Visited this place after a long look around for a good place to eat. The place was packed and so we ended up on the back bar for a few minutes. The wait was worth it.. the tuna on the antipasti plates was extraordinary! The salads were crisp and delicious.. I ordered the lasagna and it hit the spot.. it was rich and had a great marinara sauce. My gal got the ravioli and it seemed a tad small. Despite that she loved it! Maybe dress up a bit as we saw well dressed folks. Next time we go we are trying the calamari and tiramisu. Both looked amazing. Service was extremely attentive and timely.. so we left a super nice tip. Bon appetit! (Means: I wish you a hearty appetite) read more

Always consistent. Always tasty. People as so welcoming. My favorites are the pesto tortellini, snapper and tiramisu.

Came here for dinner this past week... the exterior seemed sketchy... upon walking in... it was dark... a little too dark actually that my co-workers and I had a hard time reading through the menu. Definite "date place" since most of the folks inside that night were couples. Friendly service... and every dish followed with "do you want cheese with that?" - no joke! The free bread was actually really good... had to stop myself before I got full. The free soup that came with my meal was minestrone that night... it was a tad bit salty and wasn't a big fan... I ate a little just so that it looked like it was touched. I ended up ordering the Chicken Fettuccine - I was hoping and expecting great things with this dish since the place looked like a real mobster Italian place (think The Godfather decor inside)... it has to be good - right? Nope... major fail! Definitely something different with their cream sauce. I had to add salt... since it lacked taste but the portion for the chicken was generous. Overall... the group was happy with their food... and that's what matters - I just had higher expectations... read more

Nello's Place - Chicken fettuccine (really dark ligjting) - Italian Near Me - Redding, California

Came for my wives birthday dinner and WOW. I was a little skeptical with some of these reviews but 10000/10 recommend on every level. The food was spectacular, my wife and I are food raters day in and day out, this was by far the best lasagna I've ever had. Everything else was amazing as well. Then they brought out her birthday tiramisu, best tiramisu we've ever had. The service was top notch, wife is really picky and indecisive our waiter was awesome at giving great meal options and helping her land on the chicken allergo. The ambiance was perfect, cozy, deep Italian, low lighting with great music at a perfect level. Will definitely be making the trip up to come again. read more

Way overpriced Sisco food. Nothing Italian about it. Would never return. Unfortunately not any good Italian restaurants in this city.

For my sons first birthday we booked a table for us at aNellos. We have been there once before and it was really good but it was also 10 years ago. So we walked in and the place is so dimly lit that Gran couldn't even see going to her table. It was difficult to even read the menu. I get that they are trying to set the mood but to use your phone's flash light to read the menu is just ridiculous. We sat down and they didn't give us any menu's but asked us if we were ready to order which was a bit bizarre. I got a glass of wine and it took us awhile to decide what we wanted. I went with crab legs as I haven't had that in long time and it sounded really good. Ouma got Steak with pepper sauce and Ga got cannelloni. Ryton was getting super fussy throughout this process so we kept having to take him outside. Once he was outside he was absolutely fine so I think that he was either warning us of whats to come or just didn't like the dimly lit place. The food was served and I was very disappointed. My "crab legs" looked like crab cakes and I even had to verify with the server that this was crab legs, to which he said yes. I ate it regardless and it was ok. Was it worth almost $50 for a plate, absolutely NOT! It was breaded and fried and didn't seem that fresh to me. My mom made me try her steak and it was actually inedible. The amount of pepper that they put in the pepper steak was horrid. You couldn't even eat that. Mom didn't want to make a fuss but I had to send it back. Imagine dumping a whole jar of pepper into a sauce and that is what this tasted like. So while we sent her steak back we told them to bring her lamb chops instead. They bring out the chops and they are so rare that they are practically raw. The waiter then argued to say that my mom wanted the lamb chops rare. My mom wanted her steak rare. She never once said she wanted the lamb chops rare and never in my life and all my dining experiences have I ever had raw lamb chops. I had to call the manager at this point to show him this lamb. I was absolutely fuming by this point. I wanted a nice dinner for Ryton and everything was going wrong. The manager came and looked at the lamb chops and then checked with the kitchen about the lamb. I told him that lamb shouldn't be sent out rare. He came back to me and had to ask me what temperature the lamb should be at. Like I am the chef. It should be a medium maybe a medium rare and I had to tell him that so that he had to tell him chefs. It makes me angry now that this is suppose to be an upper class restaurant and they are asking the customers how to cook. At this point I wanted to go home. Ryton was antsy, the food wasn't good, and I was absolutely fed up at this point. So they gave us a chocolate cake to take home for Ryton and we paid the bill and left. Once I got home I opened up the chocolate cake and it was so hard and dense(I don't know if it was stale or over baked or what happened) but I was able to stick a fork in it and stood straight up. They covered the cake in chocolate sauce which did nothing for the atrocity that would sitting in front of my face. So I just dumped it. I will never in my life go back to this restaurant. It was a waste of money. The kitchen didn't know what they were doing and then would charge $40-50 for a plate. No thank you. Id rather go to another great restaurant in town that charges about $25 for a plate and is so much better! read more

