AWARD-WINNING NEAPOLITAN PIZZERIA VARUNI NAPOLI CELEBRATES10 YEARS OF SERVICE AT FLAGSHIP MIDTOWN LOCATION
Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 4/25/24
Led by Maestro Pizzaiolo Chef Luca Varuni, the Atlanta Restaurant’s 10th Anniversary Takes Place on Tuesday, April 23
Varuni Napoli, Atlanta’s premier Neapolitan pizzeria, is celebrating a decade of serving authentic Neapolitan cuisine at its flagship location in Midtown this April 23. Maestro Pizzaiolo Chef Luca Varuni, a native of Naples, the city considered the birthplace of pizza, founded Varuni Napoli in hopes of bringing the flavor and freshness of the food to Atlanta. Now, after 10 years of making that dream a reality, he looks back on Varuni Napoli’s evolution as a restaurant and looks forward to how the pizzeria will continue to grow and maintain its position as one of the top Neapolitan pizzerias in the Atlanta restaurant market.
“I feel incredibly honored to be celebrating 10 years of Varuni Napoli here in Atlanta,” said Chef Luca. “When we first opened, Atlanta’s restaurant scene was changing and growing, and we were excited just to be part of that. Now, it’s amazing to see how much the city has evolved, and it feels great that through an entire decade, we still have an amazing staff and supportive, loyal customers who have helped us get to this place.”
Chef Luca became interested in opening a Neapolitan pizzeria in Atlanta when he visited the city for the first time nearly 15 years ago to visit his now wife, LeAnn. He immediately noticed that there weren’t many pizzerias serving traditional Neapolitan pies in the city and wanted to bring more of his heritage to Atlanta in the form of food. Chef Luca’s passion for food developed from a young age, leading him to study traditional Mediterranean and Neapolitan cooking in Sorrento, Italy. Chef Luca also trained under the renowned maestro pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia of La Notizia, the first Michelin-rated pizzeria in the world. With his passion and training in traditional Southern Italian cuisine, Chef Luca moved to the United States and spent a few years continuing to develop his skills at American pizzerias before opening the flagship Midtown location of Varuni Napoli with his brother, Benedetto Varuni, by his side in 2014.
Each element of Varuni Napoli’s identity, from the name to the menu and even the design of the restaurant, honors an aspect of Chef Luca’s personal life, especially his Neapolitan heritage. The name Varuni Napoli is a combination of Chef Luca’s surname, and Napoli, the Italian name for Naples, Italy. When walking into the Midtown location, guests will immediately notice the open kitchen, where maestro pizzaiolos prepare each guest’s pizza right in front of them, similar to what one would find in Naples. Both the tiled ovens and Varuni Napoli’s iconic pizza boxes are a bright baby blue color, created that way in honor of the Napoli football team that Chef Luca grew up cheering for, and the eye color of Chef Luca’s wife. Around the restaurant, there are several black-and-white photos of Naples that show the mystique of the city and its legends, including Maradona, Sofia Loren, Totò, De Filippo, and more.
Varuni Napoli’s menu is the ultimate homage to Naples, featuring a mixture of traditional Neapolitan pies, including Chef Luca’s personal favorite (and one that he enjoys daily), the Margherita, and Chef Luca’s own personal creations, many of which were created in honor of his loved ones, like the Amore Mio created for his wife and the Nonna Mia created in honor of his grandmother. The menu also features dishes created from recipes that have been passed down in Chef Luca’s family from generation to generation, like the Italian-style meatballs and the classic eggplant parmesan. What Chef Luca takes the most pride in, is the quality of the ingredients used in Varuni Napoli’s dishes, with many being imported directly from Italy, including certified D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil. Much of the produce is locally grown, with Varuni Napoli’s Midtown location featuring a hydroponic garden where the basil used in the menu items is grown in-house. Over time, Varuni Napoli’s menu has evolved to include flavorful Neapolitan-style sandwiches, classic Italian appetizers like arancini, and even brunch pizza options that feature both American-style and Neapolitan breakfast favorites.
Due to popular demand, Chef Luca made Varuni Napoli’s most popular pizzas available for nationwide shipping when he joined Goldbelly, the popular online food marketplace, in fall of 2022. This move not only furthered Varuni Napoli’s place as a leader in Atlanta’s pizza scene, but also made it possible for Varuni Napoli fans from across the country to order frozen versions of the restaurant’s customer-favorite pies, including the classic Margherita, spicy pepperoni-topped Bastardo, and cheesy Oro Bianco to heat up and enjoy from the comfort of their homes.
In 10 years, Varuni Napoli has cemented itself as one of Atlanta’s staple pizzerias. In its first year of opening, Varuni Napoli landed on Jezebel Magazine’s “100 Best Restaurants in Atlanta” list and was featured in Atlanta Magazine’s annual “Best of Atlanta” issue. The following year, Varuni Napoli was named one of the best pizza restaurants in Atlanta by USA Today’s 10Best. Fast forward to 2019, Varuni Napoli was named one of the best brunch restaurants in Atlanta by Food Network. The pizzeria was voted the Best Pizza Place in Atlanta in a 2020 poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and also made Thrillist’s lists of the best pizza places in Atlanta and the best Italian restaurants in Atlanta in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named Chef Luca one of the best pizzaiolos in Atlanta and named Varuni’s Margherita pizza as “one of the 15 classic pizzas to try in metro Atlanta.” Also in 2022, Varuni Napoli was named one of the 100 hottest restaurants in Atlanta by Jezebel Magazine and declared one of Atlanta’s 75 best restaurants by Atlanta Magazine. In 2023, Varuni Napoli was chosen to represent Atlanta in Good Morning America’s “United States of Pizza” competition and was also recognized by Pizza Today’s Pizza Industry Excellence Awards.
Photos and interviews with Chef Luca Varuni are available upon request. Stay in the know by following Varuni Napoli on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, subscribing to the pizzeria newsletter or visiting the website at www.varuni.us.
About Chef Luca Varuni: As the mind behind Varuni Napoli, veteran maestro pizzaiolo Luca Varuni brings his passion for Italian heritage, vast culinary experience and extensive Neapolitan training to Atlanta’s favorite pizzeria.
An Italian native from Naples, Italy, Varuni was born with Neapolitan food and culture in his blood and has developed a passion for cooking through the years. Varuni began his life in the kitchen at age 14 and, early in his professional career, trained under the renowned maestro pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia of La Notizia – the first Michelin-rated pizzeria in the world. After studying traditional Mediterranean and Neapolitan cooking in Sorrento, Varuni brought his talents to the United States, later opening the first Varuni Napoli location in 2014 in Midtown Atlanta, followed by a second location in Krog Street Market in 2017.
Throughout the years, Chef Luca and Varuni Napoli have garnered nationwide attention from partnering with Breville, the world leader in kitchen appliances, as one of its top pizzaiolos to being featured on and included in outlets such as CNN, Food Network, “Good Morning America,” Pizza Today, PMQ Pizza Magazine, Thrillist, and more.
