New Northshore Gem Meribo Opens In Covington

Meribo is pronounced "Muh-REE-bo" and combines the two Italian words meridionale (southern) and cibo (food) to indicate the restaurant/pizzeria's dedication to combining southern Italian recipes with American southern ingredients, like wild boar and Benton's bacon.

Co-founders and friends Vinnie LeDonne (formerly GM at Palmetto's in Slidell) and Gavin Jobe (owner of the Pelican House in Baton Rouge) opened the restaurant in downtown Covington to express their love of casual but high quality dining with friends and family.

The space has been extensively renovated to achieve a clean, modern look with a white interior, floor to ceiling windows, and chrome and red accents.

The menu is divided into starters (like the braised beef arancini and wood fired octopus), pizzas (the Potato arrives topped with chunks of perfectly rendered Benton's bacon, and other pizzas by such names as All The Meat and Fried Oyster are also intriguing), mains— think porchetta or wood-fired fish— and pastas (try the wild boar raviolo with fried chicken livers, wild mushrooms, and brown butter.)

The bar program includes a strong wine list, of course, along with a draft beer list of local beer, being rolled out this week, and a cocktail program beginning next week.

Currently the restaurant's hours are Tuesday through Saturday (5-9pm Tuesday-Thursday and 5-midnight Friday and Saturday) with a plan to add Sunday and Monday hours as well as lunch in the coming weeks and months.