Consistently good. This was our third time at Nello's and there is nothing to not like. Well, maybe that it's too dark to take decent pictures of the food. But that's really nitpicking. We made reservations on-line, showed up 1/2 hour early and were seated immediately. All the usual things, menus, water, bread, butter presented quickly. Our waiter was San and he was a gracious and charming waiter who knew his stuff. He could anticipate what we were going to ask for and nailed it each time. The restaurant was not particularly busy on a Sunday night and the staffing was just right. Attentive and not at all rushed. I had my usual three-way of Veal, Scampi and Scallops. No reason to try anything else. She had a Sirloin Steak which she enjoyed thoroughly. Even though we look at Yelp and other restaurants, we end up here because we know what we're going to get and that's what we want on the last leg of our driving vacation. read more

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Tried the cannelloni this time and it was delicious! They still don't have olive oil & balsamic for their bread but did bring us garlic olive oil .. very nice read more

Nello's Place - Minestrone soup is excellent!! - Italian Near Me - Redding, California

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Very blah. Wet unmelted cheesy Alfredo. The atmosphere was not terrible but the food is a joke. I hoped for the price it was be okay but was very let down. read more

The food was some of the best food I've ever had! Even better than places I've been in San Francisco. The service was amazing, they even squeezed us in without a reservation. Drinks were excellent and I was even given a single long stem rose before leaving Perfect for date night! Definitely will be returning. read more

A terrific old-school Italian restaurant in Redding. Very attentive service, with menu items that you won't find anywhere else in town.

You can't have some cracked out dude serving the food supervised by a loyal old time waiter. Decent food crap service

Went here for my fifteenth year anniversary had the Chicken breast of Parmigiano it was good, the cutlet itself was not very flavorful and a little greasy,but the sauce they put with it made it much more garlicky and flavorful. My husband had the Chicken fettuccine it was good lots of pepper..the salad with the entree was not good it was a house made Italian dressing we said no shrimp on it so it was lettuce and dressing no tomatoes, onions,croutons,olives,boiled eggs, cheese nothing just lettuce and dressing only, weird. Overall it was okay, service was great. read more

Interesting place, feels like it's stuck in a time warp. Food was way overpriced for mediocre food. The service was good.

