Savelli's Italian Restaurant

My daughter and friend chose Savelli's to celebrate my daughter's 26th birthday... We had 7 pm reservations... I arrived before my daughter and her friend at 7 pm and was greeted by no one... No hostess at the front door... Only 2 couples waiting before me, with one couple also waiting on a hostess to greet them... When the hostess/waitress showed up, she told the couple in front of me that she would seat them as soon as she could... She totally ignored me... I noticed a few empty tables and wondered why she had not seated anyone waiting at those tables... I also noticed that the hostess/waitress was the only person waiting on the entire room (at least a dozen tables)... At around 7:25 pm my daughter and her friend arrived and because we demanded to be seated (having made reservations), the hostess/waitress seated us... She gave us menus and then we never saw her again... We chose what we wanted for dinner and wondered why she never came back... Finally, my daughter walked up to the counter and ordered our meals... Within a reasonable time, a young man (very polite) came with our meals...The food was marginal, and not the food I remember eating there in the past... The food was overcooked, over seasoned and very salty... We ate... Never saw the waitress or waiter again... We were ready to leave and no one had brought the bill... Again, my daughter got up and went to the food counter and asked for the bill to be brought to us... I put my credit card in the bill folder... After a good bit of time, no one came to pick up the ticket and my card... Again, my daughter gets up and takes the bill to the counter... We continue to visit among ourselves for quite a while... We decide its time to leave and I notice my credit card has not been returned... I get up to go find it... The restaurant staff is grouped together behind the food counter having a gab session... They have my credit card and bill taped on the wall and say they lost track of whose it was... Couldn't believe it... Don't go to Savellis! more

Food barley edible. Service terrible. Too much sauce, mushy pasta, ravioli and veal/chicken taken from from pre-frozen food service pouches. more

savelli's italian restaurant is not only the best italian place to eat in knoxville, it is so cozy to be in the atmosphere with nothing but family is around to serve you. some people may say that the service is not that great but waitresses are people too, if you are polite to them then they will do the same to you. i know the girls personally and i love them, the whole family will come out of the kitchen just to have a conversation to see how my day is going. this restaurant is truly one of a kind. someone said something about the lasagna being frozen on here? that is a joke. people that like to spread rumors about false information need to just stay home and make their own food. i know food critics that travel the nation all year round and savellis is in their top picks. and who cares if the place is small, that is what makes it a diamond in the rough. in all honesty i cant find one bad thing about savellis to say. it is still a mom and pop place that has served knoxville for over 17 years, dont you think they are doing something right? give me a break lady! more

this restaurant does not freeze anything. i think that it is rude and very disrespectful to spread rumors about a local restaurant that has been wowing the knoxville area for over 17 years. don't you think they are doing something right if they have been there that long? people that make up things about freezing food or anything else that is not true just need to stay home and make their own food. not only has the savellis owner been ranked top chef in knoxville, i have friends that travel nationally that are food critics and we are in their top 3 favorite places to eat, so maybe you were the problem! more

Having moved to Knoxville from an area with numerous family-run Italian restuarants, Savelli's is a little treasure around here. It's often jammed with customers, but we've never had the feeling we were cramped and have eaten there many times - driving a long way to get there :). The food is typical of Italian family recipes, nothing delicate about it, with plenty of bold flavor. The tiramisu is homemade (in NJ and shipped in) and it's as good as any we've ever tasted. It's also nice to be able to bring your own wine. Overall, IMHO Savelli's is close to the best Italian in town (for fish Italian -style, Cantinella's Bistro on Middlebrook is world-class). more

Back before Mama and Papa Savelli split, Savelli's was THE place to get Italian food in my book. The atmosphere was quaint, the family business was heartwarming and the food was just plain GREAT. I didn't like that you had to bring your own bottle if you wanted wine and pay a corking fee, but that was my only complaint. After the split we have only eaten there once and it was just sad. My spinach lasagna arrived looking a little old and to my shock was actually still frozen in the middle. Apparently they didn't microwave it long enough after they took it out of the freezer! I was shocked and saddened. We've moved on to other local Italian restaurants since then. more

Today I visited Savelli's Italian Restuarant and I was quite impressed. The atmosphere was quite plesant, althought they were getting busy, it was an intimate place for a peaceful lunch. Some of the prices can be a bit steep, but you are getting homestyle fresh Italian cusine. Service and food were above expectation - a must try! more