We tried to eat here last week and were told that we needed a reservation. The hostess was not very friendly at all, but for a party of 6, that is fair. So we went online and made a reservation for the following night. When we arrived, we were about 12 mins early and the same hostess was there. She asked if we had a reservation, we said yes but it was in 12 mins. She told us to leave and come back in 12 mins. The restaurant was not full and the table that we ended up sitting at was free the whole time. Another party next to us actually complained to their server about the hostess. Really unsure why she in the business of greeting guests... thinking a back of the house role may be better for her. Her being unfriendly and having an attitude causes unnecessary stress on a group of people that are just trying to have a nice dinner together. I will say that our waitress was very sweet and professional. The food was good and the wait time once we were seated was reasonable. The manager also stopped by to check in on us. I would definitely recommend eating here if you are in South Haven, as options are limited, just make sure you have a reservation first! read more

A cute family bistro right on the popular Phoenix street. Great atmosphere for a date or family. The food is really great. I highly recommend Tello. read more

Service: Great. Cleanliness: fine. Bar: excellent. But $80 later (party of 3) and I didn't even get to eat. Sent the squash ravioli back - all oil and no sauce, after nearly a 30 minute delay, missing the salad. Sadly I've been looking forward to their squash ravioli all year, and was very disappointed. Please go back to the old recipe - that's the whole reason for us coming here. Sad way to end our South Haven vacation. read more

Tello Italian Bistro - 2026 squash ravioli. All oil. Please go back to the old recipe. Sent it back. - Italian Near Me - South Haven, Michigan

Menu description for the pesto dish was either inaccurate or the dish was not made properly. The main flavor was lemon, which was not listed on the description (the waitress even called it lemon pesto when she droppped it off), and the almonds listed were missing. read more

Not good. I'd put it with a fast-food, inexpensive-type Italian place. The pappardelle ragu definitely did not taste like it had been braising for 8 hours, as claimed. It was a very tart and tangy tomato flavor, lacking any salt or seasoning. Lasagna tasted like Chef Boyardee. Same with the spaghetti and meatballs. The white dish had massive bones in every single bite and the smell was so fishy it was hard to eat my pasta. We also got two Caesar salads with chicken. The salad had more cheese than lettuce, and the chicken tasted like canned chicken. (They offer fresh grated cheese at the table when being served. No extra cheese was added.)Super disappointing. We were starving and needed food, so we tried this place. Walking out after paying $170 plus for nasty food was super disappointing. Don't go here. Not worth the $. read more

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Everything was floating in oil. The dish ordered was way too spicy and we weren't alerted, although we asked. No privacy for conversation. Way overpriced. Will never return. Way too many great spots in South Haven. Don't bother with this one. read more

Not understanding some of the negative reviews here because our experience was fantastic. We were planning on going somewhere else in town and, after listening to a podcast about parmesan cheese, we called an audible and went here. Perfect service, such great dishes... when you are craving Italian food, this place is the right move. read more

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My husband and I showed up early for our 6 PM reservation. After checking in and being seated by the hostess I received a text from the restaurant that our reservation was cancelled. When bringing this text up to the hostess to let her know that she had already seated us her response was "it is easier to just cancel your reservation". Thank you for making us feel NOT welcome in your establishment. Secondly, be prepared for slow service and little follow up for water refills or any additional requests. Sorry, We will not be back. read more

we recently visited Tellos with a friend who had never been. We were very disappointed over the last year or two we would give it a try.The menu could use a lot of work it's basically been the same for years. Two of the group ordered dishes that came with sautéed potatoes. The potatoes were warm, but basically raw , the chef could not have missed this, but are feeling was He didn't care.. I don't feel inclined to visit the anytime soon, they really need new management to supervise hard in the kitchen The other pretty offputting thing was a woman clearly passed out on the bar who didn't revive until towards the end of our meal. read more

Joanne was a great server who was very efficient, friendly, and responsive. The food was delicious and was delivered fairly quickly. We asked her about the rating of the restaurant and she explained that they had some servers about 7 months ago that caused difficulties for customers and they are no longer there. But it takes a while for negative reviews to go away. The ambiance inside is chic Italian and accommodates couples, singles and families. We have been there at least 5 times over the past few years and highly recommend it!! read more

My husband and I were looking for a place to eat on a recent trip to South Haven. I was a bit apprehensive because of some of the reviews, but took a chance because the pictures looked appealing. I am glad I did! The food was delicious! I had the butternut squash ravioli and my husband had the Lasagne. They were one of the few restaurants open in January and we were basically the only ones. Our waitress was very attentive and gave us great recommendations. I enjoyed the decor. I would come again! read more

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Love this place. That being said made reservations on July 2 for 4 at 5:45. Table ready/ not too busy yet but waited over an hour - for 3 raw pizzas- very sad cus I love the vibe and food. The dough was raw in the center- we took most home so we could try to rebake- so very disappointed- Don't really know what happened in the kitchen. read more

