Classico Italian Restaurant - First Look

Laurie and I had been told about an Italian restaurant opening in Loudon Tennessee at a small strip center in Tellico Village. It replaced a previous restaurant...that had been too pitiful to write about. In any case, we were really excited when we were told that the new restaurant might be related to Willie's, our favorite Italian restaurant in the greater Knoxville metropolitan area!


However, we quickly discovered that Classico Italian Pizza & Pasta was not a spin off of Willie's. Instead, it's related to Danny's Pizza & Pasta, a restaurant that's located less than a mile down the road from Willie's. So, with the wished for connection proved to be non-existent, it all comes down to the food, service and atmosphere at Classico Italian!


Originally, we'd vowed to give this new restaurant 2 or 3 more weeks to shake out the kinks and get it's act together. But, it was lunch time, we were out driving around and Laurie felt like pizza...


I decided to order the Sausage Parmesan Sandwich & French Fries. The sandwich was certainly big enough and the order of fries was huge... I would have preferred a link of Italian Sausage instead of the slices that were used and I like it a bit spicier...but it was a decent sandwich, especially for $6.75.


Laurie ordered a small 12" pizza with pepperoni, Italian sausage and black olives. She felt that it was a good, if not great, pizza. I had a bite of it but it wasn't enough for me to offer my opinion. The pizza was large enough that Laurie was able to take half of it home...


The menu at Classico Italian Pizza & Pasta is fairly extensive...offering much more than our rather limited luncheon experience. Entrees include Veal Marsala, Shrimp Scampi, Fettuccine Carbonara and Salmon Piccata. Pasta specialties range from Baked Zitti to Ravioli, Spaghetti, Lasagna through Eggplant Parmesan. Gourmet Pizzas and Calzones round out the menu.


Of even more potential importance is the fact that Classico Italian serves basic American breakfasts from 8 am to 11 am daily! This could be a big plus for the Loudon/Tellico Village area... Laurie and I will have to try this new restaurant's dinner menu as well as the breakfast menu before we can fairly evaluate this addition to the area's dining choices.


Service was very nice...polite and pleasant servers. One negative is that nothing much has changed from the old restaurant as relates to decor. It's gray on gray...with few decorations and an ugly carpet. Perhaps the food will succeed enough for the new owners to spend some money to really brighten up the place!


Classico Italian Pizza & Pasta is located just off of Loudon County Road 444 at Tellico Village at 318 Lakeside Plaza in Loudon Tennessee. Phone: 865-458-9316.