Zola

Zola is a great spot in Milton to get authentic, made from scratch, Italian food that will definitely not disappoint. The pasta special I had was awesome. Homemade «fat» spaghetti with jumbo shrimp in a lemon cream sauce with crispy pancetta. And save room for dessert — the homemade sea salt caramel Gelato was amazing! Will definitely go back.

Truly one of the best restaurants in the area. Great small, high end family feel. Wonderful ambience with candles on tables. Awesome for a date. Staff are very friendly and professional. Great advice on wine parings. Their ravioli is AMAZING!!!

Some of the best, freshest Itslian food I have ever eaten anywhere! Zola is my favorite restaurant!

The best Italian food!!! Every time I’m here it’s consistent!!! The wait staff was slow a bit tonight because they were sooo busy but don’t key that detour you to another place !! This is a gem!!!

Ummmm… No, just no. Don’t go… Just get back in your car and go. Usually you know when a restaurant is good in Alpharetta because there’s a wait for seating. There was no wait… We felt adventurous. Now we know why there’s no wait. It’s awful! One clueless waiter who hesitated in recommending anything, one lady serving water who swore what I ordered was her favorite (really??? It tasted like cardboard), one bartender who served less than half a glass of wine (seriously if the food is terrible, at least top us off!). First off, when you walk in, place is deserted. Second, instead of food aromas, it smells like garbage can. Third, if according to our server the farfalle was the best ever, then why was it so forgettable? Pork meatballs were ok. Ravioli horrible… bad bad yuck. And then dessert… caramel cheesecake. Tasted like curdled milk. Gross. And the bill of course hurt like hell because let’s face it, if it’s gross, you wish you had cooked yourself.

Chianti Classico was great, so was the witbeer
Highly recommend grilled calamari, also antipasto misto, and polpette meatballs, also caprese
Looking forward to the monthly spirits tasting

We have eaten at Zola several times. After our visit on Saturday night, we will not be back. First of all, we had reservations for for at 6:30 and were seated promptly. The restaurant was expecting a large party for prom and they were set up for it and looked prepared. We ordered drinks and appetizers. We ordered our dinner shortly after that — 2 hours and 25 minutes later our dinner arrived. Three of the four entrees were good. The spaghetti and meatballs was almost inedible but it was so late we didn’t complain. We ordered desserts– they gelato was soup! The waiter apologized and said their freezer wasn’t functioning properly! Ya think!!! Our bill came and was almost $ 200 for our party of four! They comped our desserts for our wait– for real?!? We shouldn’t have paid for the dessert anyway! We were constantly out of water and drank the bottle of wine before our dinner was even close to arriving. Plenty of other options in the area!

Fantastic service if you happen to be a «regular», which was quite obvious. This was our first and last visit to Zola. I’m giving it 2 stars because the food was pretty good. I absolutely hate when restaurants don’t have fountain soda. Only tiny little bottles. Ding #1. Service was horrible. Ding #2. Table behind us was seated after us. They had already ordered and were enjoying their appetizer even before we were asked what we wanted to order. My husband was on the edge of walking out but I wanted to try the food. We shared an appetizer of calamari which was alright except for the lack salt. I ordered lasagna which was good. La Casa is better. My husband ordered a kale salad, he said it was good as well. We both thought the owner chatting it up with the table next to us was, annoying. There are way too many other Italian restaurants around Alpharetta the are far better.

I am surprised to find a great Italian eatery just minutes from my home. After searching this area for years I had all but given up. Then a friend invited me to a tasting event and I was amazed by the food quality. The exceptional service was an unnecessary but welcomed bonus. Took my wife and she was in heaven. This is a must try.

Zola’s has never disappointed me. It continues to be one of my favorite Italian restaurants. This is a gem of a restaurant with outstanding food and an impressive wine menu. The staff has always been friendly and makes you feel welcome. I am impressed with the quality of the food that they can serve at such reasonable prices. I would recommend that anyone looking for a nice dinner in restaurant with a please atmosphere to give Zola’s a try. You will be glad you did!

We attended the New Year’s Celebration Wine Tasting Event — excellent food and wines were a perfect match to the five course meal. There was a bit of a lag between courses but we enjoyed ourselves with the Live Music.

We got take out, even though this isn’t really a fake out joint. The lasagna was awwwwweeesssome! Great work! Although I only stopped in to grab my to go containers, the environment was really nice. A place you want to take that special lady or guy in your life. You know the place is nice when the wait staff wear really long black aprons.
The only reason for the 4 and not 5 stars you ask? For the price, I should have had a side salad or something with my dinner. Just sayin, something. A half a loaf of garlic bread or something. I’ll be coming back and look forward to dining in, but I hope I get a little more than my entrée.

Going to Zolas is like going to a sunday family dinner. Being from NY and half Italian myself I am really picky on my Italian food but John, chef and owner hits it out of the ballpark! ! The wine list is amazing and the staff outstanding, this marvelous little gem is right in our neighborhood with outdoor tables and a family atmosphere thier specials are always good and the meatballs are unbelievable. …the sauce is perfect in texture and taste and my husband loves the calamari!
John hired the best staff so service is always great
Many thanks to David from Vino 100 in Alpharetta for turning us on to this wonderful restaurant.

