Little Italy Restaurant
| Address: | 3320 S Broadway Ave, Tyler, TX 75701, USA |
| Phone: | +1 903-595-1184 |
| Site: | facebook.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–9:30PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
A
A Private User
An amazing discovery, a lovely little family restaurant, very authentic. This is just a pay-on-your-way-out kind of place, with a kitschy Italian flag motif on the outside, and on the inside, bottles and bottles of wine, good smells, and a kitchen door that never stopped swinging on a Friday night. My veal parmigiana was tender. My spaghetti was a little overdone and the sauce a little bland in its own right, but the perfect complement to my veal. My wife had a delicious eggplanta parmigiana in alfredo sauce, and the kids split a juicy Neopolitan style pie dripping with cheese and sweet tomato sauce. The garlic rolls were a little tough, but tasted like fresh yeast and had a perfect seasoning of cheese, garlic, and whatever, and came with packets of real butter. The place was so authentic I found myself mimicking an older womans, maybe the owner?, Italian pronunciations. Florentine soup was mild and delicious, with meatballs so tender they melted. We thought about dessert, but in the end, decided to just enjoy our very full bellies. The service was okay. Dont expect traditional Southern hospitality and honey-darling, just attentiveness. The waitstaff were all women, tending toward the younger side, probably locals, and friendly. Our waittress stuck mostly to pertinences like our drink order and whether we needed more bread, but she took a moment to joke with our children. Despite the low ticket price, this place is much better than most chain restaurants, and had a splash of authenticity you cant find just anywhere. Besides comfort foods like spaghetti marinara and feduccine alfredo, look for finds on the menu like mussels, mostaccioli, pasta drizzled in tomato juice, and a variety of chicken dishes cooked with vegetables. This is the real deal, from Italy, probably by way of New York. This is maybe not the place I would choose for a first date, but for a romantic night out with your spouse or a hearty family meal, I think this place is gonna be hard to beat.
A
A Private User
I used to like this place, and I used to visit several times a week, but Ive had a bad experience the past several times Ive gone and I do not intend on going back, even though I like the food and the variety of the menu. Today, the waitress asked me if I wanted soup or salad with my meal. The way she worded her question led me to believe that it was included in the meal, but it wasnt, and the cashier refused to take it off my ticket. I wouldnt have ordered it if I had known it cost extra. The rolls have been stale the past couple of times that I have visited. On another recent visit, when the food came, the waitress held out the hot plate in front of me for me to take from her hands, instead of setting it down in front of me. There was plenty of room for her to walk behind me so that I wouldnt have to take the plate from her, whether it was hot or not. The same happened when we were done with the meal. She stood at the table and asked if she could clear some plates for us. When I said yes and leaned back so she could take the plate, she held her hand out in front of me for me to hand her the plate again. That is just bad service!
JE
Jessica Wright
DO NOT EAT HERE!! FLIES EVERYWHERE!! STAFF IS INCREDIBLY RUDE!! I used to frequent Little Italy fairly often for both dine in and take out. However, after my last experience, I will not be going back. First, a restaurant patron should not have to swat flies away from their food. I had to literally guard my food and drink away from flies, before finally giving up and asking for everything to go. And second, if a problem of that type occurs, the staff should be much more attentive the situation. No effort was made to apologize and fix the situation. The staff didnt care and were rude. When we wanted a drink that a fly had landed in taken off the ticket, the cashier refused. She said that they were incapable of changing or voiding items on tickets. When we asked to speak to a manager or owner, we were informed that there were none present. No employee stepped forward to answer for the restaurant. The employee that we were directed to as "maybe" being the assistant manager practically ignored me as I stated my complaint and did nothing except smile and nod. Worst experience Ive ever had in a restaurant.
MI
Michael Tomlinson
My wife and I really tried to give this place a chance. We arrived about 6 pm on a Sunday and it was busy...which we thought was a good sign. The garlic rolls were old and hard. I asked the waitress what she recommended and it was the chicken and shrimp crimora. The shrimp was either extremely overcooked or it was about to expire. I chewed one up and spit it in a napkin. My sons fettuccini alfredo sauce did not look fresh. He ate one bite and said it tasted weird, didnt eat anymore and ate some of my daughters pizza instead. I tasted a slice and it was decent but "nothing to write home about." Our waitress was hanging out in the kitchen and chatting the whole time and the bus boy was more helpful than her. There was food all over the floor in restaurant like nobody has bothered to do a quick sweep all day. The experience was not worth $60. We will not return or recommend to others.
JE
Jesse Cowan
This place is a gem, some may say the service is bad and sometimes theyre right, some may say the place is a little dirty and usually thats the case. Theres flies, and I always seem to get the table with one short leg........but the food...that wonderful, glorious, sensual home cooked food that reminds me of a place Ive never even been, its like sheets drying in the wind on a cool spring evening. The chicken primavera in white sauce literally brings me to my knees and a tear to my eye, each and every time I have it. If this place were a roach infested rats nest Id eat off the bare floor because the food is worth it. Its the kind of food that cant be made by a crew of inexperienced teenagers like something from Chilis or Olive Garden, its the result of generations of commitment to whats true and beautiful. I love this place, I always have.
DA
david irby
Italian food in the middle of Texas can be hit and miss, but Little Italy is always good, for the location and the price it cannot be beat.. the only thing that I would like to see that would provide 5 stars would be some occasional variety in the menu. They do do the staples very well, the chicken pram, spaghetti and sauce, lasagna- all excellent dishes but a seasonal variation of several other meals for the more culinary culturally ambitions of us would be nice. And, in my opinion, enough to bump the rating to 5 stars. The lack of the 5th star aside, dont waste your money at the Olive Gardens of this world and give Little Italy a try. David Irby
DE
Destiny4life #itslittt
I used to go to Little Italy every Wed. when I worked in the area, I hadnt been there in awhile so my 8 yr. old and I went tonight. We got there at 640p, didnt get to order food until 705P then didnt get the dang food until 725P, I was getting mad and bored waiting for the food. Finally the food came it was the same good quality food I remembered but the service was HORRIBLE. I am pretty sure I will never ever go back. I did complain when I paid my check but the cashier just smiled.
