Founded in 1978 by Paul and Juanita Lovezzola, this family eatery features an amazing roster of Italian culinary favorites. From pizzas to calzones, garlic breads to strombolis, you'll find a wide selection of family style recipes to choose from. Located just outside Savannah in Pooler, the restaurant specializes in pizza in a variety of sizes, including a mini pizza for those wanting a smaller, individualized pie. Also on the menu are pasta dishes, including spaghetti with meatballs, ravioli and stuffed shells, along with subs, salads and appetizers. A popular lunch buffet - available Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. - features all-you-can-eat bread sticks, salad, pizza and pasta. Other specials are available on weeknights.
Recommended for Italian because: It's a fun place, the food is good and the price is right.
Michelle's expert tip: Check out Lovezolla's website for a great selection of money-saving coupons and specials.
This family- family friendly, neighborhood pizzeria located on Savannah's Southside offers hand tossed pizzas, pasta, hoagies and more. They use only the freshest and finest ingredients and pizzas can be ordered by the slice with your choice of toppings. A café menu includes hoagie selections - with half or whole portions - with meatball or chicken parmesan, Philly cheese steak, and an Italian combo with pepperoni, salami, ham and cheese. Classic Italian favorites include spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna and cheese ravioli. Also offered are freshly made salads, soups, sandwiches and spicy wings. The excellent service and friendly staff add to the enjoyment.
Recommended for Italian because: It's family-friendly, the service is excellent and the food is delicious.
Michelle's expert tip: Be sure to visit Vincenzo's website for specials and coupons.
Tucked into The Brice, A Kimpton Hotel, Pacci Italian Kitchen & Bar Restaurant is a convivial neighborhood favorite offering the coziness of a rustic Italian farmhouse while dishing up coastal Italian cuisine - with a definite Southern touch. Dishes such as Gemelli Caserecce - pesto kale, sunburst squash, garlic and marinated tomatoes - paired with the perfect wine, topped off by a decadent amaretto cheesecake offers a satisfying choice. Soul-warming soups, tasty antipasti and homemade pasta accompany an array of seafood and meat options. Desserts highlight Italian staples such as gelato and bombolini (Italian donut) and more. An extensive bar serves trendy takes on classic cocktails, aperitivos along with locally made spirits and beer, while the extensive wine list offers a collection of Italian selections as well as favorites from around the globe.
Recommended for Italian because: The food is tasty, the building is historic and it's one of the current darlings on the Savannah restaurant scene.
Michelle's expert tip: When you're through dining, walk around The Brice to appreciate the building's history. Constructed in the 1860s, it once housed a livery, cotton warehouse, foundry, machine shop and wholesale grocer. In 1902 it was converted into Savannah's first Coca-Cola bottling plant, where it remained until the company moved to a suburban location in 1980.
With two locations in Savannah - on Ellis Square in the Historic District, and in the Sandfly neighborhood near Isle of Hope - this regional chain restaurant has been offering Savannah diners a unique concept since 2008. You can simply select your crust, sauce, cheese and toppings or you can opt for one of the restaurant's unique creations. Weight watchers will appreciate the whole wheat crust and low-fat cheese options, while those with a more daring palate can go for the Thai Pie or Southern Heat - chicken smothered in hot sauce, with jalapeños, red onions and melted Mozzarella. The popular Slider Pie features hand-tossed dough topped with roasted garlic olive oil, white cheddar cheese, meatballs, red onions, pickles and yellow mustard. Salads, customized paninis, calzones and craft beer add to the dining experience. For dessert, there several flavors of gelato - including the recently introduced maple-bacon.
Recommended for Italian because: This family restaurant is not only fun - it has delicious pizza.
Michelle's expert tip: Make it a family fun day this summer! Plan to take the kids to Your Pie, where they can order their own kid's meal, complete with a cheese pizza or ham and cheese panini, small gelato and small drink (for kids 12 and under). After lunch, let your kids play in Ellis Square's free interactive water and light fountain.
This award-winning City Market pizzeria is popular with locals and visitors alike for its oversized New York City-style slices, bountiful toppings and easy-going Savannah vibe. Thin, hearty crust Neapolitan-style pizzas can be ordered whole or by the slice, with an array of delicious fresh toppings including favorites such as pepperoni, spinach, onions, mushrooms and olives - and more unusual choices like banana peppers, broccoli, sundried tomatoes, pineapple, spicy Italian sausage and more. If you're in the mood for something other than pizza, try their spinach salad and calzones, accompanied by their great selection of beer. The majority of seating at Vinnie's is outdoors, though you may be able to snag seating inside.