It's just not the food it used to be and the place needs an update. Badly. The menu needs to be updated, the interior needs to be cleaned and updated. read more

Great service... that's where it ends. Horrible food experience. From start to finish it was like eating a bad fast food meal. The salad, cannelloni, fettuccine, and manicotti were miserable. Highly recommended skipping this so called fine dining in Redding. Giving one star for the service. read more

Their Veal Piccata and Escargot are always amazing!! Service is always friendly & professional. We would highly recommend.

my girlfriend was excited about going to Nello's for her birthday and promised me an incredible dining experience. It was a cold, rainy night and we hurriedly ran from the car to the inviting warmth that was Nello's. "Reservation for two," I advised the host, eyes adjusting to the dim lighting of my ladies favorite restaurant. The host, distracted ,offered us a private table next to the entryway. I wanted this, my first Nello's experience, to be memorable. I asked the host if we could have a table a little further away from the entry as there was a draft and I didn't want my girlfriend cold on her birthday as she was in an elegant dress. The host became visibly annoyed and stated "the tables are reserved.". I stated that I had a reservation too, to which he curtly replied, "how about the table next to it?". I agreed. He then proceeded to toss the menus onto the table, nodded to me and walked away. My lady was shocked. I told her that he was just distracted, not to worry. The rest of the evening went well. The waiter was excellent. Drea ordered the Seafood Fettuccine which was to die for. I ordered Spagetti and meatballs which, on the other hand, nearly killed me. a watery sauce with plain noodles and one meatball. Drea ended up sharing her Fettuccine with me. So, my first Nello's experience was mixed. One distracted host can ruin what otherwise could have been a very nice event. I would definitely recommend the Seafood Fettuccine which was incredible, but stay away from the spaghetti as it was noticeably subpar with its watery sauce, bland noodles, and only one meatball, even though Spaghetti and MEATBALLS was in the menu. read more

Any time my family needs to be in Redding, we work our schedules around being able to come to Nello's Place. This is some of the best Italian food we have ever had, which is a huge statement coming from a family of foodies. Let me repeat: this is some of The. Best. Italian. Food. There. Is. Service is old-school, and I mean that in the best possible way. Dinner is an experience, so courses come slowly: salad is made at your table, dishes come after that is cleared, and dessert is an event. This is a return to the old world, which makes sense based on the history of the founders - but it's by design and should be relished. There is plenty for a vegetarian here: I have usually gone with the eggplant parm, though the fettuccine alfredo is excellent as well. The cheese ravioli is a winner not only because of the marinara but because of how fresh everything is. A great wine and beer list as well, and the desserts are out of this world. If you've never had cherries jubilee or crepes suzette, you should make that the focus of your evening! read more

It's perfect if you want over priced Italian food. I wouldn't pick anything on the menu that you make at home, because you probably make it better than they do. read more

The best restaurant in Redding. Jim and his staff are always so wonderful. We go there for every family event we love Nello's. Yes we go there a lot they know us by first name and even remember my husbands order. read more

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet! It is AMAZING! Anywhere that makes a Caesar salad that we still talk about years after having, is worth the trip! We came here for an anniversary dinner and just loved it. The service is top notch and we felt very taken care of. You HAVE to get the Caesar salad for 2. Just trust me. We both had the salad, steaks, and wine. Tiramisu for dessert = delicious!! It was a perfect dinner and very memorable. We like to save this place for special occasions, but you could go any time and not be disappointed. read more

