Colletta

Classic Italian place with all the right flavors
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: 4.5 /​5
Décor: ⁵⁄₅
Value: 3.5 /​5
Average Rating: ⁴⁄₅
Food — Classic Italian fare with some unique offerings. The food offered here rivals the flavors of dishes found in Rome. The dessert was also impressive.
Service — The waitress was very attentive (possibly a little TOO attentive), but no complaints because she was extremely nice and took the time to explain all of the dishes on the menu.
Décor — Well designed interior that makes patrons feel comfortable, great place for a casual dinner or for business.
Value — Good value, not exactly a cheap place to dine, but it won’t break the bank.
Verdict — Would certainly visit again if I am in the area.

DELICIOUS food! Excellent service (Ashley was awesome!) Casual yet classy atmosphere. We loved the location. A bit pricey (we went for our anniversary and used a gift card lol), but the quality is definitely worth it!

I have to say I’m more impressed with the food and the staff than I am with some of the clientele.
We had dinner tonight and our server remembered us from our last visit which was over a month ago. She was well versed in every aspect of the menu.
I was able to watch the kitchen in action from our table. Yes a table! Believe it or not you can have a wonderful dinner without sitting in a BOOTH.
It is noisy but it was a Friday night and if the restaurant is any good it’s going to be full on a Friday night.
I’m sure we will continue to visit every month or so.
And if you are able to appreciate good food served by knowledgable wait staff and you think ahead to make a reservation I think you’ll find this to be a solid selection.

We tried this restaurant for the first time. Our service from Brandon was a gift from Heaven! His recommendations were spot on. The half chicken dinner was fit for a King. The Farfalle with shrimp & lobster had more lobster than a Lobster Fest. My mere words could never do justice to the dessert!!!
But above all, Brandon’s service made us feel like royalty in our own right. Request to be served by Brandon!

This is one of those rare times when the guy and I disagree completely on a restaurant. He liked it and I just did not. I’m so glad Avalon is here and that we live close enough to visit frequently. It looks like we are trying to work our way though all of the restaurants here.
So last night it was Colletta’s turn. Its in a great looking stand-​alone building at the very left corner of Avalon. We walk into a cold look from a scantily clad hostess and absolutely no greeting, she just kind of stands there looking at us waiting for us to speak. We asked if we could sit outside (the patio was mostly empty) and she informed us that she would like for us to sit at the bar since there was only 2 of us. Huh? I am not sitting at the bar when the restaurant’s not even half full (slow Wednesday night). So I requested a booth, only to again be told that we couldn’t have one since there’s only 2 of us. I finally negotiated a combination booth/​table set up. She walks us over and tries to sit us 18 inches away from another couple. There were EIGHT other locations to sit along that booth/​table but she wants us elbow to elbow. I proceeded to go down one more and sit. During the course of the evening she proceeds to stack other diners on top of us so, at one point, we were elbow to elbow with couples on each side. This while the remaining seats were completely empty. This also means that every time a server comes to an adjacent «table» you get a face full of their ass as they face their customer. Moral of the story here: don’t expect a decent seat if you’re coming as a couple. No quiet intimate dinners here! I guess you’re SOL if you come alone, they probably won’t let you in!
Another unspeaking employee comes over to pour water and we asked what her favorite dish was here. She says she’s vegetarian and doesn’t really eat here.
Our server was nice but overworked. We didn’t receive bread or place orders until we finally got enough and hijacked the server working the adjacent table. This is not a place for a quick meal. Beginning to end took over two hours. Most of it spent waiting. The menu is small and mostly in italian (why???) so your server literally stands there and reads the entire menu to you. Uncomfortable. Really, the whole menu was read to us. She was really sweet, its not her fault that Colletta has a warped business model.
Here’s what we had“
Pizza– ok but nothing to write home about. Too much sauce, chewy crust, stingy amount of cheese, 1 small basil leaf on each piece.
Monkfish– possibly the BEST fish we’ve ever had. The presentation is just God-​awful though, it looks like a large brown item sitting on top of baby-​poo green goo (see pic). But again, the actual fish tasted just wonderful. If we ever come back this will be why.
Dessert was Almond Budini– a cold, almond flavored pudding dessert. Had almost a freezer-​burned taste to it but my dining partner loved it.
The interior is lovely, temperature pleasant. With the upscale Avalon vibe and matching prices I was surprised at the cheap-​looking menu, the lack of food presentation, the time required to eat here, the lack of appropriate seating and the lack of staff. My guy and I had totally different feelings about Colletta, its like we were dining at two different places. So I may have to come back but it will be kicking and screaming.