Recommended for Italian because: It offers delicious, freshly made pizzas by the slice or whole - and they offer free downtown delivery.
Michelle's expert tip: Vinnie Van Go Go's is a cash-only establishment. They don't take credit cards or checks.
Its prime location in Downtown Savannah combined with the authentic cuisine and excellent service, makes the award-winning Corleone's a favorite with locals and visitors alike. The varied menu offers something for everyone and includes gluten-free meals as well as whole wheat pasta for the health-conscious. The lunch menu offers soups, salads, and a variety of paninis and pastas including baked ziti and tasty lasagna. Dinner showcases specialties such as penne a la vodka, eggplant parmesan and chicken picatta as well as other Italian classics such as spaghetti, manicotti and tortellini. Desserts, as you would expect, feature traditional favorites such as tiramisu, cannoli, gelato and other tasty choices. The cozy atmosphere is an added perk.
Recommended for Italian because: Corleone's is an award-winning restaurant, serving excellent Italian cuisine in a cozy downtown location.
Michelle's expert tip: Indoor-outdoor dining and a gluten-free menu are added perks to the already wonderful dining experience you'll find here.
If you're in the mood for thin crust pizza loaded with fresh toppings, then Screamin' Mimi's is your kind of place. The Jersey-style pizza and sub joint conveniently located in one of the Historic District's only shopping centers, offers an easy food stop along your tour of Savannah. You can order the pizza - regarded by many as the best in town - whole or by the slice. The white tomato basil pizza is a top seller. Also on the menu are Italian subs, fresh salads and pasta dishes such as baked ziti, manicotti, gnocchi and spaghetti. The casual setting is inviting and offers additional seating on an outdoor patio.
Recommended for Italian because: Locals claim that this is where you'll find some of the best pizza in town.
Michelle's expert tip: Be sure to try Screamin' Mimi's white tomato basil pizza.
Opened in June 2014, this trendy eatery - the brainchild of award-winning owner and Chef Hugh Acheson and Chef Kyle Jacovino - is one of Savannah's most popular restaurants. The ingredients are Southern-grown, but from the freshly baked bread, cheeses and aperitifs to the cappuccino, the focus is definitely Italiano. You'll find an array of tasty pizzas and calzones as well as designer specialties such as fisherman stew Siciliana, pork cannelloni, black bucatini and other tasty treats. The Florence cannoli leads the list of desserts. Housed in a refurbished ice factory, the interior is a masterpiece of marble table tops, high ceilings and reclaimed wood, creating a definite laid-back atmosphere, which in turn, makes it a very inviting place. Depending on the day, this popular café - restaurant can be positively boisterous, but that just adds to the fun.
Recommended for Italian because: It's one of Savannah's newest restaurants and offers a rotating menu with fresh pastas, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza and other Italian delights.
Michelle's expert tip: On Sunday evenings, you can catch "movies and meatballs classic mobster movies," shown on the rooftop at 7:30 p.m. The current line-up features everything from "The Godfather" to "The Departed."
Old World elegance provides the perfect backdrop to this upscale Italian restaurant which has been a staple on the Savannah scene for more than 30 years. The romantic eatery - tucked into the 19th-century Germania Fire House - dishes up delicious Italian cucina such as traditional lasagna, spaghetti, chicken parmigiana and linguine primavera. Also highlighted is an ample selection of seafood creations such as the popular crispy scored flounder with apricot shallot and stuffed salmon with lump crab in a rich cream sauce. A raw and steam bar offers a host of selections starring oysters, shrimp, Dungeness crab and lobster cocktail.
Recommended for Italian because: Garibaldi Café is an elegant and romantic eatery offering upscale Italian cuisine and has been a staple on the Savannah dining scene for many years.
Michelle's expert tip: If you can't get a table at Garibaldi, check out the Olde Pink House, which is part of the same restaurant group and is larger and accommodates more people. Both restaurants have the same signature dish — the crispy scored flounder with apricot shallot sauce — on the menu.