Amore Del Lago At The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee

The views of the calming waterfront and the sounds of a trickling fountain do the job to (mentally) distance you from the surrounding conversations of rich Southerners. Housed in the ground floor of The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds on Lake Oconee, the sizable Amore del Lago gives you a reason to pack your nice clothes on your leisure lake getaway. The Italian restaurant’s large mosaic wood-fired oven near the bar bakes pizza along with a tasty complimentary focaccia. While the homemade pasta is solid—nothing we’d make a 90-minute drive for—forking through flaky pieces of the branzino, stuffed with fennel, herbs, and citrus, make us feel like we’re in Lake Como.