Gavino's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant (Bearden)

Enjoyed a traditional Neapolitan pizza, wings, and cannolis. Better than most for a traditional hand tossed. Austee was a good server with good balance of giving us space to enjoy our food and attentive to what we needed. Was told everything is fresh handmade in-house and I would have to say I would agree. The pizza had a good base with very little flop not too much cheese and just a touch of sweetness in the sauce.

Delicious! Favorite spot when I visit my friend. Makes my mouth water just thinking about going there. Staff is excellent! The only thing I will say is it’s a bit pricey. The picture is $28.

Ugh, never thought I would have to write and give my favorite Knox pizza joint a 1 star, but here we are. The manager Jaclyn has a major attitude problem. Our order was completely screwed up and rather than apologizing and making it right, the manager made excuses and explained that it wasn’t their fault our order was incorrect. Our chicken Alfredo had 0 chicken in it, and there a tiny amount of noodles in it. Have ordered this dish 100’s of times and have a pretty good idea of the expectation. Jaclyn, however, explained that they pre-weigh their noodles so that wasn’t possible. Guess we’re crazy. She also said we weren’t charged for the chicken and just charged for Alfredo, but after looking at the receipt, we were. The food is amazing and we will continue to come, but just very disappointed in the way the manager handled the situation. It really wasn’t a big deal, but the managers lack of empathy and reasoning lead me to leave this.

Everything was AWESOME! We ordered Garlic Cheese Bread, Salad, Margarita Pizza, Manicotti, Cannolis and Amaretto Cheesecake! Everything was excellent! Emma was our waitress and she was GREAT! She made several suggestions that we appreciated and were glad we took. Emma was very professional and personable! She is definitely an asset to her employer and a blessing to the customers. We will be back to try more items from the menu. Thanks Emma! You’re great!

This is the best NY style pizza in Knoxville and the best Grandma's style pizza in Knoxville. Service is usually always good, sometimes a little slow but nothing to really complain about. The pasta dishes are pretty good but we almost always order pizza and some salad. Parking can be a little difficult because there is only 1 handicap spot and we have someone who uses a walker.

Most delicious pizza I have found in all of east TN and I have been to several. This is the type of pizza slices like you find in some of the best spots in NY, NJ, and CT. I am so glad I found this place and very nice and attentive staff with a cozy Italian style atmosphere. Love it, keep it up Gavino’s.

Recently had dinner there while visiting family. There were 7 of us and had one of their large pizzas, several pasta dishes and caesar salad. All very good! Service was very friendly. Would definitely go back!

Place really caught me off guard! The food was fantastic! Price is reasonable, service is great! I can't say nothing bad about this place! Highly recommend.

The Sicilian pizza was fabulous. Would highly recommend!! Best pizza around, give them a try you won't be disappointed!

Enjoyed a traditional Neapolitan pizza, wings, and cannolis. Better than most for a traditional hand tossed. Austee was a good server with good balance of giving us space to enjoy our food and attentive to what we needed. Was told everything is fresh handmade in-house and I would have to say I would agree. The pizza had a good base with very little flop not too much cheese and just a touch of sweetness in the sauce.

I'm a pizza nerd! The service is was great! Nice chill place. I have a rule as pizza nerd. I get pepperoni mushrooms and sausage. If you can't make a PMS great I know how you make your pizza. Gavino's hit all the marks! 1. Brick oven 2. It takes more than ten minutes to bake. It's not microwave pizza! 3. Fresh toppings. 4.Great staff. 5. You can tell they care about their product, they display it at the entrance. 5 stars 5 reasons!

Our server, Tate, treated us attentively as my spouse and I and our 2 friends dined recently at Gavino's. I must say the best part of the meal was the amazingly delicious, creamy and rich cheesecake -- the best we've tasted in a long while. Our friends seemed pleased with the good-sized salads they ordered: Greek and Caesar. Then, filled with yummy, gooey cheese, soft, ribbed noodles and well-seasoned sauce, my lasagna arrived piping hot. Yes! What put me off was the small amount of ??? meat. Instead of traditional ground beef and sausage, it was filled with a small amount of thinly sliced sausage/pepperoni/salami - I didn't know exactly which. It slightly disrupted my lasagna experience. The pepperoni pizza our friends ordered disappointed them a bit as it arrived on the greasy side, and they only could eat one slice a piece. Yet, my spouse quite enjoyed his shrimp and scallop entree. Delicious, he said, although it was rich and he couldn't finish his plate nor the side of garlic knots. While the restaurant didn't offer an intimate dining experience, we felt like we enjoyed our meal in an Italian atmosphere with its checkered tablecloth. The only thing missing on our table was an empty Chianti bottle dripping with the multi-colored wax from melting candles.

