Coletta’s Italian Restaurant

Food was good. Had the marinated chicken and the spaghetti with meat sauce with sausage. Had a salad and cheese bread. Wish they would have told me the salad was extra… Would like to come back and try new items but with the servers vacuming next to me while I ate, my thoughts are to decline. Not to mention my male server who’s attitude was condescending and who seemed that he could care less if we were there or not.

I don’t like being so negative but it gets on my nerves that this restaurant is considered a Memphis staple. For the life of me, I will never understand how this place fills the seats. Only in Memphis would an establishment as bad as this stay in business for so long. Built on nostalgia, Coletta’s has absolutely nothing else to offer for being a «fine dining» Italian restaurant. Macaroni Grill down the road offers a better experience.
I have been here a few times over the past 10 years and I can say each time was equally disappointing. I vowed never to come back but had to attend a birthday party here recently. The party ordered BBQ pizzas for appetizers and I finally got to try what so many people rave about. I cannot believe anyone would find it good. The dough was mushy and looked pre-​made. No crust. The so-​called 5 lbs of BBQ on top tasted like pulled pork from a crock pot. The so-​called BBQ sauce was nothing more than a can of tomato sauce. BBQ has smoked flavor. I cook competition BBQ in Memphis and this doesn’t even come close to BBQ. It’s Memphis for Pete’s sake. How can people be so duped into thinking this is real BBQ? If this is pulled pork from a smoked shoulder, they must burn rice paper for heat.
Our options were limited for the main course due to the size of the party which was rather disappointing. My girlfriend ordered the chicken fettuccine alfredo and I got the lasagna. When the dishes started coming out, I instantly saw what I hated so much about this place before which was WAYYYY too much sauce on a massive plate of noodles. Who in the hell wants that much flavorless sauce on their pasta? I thought, well luckily I ordered lasagna and it won’t be like that. Wrong. The dish was filled 2 inches thick with meat sauce over a thin layer of lasagna at the bottom. I scooped most of the sauce aside and ate the over-​salted lasagna for as long as I could stand it. My girlfriend’s plate of fettuccine was enough to feed a family. She said it tasted like a frozen Weight Watcher’s meal. I tried it. She was right. She had 2 bites, I had one, and the rest went in a to-​go box for the birthday girl who apparently loves this place. My side salad was the only thing I enjoyed.
The décor of the place is ridiculously tacky. Our service was good, which was a rare positive of the evening. They did a good job accommodating our large party. I hope they got a nice tip even though the food sucks.
Coletta’s seems to have a cult following which keeps it in business. If you like it, good for you, but I challenge you to go to other places in Memphis to compare what true Italian fine dining is like. (Pasta Italia, Pete & Sams, Grisanti’s, etc). Memphis isn’t known for amazing Italian food but there are much better places just down the road than Coletta’s, even if Elvis never went there. If you’ve never been here and don’t want to believe the negative reviews here, don’t say you weren’t warned. If you aren’t from Memphis and were disappointed in your experience here, I promise you Memphis has better Italian restaurants.

I did it again… giving second chances is just not worth it sometimes. My daughter and I tried the Chicken Alfredo. It was nadt. I didn’t eat mine at all. My daughter ate hers but with lots of complaining lol. The waitress was nice and took my meal off but claimed that theirs is better than Olive Garden. Yeah right… that’s a joke. I will definitely not go a third time!

I like their salads, but I’m a simple salad person. I had the personal pizza which was ok. The original location on Parkway has better pizza. I’m sure it’s because of the age of the ovens. The dining area has a musty Angel but I think it’s the fresh grated parmesan cheese that’s in the table. I do like the atmosphere and they offer lunch specials on the weekend.

I had the chicken breast for lunch today. I found the menu lacking a variety of sauces. Most everything had meat sauce and a couple of items had Alfredo. So that’s why I chose the chicken from the dinner menu. I sat in the bar area wondering if I’d be served by the elusive Jackson mentioned in other reviews. He did not make an appearance today. Maybe that’s why the atmosphere was lacking??? I arrived about the time church was letting out but was one of the first customers. There was a group of employees in the bar area and the profanity was glaring considering the expected Sunday crowd. A voice in the kitchen was singing a Prince song from the 80s — woulda been ok had he been on key or had a pitch. As it was, he was more a nuisance than any entertainment. On a positive note, the volume was up on the TVs rather than muted as in so many places. Things did settle as the lunch crowd started making their way in. The chicken came with one side and a salad was extra. Would’ve been better to include the salad or at least two sides. Also, there should be more than 3 sides to choose from. In the end I did enjoy the meal and the recommended Sauvignon blanc. But it just seemed like a chore to enjoy it with all the distractions — profane employees, off-​key singing employees, a hostess that looked angry and a menu that just lacked overall variety. 3 stars but I expected so much more based on some of the other reviews.

