This new Italian spot in Columbus serves up big lunch pasta bowls for under $5

Less than $5 for a huge pasta bowl is an offer you shouldn’t refuse.

Peppone’s Ristorante Pizzeria opened in late 2019 at 2626 Manchester Expressway. It’s treated as a second location of Auburn’s popular Fratelli’s Ristorante Italiano.

I’ve never had the pleasure of eating at Fratelli’s, but I’ve driven past Peppone’s several times on my way home. I hadn’t stopped, but I always thought about it. That changed this week.

After recommendations from readers and praise from Mike Haskey, the Ledger-Enquirer’s video extraordinaire, I finally decided it was time to drive on over.

From the outside, it appears the location used to be a Wendy’s from long ago. However the concrete floors, soft red curtains and rest of the interior do a good job disguising that past.

It was a busy lunch rush and seats were filling up. We entered and were sat quickly. We placed our orders and passed the time talking and eating pieces of hot, homemade bread. We used the large slices to sop up the olive oil dipping sauce.

We doubled up on bread, ordering the bruschetta al pomodoro. Those same big slices of bread came topped with diced tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil. I shared the dish with Haskey but wished that I had my own order.

My entree, the spaghetti amatriciana, came to the table in a large bowl. The spaghetti pasta was tossed in a tomato sauce with onions, black pepper and pancetta — essentially Italian bacon. Atop all that was grated Parmesan cheese.

The pasta was tender. The tomatoes in the sauce were fresh and sharp-tasting. The onions gave it a little crunch. The pancetta had a strong pork flavor with hints of smokiness. The flavors shifted towards a little sweet and a little spicy near the end of the bite.

Haskey raved about his lasagna, saying it was unlike most lasagnas he’d eaten. There was less creamy, white ricotta cheese in the center. It was lighter than your typical lasagna, which can sometimes feel like a hefty meteor of cheese, sauce and meat sitting in your belly. It came to the table in a solitary serving dish which Haskey said made him feel special.

Haskey cleared his plate. I did not, and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. I twirled and twirled spaghetti, consuming bites but not seeing much change on my plate. It felt like a never-ending bowl, and I got full after eating about half of my dish.

I spent less than $5 on my lunch, and I got to eat from it twice. That’s impressive, and the quality of food is superb.

For an appetizer, two lunches and two drinks, we spent $24. We left happy and full, and I’m already thinking of coming for dinner in the near future.

Peppone’s Ristorante Pizzeria

2626 Manchester Expressway, Columbus

Hours: 11 a.m - 9 p.m., Monday-Saturday

Nick Wooten

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Nick Wooten is the Accountability/Investigative reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer where he is responsible for covering several topics, including Georgia politics. His work may also appear in the Macon Telegraph. Nick was given the Georgia Press Association’s 2021 Emerging Journalist award for his coverage of elections, COVID-19 and Columbus’ LGBTQ+ community. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.