Probably my new favorite pizza place in Knoxville. I haven't been everywhere to compare to several places but everything you could ever want in a Neapolitan style pizza, I was able to get here. We ordered The Original Special and added banana peppers and were blown away. It was perfectly cooked and the crust had a nice crisp to it. Even as leftover pizza, it still hit just right the next day. I was a bit let down by the "Famous Garlic Knots." They weren't really garlic knots, rather, garlic dinner rolls. Ours were also slightly over cooked and I didn't get as much garlic flavors pulling through. I think I've had better from almost any other place around the area. The inside is small, but has a fair amount of seating given the space. The bar, which we didn't realize they had is kind of in the far back corner and hidden. They do have a separate spot for picking up take out orders. Parking is a bit difficult if it's full. You have to drive around the building and park above at the Goodwill and then take stairs back down to the building. There's one sign but it's hard to see as you're driving and trying to figure out the situation. Service was pretty on par, nothing over the top, did a good job of making sure we had enough to drink. I would return to get another pizza and try some of their pasta dishes. Each one I saw coming out of the kitchen looked amazing.

Great pizza! Love the Chicago style. We love to stop by anytime we're in the area. Cant wait to try more.

The pizza was exactly what I had hoped it would be and delicious, reminding me of the pizza slices in NY, NJ, and CT. Wonderful atmosphere and the best pizza I have found thus far in east TN and I have been to many.

Love, Love, Love this pizza! For me, it's the closest thing in Knoxville to Long Island Pizza. It's pretty close.

Very very good!! The cannolis were warm and freshly filled, because the cream was still cold

This place is farntastix the food is awesome the service is great the ambiance is typical Italia. Restaurant. All the pasta sauces are fantastic and home Made it is by far my favorite Italian place in Knoxville the vodka pasta is great the lasagna is so good the cheese bread was huge and dilicious! We will be coming back for More!

By far the best pizza in Knoxville! We got a margarita pizza and garlic knots, it was so yummy! My husband is from NY and he loved it! Definitely a NY pizza in Tennessee! The service was incredible, the staff was so kind and attentive! It is a gorgeous restaurant, the inside is very inviting! My family highly recommends! I recommend if you're ordering your food to-go to order it about 40 minutes in advance, you can't rush perfection; it's definitely worth the wait!

I hate there hours, but they are great. We love New York pizza and this is the best. Monday and Tuesday they are closed.

Food is alway delicious The service is a little slow though and the alcoholic drinks are too expensive. Their Greek salad is delicious

Stopped into here tonight at 8:40 on a Saturday night just for a quick meal. Sign on door says open till 10pm. Well I'm here an hour and 20 minutes before that so should be good. People eating inside. Then I walk in and they tell me the kitchen is closed. Bravos it is from now on. The other Gavinos at Turkey Creek was crossed off my list a while ago with their bad service. Why not lock the door, change your sign or even work till closing time?

The service was great. The ambience was nice but the meatball sandwich was good compared to all the other Italian restaurants, especially like black olives sandwich. They're not as good as my wife's homemade, but she uses very little breadcrumbs, Italian sausage, mixed with the ground beef for the meatballs so as far as a Italian restaurant, they were very good and the portion was huge. I could only eat half of it. One more important thing the preparation of the sandwich was perfect. The meatballs were placed on the roll topped with cheese baked in the pizza oven untill the cheese was melted, and the role was crispy brown. After writing this review, I'm in the mood for another one.

Update: same delicious pizza. Best any where! Don't order the cannolis to go. Filling was only at the ends. No filling in the middle of them. Two were in that condition. Disappointing.

Excellent pizza and the garlic knots...oh my! The crust just melts in your mouth. I seriously don't know how they make their dough so amazing.

