The Marietta Square area has quietly turned into one of Cobb County’s best pizza districts. Within a short walk, visitors can choose from classic New York slices, Neapolitan-style pies blistered in wood-fired ovens, Italian market pizza, and upscale sit-down restaurants serving handmade pasta alongside artisan crusts.
Classic New York-Style
Marietta Pizza Company
Located directly on the Square at 3 Whitlock Avenue, Marietta Pizza Company has been one of downtown’s longtime pizza anchors. The restaurant serves classic New York-style pizza with large foldable slices, traditional toppings, calzones, wings, salads, and subs.
The atmosphere is both casual and energetic, especially on weekends when the patio fills up with people watching the Square traffic roll by. Inside, it is a funky neighborhood pizza spot that is great for grabbing a slice or two and a beer.
Solar Slice Pizza
Even though it is about 2.7 miles from Marietta Square, Solar Slice Pizza deserves a spot in the local pizza conversation. Located on Cobb Parkway near the Big Chicken, the restaurant specializes in oversized New York-style pizza with crispy crusts, foldable slices, and creative specialty pies like the Cup N’ Char Hot Honey and the ultra-thin and extra crispy “The Portnoy” which recently earned the spot an 8.1 on the One Bite review. The menu also includes calzones, salad, and 10″ gluten free pizzas.
Other than excellent pizza, what separates Solar Slice from a standard pizza place is the atmosphere. The restaurant mixes retro arcade energy with pizza shop chaos in the best possible way, complete with pinball machines, vintage arcade games, bright colors, beer, and a strong 1980s and 1990s nostalgia streak. It feels part pizza joint, part arcade hangout, part late-night slice stop, which explains why it has built a loyal following so quickly around Marietta. Read More…
Pisano’s Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen
It’s a familiar Italian spot in downtown Kennesaw, serving up New York style pizza. A new Marietta Square location is coming soon…
Wood-Fired Italian
Gianni & Mac’s Ristorante Piazza Nostra
Gianni & Mac’s brings a more polished Italian restaurant experience to the Square, pairing wood-fired pizzas with handmade pasta, cocktails, and a large patio area. The pizzas are artisan Italian, cooked in a wood-fired oven with thinner crusts and fresh ingredients rather than oversized New York slices.
The restaurant has become a popular dinner destination thanks to its lively atmosphere and upscale but approachable feel. It is a place where one table can order pizza and beer while another goes fully into pasta, wine, and dessert mode.
Forno Vero
Inside Marietta Square Market, Forno Vero specializes in Neapolitan-style pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. The restaurant uses imported Italian ingredients including double-zero flour and San Marzano tomatoes, creating softer, slightly charred crusts associated with traditional Naples-style pizza.
The setup is a bit different than a traditional restaurant because it sits at the center of the busy food hall environment of Marietta Square Market. Guests can grab a pizza, cocktails, and craft beer while surrounded by dozens of other food concepts and communal seating. It has a louder, social atmosphere that fits group outings with different tastes and food preferences particularly well.
Asher & Rose Grocers
The newest addition to Marietta Square’s pizza lineup is actually part grocery store, part café, and part wine bar. Asher & Rose evolved from the longtime Italian restaurant Piastra. Their pizzas are artisan Italian style, built around fresh ingredients and seasonal toppings tied closely to the market side of the business. Guests can dine inside the retro-inspired café or grab prepared foods and market items to take home.
The atmosphere feels very different from a traditional pizza shop. Shelves stocked with cheeses, wines, fresh breads, produce, and house-made specialties surround the café space, creating something closer to a neighborhood European-style market.
Artisan Wood-Fired Gastropub Style
Two Birds Taphouse
Two Birds Taphouse blends craft beer culture with wood-fired pizza in a lively gastropub setting just off Marietta Square. The restaurant offers creative, chef-driven pizzas rather than traditional New York or classic Neapolitan styles, with combinations featuring ingredients like chili honey, chorizo, asparagus, avocado crema, and mushroom trios.
The atmosphere is energetic and social, with indoor and patio seating, rotating cocktails, dozens of beer taps, and a crowd that often settles in for the evening instead of grabbing a quick slice. For pizza fans looking for something a little less traditional and a little more “pizza meets craft beer night,” Two Birds fits nicely into the Square’s growing pizza scene.
Italian Market Style
Bottega Italian Market & Pizza
Bottega blends Italian market shopping with café dining. The shop offers pizza, focaccia sandwiches, imported wines, cheeses, meats, pantry items, prepared foods, and grocery-style Italian specialties.
Its pizza style is closer to rustic Italian café pizza than oversized American slices. The space itself is compact and European, with shelves lined with imported products and a setup that encourages lingering over espresso, sandwiches, wine, or a quick slice before walking the Square.
Brick Oven Style
Micah-Angelo’s Pizza
A short drive from the Square, Micah-Angelo’s has built a loyal following for its brick oven “Marietta Style” pizza. The restaurant combines classic Italian-American comfort food with a family-run neighborhood feel.
The crust is somewhere between New York and brick oven artisan styles, giving diners a crisp exterior with a softer interior. It is less flashy than some newer concepts around the square, but that consistency has helped owners Katie and Micah Pfister maintain a strong local following.
More Italian Is Still Coming
Marietta Square’s Italian lineup is about to grow again with the upcoming arrival of Pisano’s Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen in the former Ahoy! There Be Dragons gallery space next to Willie Rae’s Social House. The restaurant’s original Downtown Kennesaw location is known for New York-style pizza, pasta, and Italian-American favorites, adding yet another pizza option to an area already operating at very healthy carb levels.