This is a special spot. Intimate friendly service. Delicious dishes: for apps the baratta is transporting, the meatballs are unique and personally my all time favorite; for main courses, the corvina and spinach ravioli are standards and spectacular. At the bar, Jamie is the best!

Fabulous new owner John — who is a première chef, bringing the tastes of Italy to Alpharetta.
The wines are mostly Italian — but you tell them what you like and they find the perfect flavor for you! Now when I walk in they have my wine ready!!!

Zola has become a regular spot for my wife and family. The wait staff is always courteous and make us feel very welcome. They’ve created a new cocktail menu which is hit or miss, but that probably has more to do with my personal tastes. Their sommelier is excellent and really knows his wines. 5 stars there.
Meals have been very consistent and good. I particularly love the ravioli di spinaci. The Gorgonzola cream sauce is a diet destroyer. Order extra bread to sop it up.
I think the traffic there is suffering from the previous management, which I’ve heard was not doing a good job. I assure that this place is excellent and I highly encourage you to give them a shot. It’s a gem.

The ambiance on a Saturday at 7:00 was a little depressing. 2 other couples. My wife ordered the farfalle and it was 3 stars. Good sauce big chunks of fat where bacon could have been.
The bread came out near the end of the meal after we asked for it. They said it was baking. I guess they are so slow they bake it as customers arrive.
The frutti di mare was ok. The mussels and clams were great. The shrimp was a little over done and the calamari would have bounced off the floor. The worst part was the sauce. Nothing stuck to the noodles and it was the consistency of water. The menu said it was a tomato sauce. When I asked the waiter he said it was a zuppa dish and they watered down the sauce. Yuck! The noodles came out of the sauce looking and tasting like they had just been boiled. Picture attached.
I have never had a sauce like that anywhere else and regularly order the dish.
Too many other alternatives in the area to waste your time here. We were apparently the last to get the message.

After months of work the new owner is to be applauded. I’ve become a real regular with my family. We’re a bit on the foodie side as diners so this is a real treat for the area.
Try the corvina fish and/​or pizza of the night. The red leaf spinach salad is splendid! Leave room for those delicious chocolate coated Canolis.

I have been dreading writing this review; however, after our latest experience at Zolas, I have no choice. It had been a while since we dined at Zola, and after a stressful week, I wanted to take my better half out for a nice dinner to begin the weekend. We walked in and were seated almost immediately in the mostly full dining room, and discussed our week and our plans for the weekend. The server arrived shortly after and took our drink order. I was in the mood for a stout; however, Zolas did not have one available, so I settled for a Full Sail Session Black.
I love Mussels and the wife loves Calamari, so we got the Mussel and Calamari appetizer. To say that the Calamari was rubbery would be an understatement. I have Double Bubble with less chew to it. The Mussels were OK, albeit a bit on the small side. The wife ended up just dipping the bread in the sauce and the calamari remained uneaten on the plate.
I followed the appetizer with a Cesar salad. If you read my previous review, you will see that the salad was one of my favorites. This was not the case on this visit. The salad itself was a bit bland, and served on a warm plate. To those that know me, a warm salad plate is one of my biggest pet peeves. Important to note, at this point my water and my beer are empty and my wife’s is mostly empty.
The wife ordered the special, which was a sirloin ‘cooked to medium’, with a mushroom sauce. I went with the Osso Bucco, with palenta, since I have been on an Osso Bucco kick lately. My wife’s opinion of her sirloin was that it was much closer to a Salisbury steak in texture and taste then a sirloin. The steak itself was about a half inch think, and completely brown and dry, maybe worth 10 bucks at a diner, but not the $ 25.00 we were charged. The Osso Bucco was not the worst thing I have ever tasted; however, it was sweet enough to substitute as a dessert. I wondered if they used the wrong seasoning on the meat, as no meat should ever taste like it was dusted with Sugar. The polenta was the highlight of my meal. Which is a sad comment for such a nice piece of meat.
Important to note: Wife’s drink is now empty, and my beer and water are still empty. To my recollection, No Refills given or offered.
At this point in the evening, I am ready to cut my losses and get the hell out of there. I look at my wife who is trying to eat her dry, over cooked sirloin and offer to take her to chick-​fil-​a. At this point, my plan for a nice romantic dinner has been turned into a fast food run. Thats Right folks, a $ 72 meal had to be followed up with a run to chick-​fil-​a for something that could actually satisfy.
We will not be returning.

The food was everything Italian should be, fresh, rich and delicious. I ordered the arincini which was delicious but contained a little too much salt for me. My husband had the spaghetti and it was perfectly seasoned. We finished with a tiramisu, (too rich) and a delectable cheese cake. This type of food is very heavy and I would prefer to eat it during lunch. However, they are not opened for lunch.
When dining out for dinner, I prefer greater ambiance and I would hope to see the owner invest a little more time in creating a more pleasurable dining experience. I understand that eating out has become more casual and that people just don’t take the time to dress for dinner but we do.
I initially gave 3 stars but reconsidered because the food was delicious and I would return to try other offerings.