Restaurants in Pearl

The coffee and pastry lovers of Koinonia Coffee House transformed a dilapidated building into a cozy home complete with shiny wood floors, comfortable armchairs, and fresh baked goods. Guests are met with the aromas of brewed coffee and freshly baked loaves of focaccia bread. They can sink teeth into turkey clubs or egg sandwiches in between sips of orange creams or mint-white-chocolate-chip smoothies.

Against vibrant red walls, a large mural paints a scene of two young lovers embracing beneath the glow of stars and streetlights on an Italian boulevard. It's an ideal evocation of Rossini Cucina Italiana's private dining nooks, where couples can retreat to enjoy an authentic Italian meal bathed in soft, romantic light from a wall-hung lantern. Of course, guests can also reserve a table in the brightly lit dining area, grab a seat on the outdoor patio, or initiate a massage train with all of the other patrons to experience a more communal vibe. As patrons relax in the elegant eatery, chef Tony whips up traditional handmade pastas, hand-cuts tender beef fillets, and drapes seafood entrees in subtle wine sauces. He also offers the Feed Me Tony option, where he'll personally customize feasts from start to finish and pair the appropriate wines to each course.

The seasonal fare at CrawDaddy's sends wayward appetites straight to the Louisiana coast to learn the art of festive Cajun dining. Shelled and nonshelled entrees wash up on tables surrounded by the cozy dining room's seafaring-themed décor, which includes rustic-style wooden tables and light-blue walls. Fried-catfish baskets and piles of painstakingly boiled shrimp lie beneath handsome wall hangings of essential fisherman tools, such as crisscrossed oars, fishing nets, and a pocket English-to-trout phrasebook used to persuade fish in their native tongue.

Fred Cerami’s first venture into the food industry was selling hot dogs on the streets of Hattiesburg. He loved feeding people, but wanted to incorporate his Sicilian heritage and generations of family recipes into his work. So in 1977, he left the streets, came inside, and laid down his roots within the kitchen of Cerami’s Italian Restaurant. Today, Fred’s daughter Alissa runs the restaurant, but not much else has changed. The kitchen still churns out homemade ravioli, lasagna, and spaghetti with meatballs, Italian flags still adorn the walls of the dining room, and Fred’s old Hattiesburg hot-dog wagon is still there, enjoying its healthier second act as an all-you-can-eat salad bar.