I wanted to have the best of both worlds… pizza and BBQ! An article on Thrillist recommended this place for the BBQ pizza so I had to have an adventure to check it out. The restaurant is an Italian restaurant and looks really nice and clean. The atmosphere is perfect for an Italian restaurant. There’s even a fountain in the middle of it. Anyway, the only reason I came was to check out the BBQ pizza with my party. Coletta’s claim to have invented the original BBQ pizza. It was like a dream come true… pizza, cheese, BBQ, and sauce. First of all, even if this had been just a cheese pizza, it would have been a fantastic cheese pizza. I thought the cheese was the best part. Surprisingly, the BBQ mixed well with the cheese and the dough. This was definitely a hand-​tossed, homemade pizza. The BBQ pork on top was very good… it tasted a lot like pulled pork from Corky’s, a famous Memphis BBQ chain. The sauce was real tomatoey and in my opinion could have passed for a BBQ sauce or a pizza sauce. It had a mild sweet taste to it. The sauce wasn’t spectacular, but it got the job done. This was a safe exploration. It tasted like BBQ on top of cheese pizza… and it was magnificent in all its glory. Also of note, customer service was wonderful.

I really, really wanted to like this place, but after two visits it’s just hard to recommend. Shrimp Alfredo had no flavor at all and was really soupy. It just tasted like jarred sauce — the Shrimp Diane, while it had some spicy heat, that was the only flavor, no depth at all. The BBQ Pizza — not sure how this became famous, crust was undercooked and doughy, BBQ was tender but once again no flavor. Even the sauce did not help, overall it was gooey and meh… Sadly even the Sangria was poor — 1) it was warm, 2) it tasted like wine and orange juice had been mixed together and that was it. Sorry Coletta’s for the price I expect much, much better.

GREAT service by Brett. The lasagna was perfect. The canaloni had at least one spice that was off-​putting. Can’t give any higher stars because a member of the management team told a known to them visitor setting at the next table that «nothing is good» NOT in a joking manner. No salad w a pasta dish, UNSAT! Good food, not great but GREAT SERVICE.

Not good at all. We ordered the appetizer sampler it comes with toasted ravioli, mozzarella sticks and cheese bread everything tasted microwaved. Toasted ravioli should have a crunch to them these did not. I ordered the 3 dish meal it came with chicken Alfredo, lasagna, and ravioli. Again all tasted microwaved. I would not go back and not recommend. Also in the kitchen they were fighting about Tara not being scheduled to work. I don’t wanna hear this while I’m at dinner! Our waitress Jessica was very nice and seam to be the only one working. The rest were to busy talking to each other.

Really great atmosphere. I’ve the photographs of Italy used as wallpaper. Food is really good local Italian. I had the shrimp Diane, it was great but spicy! Hubby had fettuccine marinara and it was also really good.

Coletta’s is a perfect mix of fine dining and comfortable eating.
The interior of the place is absolutely wonderful! It gives off a strong Italian/​Roman image, with the brick path, stone fountain, and walls depicting popular architecture of Italy. The lighting was very warm feeling, and during night the atmosphere was the best. The lights will dim, and you’re given a lit candle, creating a very professional and relaxing experience.
Aesthetics aside, the food is fantastic. The menus (very clean and professional, by the way) are filled with a variety of Italian dishes. From the fantastic lasagna to the rich chicken alfredo, you’ll find a plethora of delicious food that is worth every cent paid. The menu also offers suggested wines, though I haven’t tried their alcohol. I did try their desert (strawberry cheesecake) and it was among the richest cheesecakes I’ve ever tasted.
Service was spectacular. Our waiter, Jake, was very patient and helpful. He was timely and wasn’t shy of conversation. We didn’t have to wait long before he was at our table to check on us and re-​fill our drinks if need be.
I will definitely be re-​visiting this place to try the other meals they offer on their extensive menu, and recommend it to anyone searching for something new to try in the area!

Mediocre food and absolutely terrible service every time we have visited. We have them several tries, and every visit the wait staff was so inattentive, we were routinely walking to the drink station to refill our own cups. We waiting a very long time to get food, and when it was served it was barely above room temp. Getting to go boxes and our check took a ridiculously long time. After our last visit, we decided never again.

