Chef-Owner Pat Pascarella (Grana, The White Bull) will open hit latest Italian import, Bastone, in West Midtown on Monday, March 7, 2022, a spokesperson for the restaurant told What Now Atlanta this week.
Bastone will round out Pascarella’s trilogy with a Naples-inspired mozzarella bar set to join the Westside neighborhood with hand-stretched mozzarella, pasta, Italian wines, and craft cocktails, at 887 Howell Mill Road NW. Bastone will open for dinner only. Take-out and delivery will be available in addition to dine-in service.
“I’ve always wanted to create a concept like Bastone — it really is the heart and soul of my roots,” Pascarella said in a prepared statement. “Mozzarella is a fundamental part of the cuisine in my family’s hometown of Naples. We’re excited to pioneer the idea that a great restaurant can be built around one main ingredient, and are eager for Atlantans to enjoy the best of everything it has to offer in an authentic way.”
With a Neapolitan namesake referring to a card deck’s “ace of clubs” that dually pays homage to Pascarella’s Italian-born grandfather who used to scream “Bastone!” as he played his favorite card during games, the eatery will offer a mozzarella-fueled version of the classics of Naples gastronomy.
Complete with a robust mozzarella and salumi bar with optional bread service, Bastone will also offer a gran degustazione (“grand tasting”) including mozzarella di bufala, ricotta di bufala, burrata, smoked mozzarella and fatt a mano accompanied by boards of prosciutto, roasted artichokes, eggplant caponata, and more.
A selection of salads, small plates, and desserts join an ever-evolving list of house-made pasta including doppio with fig, ricotta, prosciutto, arugula and vincotto, orecchiette with pancetta, escarole, bone marrow and crumbs, farro garganelli with beef cheeks, radicchio & pistachio and cresc’ tajat bolognese with ricotta di bufala & hazelnuts.
Behind the bar, Beverage Director Anthony Panzica has curated an extensive libations program that seamlessly complements the menu with its overflowing selections of rare & thoughtfully sourced Italian wines, local beers & perfectly appointed craft cocktails with ingredients sourced from local farmers.
Designed to coincide with the menu’s roots, Bastone will arrive in the form of a 150-seat eatery evoking the tastes of Naples together with Pascarella’s family recipes.
“Channeling the quintessential Neapolitan kitchens of Pascarella’s ancestors remixed with a collaboration of warm and luxe details, the space welcomes guests with endless natural light reflecting off of the aged white brick and subway tile-adorned walls, and is met with white marble countertops, leather tufted barstools and camel banquettes, and industrial ceilings & accents throughout,” according to a press release.
Complete with an outdoor back patio embellished with a mural alongside a daytime pasta-making room that moonlights as a private dining area, the indoor dining space boasts an oversized wrought-iron and glass divider that separates the main dining room from the anchoring 18-seat split bar — an area made with the intention of focusing half of its efforts on fresh, hand-stretched mozzarella, and the other half on the concept’s beverage program.
![[Renderings] Mozzarella and Wine Bar Bastone Targets Early March 2022 Opening - Rendering 1](https://whatnowatlanta.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/Renderings-Mozzarella-and-Wine-Bar-Bastone-Targets-Early-March-2022-Opening-Rendering-1.jpg)