The food is good, I have eaten here twice now and I like it enough to return. The service is outstanding and the atmosphere is fun and lively so I think that will make this place a success. We have had two good meals here and both times we enjoyed our experience. The meatballs appetizer is a good choice. They are beef and pork and they are tasty. The first time we were here we got the Black Pepper Tagliatelle and it is wonderful, Full of flavor and delicious. I also got the bucatini which was good. The second time we dined here with friends and practically ordered one of everything on the menu and shared plates which was a fun dining experience and a good way to try it all. We really liked all the pizzas and the pastas but we had a chicken dish that was just not good. It was under cooked and just tasteless. I noticed they have since taken that off the menu so I think that we were not alone in our distaste of that dish. Overall the wine selection is good and affordable which is nice and the servers are friendly and fun. I would return here next time I’m at the Avalon.

I’m not sure if I will go back. I went to lunch there with a colleague. We both ordered the panini of the day which was a short rib sandwich. I noticed that there is also a short-​rib panini on the everyday panini list, so I have no idea if this one was any different. After a short while, the waiter who took our order comes back to the table with, «here are your chicken parm paninis.» And I think he even said something like, will this be OK? The place was dead, so it seems strange that he would forget our order since it was two of the same thing.
Also, the amount of short-​rib was definitely smaller than the bread. Some of mine had fallen out onto my plate, and I scooped it up for two bites with a fork. I did not realize that the two bites were 80% of the total short-​rib in the sandwich. That being said, what there was of it was good, and my remaining cheese sandwich without meat was good.

Fabulous meal and great service. Amber was our server it was her first night on the floor and we were her first table. Amber was just wonderful, pleasant, friendly and engaging. She helped us out and answered all our questions and if there was something she didn’t know she went and got us an answer.
I had the Sicilian Spritz it was delicious. We started off with the Meatballs. Next was the main course I had the Bucatini with black pepper and Parmesan, my hubby had a Margarita Pizza. Our dessert was a warm chocolate ganache with candied hazelnuts and fresh cream and an orange sauce, OMG best dessert I ever had.
FYI… It really isn’t geared for children, there really isn’t much on the menu for them to eat. Our children are adults now and when they come to Georgia for a visit we will take them here. Actually 2 ladies came in sat down with their 4 babies and left when they realized it wasn’t Chucky Cheese. Their babies were getting very loud. They said, they didn’t want to ruin everyone’s date night. I was so grateful to them for being observant and leaving.
The place is beautiful and I can’t wait to go back.

We were shopping at the Avalon and the young missus wanted to go to El Felix. Two and half hour wait on a Saturday night! A short walk later, we found this Italian eatery which only had a 45 minute wait. They seated us at the counter which offered a closeup view of the action in the kitchen. At the end of the meal, I have to agree with my wife’s assessment. The food was very mediocre. By Avalon’s standards, one would have high expectations. On top of that, we are from NYC, the gastronomic capital of the world. I’ll be frank with you. My pasta — the farfelle was so disappointing that Olive Garden could have outdone the chefs at this place.

Over priced for average.
Coming from NYC and top end Italian this place is average at best but the prices are rediculous for the quality. Not coming back… someone pls tell me where I can get a decent Italiana in the south. Geeezzzzzz

Absolutely wonderful northern Italian food. The Parmesan dressing was clean and crisp with a hint of lemon on greens was a wonderful compliment to farfalle pasta and seafood. We truly enjoyed our visit and will come again soon. We dined with a party if 6 but an intimate party of two would be most welcome. Great night out at The Avalon. Also, take advantage of the complimentary valet parking.

/TL;DR Decent and pricey. Too pricey for the level of decent. IMO, there are better Italian restaurants in the neighborhood. However, if you’re going to be in the area, you might as well.
/​ATMOSPHERE It’s upscale and open concept — a really beautiful space. I half-​expected to see the Housewives of Atlanta show up here.
/​FOOD The restaurant graciously sent over some meatballs to try. This was the highlight of their cuisine. It was really good. If I go back, I’m getting some dish with meatballs.
By recommendation of our server, we went with the black pepper tag and the bianca pizza. The tag is supposed to be the signature dish of Colletta, but I ultimately found it be decent yet a bit bland. Maybe an off night?
The bianca pizza was pretty good. Again, decent but nothing that would steer me away from some of the better pizza joints around.
/​SERVICE Superb service. I really wish I thought to write down the server’s name. She was awesome and so down to earth.
HOW TO READ MY REVIEWS:
1 Star — Does not approach edible. Enter at your own risk.
2 Stars — If I’m in the area, I’d pick something else.
3 Stars — I would stop by if I happen to be in the area.
4 Stars — I would pick this place out of other places nearby.
5 Stars — I would go out of my way to dine here.

