Best pizza on the island, by far!!! I will add, they only have 16 inch for takeout (and that's new). You cannot order a 12 or 16 inch pizza for dining in. I hope they reconsider this policy. 10 inch is fine for a Neapolitan pie, but for true New Haven style of pizza, it's best enjoyed in big long thinner slices to really appreciate it. I was a fan of dine in 10 inch, but it wasn't enough to keep me coming back, we like to get a big pie and have leftovers. We will 100% be ordering 16 inch pizzas (to go) - but wish we could also enjoy a night out while doing so. read more

They have such good food!! We get it to go all the time. We love the Morty Mortadella pizza, the pesto gnocchi, and the Caesar salad!

Tolli's Trattoria is an Italian restaurant that opened in Johns Island, South Carolina in September 2020. It was founded by husband and wife Anthony and Giuseppina Peluso. The roots of the restaurant go back to New Haven, Connecticut in the 1930s. In 1934, Antonio "Tony" Tolli opened his first New Haven-style pizzeria. He would go on to open multiple pizzerias in the area in the coming decades. In 1954, he opened Tolli's Apizza [pronounced ah-BEETS] in neighboring East Haven. Tolli's nephew Carmine Peluso began working there a few years later and in 1963 he took over the business. Carmine sadly passed away in 1979 when he was shot and killed by a masked robber. His son Anthony later took over the pizzeria. Years later, Anthony remodeled it and added a restaurant wing dubbed 'La Pergula'. In 2020, Anthony and his wife grew tired of Connecticut weather and decided to relocate to the Charleston area. Tolli's Apizza was sold to longtime employee Klever Macao. Anthony and Giuseppina opened a new restaurant where they could bring their pizza and authentic Italian fare to a new clientele. My family and I visited Tolli's Trattoria this past summer while we were visiting family in town. Being native 'New Havenites', we were so happy to find authentic New Haven-style pizza in the Lowcountry. The menu consists of Italian entrees, pasta dishes, subs, salads, and various appetizers. However, we were just interested in getting pizza. We ordered and shared the "Mario" (caramelized red onion, goat cheese, pear slices, pistachio & honey, truffle oil drizzle) and the "Argentine" (white base, mozzarella, gulf shrimp, fresh garlic, fresh arugula, chopped tomatoes, shaved grana, lemon parmesan & EVOO). We also ordered a side of pasta with marinara for our younger son. The pizzas were absolutely delicious! They were 10" personal pizzas and a little smaller than what we are normally used to. We gobbled them up so quickly that we ordered a third: the "Calabrese" (fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, Italian soppressata, honey, chili flakes, pecorino & hot cherry peppers). To drink, I ordered the "Black Manhattan" (Knob Creek Rye, Averna Amaro, walnut bitters, orange zest). It was real smooth and washed down well. For dessert, we all shared some "Lemon Sorbet" and some "Vanilla Gelato". We all had a memorable lunch at Tolli's Trattoria and will definitely stop again on our next visit to Charleston! read more

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The food is incredible at Tolli's! We ordered Arancini balls, cheesy garlic bread, and the cauliflower hush puppies for an appetizer- and all three items did not disappoint!! The service was great as well. We were sat quickly and Josh took great care of us. 10/10 would recommend read more

Tolli's Trattoria - 12" New Calabrese Pizza and Pasta Marinara & Meatballs - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Really good pizza and pasta! The salad dressing was way too spicy (red vinaigrette). Great dressing otherwise. My guess is the chef got carried away with the red pepper. read more

Being from New England, my GF and I have had New Haven style pizza numerous times. Hate to be a downer, but Tolli's was not even close. Good pizza that does not stand out above others we have tried in the area. Sadly, we won't be back. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

I have eaten at Tolli's four times now with mixed experiences. From these visits, I've learned to stay away from pasta and stick to the pizzas. While the pasta dishes are tasty, they are tiny and priced pretty high. The butternut squash pasta was $28 and had 5-6 pieces of thin ravioli with a few pieces of squash. They could have added more veggies for filler, I was still hungry after eating this. I had the same experience with the gnocchi as well. The pizzas are also a bit small, my 3 year old finished an entire pizza by himself and he rarely finishes a meal. The crust is really thin, and toppings are light, so it truly isn't filling. I've added the arancini to pizza orders so we can feel a bit more full. All in all, the food tastes great, but you need to order a lot of it to leave not hungry. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Butternut Squash Ravioli - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Drinks were ok! Wish the service and prices were a bit better. Love to support CT transplants like myself. Would try the pizza again. This place is tiny, so you feel a bit cramped. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Solid 3.5/10 for $25 definitely not worth it. Absolutely no cheese or flavor. If you're reading this go to "The Natural" for pizza.... read more

