Matthew L.
Yelp
Tolli's Trattoria is an Italian restaurant that opened in Johns Island, South Carolina in September 2020. It was founded by husband and wife Anthony and Giuseppina Peluso. The roots of the restaurant go back to New Haven, Connecticut in the 1930s. In 1934, Antonio "Tony" Tolli opened his first New Haven-style pizzeria. He would go on to open multiple pizzerias in the area in the coming decades. In 1954, he opened Tolli's Apizza [pronounced ah-BEETS] in neighboring East Haven. Tolli's nephew Carmine Peluso began working there a few years later and in 1963 he took over the business. Carmine sadly passed away in 1979 when he was shot and killed by a masked robber. His son Anthony later took over the pizzeria. Years later, Anthony remodeled it and added a restaurant wing dubbed 'La Pergula'. In 2020, Anthony and his wife grew tired of Connecticut weather and decided to relocate to the Charleston area. Tolli's Apizza was sold to longtime employee Klever Macao. Anthony and Giuseppina opened a new restaurant where they could bring their pizza and authentic Italian fare to a new clientele.
My family and I visited Tolli's Trattoria this past summer while we were visiting family in town. Being native 'New Havenites', we were so happy to find authentic New Haven-style pizza in the Lowcountry. The menu consists of Italian entrees, pasta dishes, subs, salads, and various appetizers. However, we were just interested in getting pizza. We ordered and shared the "Mario" (caramelized red onion, goat cheese, pear slices, pistachio & honey, truffle oil drizzle) and the "Argentine" (white base, mozzarella, gulf shrimp, fresh garlic, fresh arugula, chopped tomatoes, shaved grana, lemon parmesan & EVOO). We also ordered a side of pasta with marinara for our younger son. The pizzas were absolutely delicious! They were 10" personal pizzas and a little smaller than what we are normally used to. We gobbled them up so quickly that we ordered a third: the "Calabrese" (fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, Italian soppressata, honey, chili flakes, pecorino & hot cherry peppers). To drink, I ordered the "Black Manhattan" (Knob Creek Rye, Averna Amaro, walnut bitters, orange zest). It was real smooth and washed down well. For dessert, we all shared some "Lemon Sorbet" and some "Vanilla Gelato". We all had a memorable lunch at Tolli's Trattoria and will definitely stop again on our next visit to Charleston!