Went here last night for the first time and wasn’t overly impressed. The food was good, but slightly overpriced.
We got the meatball appetizer, butchers board and chicken pizza. None were that awesome but were good enough. The peppers on the pizza might have been the best part. Or the free bread and olive oil they bring you.
Service was awesome though. We had a sever plus a trainee. Our server was very knowledgable about the food and the history of the restaurant.
Atmosphere was so cool.
Drinks were good, and I did like that they didn’t have all the Bud Light/​Miller Lite, etc beers on draft. All smaller brews.
Probably won’t be jumping up and down to go back, but we will see.

I’ve heard great things about Colletta primarily from Tammi D’s ROTD, so when we suspected that we might not get a table at El Felix (Saturday night, at 7:30ish, it was a 1 hr and 15 min), we were glad to have backup reservations at Colletta for 8pm.
Clean décor and great service. The food was a tad bit overseasoned for me. My boyfriend, sister and I wanted to get a good feel of Colletta’s menu by sharing most of these dishes:
Octopus: Much to our surprise, the octopus was fried. There was a fine coating on the octopus as well as the pork cheek that came with it. They go great together along with what tasted like mayonnaisy-​cannellini beans, but it was too salty.
Tagliatelle: I think this was the best dish of the night. The noodles were chewy and you could tell they were made in-​house. Also a bit on the salty side, but it’s easy to overlook.
Agnolotti: These were like tasty pillows of dough and meat. I’d recommend these for sharing so at least you get a variety of tastes. I didn’t like having a whole lot of these to myself.
Pumpkin Risotto: This was decent for a risotto. I’m impressed with the dark broth/​sauce that lined the risotto. I also like that the risotto tasted fluffy and still had texture.
Pork Chop: I’m not a big meat person. I thought the outside pieces were a little dry, but the pieces closer to the bone were much succulent.
Colletta is ok in my book. Some things were just a little salty and I left wanting vegetables. If I were to come back, I’d definitely try more of the pasta or at least try a pizza.

I was excited to try Colletta’s new interpretations of Italian cuisine and the opportunity allowed during restaurant week. For $ 25, there were a few options for appetizers and entrees. I settled on the Burrata for my app and the Bucatini for my entrée.
So, the Burrata arrives first and it definitely was NOT what I was expecting. The menu says, «mozzarella stuffed with cream and cheese curd, marinated olives, flatbread.» Ok, mozzarella, olives and flatbread… sounds good to me. I’m thinking, a pizza. No, I was wrong. The plate came stacked with 3 – 4 pieces of this super crusty flatbread, one on top of another. In addition, there was a big hunk of cold mozzarella that oozed something else cold when I tried to get my fork through it. Lastly, let’s not forget a pile of green olives with the pits. So, it wasn’t a pizza. :(. I couldn’t really eat any of it. Plus, who wants to spit olive pits in front of your co-​workers??? Not me.
Next, the entrée. The pasta was a really thick spaghetti type pasta. What is that… I’m not sure of all the different pasta names. Which should have been a hint for me to realize that maybe I might not enjoy this modern interpretation either. I jumped right into it because it’s pasta, right! Who doesn’t like pasta. Surprise, I don’t like this pasta. I think it’s what one might call al dente, but I’ll just say crunchy.
This entire meal was a bust. Service was good, but they were shorthanded that day. As we walked out the restaurant, a waiter stopped me to ask if I enjoyed my meal. I said no and he quickly told me that I should try the Oak Steakhouse next door because, «their food is good!» Thanks for that tip Mr. Waiter, you think you could have told me that on my way in? Lol!!! Sorry, Colletta. I guess I’m not sophisticated enough for your modern Italian food. I’ll stick with my old school Italian.

At least the Avalon is pretty. After circling around, the dinky parking lot was unbelievably full so I used their valet.
Back to the review:
Apparently, the only seasoning they have in the back is SALT; and lots of it. The polenta with meatballs were super salty. I figured, the lid must’ve fallen off or something. Having owned restaurants myself, as is typical of new restaurants, they need time to master duplicating their recipes for quantity and quality & training of employees.
After reading their Unilocal reviews, I was sooooo looking forward to eating there. I was invited to their happy hour event by their PR firm but when I got there, I wasn’t even offered a menu– kid you not. They should assume people are there to eat right?
See, I like Unilocal because I enjoy letting foodies know when I find a great place to dine at. I’ve never given 1 star, so it pains me to write this review. Atmosphere-​wise, if you like uptight, pretentious restaurants, where you sit right beside other people’s tables, this place is for you. Sadly, not worth the drive.