Service is great but the food it's very mid.... Pretty bland and taste frozen? The bread is great but their "popular" pasta is pretty meh for the price. read more

The server was very nice but the service was very slow. The server took the orders for food and drink promptly, but it took 20 minutes to get the drinks and about 30 minutes for the appetizer to arrive. There were only a few other tables in the restaurant so it was not busy. The food was also pretty gross aside from the fresh baked bread which was amazing. Also they charge for soda water, I know some places do that so not a huge deal, but they also charge for refills on it so I got two small glasses of soda water at it cost me $8! Wish I had been warned about that or I wouldn't have asked for a refill on carbonated water. I would not go back. read more

Really enjoyed my meal and experience at Tello. The people were nice and welcoming and the interiors were unique and had a fun vibe. It was a great place to land after a day of driving. My partner and I really enjoyed all the food we had - lasagne bolognese, pappardelle bolognese and one of the pizzes to share. Everything was super tasty! Would recommend all of it. One small critique - the food came out at odd timing. My entree was delivered first, then the pizza, and then my partner's food last. It wasn't that big of a deal, but just something of note. I do appreciate that the server brought the food out so it didn't die under the heaters. Other than that, would definitely go back if we're back in the area, and would recommend to others! read more

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I tried leaving this review on the Tellos web site, but failed. So here it is. Last Saturday evening I sat at the bar, drank Peroni, and ordered a sausage pizza. The pizza was a disappointment, visually great, good fresh topping, but the crust was way too tough. Before retirement I was a profession baker. The dough for the crust was too old, over-mixed, or under leavened, or some combination of the three. I hope Tello can fix the problem. I like the restaurant, reluctant to order the pizza a second time. read more

Food was good Server was nice Sent back kids meals 3x (chicken fingers) before leaving and getting them food elsewhere read more

We ordered the waitress' recommended dinner Papardelle Bolognese and it was as good as I had in Siena. Cheers to Tello. Also my Martini was excellent. read more

Food was average. Lighting way too dark. Staff very inexperienced and not well trained. Ordered a Manhattan cocktail, and it was the worst I have ever had--and cost $17.00. Bartender inept. Complained to management while my food was getting cold. High prices for poor delivery. Will not be back. read more

the bartender was so sweet, I think her name was Abby. so welcoming and pleasant. definitely a go to place if you want to talk with the bartender and make small talk. very sweet bartender. she definitely made you feel like you were welcome, not stand offish at all! read more

Cocktails were subpar to say the leas and at $14 a drink they should have been much better. Service was ok but understaffed. Had to ask for water and never got bread that was always in the over. Food was ok to good. For the price Olive Garden would've been better. They need to work on a ton before ever coming back here. read more

Super fresh pasta, great drinks and good service. We had lemon-basil pesto cavatappi, it was some of the best pasta I have had in the entire country. Service was excellent. read more

Awful. The waiter yelled at our 4yr old and almost made him cry. He took our orders then we watched him wander around for over an hour ignoring us and disappearing for periods of time while intermittently rubbing his nose and nostrils. Staff looked busy, unfriendly and in bad moods. Eventually we walked out. read more

Horrible from the start....We stopped in and the lady took our phone number and told us she would text us when she could seat us. 6:15 we gave her our number..7:50 we got tired of waiting and I went in the restaurant to see what was taken so long..And there were several tables that were open when we walked in..She said she could seat us..My wife asked why she never got a text and the lady said to us that if she gets busy she doesn't do that...So we sat down and waited 15 more minutes to get our order in..And another 15 minutes to get our drinks...And waited over 30 minutes waiting for the bread sticks that never came.. So after trying to wave down the waiter several times..We decided we had enough and got up and left...It was a horrible experience and we will definitely never come back..Even if it was the only restaurant in town.... read more

Been coming here for over a decade and absolutely love the space, warm service (albeit spotty at times) and delicious food! We started with the beet salad, shrimp, and steak skewers all of which was spot on! Special note about the shrimp and it's delicious sauce...It was SO good that my husband drank the rest of the sauce we did request additional bread to dip it in, but after 15 minutes of waiting, he just drank it with his fork The small plates came out pretty fast, but after that things slowed down, like took 1hr 20 min til our entreees came and the bread came right before it. The bread was warm so that was nice. I love my vegetable risotto, and my husband finished all of his fish! Very pleased with our entrées and the food from start to finish. This service definitely doesn't ruin it for us but hopefully they get their staffing issues taken care of as this Thursday night was not a hit. read more

This place was terrible. The prices are outrageous for the quality of food and the service was a joke. Ordered the Chicken Marsala. The chicken was ok; nothing special. It came with green beans which had zero flavor. I asked for a different side and ended up with the squash. When I asked how the squash was prepared, the waiter said he didn't know - that it was cooked. Seriously? I had to describe the different preparation methods and he said it was put in the oven. The squash was also tasteless and hard. I also never received the soup that was ordered. Even the bread was dry and salty. And the alcohol pricing was over the top. The meal was very expensive and was more like NYC or CA pricing, which I don't mind paying if the meal is good. I won't be back. Ever. read more

