Coletta's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Memphis

3.18.10 2pm One star for the pizza which was legitimately good, as was the meatball sandwich. But that's where the good stuff stops. My husband wanted to visit this joint because supposedly the Elvis mafia once hung out there. If they did, NOTHING'S changed since then. The first thing you notice when you enter is the smell, musty, sour, no delicious Italian food smells anywhere. The only waitress working is a very negative, overworked and stressed out older lady who hurried to take our order because she had a big party in the back room, how did we know? She told us and everyone she waited on after us. She was abrupt, unfriendly and snotty. Pity gf, you totally disrespected two of the best tippers you would have gotten all weekend. It took about 40 minutes to get our food, way too long when there's only a couple of families in the dining room and at least 4 cooks in the kitchen. My husband wanted me to mention that the men's room was hideous. There were several dudes walking back and forth with small pitchers of beer and refilling the glasses of people they knew. Apparently, we didn't get the invite. 😒 The pizza was very good but strangely enough, they are still using canned mushrooms in their prep.... Lazy dude, totally lazy. The sandwich was cheap, under $6, but had no cheese. The decor is horribly dated and dirty as well, the entire place has a grimey feel. They may still be living on their accolades from 2012 when they had a few articles written about them in the press. Btw, on our way out, the old woman at the cash register was whining and bitching about someone and never lifted her eyes to sat thank you or please come back. Nope, not...

I have been here many times because I have relatives who like it, but the food here is not good. I have had the pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, and meatball sub, and only the spaghetti is decent (but still unimpressive.) The pizza has had a loyal following for many decades, and they still seem to do a huge carry-out business. I do not know why. It is edible, but it is some of the worst pizza I have had anywhere...the dough, sauce, and cheese are all very subpar. It may be cliche, but it really is comparable to a Chef Boyardee pizza. The "famous" BBQ pizza is not good either, a mound of wet pork on top of pizza.

The meatball sub was atrocious: flavorless bread, bland and dry meatballs that tasted more like filler ingredients, the flattest tomato sauce I have ever had, and NO CHEESE. The lasagna had noodles that were part-wet/overcooked, part-hard/undercooked, ground beef and Italian sausage (which I hate because of the fennel and anise), the same bad tomato sauce, and NO CHEESE. Just awful.

The weekday lunch special (mini pizza, spaghetti or lasagna, plus salad and drink) was nonetheless a good value for many years, but now it costs $14 after tax and tip. I give the restaurant 2 stars only because it is one of the few remaining restaurants with an older/nostalgic decor (looking unchanged since the 1960s) and because it is admirable that they have remained so many years in such a run-down...

WOW, how is this place still in business?? I went there a couple times before (because of the Elvis connection, he ate there before) and this last time I visited, just last week, will be the last time I ever step foot in that place. I do not understand how the board of health or fire department has not shut this place down yet. The waitress tried to take my order 5 seconds after she set the menu down...give me a chance to make a decision! Then I ordered a 6" personal pizza with only 2 toppings and they managed to screw that up. They put on 4 toppings, 2 of which I would never eat and had to pick off. I was not offered any kind of discount for that either. We sat in the "Elvis Room." Let me tell you, as a fan, this place should be condemned. How dare you disrespect him by leaving his photos up on your wavy, fake wood paneling that has obviously been water damaged. All the photos have water stains on them. And then it got worse....half way through lunch I looked down next to the table and saw what used to be an outlet. USED TO BE, I can NOT believe this is in a place where people dine. If the fire dept saw it they would probably shut this place down, and they should. If this kind of thing is visible to the public eye, what must the back areas such as the kitchen look like!? this place is a complete DUMP. It should be shut down, and the food is...