Best New and Newish Eateries in Madison, Alabama

Connie Pearson
6 minutes ago
3 min read

So much delectable food is being produced and served inside new and newish restaurants in Madison, Alabama, how can a person choose where to go for his/her next lunch or dinner? If you are someone who eats out multiple times a week, you can try them all! If you have a sensitive palate (or a finicky digestive system), you might need to choose based on the advertised menu. If you are an adventurous eater, perhaps you'll want to try a dish or a few dishes for the very first time. If your budget allows casual but not gourmet, chef-curated meals, a close look at websites could narrow your choices down considerably. A special occasion and a reservation? A place to gather with friends? A quick bite after work? Not to worry. Between Clift Farms, The Village of Providence, the Highway 72 corridor, Town Madison, and slightly hidden gems, people from Madison, Huntsville, Athens, Decatur, Hartselle, and other North Alabama towns have a growing number of restaurants from which to choose.

In this post, I want to highlight an award-winning pizzeria and remind you of some I've written about in recent posts.

Valentina's Pizzeria & Wine Bar

Valentina's Pizzeria & Wine Bar, 25783 Huntsville Brownsferry Rd, Madison, returned from a competition last week after being named the #12 Pizzeria in the United States by 50 Top Pizza USA!! They were also chosen as having the Best Dessert List 2026. Steve and I tried it recently, and I can attest that it is AMAZING!! Owner/Chef Joe Carlucci's list of pizza-making and pizza-tossing awards is dizzying, and North Alabama is happy he brought his Italian heritage and his New York swagger to our part of the country.

The restaurant is named for Carlucci's daughter Valentina, who has her own pizza-tossing record in the books and can often be found learning and greeting guests alongside her father.

With carefully-crafted dough (that takes days to make), imaginative sauces, and the freshest ingredients, the results are bringing in new devotees every week. I have found only one negative. They only serve lunch on Saturdays starting at noon. From Tuesday to Friday, you have to wait until Valentina's opens at 4:00 p.m. It's closed on Sundays and Mondays.

For our first visit, we chose the Bruschetta for our appetizer.