Tenuta's Italian Restaurant Review

Nice place, very good Italian food, excellent service.

Brought my Mom in yesterday for Mother's day, and of course, it being Mother's day, it was packed. Our reservation ran late so they comp'd us with a free appetizer. While waiting at the bar we had drinks and the bartender was great my Dad and I really enjoyed our Bloody Mary's, they're outstanding. My mom loved her old fashioned (made from scratch, not a mix).

When we got our table and ordered, the food was fantastic! The service was also great, they were extra polite even though it wasn't their fault we had to wait so long.

First visit in 6 years. Better than I remembered. Had the made from scratch lasagna...has just enough tenderness not to fall apart but is easily eaten with a fork. Just enough cheese, flavorfully sausages, and a delicious sweet marinara sauce that is not acidic. We also had tirimisu. Lighter cream and cake layers than typical, but delicious none the less. Overall a great experience and we will be back soon.

I've only been here once but was a great experience and had great food!

Delicious appetizers, drinks and main entrees. Attentive wait staff. Street parking challenging. Nice atmosphere.

Lovely. Food fresh, simply prepared, delicious. Great bread. Steve our server excellent.

Very Authentic Italian food. Love the pizza! Wine selection is good also.

This is one my top 3 favorite places in Milwaukee. A warm and intimate neighborhood Italian restaurant with fantastic food and great service. A quality wine selection compliments a menu borne of Italian favorites presented with a modern twist.

A small dining room means you'll wait so plan for that but of course, the bar will keep you company in the meantime!

Very good food, romantic atmosphere. Would recommend the appetizer meatballs!

Great restaurant and bar. The pizza is great here and it's gourmet. Check it out and eat some great food!

Very nice.. well done plates.. knowledge server ... elegant feeling without the big prices..

Excellent service good pricing delicious food great atmosphere. Was our first time to Milwaukee and we enjoyed our meal here as a part of our stay.

Excellent food, tight quarters inside, bar is for food as well. Street parking only.

A great little spot, with a cozy atmosphere, the service was wonderful, the food was fantastic and we couldnt have been happier. I would recommend this place to everyone.

The best Italian food ever. Located in a neighborhood with on street parking. I m sorry I can t remember or pronounce the entrees we had but the meat sauce and pasta was obviously freshly made from scratch. We could see in the kitchen and that s exactly what was going on. Good service. Full bar with good selection of draft beers. Martini average. Great neighborhood restaurant. Even though we did not have pizza they looked fantastic. Con: very close seating. The tables are so close you could almost elbow the person in the table next.

Moved to Bayview just before COVID hit, and I'm happy I found these guys before the lockdown. I can only speak for their pizza and their takeout service. If you're looking for a pizza spot, this is it. A good true thin crust, square cut pizza. I would put this and Zaffiro's as the top 2 pizza spots in MKE. Every employee I've encountered has been incredibly friendly as well. Looking forward to having a dine-in meal soon!

Absolutely delicious! Took my wife for her birthday dinner and everything was perfect.

The food is great. The service is flawless. The atmosphere is very comforting. But, the portions are painfully small. The portion sizes are kids sizes at other Italian restaurants. I leave hungry when I order spaghetti and meatballs. Pasta cost a restaurant a dime, they should not skimp on pasta. two Spaghetti and meatball dinners "might" fill me up.

Great service, but even better Tiramisu!! We were visiting Milwaukee for the WMSE Chili Fest and when we left I was telling our group of people how great the tiramisu at Tenutas was.... But we looked up the restaurant and it didn't open til 4 (it was 3:30). I called to place the order for two carryout tiramisus and they were nice enough to open up the doors a bit early for us to pick em up!! 5-Star Service, 5-Star Tiramisu!!

Stuffed crust and thin crust pizzas were delicious. Reasonably priced, friendly waitstaff. Will be visiting again! Come hungry.

Extraordinary service, coupled with fantastic ambiance, made this a perfect evening. The food was superb!

Ive heard many good things about this restaurant and decided to take a date to this location. The first thing I noticed upon entering was limited space available. The ambience is nice and with few tables, makes for an intimated experience. We decided to split two items from the menu. The first, was the eggplant parmesan. The dish itself was a little underwhelming and we had both agreed that this was the wrong choice to make at this restaurant. The second item we chose was a small pizza. Now this is the main reason for the 5 stars. We ordered a deep dish with onions mushrooms green olives. Wow, what a great Pizza!!! The flavor, crust, cheese was on point. We came out very impressed with their Pizza and highly recommend ordering their Pizza offerings. We definitely will be coming back for their Pizza and look forward to trying their specialty pizzas.