Tolli's Trattoria - 16" Margharita - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Absolute best! Service is outstanding! Food is incredible! Atmosphere is perfect! I am usually here around lunch, it is much quieter and laid back. Definitely returning. read more

Service - 5 Food/Pizza - 3 Ambiance - 3/4 Focaccia bread was not good and expensive. Pizza was just ok. The Margherita pizza was slightly better than second pizza with eggplant which lacked sauce. Wouldn't order the pizza again. Don't know about the pasta. read more

This family owned restaurant is a charming delight for Johns Island. This place can feel casual or upscale depending on how you approve it. They have a bar and indoor dining as well as a few outdoor tables for those nice days. Serving lunch and dinner in a traditional Italian style, this restaurant offers as simple as subs or pizza to full Italian entrees and soups. In a nutshell, Tolli's offers traditional northern style Italian with a splash of Southern appeal. We love and admire the owner and the dedication put into this restaurant and its treatment of staff and customers. read more

We really enjoyed our meal here. It's a small pizzeria/trattoria easily located off Maybank highway in a nice shopping center. It reminds me a little bit of pizzerias in NY where I grew up, where the pizzeria is on one side and the restaurant is on the other. Portions were HUGE! So go hungry, or take home leftovers, which are never bad! I had the half a chicken Parm sub with an arugula salad (a lunch special) and it was oh so good! Some of the best chicken Parm I've had and the salad was really refreshing, simple, but Delicious. The sub bread was unlike anything I've ever had, not exactly pizza dough, which is what it looked like, but was lighter than I expected, which was nice considering how heavy a dish this can be. My husband had a calzone, which was not technically on the lunch menu, but obviously, it being a pizzeria, was always available. This was one of the best calzones I ever had. And, again, much lighter than expected. Generously stuffed with ricotta cheese and your choice of up to 3 fillings, with sauce on the side! De-lish! If I lived closer it would be a staple in our rotation, probably good for my waistline that I don't! read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Calzone - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

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We were so hungry being on west coast time. We slipped him a half hour before closing and they didn't blink an eye. We had the bread and spread appetizer. What a great choice. The two spreads were delicious! One of the spreads was butter based and the other was bean and lemon based. We then had their chopped salad and they didn't skimp on the toppings. My husband and I shared the bolognese pasta and it was slowly cooked and freshly made! It tasted just like from Italy. Ketisha was are sweet server. It was a good night on the island! read more

I start all my Italian-food reviews with I am a judgmental jersey girl when it comes to my Italian food. For below the mason-Dixon line, Tolli's is great! We love the pizza most, especially for a quick takeout option. We ate once inside and it was slammed so the service was a bit dicey. I do think the prices are a bit high for the portion size. When we didn't get pizza, we got the penne vodka which had a HEAVY meat (bacon or pancetta?) flavor, almost to the point it's overpowering. Pesto Gnocchi was delightful though - highly recommend. read more

This place is awesome. Not only do they serve the best New Haven pie ( and if you know your pie, you know what I am talking about). There is a Muffuletta sandwich which when describes sounds awful. Don't be fooled. It's huge and delicious. It's the pepper aioli that makes it unique read more

We have eaten here about 5 times; I can't believe I haven't reviewed yet. Here's what's good ( so far in our experience) : Everything! Let's. Start with the pizza: Fresh, crispy thin crust with perfect mix of sauce and cheese. Editors note: I have a very simple rule for Italian restaurants: It's all in the red sauce . If they do that well everything else is usually good . This sauce is light, simple and tastes like tomato not sugar or some heavy glop. I also like to try the chicken parmigiana; If an Italian restaurant can't do that right the rest is usually down hill. I have had the salads which are superb. Love the Rigatoni al la Vodka: I had it with grilled chicken instead of bacon and it was perfect.. I'd have eaten the grilled chicken alone it was soo good. Pasta is perfectly cooled al dente ; even the peas were fresh ! I the past we've enjoyed many other items and were always pleased. The pasta fagioli soup was a little too thick but what excellent flavors. ( a meal in itself- ask for it to be served hot). read more

