ATLReview
Included In
We’d be willing to bet money that, like us, the majority of city residents wouldn’t know what to do with a shucking knife—at least as far as an oyster is concerned. No shade, we’re just a landlocked city. But any peek around social media will tell you that Atlanta loves seafood (the 48-oysters in a setting kind of love). So when the team behind Bastone and Grana opened Alici, yet another Italian restaurant, they gave it a seafood focus, and it’s quickly become a new date staple. And we’re so on board with it, we’re practically starboard.
Since Alici’s cuisine is inspired specifically by the Amalfi Coast, everything from the decor to the food stands out as a change from the restaurant motifs we’ve come to expect around town. In place of the normal Home Goods Pulcinella poster, there are decorative lemon blossom tilework above the kitchen pass and piles of oyster varieties stacked on mounds of finely crushed ice—all showcased behind a glass window along the curved bar. So, if you’re seated at the bar, you’ll get the added entertainment of all the night’s oyster shucking.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
And if you’re looking for a lengthy night out, you’re in luck at Alici. Head to the spacious white umbrellaed patio, where on balmy evenings and after a few cocktails, you might be able to envision the Trader Joe’s parking lot as the blue waters under a grotto. The multicourse menu even invites you to treat this meal like that Italian summer vacation you took that one year, where there’s no time limit and every reason to get a couple drinks and slowly make your way down a delicious menu, from oysters and crudo to antipasto, pasta, entrees, and dessert.
While seafood is and should be the center of your dining experience here, don’t skip the pasta. It’s made in-house daily, and gives that satisfying carby cuddle you can’t get from protein alone.
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Most of the entrees are simple, well-prepared fish filets, which are all solid. But if you’re only going for a few plates, stick to the earlier courses like the swordfish crudo with tasty lemon aioli or rich chili butter mussels, which has a delicious heat that takes us by surprise, every time. The night ends with a complimentary shot of limoncello—a tasty, potent last impression, perhaps intended to lure diners back. But the seafood loyalists already know the moment the first tray of oysters hit the table and immediate plans are made to come back for $1.50 oyster aperitivo hour that returning is a given.
Food Rundown
Swordfish Crudo
photo credit: Amy Sinclair
Soca
Tots & Caviar
Mussels
photo credit: Amy Sinclair