Owners Elda and Emil \u201cNino\u201d Rata<\/a> have opened Acquario Pizza Pasta & Bar near Keller Town Center, and it\u2019s well on the way to matching the success of his Acquario Italian Restaurant.<\/p>\n After three years running his finer-dining Acquario, the Ratas decided to add a Neapolitan-style pizzeria in the same city for a simple reason.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no high-quality, traditional Neapolitan pizza around here,\u201d Emil Rata said as the first customers streamed into Acquario Pizza Paata & Bar, now in its soft-opening phrase at 967 Keller Parkway near Rufe Snow Drive.<\/p>\n The Ratas went all-out.<\/p>\n For a chef, Acquario Pizza hired national award-winning pizzaiolo Gimmy Piperku<\/a>, from Rome via Las Vegas and San Diego.<\/p>\n To bake the pizza, the Ratas brought in a giant Neapolitan oven too big for the door. To get it in, front windows had to come out.<\/p>\n Acquario Pizza took over a nondescript strip shopping center space. So the atmosphere is more casual pizzeria than upscale restaurant like the original Acquario, on the Keller-Southlake border at 8849 Davis Blvd.<\/p>\n But there is nothing nondescript about Piperku\u2019s pastas or pizzas, some of the best in North Texas and comparable in the Fort Worth area only to downtown\u2019s standout Bocca Osteria Romana and its Felina pizzeria.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t tried Neapolitan-style pizza at the older local Cane Rosso chain or another restaurant, it\u2019s soft, light, airy and known for its high, charred edges.<\/p>\n Acquario Pizza\u2019s introductory menu offers a choice of 10 pizzas with toppings such as soppressata, prosciutto cotto, Calabrian chili peppers and cuo-and-char pepperoni.<\/p>\n The pasta menu offers a choice of eight entrees such as spaghettis, rigatoni in vodka sauce, or pasta with beef Genovese.<\/p>\n Start any meal with an order of puccia, the round and lighr pull-apart bread from southern Italy.<\/p>\n An order of bread ($11) and eggplant Parmesan ($14) made a sensational dinner together or alongside a pizza.<\/p>\n Desserts include tiramisu or Nutella pizza.<\/p>\n (I didn\u2019t get that far.)<\/p>\n Piperku is a former champion in pizza makers\u2019 Caputo Cup competition.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is pizza Napoletana, authentic,\u201d Piperku said \u2014 \u201ctomatoes from Italy, mozzarella from Italy, flour from Italy … Everything is like a street food that brings people together.\u201d<\/p>\n He learned pizza making at 16 \u2014 \u201ca little too old\u201d by Italian standards, he said jokingly \u2014 when he moved from his small home town to Rome and needed a job.<\/p>\n He found work at a bakery.<\/p>\n \u201cI found out what I like,\u2019\u201d he said \u2014 \u201cthe raising of the dough.\u201d<\/p>\n Acquario Pizza Pasta & Bar is open for lunch and dinner daily; 682-647-6554, acquariopizza.com.<\/p>\n The original, finer-dining Acquario Italian Restaurant is open for dinner only Mondays through Saturdays; 817-431-8323, acquariorestaurant.com.<\/p>\n Bud Kennedy\u2019s Eats Beat<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the \u201cEats Beat\u201d dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 \u2014 that\u2019s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat. Gimmy Piperku, a world champion pizza chef from San Diego and Las Vegas restaurants, is the \u201dpizzaiolo\u201d at Acquario Pizza Pasta & Bar in Keller, Texas, seen March 2, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n
A sausage-and-mushroom pizza at Acquario Pizza Pasta + Bar in Keller, Texas, seen March 2, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n
Puccia, a light semolina bread from Puglia, Italy, is a must-try appetizer at Acquario Pizza Pasta & Bar in Keller, Texas. It\u2019s served with an eggplant spread. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n
Eggplant Parmesan is an appetizer at Acquario Pizza Pasta + Bar in Keller, Texas, seen March 2, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n
Acquario Pizza Pasta & Bar is in a strip shopping center on Keller Parkway near Keller Town Center in Keller, Texas, as seen March 2, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n
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