Telly's Restaurant & Pizzeria — Restaurant in Epping

My friend Tammy & I met our friend Jen here for lunch on 08/04/2025 after Jen had asked me if I've ever been here before because she had heard good things about this place & I hadn't. We arrived around 1100-1130 & the place wasn't busy. We were greeted by a blonde lady upon our arrival & seated right away in their dining room. We were handed a bunch of menus. Lunch, specials & drink menus.

Our waitress was Holly & what a breath of fresh air our experience was with her. Not to long ago Tammy & I had gone to another restaurant in the area & the waitress there was horrible. Holly took our drink order & it didn't take that long for our drinks to come out. Soda for them & a seltzer for me. Holly asked us if we were ready to order but we got caught up in talking/catching up so Holly knew we needed some more time so she told us "when you're ready to order place the ketchup bottle @ the end of the table to indicate to me youre ready." I LOVED this idea!! Once we placed the ketchup @ the end of the table Holly came right over & took our orders.

We did find that their menu prices were way overpriced. Pretty much everything was $14.95 or higher, even their desserts, which I found ridiculous. The appetizers' were pretty much the same price as a meal.

I was craving a BLT but not for the price they were charging for bread, tomato, lettuce & bacon so I went with the turkey club for $2.00 more which was delicious. I was only able to eat 1/2 of it & took the other 1/2 home. I substituted the fries for sweet potato fries which were very tasty. I asked for some mayo on the side just in case the cook didn't put enough on my sandwich & Holly didn't tell me but you will be charged .50 cents for it. I wish I knew I was going to be charged extra for a side of mayo because I wouldn't have ordered it.

Jen got a grilled portabella mushroom sandwich which looked amazing & she really enjoyed it. Tammy got a steak & cheese that she liked too. We all had to take what we didn't eat home. They had fries & homemade potato chips which were tasty. We didn't get dessert as the prices were too high for our liking & we didn't think it was worth it since we just got our meals for the same price.

Holly came back over soon after we bit into our meals to make sure everything tasted good & we had everything we needed. It didn't take her long to come back once we were done to offer containers to take our leftovers home. I was trying to be sneaky & pay the tab for everyone & happened to tap Holly on her leg with my CC when she came to the table.....she knew right away what I was asking but my friend Jen caught me......lol but it was too late she was off with my CC. Our bill came to $72.97 with our 3 meals, 2 sodas & 2 Nutrl's plus tax.

The service was excellent & Holly knew what she was doing so that was a really enjoyable experience having a great server. Food was good but too expensive as I mentioned earlier. The restaurant is big which also includes a huge bar area with a big seating area. Tammy & I went outside to check out their outdoor patio in the back which also had a small bar, lots of tables & a stage where they do entertainment I believe Thursday-Saturday nights. While we were checking the patio out Holly had come outside because she was also waiting on customers out there which was very far from where we were sitting inside....Telly's is lucky to have Holly!!

I'd definitely come back to this place to try a different item on their menu. I think that it would be fun to hang outside for a band on the weekend. Ladies restroom was clean & had plenty of hand soap. The restaurant was also clean from what we could see when we were walking around. They even had an area where they cooked their pizza'a in brick oven in...

let me preface with: i typically love tellys.

then the pandemic happened.

i called and placed an order at tellys on friday, jan 1. they said itd be ready in 20 minutes, so i arrived 20 minutes later to pick up my order. while i was paying, one of the men behind the counter leaned over with a ticket to ask the woman at the register to clarify an order- it happened to be mine. they hadn’t even put it in the oven, which i was initially irritated about but inevitably thankful for. while waiting for my food, i was able to watch them making it. there were 4 people behind the counter. the woman at the register and two men making pizzas were all wearing masks appropriately. there was one older gentleman however that couldn’t seem to keep his on. i watched him pull his mask under his chin for 5+ minutes at a time. while it was below his chin, he was huffing and puffing all over the pizzas as pulled them out of the oven to check them, lifting them with his unwashed hands after pulling his mask down and touching his phone. leaning over pizzas to cut them, opening boxes that were already packaged. all with his mask pulled down, and again with unwashed hands. it wasn’t until my mom and i went up to the counter to cancel our order that he pulled it up and said itd be ready in a few minutes. when we made it clear that we wanted to cance our order as we felt uncomfortable with his inability to keep his mask on- a mandate in the state- and wash his hands, he instantly appeared very aggrivated. we asked for a receipt to show that our order was cancelled, and he was unable to provide one.

this was not the only issue. there were MANY groups of people at the bar who were not there together and were not separated (i watched groups leave and arrive while i waited). there was also a couple allowed entry with no mask, who walked through the entire restaurant maskless to their table.

as an ICU nurse in this pandemic i am not only baffled, but also insulted. this business is often very busy and should be taking this...

I've been to tells last year before covid 19. Then went back 2 times during the time of covid. The 2 visits during covid 19 were extremely different from the time before covid. The first time during covid service was good we ordered chicken palm and a small pizza. We ordered the pizza because it was so good pre covid we wanted it again. But the pizza we received was not the same as the original pizza we got previously. It was bland and flavorless. The chicken palm was good. The second time we went during covid was a horrible uncomfortable experience. Our order was incorrect on three of our meals. The salad was missing chicken that was supposed to be on it. The fried haddock portion was normal while the 2 baked haddock meals were tiny. The baked haddock is more costly than the fried why is is a half portion. Baked haddock tasted like it was poached flavorless small and not good at all. Vegetables were non existent 3 small pieces of broccoli. When we told the waitress she became cold and rude. We could hear her at the waitstation next to our table bad mouthing us and complaining about us. This was an uncomfortable experience beyond belief. Asked to speak to manager they gave us a 50 dollar gift card. She told us the waitress would apologize in person but she was crying. As she was saying this i could see the same waitress 2 tables over smiling serving food to that table. I have to say if you choose to go here you are gambling with an expensive meal. If you do go I recommend take out and the chicken palm. Don't pay a lot of money to be treated rude and be lied to...