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Provino's Italian Restaurant
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Provino's Italian Restaurant
18 reviews in English
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Review from Leonard M.
Hixson, TN
12/8/2011
An extremely good restaurant. The salad and the rolls that are served before your entrees arrive make this a fantastic deal, though it is one of the more expensive places my wife and I go to. Both the salad and the rolls are of a high quality. My wife and I usually get Cannelloni En Bianco and if you want an extremely cheesy dish with hints of nutmeg this dish is a good bet. I have ordered Lasagna with Sausages and Eggplant Parmigiana before as well and those are good dishes also. Try a little garlic butter from the rolls in the Angel Hair Dalvina. Take a little Angel Hair Dalvina home with you and eat it the next day. It seems like the flavors are better in this dish the next day.
There are a few things that could make this restaurant better. First off they need tri-pepper blend on the table in graters. Secondly, sometimes I find that I need to ask for an extra bowl of sauce for the rolls when the garlic sauce tastes more oily than buttery. Recently I've noticed that the sauce is trending all of the way back towards buttery and I have subsequently been more satisfied with my dining out experience at Provino's Italian Restaurant, which in turn makes me want to come back and eat here more often.
Provinos is my #2 favorite restaurant. -
Review from Candace H.
Spring City, TN
1/21/2012
Heard good things from a co-worker so I took my daughter out last weekend and wanted to surprise her with a new Italian place. Well, this is NOT the place!!! Rolls are actually good though they are swimming in oil....salad is disgusting with beans, beets and who knows what else, its so dark in this place, which is probably best so you don's have to see what you are eating.
So, 30 minutes later we finally get our food, it was mediocre to say the least. Then another 23 minutes to FINALLY get our bill paid from the waiter who could care less if we ever got anything, no refills offered on drinks until we got our bill, which by the way was almost 36.00, that is the first and last money this place will get from me. period. -
Review from Michelle D.
Apopka, FL
12/26/2011
Always awesome. Even with large parties.
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Review from Mindy F.
Seattle, WA
11/30/2010
My parents used to go here a lot when I was a kid, so it's a kind of comfort food at this point. Twenty-plus years later, the salad & rolls are exactly like I remember, and the reason it's worth coming here.
The entrées, much as I remember, are unremarkable. I got the eggplant parmesan, which was ok, edible. It comes with a side of spaghetti, which was a bit overcooked & topped with a very bland tomato product they called marinara. No fresh parmesan or pepper here.
The service was good, two friendly guys taking orders, bringing food & keeping beverages filled.
If you're looking for a transcendent Italian experience, you'll have to go elsewhere. If you want a predictable pseudo-Italian very full belly, head to the strip mall. -
Review from Duana M.
Coral Springs, FL
6/14/2011
I was just here for dinner and I can say that this place is just okay. I had the Penne Pasta Primavera. I wasn't all that impressed. The garlic rools were also just "okay" but keep in mind the garlic and butter sink to the bottom of the bowl.
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Review from Dawn P.
Chattanooga, TN
11/1/2010
Being an Italian New Yorker that moved to the south, I was on a hunt for a "true" Italian restaurant when I moved here. Provino's is okay, at best. I've heard if you go on your birthday with a paying partner, your meal if free. I don't know if that would make me go back. I've been there twice, as I always give a restaurant two shots. The second time was worse than the first.
The unlimited salad and garlic knots are the only reason I gave it 3 stars, instead of 2.
The restaurant ambiance is dark , which is good, so you don't see too much. The wait staff I felt was slow and could care less.
The salad is unlimited and comes in a wooden bowl, which was cracked. The dressing is good, but they tend to be heavy handed with it. They also have unlimited garlic knots and they also come in a wooden bowl and a ton of garlic and oil over them. (BTW, you will need a ton of napkins!).
The Entree's are where this restaurant lacks. The prices are hefty, with the average pasta entree averaging $12. I got the Cannelloni El Blanco the first time and you got two small Cannelloni smothered in mozarella. They were blah, at best. My DH got the Chicken Marsala and barely touched it. We opted out of the dessert and left.
My second visit was worse than the first. The food is okay, but the staff and ambiance just doesn't cut it for me.
They say the third time's a charm, but I won't waste my money. If it's your birthday and you want a free meal, go for it. -
Review from Carol H.
Anacortes, WA
4/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
OK, I'm an Italian New Yorker, too. We were driving to Atlanta and stopped for dinner here. We should've gone to Micky Dee's.
One star for thinking they serve Italian food.
I ordered the Pasta Lovers Special. Silly me, I assumed the four pastas would be served separately on a plate, with different sauces. Instead it's penne, farfalle, ziti and rotini (all overcooked) dumped into a pasta dish with a horrible red meat sauce, one awful meatball, one tasteless Italian sausage and a can of sliced mushrooms on top. Bleh! The DH ordered stuffed chicken breast. It was two breaded patties, straight from the institutional food supply company, with a layer of horrible creamed spinach between them, all smothered with too much foul cheese.
A total waste of money. -
Review from Sanya E. Z.
Cleveland, TN
4/6/2007
We went here for my birthday this year. Birthdays are free BTW! Salads are great, garlic rolls are great. I got a pasta with a white sauce it was good as well. By the time I got to eat it I was so full from the salad and bread I had to take mine home. Plus I got a birthday ice cream desert, yummy.
This is a great place to go on a date. Cozy and dark. -
Review from Melissa B.
