Lobster asparagus salad with creamy garlic dressing at Terilli’s. Photo by Danny Fulgencio
For those of you who miss getting lunch from Terilli’s Restaurant & Bar on Lower Greenville, brighter days are ahead.
The 40-year-old Italian mainstay has claimed a space just up the street that used to be Val’s Cheesecakes off Goodwin Avenue on the east side of Greenville Avenue. Here, Terilli’s will serve lunch to-go and takeout — no dine-in service. This location is estimated to open in early fall.
“Ever since COVID, our to-go business has taken off,” managing partner Amanda Terilli said. “Also, we closed for lunch during COVID. … And we just never reopened for lunch. And we’ve had a lot of guests kind of wish that we were back open for lunch again, and it just doesn’t work for us in this location. So kind of combined with the excess to-go and then also wanting to do lunch again, that spot came available, and we just thought that would be a perfect opportunity to be able to open for lunch again without having to staff a full-time kitchen.”
Existing kitchen crew members from the restaurant will be working at the to-go location, Amanda Terilli said. The menu will include fan-favorites like the meatball sub and the chicken parmesan sandwich as well as lunch classics that are currently only available once a week on the Sunday brunch menu. Most items on Terilli’s menu will be available to-go at this location as well.
Eventually, the new space will be the primary Terilli’s takeout outlet, and food service apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash will be adjusted accordingly. However, Amanda Terilli said customers will still be able to order to-go from the bar at the original restaurant. A catering menu is also in the works for Terilli’s to drop off sandwich, pasta and/or salad platters for large groups, but that likely won’t happen until the to-go location is open for a few months.
Of course, rules set up now can be reimagined later if it makes a customer happy.
“We don’t want to say ‘no’ to anybody, and that’s kind of been our motto for 40 years,” Amanda Terilli said. “Of course, if someone calls and they say they want a steak, then if we don’t have it, we’ll run over to the restaurant, we’ll get it for them, and we’ll make it available. This is a new venture for us, and we’re just going to learn as we go and try to please as many people as we can in the process.”
The operating hours for this new spot are still under consideration, but tentatively, the plan is to open at 11 a.m. and close around 9-10 p.m. throughout the week and weekend (except for Mondays).
Full disclosure: Terilli’s was named the “Best Italian Food” winner in the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate Magazine’s Best of Food & Drink 2025.
Dining and Cooking