I’ve been eyeing Colletta since Food and Wine Festival. They served pork ravioli, I believe, and it has been bookmarked ever since.
Colletta is located in the new shopping and eatery plaza in Alpharetta called Avalon. It has a grand entrance door and high ceilings that welcomes you. Very minimal décor but very simple and chic.
This week has been Georgia Restaurant week and I believe today was the last day for Colletta since it only offered lunch menu and it’s closed for lunch on Sundays. I was thrilled that we got a chance to make a visit out here since it was memorable.
For the restaurant week, it offered $ 25 set menu with a choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert (out of the condensed menu that they offered). Pretty awesome deal, considering the prices on their regular menu.
For appetizers, we ordered the clams and meatballs with polenta. Clams were just plain, not anything unique. Meatballs were good. You can tell it was homemade and with polenta, it added an extra «something.» Oh, and we also had their complimentary house bread with oil and vinegar, which was delicious!
Unfortunately, by the time we got to entrees, we were pretty full that we couldn’t enjoy our meal to the fullest. We both ordered the black pepper tagliatelle, which had a raw egg in the middle. Mixed it up and it was heaven with the pork bits, which resembled thick pieces of bacon. We both couldn’t finish our pastas and we didn’t box it, but I’m regretting it right now… The best part of the pastas were that you can tell that it was homemade and fresh.
Though we were full, there’s always room for dessert =)
For dessert, we had the almond budino and broken cannoli for dessert. Broken cannoli was not so good, visually or by taste. It just looked like deconstructed cannoli but the shelling seemed soggy and old. However, almond budino was just fantastic. It kind of resembles crème brûlée but with more of a refreshing finish. I guess people could tell that we were enjoying it since they asked what the order was called, hehe.
Overall, Colletta has great pasta dishes that I would come back for. A bit pricey, but worth it. Oh, and I would highly recommend their frozen cocktail of the day. It is potent and delicious that only one would meet your need! Today’s flavor was peach.
Once the meal is over, don’t forget to walk off it off by walking around the cute boutiques!

There are few times in life where a dining experience becomes one you remember forever but this particular visit had my senses firing on all cylinders! We were told by Malcolm from Oak about their sister restaurant Colletta across the way, and were intrigued to give it a try.
We utilized the valet service (oh, we actually left the car with them until after our movie at the Regal Avalon theater, so that ended up being a great service) and came upon the huge entrance doors to Colletta for our 6pm reservation. You’ll notice Oak has the same large doors, as if you’re entering a castle for a grand feast. And feast we ended up doing!
The restaurant is very open, with an open bar to your immediate left, an outdoor seating area to your right, booths/​tables facing you, and a very cool long table top with stools directly in front of the kitchen to view everything from start to finish. They had track lighting above, which would have been really nice to see at night. We were seated in an oversized, u-​shaped, comfy booth. That pleased both my honey and I, as we love being seated side by side.
Before I go into what we had, I will say our service from Curry (yes, that’s his name) was 10 stars alone. By far, one of the most knowledgable servers I’ve been waited on. He was just the right portion of attentiveness, knowledge, passion and comfort for us. I never felt like I was being rushed, and he was very sincere in all his recommendations. He surely had the eagerness to learn his profession, and found out he had worked at one of our other favorite restaurants, Stoney River. Stellar job! Curry guided us through the entire meal like a conductor would guide an orchestra through a perfect performance. Will be asking for him next time. Kevin also did an incredible job of checking in on us and everybody else there.
We started off with two of their handcrafted drinks, the Belladona and Sicilian Spritz. Wow — amazing! The Belladona with the st. Germain was absolutely intoxicating. The spritz was very refreshing but could not be topped by the Belladona. My better half and I ended up ordering the Belladona again. I also had the Prima Volta, recommended by Curry, and it was strong. A bit bitter for me but surely worth the cost if you like whiskey and want a quick hit to the brain.
Our meal, good Lord, could have gone all night. I did say above we feasted, and I felt like Kobayashi in an Italian eating contest. We started with the scallops and fried calamari. Scallops — the menu doesn’t even do the ingredients justice, as the flavor was just amazing. The fried calamari was perfect BUT the sauce was beyond perfection. It had a nice spice and we had to order more sauce. So delicious! Also, we were told the chef here does not believe in putting something on the plate you can’t eat, so you can actually eat the lemon pieces with the calamari. Mmmm mmmm.
Next course was the Bianca pizza. I struggled with ordering this bc I hate mushrooms but my honey loves them. So compromise was I would take them off. Guess what? I ended up trying the mushrooms and best freaking mushrooms I’ve tasted! They were braised and the taste was so good, I wish they had included more. MUST try this pizza. Especially if you love or hate mushrooms. Twilight Zone material for those that hate mushrooms … You won’t know what hit you.
Next up (yes, more) was the bow tie pasta and ravioli. Ravioli, hands down, was best I’ve ever had. The sauce was pure creamy perfection, and the prosciutto on top added a nice touch. We polished off every bit of the ravioli. The bow tie pasta was my least favorite, and when I say least favorite, I say it could be the best dish in another Italian restaurant. All the food was that good!
We ended the meal with a fantastic dessert brought out by the pastry chef. I don’t recall seeing it on the menu so it could be a new item. It was certainly almost like a donut, dusted with powder and filled with crème. The side sauce could have been some sort of raspberry. Honestly, I didn’t know. It looked so good and tasted so much better, that I stopped listening what was being said about it when it was within eye sight. It was heavenly and the final explosion to my taste buds. The yin/​yang symbols surrounding the dessert explains it all, all senses interacting with each other for the perfect balance. Drop the mic …