Wow what a great find! Took my daughter to an eye doctor appointment in Knoxville and looked up Italian nearby. What a delightful experience. White pizza is my favorite with Ricotta, broccoli and spinach with garlic. They didn't have broccoli but they had white pizza on the menu and I added spinach. I took it To-Go and it was delicious! And HUGE! 18"! I froze some slices to reheat in oven or air fryer for lunch. So GOOD! The Penne Alla Vodka pasta was amazing and plenty! My daughter even loved it and she is a tough critic. She got the buttered noodles kids meal for $6.99 and it came with a drink and focaccia. It was a big portion and she said it was really tasty. We also ordered the garlic rolls and believe me they are WORTH it! So good! I asked for a side of balsamic and the server brought the olive oil seasoned with Italian seasonings and balsamic like you find in some Italian restaurants. It was the perfect blend. Of course I had to do it. I had to order the cannoli's for me and the hubby. I made sure they were made fresh. Nothing worse than a soggy cannoli shell. Yuck! The cannoli shell At Gavinos was crunchy and tasty and the sweet filling went all the way through unlike another reviewers experience. Sometimes people make mistakes and I would've said something had the filling not gone all the way through. We WILL drive from Sevierville to eat again!

By far the best place to eat in Knoxville. Their pizza, salads garlic bread are all awesome and taste like authentic Italian food. Service was great, atmosphere was also very relaxing and traditional. This is the place you want to go when you want some real Italian.

Delicious. Period. Cassie was a delight. Prompt, respectful, great spirit, wonderful eyes (she had a mask on; I'm sure her smile is great, too). She asked us some COVID-related questions before seating us. Everyone is socially distanced. Staff wears masks. Our order: fried mushrooms, bruschetta, and grandma's pizza. The ONLY thing that could have been better were the mushrooms. They were a bit bland to me, but still good. The ranch it comes with is good. The bruschetta is very garlicky, aka delicious. I'm a garlic lover, so it was amazing. They really know pizza here. Crust was tender and crispy on the edges; the bottom was caramelized perfectly. That garlic-herbed chunky tomato sauce?? Woo! My Lord. I was skeptical about having eggplant on my pizza since it can be thick and mushy, but it's almost like they shave their eggplant. It was thin, crispy pieces (but not breaded & fried). So so good. I shall return!

I grew up in Chicago and cringe when people talk about "good pizza" around here. I earned my first dollar making pizza, I know it in my soul, and can say there isn't a legitimately good pizza place in this state or any state touching it. I'll fight anyone on that. That said, this is one of the consistently decent pizza places we've found in the area, if you get the thicker crust (Grandma or Sicilian). We've visited in house and ordered to go and it's always the same. Doesn't hit the way it does at home, but it's become my go-to considering the pizza desert that exists here. We've tried every other "amazing" pizza place and it's hit or miss- good if you eat in but bad if you get it to go, sometimes good depending on who's in the kitchen, or just not good all the time but y'all don't know better yet. Until I decide to quit my day job and open my own joint, this is my spot. Only giving 3 stars because the thin crust is too dry and they aren't generous with the toppings. Each add-on topping is ridiculously expensive and they lay it in light.

This is a hidden gem on Kingston Pike! I went there on a snowy day last week for some good Italian food & was not disappointed. The salad, pizzas, and garlic knots were amazing!!!! Also, cannolis are not on their printed menu but you HAVE to get some on your way out! The only thing from it being 5 stars is the atmosphere was a big down beat and they didn't turn the heat on, during a snow day! However, I will be back for more!

Discovered Gavino's when we moved into a neighborhood within walking distance, and now it is one of our regular weeknight favorites. Prices are reasonable, and the pizza is yummy and not your typical Americanized fare. We've never dined inside, but the takeout process is quick and easy.

My wife and I ate at Gavino's tonight for the first time. Ordered the calamari, Greek salad and the spaghetti and meatballs. Food tasted fine, in fact. Tasty even. Our server was Tate. Tate took our order and then proceeded to disappear for 45 minutes, only reappearing to remove our plates once we finished. He never refilled our drinks, never asked if everything was going well with the meal, never checked on us at all. No, not once. On the way home my wife and I were overcome with a dangerous urge to shit our brains out. We arrived home and literally scrambled, clinching cheeks, pushing and shoving one other out each other's beeline path to get to the bathrooms where we proceeded to shit 4 times each in under 20 minutes. All dastardly watery splatters. Sorry for the descriptive nature of this review. Look, if I wanted indifferent, disinterested service and instant diarrhea, I could've gone to Fazoli's for half the price. Sorry, not worth the overall weight loss this place provided tonight. Never again.

We tried this place on a whim for lunch after hearing great things about it. We were so happy with our decision to come here! They have a great lunch menu and it is a very chill atmosphere. This food was so great and priced super well, too! Highly recommend Gavino's!!

