Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna opened in March 2025 on the corner of Wells and Grand under chefs Chris Pandel and Lee Wolen. The restaurant offers a dim modern barroom, a booth-filled nostalgic dining room with paisley walls and family photos, and a downstairs cocktail lounge. The menu highlights crackly, light tavern-style pizzas, including a thin, crisp pepperoni pie dusted in Parmesan with hot honey. Shareable starters include piping hot mozzarella sticks in fresh Parmesan and a creamy carrot dip served with pita chips and fresh vegetables. The Peach Keen cocktail blends peach, lemon, and iced tea for balance.
"The space shifts depending on where you sit: There's a dim, modern barroom that's ideal for after-work drinks and casual dates; a second dining room that leans nostalgic with booths and old-school Italian restaurant touches like paisley walls bedecked in clusters of family photos; and an intriguing downstairs cocktail lounge that would make Frank Sinatra proud. But the draw here is the crackly, light tavern-style pies that feel dangerously easy to finish solo."
"Try the thin, crisp, tavern-style pepperoni pizza ($24) dusted in Parmesan. Ours came with a nice balanced ratio of sauce and toppings; hot honey makes the salty-sweet combo pop. The pepperoni is all-beef, as opposed to pork. A glorious tower of piping hot mozzarella sticks ($16) arrived at the table in a blanket of fresh Parmesan, ready for dramatic cheese pulls; ask for salt to boost flavor of the marinara sauce."
Read at Eater Chicago
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