Tenutas is a Bay View classic. Amazing homemade Italian food that never disappoints. Really cute cozy atmosphere inside with a few tables on the sidewalk. Love eating outside in the summer. Pasta, pizza, daily specials - so many favorites!

The food is great with a great selection. Always friendly and great service. Reasonably priced for what it is.

Anytime we venture into Milwaukee, we try and come here for a pizza. The virgin crust pizza is so tasty and we enjoy it for days after too. The other food options are good, just not as good as the pizza.

The very best, almost too good to share this hidden neighborhood spot with others.

Crispy, fresh crust and delicious topping combinations.

Excellent wine list, too. Definitely the go-to pizza spot in Bay view, don t waste your time anywhere else.

Want to have an amazing meal? Come here with people who love food. Order a martini to start (pictured are the basil, lemon and tiramisu martinis). Then for an appetizer, get a thin crust pizza (yes, as an appetizer). For your entree, pay attention to the specials, they re usually worth getting. But our regular choices are chicken piccata (garlicky), bolognese (our absolute favorite dish with the best homemade noodles in the world) or the calabrese pasta (spicy). *pro tip* If you get the bolognese, try to take some home. Then for breakfast the next day, warm up the bolognese and put an over-easy egg on it. You re welcome!

By far the best pizza in the area, maybe even southeastern Wisconsin. Perfect thin crust and just the right amount of toppings.

Authentic Italian food and atmosphere. My favorite is butternut squash ravioli and theirs is the BEST I've had! Awesome waitress too.

FOOD: Always amazing. You get a lot for your money. You always leave completely full. *If you are ordering the deep dish pizza, be prepared to wait 40+ minutes. Either call and order ahead, plan to have an appetizer, or be willing to wait. (It's totally worth it though)
STAFF: Friendly, Attentive, and Detail Oriented.
ATMOSPHERE: Being a foodie, I have to say the food is my favorite part, but the atmosphere is my second favorite. It's quaint, cozy, comfortable, and subtly romantic. The historical feel is maintained while convenience of minimal updates makes the space comfortable.
I honestly wouldn't change a thing. I highly recommend Tenuta's!

Hands down my favorite Italian restaurant in Milwaukee.

Nothing spectacular, crowded when busy, long wait for drinks and food

Every bite was amazing..... I had the Bistecca... It was so fresh and every bite was so flavorful... Sevice was great.... I can't wait to try the Scampi....

DELICIOUS food! Try the deep dish pizza!! You won't be disappointed. Cozy atmosphere. But it's busy on weekends. You should probably have a reservation.

Great selection of food and drinks. My pasta was amazing. Everyone else loved their food.

Great food. Amazing pizza. The mozzarella is dreamy.

Great wine, amazing food, nestled in a cute neighborhood.

I love tenutas, will regularly drive about 45 minutes to get there. You do have to make a reservation for any prime hours but the limited seating does make it a nice atmosphere. I generally go with the chicken parmesan but anything they have is great

Quiet restaurant with relaxing indoor and outdoor seating. Our waiter was excellent and attentive. The food, drinks, and desserts, were not only delicious but a decent price. An excellent place to go for a relaxing night out.

I've rarely had better food or service than what Tenuta's we were only Milwaukee for three dinners and two were here. Beautiful food, people, and atmosphere. I'll be back the next time we are in town!

Cozy atmosphere, great service, food was amazing, and a big selection of wines and bourbons.

We had excellent service (I think our server's name was Steve?) and the food was excellent. It was a lovely Valentine's Day dinner! Thank you!

The food, service, and atmosphere were excellent. It makes me happy to go there.

A charming and cozy find. Tenuta's is truly a gem with a wonderful atmosphere, fantastic food, and great staff. Absolutely perfect for a romantic date night. We will definitely be returning!

Food was great, I have a strong feeling the noodles are made in house. That texture was just out of this world. Wanted more calamari but I'm just a fan of the stuff. My ONLY thing is that our table was right behind the the door where they come in and out the kitchen. Just had servers too close to many times. But all in all I'd recommend it just to not be say at that particular table

Highly recommend making a reservation for this place, especially on a Friday night. My sister and I lucked out and were able to dine on the patio/sidewalk. We were happy to sit outside and take advantage of the weather while we can. The food here was absolutely delicious! We started with the meatballs and they were juicy, flavorful and had the perfect amount of sauce and melted cheese. I enjoyed scooping up the sauce with the focaccia.

