Raleigh Italian restaurant named by Yelp as one of the South’s best new places to eat
An Italian restaurant in a legendary downtown space has been named one of the South’s best new places to eat.
Figulina, a restaurant and market focusing on fresh pasta, was named the 24th best new restaurant in the South by the review site Yelp. From Poole’s Diner alum David Ellis, Figulina took over the longtime restaurant space of Raleigh’s Humble Pie.
Yelp compiled a list of the South’s top 25 best new restaurants of the last year based on the volume and rating of reviews on the site, plus recent health scores.
What’s on Figulina’s menu?
With Figulina, Ellis created a modern Italian restaurant with an old soul, built around handmade noodles. In its spotlight, Yelp noted how Figulina blends classic Italian dishes with Southern ingredients, like country ham carbonara, combining the local and familiar to create something new.
Ellis is a British ex-pat who moved to the United States in 2019, eventually becoming chef of Ashley Christensen’s flagship restaurant Poole’s Diner.
When Humble Pie announced it would close in 2023 after more than three decades, Figulina said it would take over the iconic Raleigh dining room and patio. Figulina opened its doors this February.
One of the distinctive additions to Figulina is its version of a chef’s table, where a communal table sits behind the bar, allowing diners to watch the chefs make the evening’s pasta.
