Avellino’s Opens with Traditional Italian (Fan)Fare
Decatur Metro | August 17, 2009 | 9:16 amApparently the ever-present “Coming Soon” sign that’s been sitting in front of Avellino’s location on College will soon be coming down.
Carl forwards this morning’s Daily Candy, which talks about Avellino’s as if it will open tomorrow. Didn’t look like it last night, so I guess they’re just applying the finishing touches at this point.
Traditional Italian cuisine is the name of the game here: pizza, pasta and Peroni on tap. As a guy with Italians all over his family tree, I make no qualms about my high expectations for any new traditional Italian food joint. Hopefully Avellino’s will come through for us, and I can move on to my next brick-and-mortar food lust, an Italian bakery.
Yes, it’s open. Damn, that was a good pizza. Best I’ve had in Decatur by far.
I had the rustica, which was with tomatoes, cheese, and pancetta. You can opt for EVOO and garlic as opposed to marinara, and that was a great option on this pie. Crust was thin, but nicely chewy.
When we were there on Tuesday afternoon, they still hadn’t found the lightswitch, the stereo, or the tv remote, though. We dined to the pleasant hum of the bar coolers. Coke was served in the can, no glass or ice. I think you would call it a very, very soft opening. But as takeout, it oughtta be great. I’m hoping they’ll work on some of the niceties as they get their feet under them.
Thanks for the review Daren! Glad to hear that it was so good. Can’t wait to try it!
And if it’s REAL Italian, they’ll do as little to improve the ambiance as possible!
I am getting takeout as I type this post and the food looks and smells great. I cant wait to get home and eat.
Ed, let us know how it is!
The pizza was very good – I will return very soon.
Went with school-age daughter Wed. PM and all the food we had was truly great–Quattro Formagio (4 cheese) pizza, fantastic spinach salad, garlic bread (MUCH more than just that), and plain spaghetti with a garlic/butter sauce that my daughter ate every strand of. But the restaurant was way too busy for night two and at least one employee hadn’t shown up so the staff were barely coping.
A few tips until they iron out their new opening issues:
- When you arrive, go right up to the lower counter and order. There’s no sign and it’s not obvious. At least one other table and us mistakenly wiated patiently to be waited on. We were even sitting on stools at the counter and were not waited on.
- If your food doesn’t show up, be assertive and ask about it. Our drinks never came while waiting for our food until we asked about it. Then our food didn’t show up even after several orders after us had finished and left so we had to ask about it. Even after our food arrived, the salad still hadn’t and we had to ask about that seperately. However, once it quieted down a bit, we got lots of apologies and were not charged for one of our items.
- If you want to bring kids, get there early before the peak rush. There’s only two tables that hold more than two to four people. Those same two are the only normal height tables; the rest are bar stool heights.
The excellent quality of the food and the business on just day two indicate to me that this restaurant is a keeper. So far, it seems aimed more at adults and drinkers than families but that may just reflect the slice of time we were there. Everyone we saw there seemed to be enjoying the food and themselves but my daughter was the only child while we were there.
I don’t believe they have enough space to be the business they want to be (a place where adults meet friends, eat at the restraunt, and spend on drinks). I wish they had gotten the bigger area on the other end of the same shopping center.
People come in and have no idea where to go. The few employees crammed in the back are too busy to say hello.
I’m sure some people will find their pizza perfect, but I’d just as soon go to Mojo where I know I can sit down.
Outdoor seating would really help this place when it’s crowded and the weather’s still warm enough. Families would like that. Picnic tables or rectangular tables that seat at least 6 would be best.
Just as I went for the Avondale Pizza menu last night at home, I remembered that Avellino’s had just opened this week. So, my son and I strolled up College Ave around 5:45pm to place a to-go order. As previously mentioned, this place is T-I-N-Y. Even the 5 people in the kitchen looked squeezed together. Small bar area, with 6 or so bar stools. 4 taps- Brooklyn Lager, Harpoon Summer Ale, Coors Light, Peroni. No kid’s menu, but they figured out a 1 meatball + pasta for lil dude.
Our 10″ Rustica (thanks Darren) & Margherita, 1 meatball deal & greek salad came to $31. Steep? I thought so. Started with the Margherita first, and the Rocky theme started playing in my brain. Hate to throw out the “best pizza in decatur” tag…but I just have to! Both pies offered such a refreshing of taste from the “status quo.” The crust is light, yet so flavorful.
Lookout Fellini’s, Mojo and whoever else…
Pizza was quite good, though service was just so-so. Actually, they messed up on our order, and when we told them, the waitress grudgingly offered to make a new pie or to adjust our check. We ate the pizza that we didn’t order (which was good), but our check wasn’t adjusted to reflect it the lower price. We brought it up to the waitress, but it was just an unpleasant experience. They were busy, but not terribly so — there were a a couple of open tables. Also, I didn’t like that on the bill, they don’t show you the price, tax, and tip — it’s just a total amount. I’m not sure why we got a bill for $17.12 when our pizza cost $14 (just water to drink). By that point, we didn’t want to make any more of a fuss, so we just paid (+tip) and left.
I’ll come back–the pizza was good–but I would have probably be more of a frequent customer if they had handled the situation better.
I am seeing bad reviews of the service in this place everywhere.Someone needs to let the owners know or they are done for.
I agree, Nellie. We made a comment to them — trying to be helpful — before we left, and the guy said, “We’ll do better next time, how’s that?”
NOT reassuring enough to me!