Food  RESTAURANT Sorelles Ristorante Italiano

STORY BY BRACKEN MAYO PHOTOS BY SARAH MAYO

In 2022, sisters Kyah Richards and Jodi Gnoffo opened Sorelles Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in downtown Eagleville in the restaurant space that served for a time as the Maple Street Grill.

Today, Sorelles serves all the Italian restaurant favorites—pizza, pasta, calzones, stromboli, sandwiches, and salads, and has earned primarily glowing comments from its customers.

“We have ordered almost everything on their menu over the course of several visits,” Megan Stokes reported. “Nothing has disappointed us yet. Chicken piccata, the meatballs and lasagna are the favs.”

Stacey King Burton agrees that “the homemade meatballs are a must!”

Sorelles (which is the Italian word for “sisters”) attracts those approaching the building with a very appealing aroma, on first impression smelling like a respectable Italian restaurant should, bready and garlicky, as groovy music from the 1960s plays.

Inside, find a very good alfredo sauce; chicken scarpariello, a house specialty pasta with chicken, sausage and pepperoncini in a lemon, butter and white wine sauce; and delicious New York-style pizza with a light and chewy crust, nothing too fancy, just pizza on

RESTAURANT

Sorelles Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria

LOCATION

161 N. Main St., Eagleville

PHONE 615-640-0707

HOURS

Tues.–Sat.: 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Sun.: 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

PRICES good, fresh dough.

In the middle of the big pies there’s hardly any dough there, as it should be with pizza branded as “New York-style.” The slices are super thin and foldable, and the outer rim contains just a little crisp. Top it with some tasty, greasy pepperoni or a variety of other toppings.

“Always spot on!” Jeff Bolling said of the Sorelles pizza. “The pizza here is the best in the whole area. I know New York style pizza . . . they make it with care.”

The restaurant offers a Margherita pizza with tomato and basil, and one customer suggested adding pepperonis to the house white pizza for a phenomenal pie.

Rutherford County now contains a sizeable list of locally owned Italian restaurants and pizzerias (with Marina’s, Luca’s, La Tavola, Sal’s, Giorgio’s, Milano, Salvo’s and Spooky’s all doing their thing, making a legitimate local pizza scene), but numerous Sorelles fans proclaim it as their favorite pizza in the area.

The penne ala vodka is also popular there,

18-inch two-topping pizza: $23.18; Fettuccine alfredo with blackened chicken: $17.60; Calamari: $12.94; Penne ala vodka: $13; Stromboli with ham, salami, pepperoni, sausage and cheese: $11; Ziti or spaghetti with meatballs or sausage: $13

ONLINE sorellesitalianrestaurant.com as is the chicken parmigiana. And many will suggest trying the garlic knots, crispy on the outside and pillowy on the inside, sitting in a garlic butter pool, as one customer reported.

“I had the sausage parm sub and thought the taste of the sausage was superb. The bread was good and crispy,” Amber Lawhorn said.

For dessert, take the cannoli, if you like, or cheesecake, tiramisu or chocolate cake. The dessert menu also offers zeppolis—little fried doughnuts, similar to the French beignet, topped with a raspberry sauce.

“Desserts from heaven,” Jim Bicknell said.

As far as the food, most reviews seem positive. The main critique of Sorelles seems to be that many find it a little pricey.

“Not bad, but prices are pretty darn high,” one customer posted

When a chicken alfredo by itself tops $18—no drink, no salad, no bread—the bill can pile up when paying for a group.

Most modern consumers know how quickly food prices are rising and small restaurants charge what they have to in order to make the numbers work. Sorelles is not the only area restaurant to do this, but it also tacks an additional 3.5% onto the already somewhat high listed menu prices for orders paid by credit card.

But judging by the feedback over the spot’s first year in operation, the quality of the tasty food and the service keep the “clean and cozy” dining room, as one visitor puts it, packed with hungry patrons.

“Never have I had a bad meal or experience there. Food is always fresh, and hot,” Joanie Galvin said. “We have tried different items on the menu and not one disappointed. My favorite is alfredo with chicken. The pizza is fabulous also.”

Others praise the calzones, and other items include stromboli, chicken marsala, piccata and some very crisp, lightly breaded fried calamari.

“The food is phenomenal, the sauce could compete with the best places in the north end of Boston and the hard-working sisters that run the place are awesome,” Jimmy Aho said. So take an excursion out to Main Street in the small Tennessee town of Eagleville (population: 876) and try a big pizza, calamari, pasta of your choice or Italian sausage in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.

“Good New York-style pizza, very good vodka sauce,” another customer, Ilya, said. “Definitely the best Italian/American food in the area.”