Nelly's Italian Cafe & Pizza — Restaurant in Spring Hill

As a Google master reviewer, I hate doing reviews like this but there's nothing positive about my experience with Nelly's. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was how dirty the restaurant was. Every table was dirty and the few employees standing around seemed oblivious to the fact. The high school age kid putting the pizza slices in the oven did not even make eye contact with me when he mumbled "What can I get you?" When I told him what I'd like, he did not respond and continued to make pizza. It took about 30 seconds before he looked up and I was able to place an order.

I noticed a few employees not wearing anything to cover their hair and how they were throwing cup lids like frisbees at each other. One kid was smacking gum while leaning over the food line. Against my better judgment, I proceeded to purchase the food for my daughter and I. It didn't take long before the pizza came out. We had to personally clean the table off from all of the crumbs and debris ourselves while some of the other employees watched me do it without a care in the world. I began eating the double crust pizza and noticed how much grease was on the pizza. Not that big of a deal, it's pizza but combined with the very cheap taste of the rest of it, it was kind of off-putting.

I took a bite of my daughter's cheese pizza slice and realized the food here doesn't taste very good. As I was drinking my Sprite I noticed a few black specs floating in my drink. I brought it up to the girl at the register and she said she would give me another cup. I told her I did not want another cup because it's probably from the ice machine having mold in it. She then took a cup and poured ice into it from the machine, looked at me and said there's nothing in the ice machine. I politely said okay, cleaned my table and left. A woman who I believe to have been the manager was sitting two tables down listening to the entire interaction. Not even an apology for the dirty restaurant, the bad food, or the dirty drink. If there is a general manager that reads this and cares, I was there Thursday May 11th between 2:30pm and 3:00 p.m.

I understand that mistakes are made and you can't make employees do everything they're supposed to do all the time. That's not what turns me off about this business. It's the lack of consideration for the customer that shows me exactly everything I need to know about...

I hesitate to write this review. Spring Hill only seems to have two Italian restaurants, Nelly’s and Olive Garden. By writing this review it would only send more business to Olive Garden. Olive Garden is about as close to Authentic Italian food as McDonalds is to being a steak house.

We ordered Chicken Parmigiana and Fettuccine Alfredo with chicken. The Chicken Parm was some kind of premade chicken patty floating in a pool of liquid. The sauce was not good for Chicken Parm, I am guessing it’s the same sauce they used on their pizzas. Fettuccine Alfredo should have a nice creamy white sauce, what we got was not even close. There was very little sauce and it was not creamy. The chicken that came with the Fettuccine was supposed to be grills. It looked more like they boiled it. I would imagine that it was a frozen piece of chicken that was microwaved. It was rubbery and tough. After a few bites we had to push the dishes away because they were not eatable.

The only reason I gave this place two stars was for the fried Zucchini, which was super and the owner, he did refund the cost of our meal, without us complaining. The owner claimed that the meal were just not prepared properly. Yet he came out of the kitchen to check on us. So who was preparing the meal? The kitchen was not so big that he could not see what was happening.

The owner claimed that he owned another pizza place; maybe he should just stick to pizza. He may have the best pizzas. But it will be a while before I will give this place...

Update: We have eaten at Nelly's numerous times since my original review in 2019, Nelly's is still one of our go-to restaurants in Spring Hill. We love their Strombolis and the Spaghetti and Meatballs. Their pizza is also top notch. Last time we were there, they were very busy, but service was quick. We had a Stomboli and a Caprese Salad and took home two Cannolis. The Stromboli is large enough to share and is delicious. Nelly's has always been consistently good. We will definitely be back often.

I have only eaten at Nelly's twice, but I am new to Spring Hill, and I will certainly eat there often. My wife and I love Calzones and Strombolis. We have eaten both at Nelly's, and they were both as good as I ever had. The crust for the Stomboli was flaky, and perfectly brown. The fillings (sausage, green peppers, onions) were delicious. I am an Italian sausage lover, and I know good sausage when I eat it. Nelly's Italian sausage is excellent. Nowadays it is hard to find good Italian sausage with enough fennel to give it that iconic taste. The other aspect of an enjoyable dining experience is the kitchen and dining staff. Everyone working at Nelly's both times we ate there were very friendly and attentive. Our server Jessica was absolutely a delight. She was very friendly, attentive and spent time engaging us in conversation. I thought she was Nelly, because she conveyed the feeling of ownership in her personality and service. Nelly's is fortunate to have a Jessica on staff. (And no, I'm not...