Daniel B.
Yelp
I thought the pasta here was good.
This was my first time at a Mirko Pasta and it immediately reminded me of FIGO Pasta, another small local pasta chain. Turns out the owner of Mirko Pasta, chef Mirko Di Giacomantonio, founded FIGO. Makes sense. Both brands have a similar concept. They're casual sit-down Italian restaurants with fresh housemade pastas and sauces that you can mix and match.
This Mirko location is situated in a freestanding building on Roswell Road ITP, next door to popular breakfast and brunch restaurant Buttermilk Kitchen. Mirko has their own parking lot with over 20 spaces. At the time of writing this review, there's one other Mirko location in metro Atlanta (East Cobb, Marietta) as well as locations in Mobile, Alabama and outside of Nashville. This North Buckhead location opened in 2011.
This isn't a very big restaurant, but it's spacious enough with a bar, tables for groups, booths, and a patio. We visited on a Thursday night from about 6:30-7:30pm and it was busy. At one point, almost every table inside was taken. At night, the space was dimly lit with real candles at every table. It was kind of loud, but not too bad. Customers ranged from families with kids to single elderly diners.
Since it was our first time, our server Fatima brought over a pasta tray to show us the different types of pasta we could order. During our visit, the dinner menu had 18 types to choose from: six each of short pastas, long pastas, and filled pastas (ravioli). Pastas costed $7-9 each and sauces were an additional $7-9 each, so we were looking at $14-18 per pasta entree. There were over a dozen sauce options. We could also add on various meats and veggies for $2-5 each. According to the menu, the pastas and sauces are made in-house daily.
Outside of the custom pasta + sauce combos, dinner entrees such as lasagna and grilled lamb chop cost $15-20 each, apps like bruschetta and eggplant Parm ran $8-14 each, and soups/salads $6-13 each. There was also a special "Chef's Creations" menu with dishes like sea bass ($24) and panna cotta ($8). Drink-wise, there was a full bar. They were offering $1 sangrias the night we visited (Thursday) so how could we turn those down? They were regularly $7 each.
Here's what I tried:
Antipasti
* Complimentary bread (rolls and sliced bread) with a sauce made from white kidney beans, carrots, and celery
* Fried Calamari and Zucchini ($14) - fried squid and zucchini with lemon, marinated fresh tomatoes, and spicy tomato sauce
* Burrata ($13) - fresh heirloom tomato with creamy fresh burrata cheese
Drinks
* Sangrias ($1 each on Thursdays, regularly $7 each) - red wine, brandy
Pastas
* Egg pappardelle ($7) with Funghi sauce (+$8) - wild mushrooms, cream, and Parmesan
* Egg fettuccine ($7) with Carbonara sauce (+$8) - egg yolks, pancetta, cream, and Parmesan
Entrees
* Pollo Marsala ($18) - all-natural chicken breast with Marsala wine and mushrooms, side of potatoes au gratin and spinach
In general, the food and drinks were mostly good. The dinner rolls were hard and the fried calamari was underwhelming, but everything else was enjoyable.
I liked the sauce/dip that came with the baskets of bread. It was beany and different. Along with white beans, carrots, and celery, the dip also contained olive oil.
The fried calamari was underwhelming because the portions weren't great and what was there wasn't very appetizing. The calamari wasn't crispy, but soggy and not seasoned well. The tomato sauce helped though and the marinated tomatoes were indeed fresh and full of flavor.
The burrata was yummy. I haven't encountered many burratas I didn't like. Like the calamari, it would've been nice if the serving size was bigger. We got one piece that was about the size of a jumbo egg. It was delicious. Again, the tomatoes were fresh and flavorful.
The sangrias were nice and strong. I was happy. Nice portions, ice cold and refreshing with a slice of lime and some chopped fruit (green apple). If you happen to visit when they're offering $1 sangrias, you should definitely take advantage.
Both the egg pappardelle with funghi sauce and the egg fettuccine with carbonara sauce were tasty and satisfying. I recommend them both. I love mushroom pasta and Mirko's version was creamy and rich in umami. I do give FIGO's version a slight edge, but Mirko's version is still good and worth ordering. Mirko's carbonara was gratifying as well. Just a simple, peppery pasta dish. The noodles had wonderful texture and the bits of pancetta were chewy, salty, and savory.
The chicken marsala was also good. Like the apps, I think the portion size could have been bigger. The chicken breast was nicely cooked (not too dry) and the dish had appetizing flavor all around. If you like chicken marsala, I think this is a solid version.
Service was great. Fatima and the rest of the staff (hostess, manager, other server) were friendly and attentive. Despite a busy night, service was still timely.