We ordered salads and a Neapolitan pizza. We enjoyed both. Definitely doesn't cure my hankering for a true NY Pizza. The service was ok and the ambiance was exactly what we were looking for in a Pizzeria. EXCEPT for the music - being that all of the patrons in there were over 50, they may want to consider something other than punk/metal or whatever that was LOL

Definition of a small business. Every time I go in it is the same people and they are so nice! The food is so good and I love how for lunch you can chose the lunch or dinner portion depending on how hungry you are. I normally get the lunch portion Alfredo to goand it is so good!

It sad, when we first found Gavinos it was the turkey creek location which we loved, however they kept closing, first closed for vacation then for lack of staff the. For illness, then it just closed for good. So this week we decided to go to the other location, and wouldn't you know it, it's closed for vacation. This is by far the best pizza in town but I never seem to be able to get any. Hopefully they open back up soon. I would also like to see them offer gluten free pasta like the turkey creek location did as one of my kids is gluten intolerant. She enjoyed the pasta at the other location.

Just tried the "Famous Garlic Knots" with my S/O. They were pretty good; got cold fast. A little messy, but messy is fun!

Great pizza compared to the rest of Knoxville. The Sicilian is not quite like a Long Island Sicilian, but it's still a pretty good pan pie. The round pie is pretty good too. I think they under cook the pies to a lighter color so if you like a darker crust you need to ask. The pasta plates looked pretty good that came out around us. The meatballs aren't very good. I was told they are all beef. They sit in a "broth" until served. They taste funny to me. A cross of slightly soggy and a flavor I can't describe. Avoid the meatballs and you can't go wrong here. Staff is very nice.

As a New Yorker, this is the closest you can get to good pizza in Knoxville! ALWAYS order the garlic knots!!

Took my kids to the zoo and wanted to get pizza after. I went through tons of reviews and ended up ordering here. I thought it was take-out only (must've confused it with another one) so I was pleasantly surprised when we walked in and saw we could sit and eat. The host told me to go to the take-out counter and he'd take care of me. Unfortunately I was told we couldn't sit and eat because we ordered ahead. I, looking at 9 clean, open tables, and a huge party already cashed out, was pretty confused. His reasoning was that they had to leave the open tables for walk-ins. So instead of one of his co-workers getting a tip for doing next to nothing, and pleasing a new customer, we had to sit in our car outside watching only people get take-out the entire time we were there. As a life-long food industry worker, none of this makes sense.

We stopped at Gavino's after a chilly morning at Zoo Knoxville (check it out!). My kids were begging for a hot pizza. Gavino's hit the spot! We placed an order to go and waited 20 minutes in the car, as we aren't yet dining it at restaurants due to COVID. We ordered a large cheese pizza, garlic knots, and mozzarella sticks. Both the knots and sticks were great- hot and tasty, but the pizza was our favorite. The large was massive- 8 huge slices. My kids are pizza snobs and very picky about the quality/taste of sauce. Both kids devoured their pizza, asking for more within minutes & raved about how delicious the pizza was. One kiddo normally throws out the crust, but he loved Gavino's. My husband and I were also very impressed. As for COVID precautions, all employees had on masks (including those in the kitchen). They do offer dine-in service & at 2pm on a Saturday they had about half of the restaurant occupied. I felt safe ordering inside, as the to-go area is on the opposite side of the restaurant from dine-in tables.

My wife and I came here on a (surprisingly) calm Saturday night. We dined at the Parkside location on a Saturday night and it was VERY busy. Our bartender provided outstanding service, and explained that usually there's a wait list at this location on Saturday. However, they were doing a steady take-out business. We liked sitting on a high top table in the bar. It's a small, intimate (and this night, quiet) atmosphere. We shared a side Caesar salad, which was plenty big for two. My wife enjoyed her Margarita so much, she had another! I liked my Italian Red Sangria. She had the manicotti, and I had the tortellini. Each meal is enough for one big appetite, or to take home for another time. It's served with wonderfully delicious foccia bread. The meal was very tasty and satisfying. It's solid bet for Italian food, wether you're on the East or West side of Knoxville.

Fantastic NY style pizza!! Best I've had in Knoxville. Fantastic NY style pizza!! Best I've had in Knoxville.

Pretty good pizza compared to the rest of the area. The dough is a solid 7 out of 10. Sauce, cheese, and toppings a 9 out of 10. They do a light, Under baked floppy pie. You need to ask to get a darker bottom with a slight crisp. Even then you might not get it. The balance of sauce to dough and toppings is perfect but toppings price point is high. Onions for example at $3.79 is probably out of line. Meatballs are average, won't blow your socks off. If this pizza was in New Haven, CT it wouldn't cut the mustard. It's not really a NY pie either, but close. Oven isn't hot enough and the slice is small. Compared to Knoxville? Solid option. The place was full Sat at 7:30pm which means plenty of people like the place. Pizza came out pretty quickly. Their pie does really well reheated in a toaster oven the next day.