We have been eating at Tolli's since they opened. The food has continuously declined since then. Tonight, we called to order a pick up meal. The individual told me to place my order online. I refused as we've always called in. The person who took my order was down right nasty. I ordered our favorite gnocchi with marinara & fresh mozzarella. Upon entering the restaurant, I waited 5 minutes to finally be acknowledged. My meal was horrible!! Gnocchi was spongy. The marinara was very acidic. The mozzarella was most certainly NOT fresh. We loved the restaurant years ago but the terrible food & rude service, we won't eat there again. Very disappointed. read more

I really wanted to find a great Italian spot in the area. Unfortunately this was not the place. I ordered take out and was very disappointed with the service and quality. I ordered the pesto cream gnocchi and my friend has the scampi. The gnocchi was such a tiny portion and was not worth the money. The tester was decent but the portion was very underwhelming. My friend ordered the scampi and we asked for chicken instead of shrimp and we were assured that they would add chicken instead. Sadly the chicken was not in the dish nor the shrimp. The dish consisted of linguini and tomatoes and very little flavor. 2 stars for flavor, quality, and value. read more

Last Monday, we purchased 2 pizzas from Tollis, a Margarita and Estivia There was zero cheese on the Margarita and it was quite cold. The Estivia was burnt to a crisp. very disappointed as we spent 50.00 on pizza for the trash can.An attempt to contact Tollis via FB messenger went unanswered as did the website contact us form. An attempt to reach a manager was futile as the waiter told me no one was available. Guess one should stick with what one knows is great pizza....JZI, hands down read more

Good pizza, good wine, nice service. Will 100% return. Mario's pizza was unique and soooo tasty. read more

Gets an A for taste Gets a C+ for portion size Gets a C- for value Gets a A for service. 4 tops are a bit small for 4 adults. I got the night's special of eggplant parm over ziti, be warned, no side salad or bread for the table is included, for $27. Seemed like an unusual prep to the eggplant, but the sauce and mozz were outstanding. The rest of the table seemed pleased by their meals. The cheese bread app with marinara was outstanding. read more

Probably the best Italian food I have ever had, and I have been to Italy. The service was amazing! Everyone was nice and the ambience was classy. Would come several times a week if I could. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Pasta and calamari. - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Very disappointed it definitely has gone down hill in the past couple of years Meatballs were small and lacking flavor Pizzas were definitely smaller but they cost more The entire meal was very pricey Server was very nice but it didn't make up for the very expensive prices read more

We had a great meal at Tolli's. Honestly we have eaten here a few times and the pizza is ok but the pasta is outstanding. My linguini (with meatballs) was perfectly aldente. The meatballs were rich and full of flavor with a little heat to match the low heat of the tomato sauce. It paired well with the bottle of wine on the specials menu. I would for sure have that again. We also had linguini with clams that was inhaled, and shared a salad of arugula with Barbatta and balsamic glazed flat bread- yum. read more

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So this is a nice little "Italian" place on Johns Island. They make nice manageable 10" pizzas that are pretty good. There was a great wine special, 30% off all bottles. That saved me $16 alone! We started the night with a bottle of 2019 Diodoro Primitivo Di Manduria. Beautiful ruby color, good tannins, and fruity enough to be pleasant to drink. We shared an appetizer of meatballs, I must say that We were a bit disappointed in the meatballs. A good texture and a good size, but they seemed to be lacking a bit of seasoning. There was a bit of pickled onion atop them and it did help and the cheese/sauce ratio was decent. She then ordered a pizza that came with a quarter roasted red peppers, black olives, artichokes, and mushrooms. It was pretty good . In the battle of the entrees I most certainly won! I ordered the Linguini Puttanesca topped with a breaded cutlet of chicken. Pasta was a great al dente and the capers, anchovies, olives, garlic, and shallots were in prefect ratio. the cutlet gave a nice crunch against the soft pasta. A wonderful dish! Alas, we were a little to full for dessert...Never thought I'd ever hear me say that growing up! Call it maturation I suppose. All and all, a good little place in for all of us on Johns Island to have a decent meal. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - a glass of wine and a bottle of wine - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Cute little Italian spot on Johns island. The lunch specials are great and a good value. Pasta and pizza were good too. Server was attentive and helpful. Get the Mario pizza, with goat cheese and add pears! read more

