is imported and fresh,” Noviello Hayes said. “We spend a lot of time and money importing the finest ingredients.”
Credit: Drew Furr
Credit: Drew Furr
The menu also pays homage to Antonio Noviello’s family roots in Sapri, on the coast of southern Italy.
“We’ve added specials to take you on a coastal journey,” Noviello Hayes said. “You’ll see that our fresh fish specials and our pasta specials have more of where we’re from on the Amalfi Coast.”
Credit: Drew Furr
Credit: Drew Furr
Another signature is the inclusion of family names on the menu.
“So, I’m pollo alla Alessandra, a seared chicken breast with sliced eggplant, marsala wine sauce and melted mozzarella,” Noviello Hayes said, laughing.
The bright new addition of the bar space, inspired by a family trip to Italy, also features a lighter lunch menu, served Mondays through Thursdays, with brunch on Sundays.
For 56 years, Noviello Hayes said, Nino’s had been closed for lunch. “The minute we expanded and had this new room with all the windows, everyone was calling.”
Credit: Drew Furr
Credit: Drew Furr
Her father grew up working in his father’s bar, Dopo Lavoro, in Sapri, she said. “When we designed the space, we decided to tell a story and make it look like you’re back home in Italy. I took all the family photos and put them on the walls. Those are all my parents and my grandparents in Italy.”
As a woman working in the restaurant business for most of her life, Noviello Hayes said she is proud to continue her family’s legacy.
“Taking on the business is really important to me,” she said. “I’ve invested a lot of time and energy into taking it on and making my dad proud and carrying on his name. He worked really hard during a time when Nino’s was going down and he brought it back up. There’s not many Atlanta restaurants that have been around this long.”
Nino’s Italian Restaurant. 1931 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, 404-874-6505, ninosatlanta.com
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