I've heard all kinds of hype about Nello's Place since moving to Redding six years ago, and finally had the opportunity to eat there tonight. I have to say, it's one of the most disappointing dining experiences I have had in any city at any point in my life. I called ahead to make sure they were open (my boyfriend and I have tried several times to eat there on his day off, and always found it to be closed). The person who answered the phone did not ask us to make a reservation, but confirmed they were open. So we went over. When we arrived, we waited in the vestibule for someone to acknowledge us. When the maitre d' looked over from the cash register around the corner, he didn't welcome us to the restaurant or ask how many were in our party--he asked if he could help us, and then stared at me while he basically waited for me to justify our presence at the vaunted Nello's. (I thought about saying we were there to refinance our mortgage or buy a used car, but settled for just telling him we were a party of two.) It was off-putting, to say the least, and set the tone for the rest of our experience there. He then seated us at a strange table where my seat was squashed up against a wall separating the dining area from the bar, and cleared away the extra two place settings as I stood up. As soon as he was out of the way, I changed my own place setting to the seat across the table so that I would not be squashed against the wall. This seemed to completely escape his attention. As many other diners have noted, I had to use my phone's flashlight to read the menu. I glanced around to see why it was so dark inside the restaurant; the light fixture in the bar had six individual lights on it, but only two were lit. The rest of the light fixtures throughout the restaurant either had burned-out bulbs or were so caked in dirt that it made it nearly impossible to see through them. (I actually wondered if they might have been through a fire.) Setting an ambiance is one thing, but not replacing burned-out bulbs or cleaning your light fixtures (or trying to save money on your light bill) is not the way to go about it. Likewise, the table cloth also sported several stains. The menu items were RIDICULOUSLY overpriced across the board. Absolutely insane. So we ordered the special plate ($21.95/person) because it had the most options for the least amount of money (paying $30-$50 just made no sense). The antipasto plate--a saucer with some tuna salad, a couple of banana peppers, and salami with sliced mozzarella cheese--was something I have never encountered at any Italian restaurant before. It looked like it was sourced from the local grocery store. There were two of us eating a tiny amount of food, and it was so unremarkable that we left half of it on the plate. The bread was room temperature at best, and I had to warm the butter pat between my hands for about five minutes to get it into a spreadable state. My boyfriend ordered the lasagna, and I had the red snapper. Neither of us finished our entrees (nor did we order a to-go box). His lasagna was watery and appeared to have been microwaved; they served it to him with a knife. (Who needs a knife to cut into lasagna?) Meanwhile, my snapper was absolutely SWIMMING in the lemon/butter/caper sauce, with a small serving of penne pasta in equally watery tomato sauce, along with a few large pieces of broccoli and zucchini. The zucchini was nicely cooked, but I don't know how the broccoli tasted--because unlike my boyfriend, I was not given a knife with which to cut it into bite-sized pieces. The snapper had clearly been fried in A LOT of butter; that was mostly what I tasted. I couldn't finish it as a result; it was upsetting my stomach. It must be said that my boyfriend is the kind of guy who ALWAYS clears his plate, and because he doesn't have a sense of smell, he's not terribly sensitive to how things taste most of the time, either--yet even he left half his food untouched. It was that gross. The young wait staff (of whom there were many) seemed nice. Our main waiter swung by to ask, "How great is everything tasting?" which is a very leading question, especially when the food is mediocre at best. This is a Redding restaurant that is only open four hours a day, allegedly six days a week. Is it possible for customers to ask for Gordon Ramsey to come over to film an episode of "Kitchen Nightmares"? Because this one seems like it's ripe for that kind of intervention and update. Where all these positive reviews come from is a mystery to me. read more

Sorry folks but this place is Redding's most overrated Italian restaurant. Having grown up in San Francisco, Nello's is pitiful. 1 - Their plating of food is amateurish. My husband ordered the manicotti- the unrecognizable pasta was flat and smothered in a mediocre tomato sauce. No garnish. Just a big plate of nothing. I ordered the chicken Marsala, which consisted of 2 flatten pieces of chicken breast, once again smothered in a brown Marsala sauce. Unfortunately so was the pasta side on the plate and the overcooked veggies. Just looked like they took a ladle and covered everything on the plate. 2 - the antipasto plate was a joke. A saucer sized plate of a few olives, tiny slices of cheese, salami, and a scoop of tuna salad on a wilted sprig of Romaine lettuce. 3 - The salad was good - not enough of it. 4 - the service was there. Not outstanding and definitely not attentive. You had to ask for extra bread, etc. 5 - The place needs a visit from Robert Irving from Restaurant Impossible and a total redo. They need some lessons on plating food in a attractive manner. Basically looked like slop from any diner. 6 - I'm sure at one time this place must have been good, but it's lost it's charm. 7 - One ingredient I did not taste was garlic! Imagine a Italian place with no garlic or if it was there it was very little. Nello's Place was a total disappointment. I don't understand all the positive reviews. If you want to waste about $100 + you could chance it. Or you could just go on over to Olive Garden and save some $$$$. This place is NOT representative of a good North Beach Italian restaurant in San Francisco. read more

food and staff were absolutely on point!! showed up to a packed house without a reservation and had VIP level service. Very authentic menu and they did not disappoint. Be prepared for a food coma when you leave. read more

