Long wait times only lead to Colletta's bland pasta and OK pizza - Review - Atlanta - The Infatuation
"Colletta in Alpharetta is the type of upscale Italian restaurant where reservations are essential on weekends. Crowds huddle in the foyer as if they’re clambering to see Beyoncé. You'll spend 20 minutes waiting for dressed-up suburbanites to clear out of leather U-shaped booths. The open kitchen bustles with ball-capped cooks. And servers are warm and super attentive—like a friend of a friend who is really excited to meet you. It all builds up a high expectation. And that's unfortunate because a dinner at Colletta isn't bad, but pasta inconsistencies and passable pizza just don't match the rest of the energy here. The housemade black pepper tagliatelle, though perfectly tender, tastes like they forgot the brodo sauce. Halibut arrives overcooked and tough to chew. We do like the focaccia appetizer with a honey ricotta spread, but you'd be that person in your group eating table bread for dinner. If you’re invited to this buzzy spot, down several glasses of $12 wine (Colletta’s most redeeming quality) and get a pizza. With decent crust and fresh mozzarella cheese, the pies don't disappoint—but also don't do enough to lure in Beyoncé (we assume). Food Rundown Focaccia You get a decent portion of bread for $7. The whipped ricotta topped with honey helps make this one of the better appetizers. Shrimp Pizza Though they have a lemony taste, the shrimp on this white-sauce pizza aren’t super seasoned. If you want something with more flavor, get the nduja pizza instead. Nduja Pizza The crust is decent and doesn’t have any issues holding up the spicy sausage, fire roasted red pepper, and plenty of fontina. The pepperoncinis combine with the sausage to give this pizza a fiery flavor. Meatballs Pork and veal combine to form a moist meatball. Compared to some of the other misses on the menu, these are a good choice. Spaghetti Thin spaghetti noodles in a garlicky tomato sauce are just fine. It’s bland, so this dish needs a side order of meatballs to take it beyond a kids’s menu-styled sauce and noodles. Black Pepper Tagliatelle We’re still searching for any hint of flavor in this pasta dish. If you plan to order this, plan to BYOB, meaning bring your own brodo because the current broth disappears in this bowl of bland noodles. Ravioli If you really want pasta, get this one, which has a slightly sweet vodka sauce and smoky Italian sausage. The oval-shaped ravioli have a nice amount of ricotta cheese inside, too." - Juli Horsford