Seattle, WA
8/14/2011
This restaurant was highly recommended to us by several people in Chattanooga. I was visiting with a friend and we were staying in town for the weekend. We were told it was very authentic Italian food and if you are going for Italian food you have to go to provino's. This restaurant is in a run down strip mall, but we realized that many great restaurants are located in similar spaces so we were not deterred. When you walk in there is still a possibility that the older restaurant could be good. The decor is old world for sure. I ordered 2 glasses of the house chianti at 5.25 each and it was flat and watery. Next we were seated and received decent service...our waiter was not Mr. Personality but was nice enough. The salad was limp and not spectacular needed chilling or a cool plate! The rolls were awesome though....small puffy and garlicky with a load of butter. Yum. We both ordered spaghetti and meatballs thinking that it would be a sure bet...the bottom line is all their food is pre made and there is nothing authentic about it. Our tiramisu was half frozen when we got it home and it had what I know is canned whipped creme on it.....again not authentic at all. While we were not repulsed we were disappointed as this was not good authentic Italian food. Sorry to all the locals who come here and think it's good. The free birthday meal is something good for family fun I'm sure. So many people said the same things here but we didn't listen as we've seen so many bogus reviews....listen to this one, trust me and go to Tony's!
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Review from Michael C.
Rossville, GA
4/18/2011
If I could give it less than 1 star I would. We thought it would be nice to try something different, so we went to Provino's. Service was slow. I ordered the tour of Italy, when I received my meal I got a plate of spaghetti and another plate with a lot of sauce and cheese on it. I was not sure what the second plate was and I was kind of waiting for the rest to come out soon- as it was 4 total items. I took a bite off the plate and realized that it was lasagna, manicotti, and chicken all absolutely covered in the same sauce, it just looked like a giant bowl of sauce. I honestly felt like I was eating actual slop.
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Review from Bethany W.
Chattanooga, TN
7/2/2009
Not sure why so many people like this place so much. The only plus (if you're super thrifty): you get a free meal on your birthday. It was great when I was in college and broke all the time.
Nothing special about this place, neither food nor service nor location. If you're the type of person that just wants a cheap meal and are not so concerned with really great, interesting food, this is the place for you. It's just another Americanized mediocre "Italian" restaurant. -
Review from Wendi H.
Kennesaw, GA
6/28/2010
Had Provino's for the first time. Great marinara...thick and rich....I just got the spaghetti with marinara and mushrooms and it was very satisfying. Of course, you can't go wrong with the rolls.....sinful, but delicious! We have one right down the street from us in Kennesaw, but have never been....we plan on changing that very soon.
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Review from LG F.
Chattanooga, TN
11/26/2009
You have a birthday in Chattanooga and everyone tells you to go to Provino's for your birthday dinner. Show your license and your meals free on your special day... but that's where the good part of Provino's ends.
Atmosphere: A little confused. The restaurant is in a strip mall off the highway. Inside it's dark with clutter all over the walls. The place was super busy - we had to wait over an hour to get a seat.
Food: Salad was ok. Garlic rolls were borderline good. Pasta was not good at all. I usually eat pretty healthy but thought I'd splurge on my birthday - ordered the Fettucine Alfredo with Grilled Chicken. The fettucine was soggy - like it had been sitting in a pot of water all day, the sauce was bland.
I will never go back there again. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone either. -
Review from Le W.
LaFayette, GA
8/14/2010
Food was ok. Had better at other resturaunts. Service wa very good they replaced something that was ordered that we didn't like.
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Review from Joshua C.
Chattanooga, TN
7/18/2007
Probably my fav local italian place. A must visit for the free bday meals. Salad and rolls are too delicious to describe, save room for the regular meal or you'll be getting a to-go box. I usually order the italian combo and I would highly recommend it. Overall, the place has a great atmosphere with both intimate dining and a bigger room or two for groups.
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Review from Vanessa G.
Milwaukee, WI
7/16/2008
Provino's is a great place to go to with your family, because the food is standard, inexpensive Italian American. Everybody will be able to find something within budget and tasty. Also, it is a wonderful place for kids. My five year old son loves the garlic rolls, salad, and spaghetti. There is usually a wait, it is a popular restaurant. A nice, cozy, casual place to go for dinner. Service is good! I have to say, my sister got chicken Alfredo here, and it was completely inedible. My mom and I both tried a bite, and agreed it was really disgusting. Who messes up chicken Alfredo???!!! Anyway, the waitress was nice about the complaint, and of course didn't charge us for it. That is the only thing I have tasted that was bad. If you are looking for an Olive Garden type of experience/price range, but want to support local businesses, go to Provino's!
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Review from Dan B.
3/16/2009
I was very pleasantly surprised with Provino's. The food is fairly priced, and you get quality Italian food and great service. I coincidentally came here on my birthday and it turns out they have a policy to give you a completely free meal on your birthday! That really made my day. (I know, it doesn't take much to get me psyched). I'll start from the top: the salad. I wasn't too impressed with it. I can see how others would like it, but I personally don't like beets or mushrooms too much. The garbanzos were good. The rolls were fabulous. They were those typical garlicy dreams that you'll get at any good Italian restaurant. The chicken parmigiana was special. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was something about the taste of the marinara combined with the quality of the chicken that just made it better than most. The Daniella fettucine kinda reminded me of a carbonara dish. Except, their use of the bacon was perfect. The bacon was delicate. The alfredo sauce was thick and delicious. For your birthday, they give you a spumoni ice cream which was really good. Overall, it was a great experience.
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Review from Tommy K.
Lenoir, NC
5/19/2007
Best Italian place in Chattanooga, hands down. The food there is pretty good, but I mainly go for the salad and rolls (yes, they are that good!) By the time the main dish comes out I'm full. That's what having unlimited (great) salad and rolls will do to a person. A quite, romantic atmosphere doesn't hurt either. You should normally plan right at an hour to eat here, and parking is not a problem because it's right next to a theater (dinner and a movie anyone?)