The service was fine the place was so dark which made it hard to read the menu. We had to ask for bread and butter after seeing everyone after us receiving as they sat down. The three classic Pasta dishes lacked any real flavor. Watery plates sitting in pasta water. Very disappointed from a predict place like this. read more

Amazing food. great service and atmosphere. Best Italian north of San Francisco. Love it.

Love this place. Stop when we can when on I-5. Been several years, but the timing worked out. Had a very fabulous meal in the middle of a long boring drive read more

We went to Nello's on a tip from the staff at the Hampton. What a wonderful restaurant. It was a Saturday night and the place was packed. Nevertheless, the maitre d' found us a table. Nello's reminds me of the Italian restaurants of my youth. Even before you enter you can smell the garlic! The food is good...a tad pricey, but you can't complain about the portions. I had the Calamari fra Diavalo and my wife had the Eggplant Parm. Both delicious. ***The manicotti served as an appetizer was amazing.*** Wait staff are friendly, professional and semi-formally dressed, Classy. Something you don't see in restaurants much anymore. Yes, you could say Nello's is a little dated, but it's well worth a visit. Tip: Make reservations. Nello's is not only popular with travelers, it's popular with locals. read more

We had the salmon and a ny steak. Both were excellent. The staff was friendly and everyone was so nice. The salad was the best!!!

My late in-laws and all of their family on both sides of that generation were 100% Sicilian, first generation Americans who lived in Italian neighborhoods in Brooklyn. So as my Sicilian heritage husband and I sat in Nellos, in the dark"ish" needing flashlights (no kidding) to read the mostly Southern Italian food menu, watching the waiters in black vests and ties and white shirts toss salads table-side and listening to Sinatra and friends on the sound system, I thought of them. They would have thought this high class in their day. The retro throwback of Nello's can be schtickey-fun even now. Good enough food and pleasant enough setting that we're glad we went. Once. But not so great that we'd eat here again. Food is good enough for 3 stars but hospitality and service issues sink the ship. MENU & FOOD: The extensive menu (you can find it at Nello's website) ranges from Antipasti through Pasta through Seafood, Chicken, Beef and Veal dishes. Lots of veal dishes - not often seen in restaurants today but which my in-laws would have appreciated in theirs. Entrees came with bread and a house antipasti which was identified as having tuna with it. We nearly asked them to leave the fish off given we expected some crummy "Chicken-of-the-Sea" option since this is, well, Redding. In fact, the tuna was great, olive oil kissed and perhaps the best part of the little plate. A tossed table-side salad was also included and although the dressing was good the greens suffered from being drowned in it. Our pasta dishes, manicotti (@ $17) and calamari (+ tentacles - yahoo!) fra diavolo with linguine (@ $22) were both good and in ample portions. A bottle of red wine, Italian of course, and a luscious chocolate dessert to share rounded out the meal. HOSPITALITY: A thing I so dislike is having restaurant host try to pawn off bad tables on guests because they look like they won't complain. I used to work front of house at a swanky restaurant and I can tell you this is a trained practice. There are always bad tables in a place, like right inside the front door or at the kitchen entry or near the loo, that are hard to unload. There are certain "types" of people unlikely to protest when led to these lousy tables. There is a profiling to it: senior ages of both genders, people who speak limited English, people with disability, women dining alone or with small children, people who look poorly dressed... I was trained to do it. Alas. And so I 'see' it when it happens. And I guess my hubby and I look the 'won't protest' type given our ages and my minority status. Because although we were early"ish" diners with reservations and Nello's was relatively empty when we arrived, but for a raucous retiree social group in the room across from the bar, the host offered us the worst table in the place. And then the next worst. "Thank you, but these tables won't work for us. How about a two-top over there?" But I had to say no twice before we snuggled in to a good table, next to a couple who were clearly regulars, and let our eyes adjust to the dark. Yep. It is that dim. SERVICE: We were then ignored for a good while while the servers talked among themselves at the register counter. One server walked briskly by us a half a dozen times, sure not to make eye contact, until someone finally established we hadn't yet been helped. The indifference continued through the meal. Long waits. No check in after food was delivered. The final service straw is they kept trying to remove my dish before I was finished. They were not busy, they did not need our table and we still had a good amount remaining in our bottle of Italian wine to boot. It felt "bum's rush". Through all of this a guy dressed in t-shirt and jeans with hyper demeanor kept popping behind the register counter and the servers would swarm to him as bees to honey. (We gleaned on the way out that he has some connection with the owner(s).) We leave substantial gratuity when service is good. The gratuity left here was not much. It matched the level of service. An irony here is women are presented with a long stemmed carnation flower when the bill arrives. I'd be happier if they kept the carnation and provided better service. VIBE: Dark and "not everyone is welcome here" in attitude. The food was good enough that I kept saying if they'd blow out the front with windows, lighten up the interior, pare down the menu, put those waiters in more casual duds with white aprons (and add some women to what was an entirely male crew on the night of our visit), and fix the "attitude" they'd be on to somethin'. ;-) THIS N THAT: 1) PARKING: Private, woefully inadequate lot in the little strip mall location. 2) ACCESSIBILITY: Level in, all on one floor, most or all of the seating is standard table height. The parking lot is NOT ADA or CA Accessibility Code compliant for amount or location of accessible parking. One spot right outside the kitchen door. read more