Great food, great drinks, great staff.... Enough said!

This place is great! We were looking for a steak house to go to but couldn't find one that looked good so we settled for itallian. The best choice we could have made. The bartender was funny and got us our drinks very quickly even though the bar was completely full. We got seated within 15 minutes of getting there. (But we did call before we left the hotel). The waiter was great, going over all the stuff on the menu. The menu is small, but that didn't matter, the food was amazing. There is something to be said for, if you do something right you don't need a ton of options. We got the anipasto for an app and it came with 4 kinds of meat, 2 cheeses ( some of the freshest, mild blue I have had), pickled cucumber, olives and nuts. Very yummy. I got the carbonara, it was done perfectly. The cream sauce was light but so good and complimented the pancetta very well. The person I was with got the braised short ribs and mushroom risotto. The risotto was creamy and the mushrooms not overdone. The ribs were fall off the bone good. We ordered tiramisu for dessert and the waiter was nice enough to say that it hadn't had a chance to set yet so he recommended the cheesecake but would be happy to get the tiramisu if we wanted. We did not go wrong taking his advice. Overall it was a very good place that we never expected to go to and I am so glad we did. I recommend this place very much. It is definitely a diamond in the rough.

Cozy Italian restaurant tucked in a Milwaukee neighborhood. Excellent pizza.

Best Caesar salad. Each leaf coated with dressing. I had the mushroom ravioli. Sauce very rich, on the sweet side. 4 large pastas. I took one home. Desserts looked very good, but we passed this time. Old Sinatra and Dean Martin songs playing in the background. Come for classic Italian, and variations.

Enjoyed our first visit. Tasty food. We came really early so we didn't need reservations. We stopped on a whim on our way home.

Delicious and nice atmosphere. Smaller intimate space. Reservations are recommended.

((VERY BAD SERVICE)) Okay i want to start off by saying the service was horrible but the food was great. I went in their with my fiance and my two friends on aug 7th and had reservations for 7pm. Our server Cody definitely had a attitude problem. I asked him for recommendations on dinner and he did not want to explain to me about anything so i just went with the bistecca. When i got my entree he asked if we wanted cheese with an attitude in his voice and i said yes and he followed with of course in a smart tone not even having the cheese ready to go so he had to get it. I did enjoy my dinner besides the fact our waiter was horrible and made our very first visit not so great.

Everything you could ever want in a restaurant. A perfect place to take someone you truly care about. Eat here!

Excellent Italian food, decent prices, and it feels like a place you've been hundreds of times. That's family Italian right there.

Deep dish crust was very dry, hard and the pizza did not have enough sauce. It seemed like the pizza pan wasn t buttered/oiled and/or dough was past it s optimal time. It could have used another 1/2-1 cup of sauce. It s only $13 bucks so what do you expect? Guess I was anticipating more of a Chicago-style deep dish.

I went to Tenuta's tonight with two friends, after hearing so much about their food, we sat at the bar before our meal, one of my friends ordered wine, no problem, the other ordered a rum and coke, again no problem, I had a taste for a Margarita, oh, bad choice, bartender said to me, " If you'd go to a Mexican restaurant would you order wine"? He made me feel like a fool, he said he could probably figure out how to make one, huh, are you a bartender or not, anybody can pour wine from a bottle or pour beer from a spigot on tap. I have to say they have very good food, after being made a fool of I'd never return

Very delicious, homemade Italian dishes. Yummy pizza &Happy Hour

Absolutely fantastic. The wait staff were kind, attentive, and well knowleged. This was our first time and we will be back many more times. We did not want to leave. Emily, our waitress, made us feel at home.

One of our favorites. Classy and cozy, whether pizza at the bar or well served full dinner and dessert, never disappointed. Thanks Frank.

Excellent food and service. My girlfriend has a gluten allergy and they have a lot of GF choices.

This is a must see for anyone who enjoys a great affordable wine selection supurb service and incredible Italian food and pizzas coupled with fine desserts. There is a chill neighborhood vibe with cool regulars and lovely staff . Come on people this is it! Buy some art while you are there. Word.

The food was very good. And the service was good too!