Cute little Italian/pizza place on Johns Island. The service was decent. Our waitress was very sweet, but our appetizer, drinks, and pizza did take some time coming out. I'm defense of Tolli's we did come on a crowded Friday night. We got the potato croquets as an appetizer. It came with 6, perfect to split between our group of 3. They were pretty good, I'm not sure you can complain about fried potatoes. But the sauce was not. It lacked flavor. It tasted like I was dipping my croquets into heavy cream. The reason why I am giving this restaurant a 4 star review is because of the pizza, the reason why we actually went. It was incredible. We got the Mario. The crust was great, the onions were perfectly cooked and the goat cheese was amazing. Add the pears, you won't regret it! read more

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Tolli's is a small but quaint Italian restaurant in Johns Island. Atmosphere was very nice playing some old school music like Elvis, Dean Martin and others. Now to the food. Our appetizer was the Baratta Amalfi. Everything tasted fresh and looked vibrant. Toast points nice crisp but still soft slightly charred but I like that. The Mortadella and Pistachios go together with the cheese. The pesto had a small hint of heat but was just right to top it off. A small touch of acid would be ideal. We decided to sample the menu and ordered a pizza and two sandwiches. Margherita Pizza- crust was really nice thin but still soft and not soggy. The sauce, cheese and fresh basil was complimentary and portioned well. Meatball Parm-bread was nice and airy making it lighter than expected. Meatballs were cooked well but could use a little more seasoning to lift it up. Maybe a little more sauce for more moisture. Portions, wow could feed two. Steak Sandwich-Bread as said before was very good had a small crunch to it. The steak, onions and mushrooms were well cooked not over cooked. The addition of the Cherry Peppers was nice. Does have a small amount of heat but nothing that would stop you from finishing. Our server, Alex, did a great job and was spot on with his recommendations. read more

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We had reservations for 6:15 Valentines Day, party of 4 plus a 6 month old. We were seated at 6:25 and a drink order was taken. Maybe 15 minutes later, drinks received. We asked for two salads for appetizers. Maybe 30 minutes later, the waiter came back asked about drink refills. We ordered another round and gave him our dinner choices. This was shortly after 7. At that time, we placed dinner orders. By 7:40 PM, the baby was getting restless and with no food in sight, his mother decided to take him home. At that time, I asked the waiter for the check and asked him to make our orders for take out. The check was paid at 7:50 PM. By 8:25, we STILL had no food. My wife asked to speak to management. The owner told her he was too busy to talk. Over two hours sitting there and no food. We demanded a refund and we will never patronize this place again. read more

NY pizza, Conn pizza, who is better, where is the best. Basically, it's hard to get bad pizza up north if you are in the right neighborhood. Can't say the same for the south. Tolli's pizza was great. The crust had the right amount of char and air pockets. The sauce and toppings were on point. This place will stand out among those from afar ie: NYer's. It is the pizza we expect every time. It should be like this everywhere you eat pizza but it is not. that is why Tolli's is special. The beet/arugula/pistachio/ricotta salad was off the charts. I can't wait to sample the rest of the limited menu. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

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Tolli's is an incredible place and Johns Island gem! It is family owned and operated. They offer everything from traditional homemade Italian to local seafood. The food and service are excellent! The desserts are incredible! This is one place that you definitely want to put on your list to bring your family and friends. read more