Nello's Place - Ladies receive a carnation at meal end. What lady would eat this chocolate suicide dessert? Me. - Italian Near Me - Redding, California

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What a surprise! Awesome dinner - handmade Caesar salad right in front of you! And the tortellini pesto was wonderful too!

Spent a couple days in the Redding area fishing and was looking to experience some old school cooking. Our waiter from another old school Redding restaurant (Jacks) recommended this place. All I can say is her recommendation was just what we were looking for. The service was great and the food was plenty and amazing. Definitely a go to when I'm the Redding area. read more

People who walk in dressed for digging ditches doesn't make for an upscale experience. This is not a Pizza Parlor. food is usually great, however the ratio of oil to vinegar is out of porportion. Way to much oil. I stoppped getting the tossed salad and settled for soup. Excellant service. read more

Beautiful and romantic....The early bird special allows everyone the opportunity to come and experience this delightful aromatic Italian food and steaks. read more

Great food, great ambiance, classic upscale restraunts, fanciest restraunt in the redding area.

Love everything about Nello's. Their salad with freshly grated blue cheese crumbles, and bay shrimp is delicious! Scallops Dore' is my favorite...well, one of my favorites. Carson is our favorite waiter! read more

Old school dining in the best way possible. Nello's seems like a place that is past it's time when you first walk in, but it's certainly not. The waiters are all great and hustle with everything. Our drinks weren't empty for more than a minute before someone was there, and no empty plate lasted more than 5 minutes. The food is not inexpensive, but many of the wines are very reasonably priced. read more

Manga le Italiano bene. Good Italian especially for Redding. While the staff is wonderful I'm missing Nello and his wife Tomiko. The experience was so different when they were here. Please this does not take anything from Nello's daughter or her husband's management or quality of the food, it is different and still very good. The menu hits all of the Italian regions. Some of the dinners are prepared tableside with the flambé and all. Take the time to see and smell the dinners prepared either tableside or in the kitchen. Your otherwise dulled senses, come alive with all that is going on in the dining room. Either way you will not be disappointed. It seems the more you go the more enjoyable it is. Give Nello's a try and enjoy. MANGA read more

It was like a piece out of Italy. Great service and all of the women get roses after their meal. Cool place