BEST MEAL in South Haven! Came here on a whim on a Tuesday since several South Haven restaurants are closed on Tuesdays, and ended up having our best meal in South Haven! I've had some amazing butternut squash ravioli at other restaurants, but Tello's recipe was the best. Savory, buttery, slightly salty which you need to cut the richness of the sauce. The fresh pasta texture was the perfect al dente, almost as if they rolled these out specifically for me when I walked in. Had a lovely sauvignon blanc as a great compliment. Parking was easy and free on a Tuesday night at 5:00pm at the back, no wait. When we left around 7:30pm, there was an hour wait. We'll be adding this destination to our trip to South Haven every summer! Note: Ordinarily I'd give this experience 4 stars, as my fork was dirty with lots of crusted cheese and there was a mistake on our bill, but my dinner was so phenomenal that it adds another star. 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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Really love this place. Been here every time come to South Haven. Wonderful "serenity now" quality to it, particularly in hot summer crowded downtown conditions. You walk in an escape all that in a lovely chill and stylish restaurant. The glitch that happened at this visit was the pizza crust was super tough and I didn't have more than a single slice. Never had a poor dish here before, but then I did recall another person reporting the same experience. I'm coming back none the less! So this season might want to skip the pizza, but enjoy the sanity of this spot. 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

We stopped by on July 2 late evening. Party of 4. I cannot give this place any compliments. This was one of the worst dining experiences I've had in a long time. First of all, we were sat pretty quickly but after the server took our drink order we waited for a long time until anyone gave us water or our drinks. I would say it was about 20 minutes. Empty handed. No bread either. When we asked about the bread our server said they were making it but never brought it out till we reminded her at the end of the meal. Also, our server forgot several things throughout the meal which we had to remind her for. For example, she gave us oil with our bread and a second later forgot she just put it down and picked it up to throw it away. She also poured me two glasses of wine that i never said I wanted refilled. I was on a budget and didn't appreciate that forward assumption at all. You don't just pour someone $10 wine without asking first. What if I couldnt afford it? She seemed very spacey and flighty and forgetful. The pizza was awful. It was supposed to be a margarita but was smothered in sauce. That's not a margarita pizza! Whole service took 2 hours. Terrible waste of money and time. Please get better servers and cooks! read more

Visited Tello today, June 19th. When we arrived we were one of two tables. The hostess seated us and we waited about 10 minutes for our waiter to address our table. We ordered our apps and wine and proceeded to watch our waiter Jeremy D. sit with another table who arrived and socialize. In between our appetizers we continued to have to wait to be served- water refills, wine refills and removal of dirty plates. We sat for about a half hour before we notified a female waitress that we would like our dirty plates cleared and were wanting refills on our water- I also saw that Jeremy was now sitting at an empty table with no guests. The female waitress went to the middle server station to grab the water and I then witnessed her mock our request for water and the removal of the dirty plates and silverware. Needless to say I would not recommend coming to this restaurant. Jeremy went around saying he had worked at the restaurant for 14 years to several customers. Having myself worked in the service industry for well over 15 years myself- this is not how one would describe "good service". Ignoring dining patrons and also sitting at an empty table while you have tables is not a good practice. read more

Meal and sangria were decent. The server brought a portable terminal to pay. I selected custom tip and put in $13.00 - which was over 15% of the full bill without tip. When I got the printed receipt, the system had overridden my custom tip and charged me over $19.00 for the tip (more than 145% of my intended amount (something like 22% instead of my intended 15+%). I chose to leave this review rather than arguing with the manager. I will do my best to NEVER visit Telly Italian Bistro again. read more

The best espresso martinis! The food is always yummy and the staff is a great time. I love sitting at the bar here!

The food was amazing! We only had appetizers at the bar but it was the best shrimp I've ever had. Cooked to perfection with fennel. Can't wait to go back for the dinner choices before we head back home. read more

Fancy by the looks and sounds of it. The inside was nice and cozy, with walls adorned with your usual Italian restaurant decor, and some dim lighting to set the mood. The menu consisted of some good Italian fare selection and featured steaks from Sophie's steakhouse. So, of course I had to get the ribeye. The menu made the whole aging and grilling process sound so appetizing. I was truly expecting some wonderful tasting and oh-so-deliciously satisfying steak. But was I wrong... As usual, I order my steak medium rare and it came out more like medium to done, very bland, and did not appear to have the usual marbling a good ribeye should have. I salted it quite a bit and added some freshly cracked pepper and it became tolerable. It was still quite tough, probably because of the lack of that marbling characteristic to a ribeye. I had some cabernet sauvignon with my meal and the dessert (Tiramisu) wasn't bad but the meal was certainly disappointing. My husband has the pan roasted sea bass and it tastes way better than my meal. He also ordered some old fashioned cocktail. I wish I had ordered his meal instead but I guess I am a sucker for steaks and not everywhere can make a good steak. On paper, it sounded absolutely fantastic but I wish the place had actually delivered. Service was fine but the place only had 2 wait staff running around and a manager who was pacing back and forth. read more