Very good pizza for Knoxville. Having said that, Knoxville isn't a great city for food. We had a Margherita neopolitan pizza, and it was decent. I found it strange that it didn't have basil on it since that's a standard part of a Margherita. Also, the dough was too dry to be neopolitan - it didn't give it the right texture. It was much more like a NY pizza - since NY style is apparently their goal, why not just call it NY style? Anyway, not bad overall, especially for Knoxville. The bruschetta was good but overpriced. Decent family feel to the place.

We went there because this was the only pizza place close to our church that was open before the Christmas Eve service. We'll be back because the staff was so welcoming and the slices were authentic NYC. Looking forward to trying more of their Italian dishes, too. Cozy, neighborhood restaurant feel even though it's tucked in a little strip mall right on Kingston Pike.

Great pizza! If you're a fan of NY style pizza then you'll love this place. We ordered two large Neapolitans for carry out and both were delicious! It's a bit pricey, but worth it! The total was around 50 bucks, but it was plenty of pizza to feed the six of us and we had leftovers. The staff here is very friendly and our pizza came out hot and fresh when we picked it up. If you're not into pizza, they also have pastas and sandwiches. I'd like to try one of those next time. 10/10 would recommended this place! I'll definitely visit again soon.

Soggy overpriced taste like cardboard pizza. Order with extra cheese and there was hardly any cheese in it. Large veggie pizza only had a few of each veggie and only 3 black olives on the whole thing. Yeah I won't be back ever

Honestly, I just loved to Knoxville and this is the most authentic NYC slice you can get! The way they slice their Italian sausage it's amazing, and the choice from grandma to grandpa all the way back to standard NyC, it is a true gem in a city where pizza isn't that great! Thank you Gavinos you have a customer for life.

Great food today!!! Great service as well! Have seen this place grow up in the past 6years to a magnificent restaurant! Service by Casy is tops!!!

Is this place ever open every time I go to Knoxville we want to go here because about six years ago when they used to be open every now and then we had a good meal but now every time we go to Knoxville they're closed why don't you just close forever and get it over already

The Perfect Pizza Gavino's Restaurant and Pizzeria My two son loves eating, real authentic Italian New York pizza. We didn't have to drive, to New York City to eat the best New York style pizza. Gavino's Restaurant and Pizzeria of Knoxville has the best Italian pizza. My two sons would order the Dad's pan pizza with pepperoni and chicken. The Italian garlic knots are bake fresh from scratch, and the parmesan cheese is so amazing. Beth at Gavino's Restaurant and Pizzeria at the Bearden location always make us feel welcome.

We have been getting To Go orders and their level of customer service is on point. Our orders have always been accurate and the front end staff is always a pleasure. We tip them well because we may not be sitting in for a meal but they prep our food as if we were. Some To Go's can be messy and with less attention to detail VS. a seated guest, not this crew, they hook you up! Next the Ricotta cheese is the smoothest I have ever tasted in my life. We are Italians from NJ( we know Ricotta)!! My boyfriend and I can eat JUST the RICOTTA out a tub from here. Every time we order the food is great and my new current obsession is the Shrimp Momma Mia & White cheese pizza. We preheat our oven and toast up the pizza or chicken Parms if we need bc of the drive home. Good Italian comfort food is not common and I am so happy we found them

I enjoyed the sandwich. It was ham and smoked provolone on an amazing toasted bun. And I have their cheese bread garlic cheese bread I should say and it was yummy as well. The staff was friendly. My order was quickly made and I will be going back.

Bang for the buck due to quantity and quality ingredients. Get the 5 topping special! You'd pay almost the same price for two toppings.

We have been eating here for years! Amazing pizza and delicious entrees. Their white pizza is the best! Always friendly and always delicious

Great casual Italian restaurant! Gavino's has the BEST bruschetta. It's worth going in just for that, but everything I've had here is good. The tomato cream sauce is to die for. The atmosphere is casual and cozy. The portions are so large that we always end up with enough leftover for another meal! The only reason for my 4 star review is their kids menu is overpriced, especially for what you get. It irks me to pay $7.99 for a small bowl of Alfredo noodles for my 3 yr old. We still love Gavino's though!