We came here for the first time on Mother’s Day. We had a party of 7 adults and 2 toddlers. I made reservations a week ahead to ensure we didn’t have to wait for a table. When we arrived at 6pm for our reservation, the hostess seated us immediately. They set aside a long table in the back next to another party with small children. That’s a plus because we hate bothering others with our overactive toddlers. With this «private» area, we didn’t worry much about being too loud, chasing the toddlers down or bothering anyone. The only downside of this is there was not a changing station in the restrooms. I’m not sure if this is considered a kid friendly restaurant despite being surrounded by a family-​friendly shopping district.
The restaurant was beautiful and busy (probably Mother’s Day) but sort of warm inside. The menu was OK. There was only one unique item that stood out to me and that was the duck and foie gras triangolini. Everything else was predictable for an Italian restaurant. Something for everyone I guess.
Colletta does have a special offer called For The Table for $ 50 per person for everyone at the table. The chef decides on the three course meal usually something from that day’s menu. Unfortunately, we had some diet restrictions so not everyone in my party wanted that. I thought it was a great concept for the price and a fun way to dine. I will come back for that another time.
For dinner, I had the pork chops. Surprisingly, it was huge! It was moist and tender. I did feel that there could be more flavor in the pork. I found myself gathering every bit of the leftover sweet and tangy salad dressing to coat each pork chop bite with flavor. I’m just a flavor hog.
Others at the table ordered meat balls, triangolini, carbonara pasta and pizza. I had a bite of the triangolini and it was amazing. The cocktail menu was small but unique. The appetizer selection that day was just OK. The dessert was predictable as well.
What I really enjoyed was the service. The food came out within 15 minutes and our server was very accommodating. Over all I would give Colletta a 3.5 stars. Like I said, I will come back another day to try out the daily specials like grilled octopus tentacles or that For The Table meal. I’m really hoping for something unique and adventurous.

In search of a great meal and relaxing atmosphere, we walked down to Colletta to check out the menu. Everything sounded delicious, so we decided to try it out, sitting on the patio, which is covered and has fans. It was the height of pollen season, so they took the time to clean off the table tops and chairs before showing us to our table.
As we sat and chatted, we debated the wine list. Everything is Italian, so there are probably a few that you haven’t heard of. The server was helpful in providing recommendations, but I know I love Gavi, so I went with the bottle of that.
We started with the flatbread with burratta and olives. The burratta was creamy, the olives were briny, and the flatbread was just the right amount of crisp. I would’ve preferred more burratta and less flatbread, but I can understand why the ratio was what it was.
For my main, I had the black pepper tagliatelle with carbonara (pork tesa, egg yolk, chives, pecorino romano). It was delicious, and just the right size. A nice subtle spice from the black pepper and creamy egg yolk/​cheese sauce with salty pork. Sarah had the red snapper which was nicely cooked and very pretty to look at.
The service was casual but attentive, checking on us frequently, but not hovering or pushing.
All in all, a lovely evening, though a bit pricey.