Savelli's Italian: A Hidden Gem for Authentic Italian Cuisine in Knoxville

Well it's been almost five years since I have been to Knoxville...see my last (and soon to be updated review) of Brewster's Ice cream. I got into town at about 9:30 am on Thursday morning. I was planning on doing all the things, but in reality I just slept for most of the day. I periodically got up to keep my blood pumping and by the time it was lunchtime I was advised that my mom was taking me and and some family friends out for dinner @ Savelli's. I suddenly got hungry. We got to the restaurant around 6 pm. The parking was pretty sparse. My mom wanted to park in the parking lot of Gus's Hot Chicken, but I told her not to, seeing as there were signs specifically saying not to if you weren't eating there. The friends that came to meet us shortly after did not heed the warning. They were promptly "advised" that their car would be towed if it wasn't moved. We walked into the restaurant. It still had the white sheer fabric curtains acting like makeshift drywall. We were seated quickly. We both got salads to split before. The shaved parmigian and Caesar dressing made for a nice crisp start to the meal. This is where things go slightly askew. Everyone was asked what toppings they wanted. In the end it was Caramalized onions, pepperoni, green peppers and mushrooms. I knew that traditional New York style pizza is usually cheese and/or pepperoni. The water content of the veggies did cause the pizza to lose its "foldable" characteristics, but it was still delicious. The onions were flavorful, the mushrooms were good,the pepperoni was slightly spicy. The only regret were the green peppers. They were mushy and not very effective as a topping. The crust was delicious though, crispy and solid. Truth be told I had three of the eight slices. Obviously I was able to eat this delicious pizza. Next time we will control our American desire for excess and do the right thing.

Overall a super cute and tiny place. The waiting area is maybe a 4x4 spot that has some curtains to help separate it. It is BYOB and when you make the reservation they remind you on the phone. We really enjoyed our evening there and the food was very good. Service staff was very nice and helpful. Our only big complaint was that there weren't any prices so the final bill caught us off guard, don't get me wrong we still would've eaten there and got the same stuff but not sure we would've order two desserts etc. Soups- both soups had great flavor Bruschetta- different take on it, as it was baked with cheese - it was still very good Sea Bass - was a little overcooked on the bottom but the flavor was very good, and a nice big piece of fish, the risotto was ok, a little dry but overall good Seafood Alfredo - very good sauce, it had lobster, crab and shrimp - found about 3 pieces of shell but again very good Creame brûlée- yum! Creame brûlée cheesecake- yum! Bring your own wine, sweet savings when you think about it! Will definitely go back.

Food was fantastic. I had the special blackened grouper with mama Mia sauce it was excellent. The chicken mama Mia is a similar iteration to decor for the protein. The mama Mia sauce is very unique it's creamy, salty and hint of Leno so some tart. We had the bruscetta that was fantastic topped with balsamic and cheese. The dessert options were fantastic. They had so many good dessert options. We got the carrot cake and the butterfinger cheesecake was so so good. The service was fine only had one waitress for the place it's a home y looking location not huge and it's byob

Finally got to try this little gem. Just when I thought we had no quaint little Italian restaurants, Savelli's. I was pretty set on trying the pizza, and it was perfect, nice thin crust, crisp on the bottom without burning but still a little chewy. Tons of good cheese and pepperoni. My husband tried the sampler and loved it, friends had a scallop piccata over angel hair and his wife had chicken alfredo. All pastas were cooked to perfection and all paid extra for a slice of garlic bread to sop up all the flavorful sauces. We brought in one of our favorite reds and they supplied the glasses, for a modest $3.00 per. Definitely on our monthly rotation of dinner spots.