Made a reservation for a group of 14 golfers for dinner last Saturday. Table was ready and waiting for us when we arrived. Server (Joanna) was friendly, efficient, fun, and knowledgable. The food was over-the-top excellent. Chef Kevin did an amazing job. Bartender Abby received a round of applause for her excellent work. I highly recommend Tello's for a wonderful dining experience in South Haven! read more

I must first report that we had fantastic service. I wasn't expecting that based on other reviews. Most importantly the food was amazing. My husband doesn't compliment food that often and he was so happy. I ordered the chicken pesto and he had the chicken Marcella. Soooo good! We started with the meatball appetizer, which was over the top great and so was my Cosmo! read more

The food was pretty bland, and the servers weren't nice. I would try another place rather than coming here.

We have been regulars at Tellos for several years. Love the food and the atmosphere! Kevin and his crew in the kitchen are the best. Food is always consistently fantastic. Christy is always making sure everything is perfect. Our visiting family and friends always request we have dinner at Tellos. Keep up the great work. read more

Very good food, great deal with the pizza and toppings. Wonderful whiskey lemonade! "Meat balls to die for" - Sophia Craig, "an inventive twist of your typical bread and olive oil/ cheese platter" - Ellen Hancock Very nice jazzy ambiance and lighting for a dinner! You might have to wait a second to get your food, but it won't matter if you're with your pals and loved ones :) yay read more

Tello Italian Bistro - Italian Near Me - South Haven, Michigan

The bar service was lovely. We should have ate at the bar. Once seated our server was rude and condescending. Commented on our choice of food, which in the beginning we thought he was him trying to be funny. Our food came out cold. We told him about it and he said "just like your heart" along with" I did touch your food and it was hot". And he told his manager that he can tell us anything he wants. What a jerk. Manager was great. read more

I know it was busy, but it took almost 15 minutes before someone came over and acknowledge that we were there. We ordered a beef soup and an arugula salad to start. The soup came about 25 minutes after we ordered it ,with a skin on top of it. I could only assume that it had been sitting under a heat lamp for a long time. It also didn't taste like beef at all, all I tasted was flour. It looked more like gravy than soup. We also ordered three pizzas. They showed up about more than an hour after we arrived. All three were doughy and undercooked. My wife ordered a pizza with Italian sausage on it, and instead of coming with crumbles of Italian sausage it was sliced Italian sausage with some parts of the sausage darker than others. My wife guessed that the sausage was freezer burned. I would not go back. The person who waited on us was very nice, but that was the only highlight. read more

Service was ok not great our waited told us he would bring more bread but never did. We ordered 3 pizza it took over a hour to get the pizza they were raw white crust my grand daughter was so under cook she couldn't even pick it up. The worst pizza I ever had in my life. Won't be back and on top of that all the help had a attitude like they are doing us a favor by eating at there restaurant need a better manager read more

Atrocious. As a family of 4, we came in to the establishment on 5/24/25 at 5:30pm. We sat at the bar. Your bartender & server were outright talking negatively about us as we approached. We actually heard every word they said to each other. We should have left at that minute. It was recommended that we come to your establishment for espresso martinis by a local business down the street. This was mentioned when we sat down. We will be sure to let the local business know how we were treated as to not further recommend this establishment going forward. She also charged one of our cards twice. I will not blast their names on Google, but will be happy to pass on the information to the manager or owner to prevent further disappointing business with future customers. read more

We were invisible in the corner with no light. Our waitress was going to bring us some bread with oil and shredded cheese, no go. We thought she forgot. Which she admitted she did, but the bread was in the oven, and wasn't ready. Super sad that was explained when our food came out. Pizza was "wet" in the middle, and the "epic" Tiramisu was served with water on the bottom of the plate. Ouch! May be authentic, but we were left wanting 10 notches better than we got! read more

Left before we even got the bread. Which was taking forever!! Waitress was incredibly rude when we asked more than a couple questions. Little too pretentious 'acting' for a mediocre restaurant. We walked out. Wow the negative reviews were true. read more

Probably my favorite restaurant in South Haven. They have several great options for Italian cuisine (the Papardelle alla Bolognese is a favorite of mine). I have never had a bad meal there. Their wine selection is good as well. What's more, the service is quite accommodating too. They are perfectly willing to make meals for carry out if you're not going to dine in. If you are going to South Haven, then be sure to reserve dinner here for one of the nights you are there. You will not be disappointed. read more

Stoped by today on my way back through from Grand Rapids! Had the Pan seared Calamari and the fresh baked bread. It was cozy, relaxing, yet refined in design and layout. All the workers I engaged with were friendly and the Old Fashion strong. Next time I'll come with a bigger appetite to try more dishes! read more

The single most unpleasant and nasty waiter I have ever had. We literally left before ordering. Probably they have good wait staff too! But man their quality control leaves something to be desired--fair warning read more