Daniel B.
Yelp
I thought the pizza at Forno Vero was good. This place is like the Antico Pizza of Marietta Square. It's not as good as Antico (one of my favorites), but it's still yummy. I'd come back.
Forno Vero is located inside Marietta Square Market, the repurposed warehouse in downtown Marietta that's the suburb's answer to popular Atlanta in-town markets like Krog Street Market and Ponce City Market. Forno Vero and Marietta Square Market opened concurrently on March 28, 2019. Forno Vero serves as the central bar for the market's food hall and I believe it's the market's largest restaurant. Indoor and outdoor seating is shared with other vendors and many of the tables are communal.
There is a mix of free and paid parking lots directly outside the market. Take a look at this map to see where to park: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/forno-vero-marietta?select=O201sR4h4qtlO0Nac1eR_w&userid=j14WgRoU_-2ZE1aw1dXrJg.
We visited around 1pm on a Friday and the place was a zoo. It was really busy. Not only was the market packed, but there was a lot of activity going on at the Square too. It was congested everywhere. Things died down significantly around 1:30-1:45pm.
Forno Vero had a simple menu featuring seven different kinds of Neapolitan-style wood-fired pizzas priced at $12.99 to $15.99 each. They also had five salads ($7.99-10.99 each), pick two ($6.99) and pick three ($9.99) charcuterie and cheese boards, and other items like piadina ($9.49 each) which is an Italian flatbread sandwich. The bar serves wine and cocktails including Negronis (Italian cocktails made with gin, vermouth, and Campari).
I think one pizza is best split among two or three people. We had six in our group and split three pizzas. We could've eaten a fourth (that would've been my preference), but the others got nachos from Lucky's Burgers and Brew instead. Here's what we ordered:
* Bianca ($12.99) - fresh mozzarella (fior di latte), ricotta, bufala, Pecorino Romano cheese, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil
* Speziato ($14.49) - hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes, spicy soppressata, Calabrian peppers, fresh mozzarella (fior di latte), garlic, extra virgin olive oil
* Carni ($15.99) - hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes, salsiccia, salumi, cherry tomatoes, bufala
The pizzas were delicious. I was happy with each of them. My favorite was the Speziato, but I recommend all of them. Like Antico, Forno Vero's pizzas were served piping hot out of the on-site Italian wood oven in disposable pizza boxes. Cups, napkins, and eating utensils are self-serve at the counter. You get your own drinks from the Coke fountain drink machine located on the wall near the left side of the bar (if facing the bar).
In general, the pizzas were flavorful and tasty with nice texture and appetizing char on the crusts. When eaten immediately after the pizzas were served, the outer edges of the crusts were delightfully chewy.
I really liked the savory, salty, and flavor-packed cured meats on both the Speziato and the Carni. The soppressata (Italian salami) on the Speziato was well-seasoned. The salsiccia (Italian sausage) and salumi on the Carni (both pork, I believe) were rich. What set the Speziato apart from the Carni to me was the Calabrian peppers and garlic. (Side note: At Antico, Calabrian peppers are a self-serve condiment. I saw no such self-serve condiments here, but I didn't look hard nor ask either.)
The fresh mozzarella or fior di latte, which is specifically made from cow's milk, was terrific, as were the bufala (made from Italian water buffalo's milk), ricotta, and other cheeses. Overall, they tasted fresh and creamy, some with a slightly sweet, milky flavor, and most with a delectable, smooth consistency. Yum.
Regardless if you're a fan of white pizzas, the Bianca is definitely worth ordering. On the Bianca and Carni, the cherry tomatoes were served split. They were ripe and added some nice color and a pop of flavor to the pizzas.
Service was good. Even though it was really busy, we didn't have to wait long for our pizzas. For some reason, they cut the Bianca into eight slices while the Speziato and Carni each were cut into six slices.