I have no idea why anyone likes this place. It has zero flavor, and the «famous» bbq pizza is bland and gross. Also, way too expensive.

This was disappointing. I had a taste for spaghetti tonight and didn’t want to take the time to prepare my own. So instead I took the kids to Coletta’s. This was my first time and I don’t think I will be back for a while.
I had the spaghetti with meat balls and it tasted only ok. I think the sauce may have been simmered too long. It kind of had a burnt flavor. I can do better than this when starting with a jar of Ragu.
Service was uneven. The restaurant could use some freshening up, paint and carpet look tired. I am not sure if the AC was broke when I was there, but there was hot air coming out of the vent over us.
The décor was cheesy; this is part of the charm. Perhaps it needs to be cheesier?
There were a fair number of people there, I saw several people pick up togo orders (pizza) so this seems to be popular. I hate that we had such a mediocre time.
Perhaps I should have tried a pizza since this is what they are known for.

We absolutely enjoyed eating here. The atmosphere is pleasant, wait staff attentive and the prices reasonable.
I’m afraid we had way too much to eat but this being our first time, it was so hard to choose. The menu is quite traditional Italian fair. We finally ventured toward pasta dishes but fully intend on returning for pizza and dessert.

My daughter wanted to eat here for Valentine’s dinner. She ordered the pizza, and they made it heart shaped for her, which i thought was very sweet. I wanted the minestrone soup but they didn’t have any. I ordered the spaghetti, it was good, but the sauce was too acidic. Husband had the shrimp fettucine and it was good.
I took home a slice of tiramisu, This is not authentic italian so if you are looking for that, i’d try elsewhere.
The restaurant is large and is nicely decorated and very clean. There was a large group dining across the way from us with a child that screamed the entire time. It kind of ruined it for us, but that wasn’t any fault of the restaurant. Just parents that can’t control their child or are too lazy to take them outside.

Old school Italian. Reminds me of the Florentine in Columbus. Being lactose intolerant and diabetic there wasn’t much I could try.
Rolls are rough Parkerhouse which are nice and yeasty but could have used more salt. I had a half.
Salads were large and I was very grateful my husband hates ripe olives.
I ordered a meatball sandwich which was yummy but I couldn’t eat the massive and unexpected fries. I had one.
We both had minestrone which was mostly large shell mac and frozen vegetables. This was not what we expected at all. Even Olive Garden’s is far better. I make it with Tuscan kale, fresh diced tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, garlic, white kidney beans. onions and ditali.
Atmosphere was comfortable with large murals on walls and attentive staff. Most of the customers were over 50 in large groups that appear to dine there often and enjoy themselves.

My mother in law and I went to Coletta’s for lunch, since I have been wanting to try it out. First off the interior of the restaurant is beautiful. The walls all have paintings and
the fountain in the middle is a nice touch. The waitress was nice and attentive. The lunch menu was inexpensive. I had the lasagna, which good but a little burnt on top. The dinner rolls were good when hot, 5 minutes later really hard. I wanted to try some dessert but was too full. Even though the food was only ok, I would totally go again and try some new stuff of the menu.

I like the eggplant Parmesan and bar-​b-​q pizza here. My wife and I have been coming here since we were dating in high school.
Salads are always fresh and we often take home some of their home made thousand island dressing — some of the best I have ever tasted. The fresh baked bread is yeasty and warm — love it.
Wine list is adequate — would like to see a nice blended red like Ménage a Trois on it. We usually order a bottle of Kendall Jackson Cabernet. The Ménage would go so much better with pizza and save you $ 15.
Ask for Barbara, she has been their over 40 years and will take care of you.

I’ve spent 7 years living in Memphis and some how missed out on the opportunity to try Coletta’s until recently. Funny thing is, I can honestly say that I have been here several times in the past few weeks. On my first visit I got the hot wings. Of course. They are large pieces of chicken, all drummies, and served with really great, house made blue cheese dressing. On return trips I ordered steaks or a salad. Again, I got the blue cheese dressing. Seriously, that dressing is why I keep coming back to Coletta’s. The house salad with Italian marinated grilled chicken was great. And HUGE!
Regarding the service, I have been very pleased. Coletta’s is a family owned restaurant that has been around for a long time. The staff is friendly and efficient. All of my meals were served quickly and perfectly cooked. With reasonable prices, Coletta’s is a good value too.