I have heard such great things about Tolli's, so I was greatly disappointed in my recent visit. We came on a Friday evening for dinner. Tolli's was not busy with plenty of open seating inside and outside. We requested outside seating from the hostess. She brought my party of 4 to the table and gave us 4 plates, 3 knives, 3 forks, and a wad of napkins. Covid aside, I was grossed out that the utensils and napkins were gripped in a wad in her hand; most restaurants present wrapped silverware in a napkin. She didn't give us menus. About 10 minutes passed without a server. Then the hostess came and poured lukewarm water into glasses for us and corrected our issue of insufficient silverware. Another 10 minutes elapse. We flag down a server to ask for menus which she presented to us a few minutes later, walking away. At least 30-45 minutes after being seated, OUR server (a new woman) comes to our table. She begins by explaining that she hates working evenings as she usually works lunch. She said she didn't want to be here to please be patient with her. This whole time, we assumed she was not our server, as she was helping tables around us who were seated after we were. We ordered drinks, appetizers, and food. The wine came out quickly, but she forgot about a beer ordered from our party. That took another 10+ minutes. All our appetizers and food orders came out at the same time! We were ravenous at this point yet disappointed to receive improperly paced food. The appetizers were mediocre at best. The pizzas were raw and undercooked in the middle. Gross! We tipped over 20% although service was atrocious from the start. I won't be back here again. I'm fortunate to have better pizza options nearby on the island such as La Tela in Freshfields. read more

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1st time at Tolli's. Arrived early thinking we could beat the crowd and get our food before it gets busy. We asked for lemon, waiter forgot. Asked again and he brought 1 slice of lemon for both of us. Took over an hour to get our food and the waiter never checked on us. Others were getting their food, that arrived after us. Had to ask another waiter for assistance. Food was mediocre and our waiter was clueless. Maybe the pizza is better but I don't plan on returning to find out. Very disappointing 1st time experience. read more

Ok, outside dinning and inside, pleasant people, clean new place. The chicken parm sandwich on their fresh crisp bread is spectacular, salads are fresh and large. The waitress was having a hard time due to the fact that they were very swamped for lunch and she was the only one working outside. Someone called in sick. Not an issue, but mgt should have had backup plans. A place worth going too. Good Italian food. Frank G read more

Usually the service and food here is phenomenal, however, tonight I was disappointed. We ordered an app and then ordered the caprese and a margarita pizza. After about 20 minutes, we asked the bartender how long it would be on the caprese. He followed it up with "it's in the oven probably about 2 more minutes" we then said that caprese does not go in the oven. FINALLY. our pizza comes out. It's seriously a cheese pizza that looks like it was cooked in an easy bake oven. They "added" basil after I showed that I was disappointed. I will insert a picture to show what they added. (Clearly there's a shortage of basil at the restaurant.) I don't know what's going on with this restaurant because it went from my favorite place to dine to two back to back bad experiences both with the food and service. No one was accommodating for the bad service and bad food. (The bread and spread was the only good thing ab the experience.) also wish I could post a picture of the caprese but since it never came because the server didn't care to fix his and the kitchens mistakes. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - A grocery store pizza that also upon further review doesn't taste good at all - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Good for the Charleston area, but not what I was hoping for being from CT myself. The crust was really crispy but the dough was thicker than I was expecting. The biggest negative was the size of the pizza as I ate a whole one myself and was still a little hungry. They were out of dessert so I didn't get to try that but their take out wine specials are really good deals! read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Margherita pizza - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina

Such fresh flavorful dishes! The deep fried bread stuffed with mozzarella & paired with a tomato caper sauce was outstanding. Cannot wait to return read more

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The family was in the mood for pizza/restaurant I found this gem. Delicious calamari and the most amazing pesto garlic knots. My daughter had the margarita pizza also amazingly delicious. But the true test was mine and my wife's dinner. Linguine puttanesca and pesto gnocchi. WOW !! My linguine puttanesca was an explosion of culinary flavors. Sweet/tangy/spicy it was one of the best puttanesca sauce I've ever had. My wife's dish was ridiculous. A subtle taste of pesto, not overwhelming, but you can definitely taste the pesto without it overtaking your tastebuds. If you're in the mood for an excellent Italian restaurant and not one acting like it is please go here. Also the service was spot on. Water always filled and very attentive. It's worth the short drive. read more

Great place. The garlic knots and risotto balls are addictive. Best sweet tea in the Lowcountry! And the Nonnon and Thea pizzas were very flavorful. Add caramelized onions, you won't be sorry. And our waitress (Darlin' Rachel) was on spot. read more

Tolli's Trattoria - Nonnon pizza - Italian Near Me - Johns Island, South Carolina