Our Story: Atlanta's Original Fine Dining Italian Restaurant Since 1978

A Taste of Northern Italy Comes to Buckhead

Long before "farm-to-table" and "Northern Italian" were buzzwords on Atlanta menus, one man decided the city deserved better than a jar of red sauce and a tin of parmesan. That man was Sergio Favalli, a native of Lake Garda in Northern Italy, whose journey to Atlanta wound through Bermuda, where he managed the dining rooms of the historic Princess Hotel in Hamilton. In 1975, Sergio arrived in Atlanta to help open the Omni Hotel, bringing with him a lifetime of European hospitality experience and a clear vision: Atlanta needed a true, authentic Italian dining experience.

Three years later, in 1978, that vision became reality. Together with founding chef Antonio Abizanda, Sergio opened La Grotta Ristorante Italiano — Atlanta's first true fine dining Italian restaurant — in a one-of-a-kind subterranean space beneath the Peachtree House condominiums in the heart of Buckhead. The name La Grotta, Italian for "the cave," was a nod to the restaurant's cozy, cavernous setting: a hidden dining room tucked below street level, wrapped around a lush courtyard garden.

An Unlikely Location That Became an Atlanta Icon

Finding La Grotta has always been part of the experience. Guests turn off Peachtree Road into the unassuming entrance of the Peachtree House, ride the elevator down, and follow a quiet corridor before arriving at the host stand — an entrance so understated that first-time visitors often wonder if they're in the right place. Then the doors open onto an intimate, softly lit dining room overlooking the courtyard, and it all makes sense.

That sense of discovery, paired with white-tablecloth service and unmistakably authentic Northern Italian cooking, is exactly what built La Grotta's reputation. Word spread not through advertising or signage — La Grotta has never needed either — but through generations of Atlantans who made it their place for anniversaries, birthdays, promotions, and quiet celebrations of everyday life.

A Family Recipe, Passed Down

La Grotta has always been a family affair. Sergio's son, Christian Favalli, moved to Atlanta with his family from Bermuda at just four years old. By age seven, his father had opened La Grotta, and young Christian was already part of the operation — hanging coats in the coat room before he could reach the racks. He grew up in the dining room, learning the rhythms of hospitality from the same booths where he'd later welcome his own regulars.

As a young adult, Christian left to sharpen his craft elsewhere, spending three years cooking in Italy and working in New Orleans before returning home in 2007, when his father was ready to retire. Today, Christian Favalli owns and runs La Grotta, often found moving through the dining room greeting many of the same guests he first met as children decades ago — a rare, living thread of continuity in Atlanta's ever-changing restaurant scene.

Longtime executive chef Antonio Abizanda has helped shape La Grotta's kitchen from day one, joined over the years by talented chefs who share his devotion to classic technique, including Drew van Leuvan, who now holds the reigns to La Grotta’s culinary success. Drew brings over 30 years of hospitality experience and training under acclaimed chefs like Jean-Louis Palladin and Guenter Seeger, along with stints at some of Atlanta's most respected kitchens.

Classic, By Design

While Atlanta's dining scene has cycled through countless trends over the past four decades, La Grotta has deliberately stayed the course. The philosophy has never wavered: trends come and go, but the classics never go out of style. That means fresh, house-made pastas, seafood, veal, and beef, prepared with the same care and traditional Northern Italian technique Sergio brought with him in 1978 — sourced, whenever possible, from local farms.

The wine cellar tells a similar story of consistency and depth, with roughly 450 labels spanning Italy and beyond, curated to complement a menu built on decades of refinement rather than fleeting fashion.

Nearly Five Decades of Recognition

That consistency has earned La Grotta a level of recognition few Atlanta restaurants can match:

• Best Italian Restaurant, Atlanta Magazine — 18 consecutive years and counting

• AAA Four Diamond Award — more than 20 years running

• DiRōNA Award (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) — longtime honoree

• Named one of OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants in America (2025), one of only three Atlanta restaurants on the list

La Grotta In The Modern Day

Nearly 50 years after Sergio Favalli and Antonio Abizanda first opened the doors, La Grotta remains exactly what it set out to be: Atlanta's home for genuine Northern Italian hospitality, run by the same family, in the same beloved hideaway beneath the Peachtree House. It's a place where the staff often know your name, your usual order, and your family's story — because in many cases, they've known it for generations.

Whether you're celebrating a milestone or simply craving an evening of exceptional food, wine, and unhurried conversation, La Grotta invites you to discover why it has remained one of Atlanta's most cherished dining traditions since 1978.